Healthy heart: 4 tips on how to do that
Our hearts are at the center of all our bodily functions. The heart is like the engine of the body, using the blood pumping through it to power thousands of processed throughout our bodies. Some people don’t start paying attention to their heart’s well-being until something drastic happens, like a stroke, heart attack, a jump in cholesterol or blood pressure. But there are many steps and lifestyle changes you can make to prevent these things from happening at all.
Getting the right vitamins and minerals for your heart through food or health supplements can make a huge difference in your vascular health. But this is just one aspect of maintaining a healthy heart. Movement, activity and exercise are all very important as well, equally important to diet and nutrition. One without the other will only get you half the results. For optimal results, combine vitamin supplements, a good diet, and a regular exercise routine.
In this article, we’re going to take a little look at exactly how we can keep our hearts in good health, strengthen our vascular health and keep our health on track.
How to Improve Hearth Health
Even if you’re not ready for big changes in your life—like getting into a regular exercise routine or eating only healthy food—here are a few things you can do to improve the health of your heart on a daily basis:
Lift items above your head and side to side. There’s no need to lift very heavy things; even a hardcover book or a small weight of one or two pounds will suffice for starters.
Make your breakfast healthy. Eating grains, oats, or whole wheat bread first thing in the morning will give you a healthy boost. Couple that with some fruit, and you’ve got a healthy breakfast.
Take a walk for a couple minutes. You don’t need to run a marathon, but simply keeping your body active by going for a walk on a regular basis will make a big difference.
Cut down on the amount of sugary drinks you intake. Sodas and sweet juices can be damaging for your heart and overall health. Cutting them out of your life completely is ideal, but even minimizing the amount you drink will make a big difference.
Take vitamin supplements for your heart. Supplements with omega-3 fatty acids are most likely to make a positive difference in your vascular health.
How to Strengthen Your Heart
If you’re really looking to improve your heart’s health on a larger scale, you’ll want to take some more serious steps. Here are some things that will help you strengthen your heart:
Get regular exercise. This will strengthen your muscles including your heart, which is also a muscle. Find a form of exercise that you’ll be able to stick with for a longer period of time and include in your weekly routine. Exercise will also help you lose weight, which can be a factor in poor vascular health if you’re overweight.
Stop smoking cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes damages the body in many ways, including the weakening of the heart and thinning of the blood. Quitting smoking isn’t easy, but it’s one of the surest ways to improve your heart’s health.
Eat food that’s good for the heart. Salmon and avocados are particularly good for the heart. Even chocolate and red wine are beneficial to your heart’s health when taken in moderation. Too much will, of course, damage your health.
Try to find ways to minimize stress. Doing yoga, meditating, going to a spa, getting a regular massage; these are all ways you can try and minimize the amount of stress in your life. Stress makes the heart over-work and damages it.
Heart Healthy Exercises
There are several types of exercise that you can do to improve your heart’s health. Lifting weights gets your blood pumping and is a great way to get strong and improve your heart.
Running on a regular basis is beneficial not only for your heart, but for your lungs as well. Doing yoga is good for your flexibility, reduces pains in the joints and helps eliminate stress.
There are plenty of other ways you can improve your heart’s health with exercise, but these are a few ways you can try.
