5 things you can do to boost your heart health

The heart is an essential organ of the body. It purifies the blood and circulates it throughout the body via systemic circulation. The inability of this organ can cause heart and other health-related disorders. Five basic things can help you to prevent heart-related issues.

1. Eat a balanced diet

Food is a basic part of living for us. It helps in treating and preventing diseases. The balance calories intake will lead to a healthy heart.

The balanced diet contains all food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and poultry, and dairy. It has all the essential macro and micronutrients for cell and body functioning.

Healthy Eating

To boost heart health through; these factors should keep in mind:

· 3–4 servings of Fruits and Vegetables

· Daily intake of whole grains

· Get plenty of fibers, 15–20g/day

· Only take healthy fats like nuts, olive oil, fish

· Decrease the intake of sodium in a diet, 3g/day

· Decrease the fatty and fried foods

· Avoid alcohol consumption

· Remove fat from meats, skin from poultry

· Read the food labels to check the fats and sodium per serving

· Replace unhealthy and high-fat snacks with nuts, fruits, and beans

2. Quit Smoking

According to the 2014 Surgeon General’s Report on smoking and health, one of every four deaths from CVD is caused due to smoking.

Cigarette smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels very quickly. It contains such harmful chemicals that it swollen and inflamed the cells that lined the blood vessels.

3. Physical activity

A sedentary lifestyle is bad for overall life. There should be a movement in a body. Physical activity gives strength to muscles, as our heart is also a muscle.

Due to physical activity, there is ≈20% reduction in cardiovascular events and an increase in life expectancy of ≈5 years.

Do stretches

It should include at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five times/week, 2–3 days/week strength and resistance exercise, and aerobic exercise of 20 minutes for three days in a week if it doesn’t put pressure on the heart.

4. Weight management

The person should maintain a healthy weight of BMI 18.5–24.4 kg/m2 and waist circumference of about < 40 inches in men and <35 inches in women, although it may vary in different ethnic groups.

The increase in weight causes the heart to do extra work to pump blood through the body, which will increase blood pressure. After that, it caused other health-related issues such as stroke, blurred vision, kidney damage, and other heart-related diseases.

5. Stress management

Stress or anxiety is also a risk factor for heart health. Meditation is the best way to manage stress. It not only soothes your nerves but also shows a significant effect on your overall health.

In short, the appropriate lifestyle can help to boost heart health which is possible through a balanced diet, physical activity, managing weight and stress, and avoiding smoking.