Three Heart Health Changes you can Make

Without a doubt, the heart is the most important organ in your body. Its sole responsibility is to pump oxygenated blood around the body to ensure all of your vital organs function exactly as they should.

For the heart to work effectively it has to be healthy and for the heart to be healthy, you have to be healthy! Ensuring you make the right choices about your health will lead you on the right path to the very best heart health, but for National Heart Month coming to a close, we’ve decided to list 3 of our favourite heart healthy changes you can make to point you in the right direction for your heart’s health, even after February has ended.

Sugar Swap

Due to Valentine’s Day bringing in multitudes of chocolates and other goodies for us to feast on, it is important to be mindful about the amounts of fatty and sugary foods you include in your diet.

To achieve a healthy heart, a well-balanced diet which incorporates foods from all the food groups is required with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables to provide you with essential vitamins and minerals you need.

Milk and dairy foods such as cheese and yogurts should also be part of your diet. These foods include sources of protein and calcium which helps strengthen your bones. In order to enjoy the health benefits of dairy products without eating too much fat, we recommend you select skimmed milk or even 1% fat milk as well as low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurts.

Protein is also a vital part of your diet. Foods such as beans, fish and meats contribute to your protein intake. Protein is essential for the body to repair itself, should it be damaged, and for you to grow. In addition to fish providing protein, it is also a source of Omega-3 fatty acids which have strong links to cardiovascular health.

When selecting what fats to include in your diet, it is important that you incorporate more saturated fats than unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats are found in foods such as lard, butter, cakes and biscuits, which as you can imagine are also loaded with sugar. A treat here and there won’t go amiss as long as you’re mindful about your overall diet and how it can affect you and your heart.

Exercise

When we mention the word exercise, we can imagine that quite a few of our readers would run – or briskly walk – for the hills.

Having a healthy heart and lifestyle isn’t just about having a balanced diet, exercising is a major contributing factor to having a healthy heart.

Whatever exercise you decide on is your choice; just doing what you’re comfortable with will be beneficial. Whether that means finding the gym membership you signed up for last January or going for a walk on your own or with the dog for 30 minutes a day, some exercise is better than none at all.

Exercising will lower your HDL (bad) cholesterol level and your arteries will be more flexible leading to increased blood flow and lower blood pressure.

Quit Smoking

Lastly, quitting smoking is the single most beneficial thing you can do to improve your overall health. By quitting smoking you can increase your life expectancy significantly. Not only will you live longer if you quit smoking, but your chances of contracting a potentially life-threatening disease will reduce too.

Some immediate benefits of quitting smoking are:

Normal blood pressure and normal heart rate after 20 minutes Nicotine blood levels, carbon monoxide and oxygen levels return to normal after eight hours. Your lungs begin to clear and your sense of smell and taste will return just after two days.

After quitting smoking you’ll also have more energy than you did when you were smoking. This is due to increased and improved blood circulation, so any activity you decide to partake in will seem easier than it previously was.

The biggest benefit of quitting smoking is the significant decrease in the chances of having a heart attack. After one year of being a non-smoker, your chances of a heart attack will be half of a smoker’s.

We realise quitting smoking is no easy feat, but if it’s something you’ve been contemplating for a while, there are various support groups and different quitting methods out there which will steer you in the right direction to quitting.

Change for the Better

It’s understandable why many people don’t like change as it can be seen to disrupt their lifestyle and routine. But these three simple changes are for the better and a healthier and happier you will be at the end of it.

If National Heart Month has inspired you to make some changes, we’d love to hear from you. Leave us a comment in the commenting section or let us know over on Twitter and Tweet us @defibshop and use the hashtag #NationalHeartMonth in your message to let us know what changes you’ve made this February to better your heart health.

defibshop are committed to equipping everyone with the skills and knowledge to save a life. Speak to one of our Product Specialists on 0161 776 7422 or fill out our Contact Form.