Taking better care of your heart
February is National Heart Month and organisations and charities like the British Heart Foundation are asking everybody to pay attention to their hearts and start living healthier lifestyles.
Coronary heart disease is responsible for 73,000 deaths each year and is the leading cause of death in the UK.
I think it is a really good idea to use February’s National Heart Month to really kick-start your own habits and introduce some exercise into your lifestyle so you don’t become a national statistic.
Most people know someone or have themselves been directly affected by heart disease, and the saddest part is a lot of times it is avoidable by changing lifestyle habits.
Simple changes in diet by reducing your salt intake and eliminating processed foods from your diet and trying to get a couple of hours of exercise a day can make a huge difference.
A healthy diet reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and prevents weight gain, which puts pressure on your heart. The introduction of a healthy diet also helps to prevent further worsening of existing heart disease and it’s NEVER too late to start eating healthily.
To help prevent heart disease I have come up with five ways to change your lifestyle and take better care of yourself. Mediterranean diet A 2013 study showed the Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of coronary heart disease by 30% and prevents weight gain which puts pressure on your heart. The diet also helps to prevent further worsening of existing heart disease and it’s NEVER too late to start eating healthily. Reduce salt Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease. Check the salt content of any pre-packaged food you buy. No processed foods There are lots of hidden saturated fats, sugars and salts in processed food, fast food, and ready meals. I would strongly advise people to check the content of the ingredients of any food they buy and start cooking from scratch instead. Quit smoking Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to have heart disease with all the health issues it causes it is the most important thing you can do for your heart.
Start an exercise programme
The heart is the most important muscle and just a small amount of intense exercise will keep it functioning properly. Workouts as little as ten minutes a day can make a huge difference. You could start with my 10-minute Cardio HIIT workout.