What diet you take, your activity level, your ways to handle stress and other individual lifestyle habits are the key factors help determine the health of your heart. Follow these steps given below to keep your heart healthy and lower your risk of heart disease:
1. Take Low Sodium Diet
The recommended maximum daily intake of salt is less than 2,300 milligrams (about 1 teaspoon of salt) in a day. A diet that includes high salt intake can cause high blood pressure – which can further increase the risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke.
2. Keep Sugar Intake Low
Too much sugar in your diet could lead to weight gain, which can raise your blood pressure and lead to diabetes and heart disease. Include fresh fruits with yogurt in your diet instead of sweetened puddings, cookies, and cakes to reduce daily sugar intake.
3. Put Limit To Saturated Fat
Saturated fat present in products such as butter, ghee, margarine, fatty meats, dairy fats and processed foods such as pies, pastries, and cakes which can increase cholesterol levels in your body. Choose semi-skimmed milk and low-fat dairy foods instead of full-fat ones.
4. Eat Lots Of Fruits And Vegetables
Include at least five portions of fruit and vegetables in your daily diet for getting enough potassium which can help to lower blood pressure. Fruit and vegetables contain nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and fiber which are essential for a healthy heart.
5. Include Omega-3 In Your Diet
Fish are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which helps to improve your cholesterol level and keeps your heart healthy. If you’re a vegetarian you can get omega-3 fats from spinach, wheat germ, walnuts, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, soy and canola oil and pumpkin seeds.
6. Quit Smoking
Smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease, and smokers have a high risk of having a heart attack as compared with those who have never smoked. Smoking damages the lines of arteries and reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood and raises your blood pressure.
7. Do Some Physical Activity
Your heart is a muscle, and it gets stronger and healthier if you are physically active. Regular exercise can help you burn calories, lower your blood pressure, reduce LDL “bad” cholesterol, and boost your HDL “good” cholesterol which ultimately keeps the heart-healthy.
8. Maintain Body Weight
Being overweight can raise the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Eating more fruits and vegetables along with doing some physical exercise on a regular basis can all help you shed some excess pounds.
