An unhealthy lifestyle can prompt a host of heart issues like high blood pressure and diabetes. Severe heart diseases can also cause death. Fortunately, lifestyle changes can help you maintain a healthy heart. Below are some lifestyle changes you can make for your heart’s health.
Adopt a healthy diet
The easiest way to fight heart disease is by maintaining a healthy diet. The type and amount of food you eat can affect your heart. You can keep your heart healthy by eating foods rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Reducing your calory intake can also help.
A diet consisting of plenty of vegetables, fruits, low-fat poultry, fish, legumes, and whole grains is best. Your heart would also benefit from a reduced intake of salt, saturated fat, and added sugar.
Maintain a healthy weight and exercise frequently
One of the primary causes of coronary diseases is obesity. Therefore, you can keep your heart healthy by maintaining a healthy weight. Unfortunately, many people turn to fad diets and supplements to maintain a healthy weight and beat obesity.
The best way to maintain a healthy weight is by eating healthy foods and avoiding junk and non-nutritious food. Controlling with a calorie intake can also help. You can also keep a healthy weight by exercising frequently.
Physical activity can also help burn fat and calories from your food intake. Furthermore, exercising can help lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels while developing a healthy mental state.
Control high blood pressure
High blood pressure is at the root of many heart diseases. Therefore, you should do what you can to control your blood pressure to maintain a healthy heart.
You can lower your blood pressure by avoiding salt, taking your medication as recommended by a medical practitioner, and exercising. The goal is to maintain an optimal blood pressure of less than 120/80 mmHg.
Manage high cholesterol
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance usually found in your body cells. The body needs cholesterol to produce hormones and digest food. Therefore, the body manufacturers all the cholesterol it needs. However, you can also ingest cholesterol from foods sourced from animals, like egg yolks, milk, meat, and cheese.
Eating too much cholesterol can affect your heart’s health. The waxy, fat-like substance gets lodged in your arteries, increasing the risk of heart diseases like heart attacks and strokes. You can lower your cholesterol levels by exercising, avoiding high cholesterol foods, and taking medication.
Avoid smoking and reduce your alcohol intake
Smoking causes adverse effects to your body, including your heart. Smoking also makes it hard to recover from conditions like heart attacks and stroke. Therefore, smoking may promote the development of chronic heart diseases.
Regarding smoking, there is no other way around but to quit. While quitting smoking can be challenging, you can always seek help from a medical professional.
On the other hand, limiting your alcohol intake can also help keep your heart healthy. Excessive consumption of alcohol can raise your blood pressure and trigger a host of heart diseases.
You do not have to quit alcohol altogether. All you need is to limit your intake to a healthy amount (no more than two drinks per day).
Avoid stressful situations
Reducing stress can also help you keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of hypertension. You may have witnessed many people developing heart diseases like heart attacks from excessive stress.
Stress also causes people to overeat, start smoking, and drink alcohol to excess. These issues can affect your heart’s health.
Therefore, you can keep your heart healthy by avoiding stressful situations and reducing stress in your life. This may include changing your job, avoiding certain stressful situations, and prioritizing self-care.
Conclusion
Learning your health history can also help you develop effective ways to maintain a healthy heart. Changing your lifestyle can help you avoid heart disease or cope with existing conditions while also helping increase the quality of your life.
