Tips Of The Week - HEART your life
HEART your heart, HEART your life.
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Improve your diet is the most important step toward preventing heart disease. Here are some of the tips that can help you to improve heart function.
#1 Eat more fiber-rich food
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Whole grains are unrefined and do not have the bran or germ removed. They contain folic acid, B vitamins and fiber, all of which are important protectors against heart disease. Processed grains which used to make white bread and pasta do not have the same benefits as wholegrain cereals.
There are some simple ways to add whole grains to your meals. First, consume at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day. You can make every snacks count by consuming nuts, and fresh or dried fruits at snack time. Vegetables should be incorporate into every meal to achieve total fiber requirement.
#2 Be smart about fat
You can replace unhealthy fat such as trans fat and saturated fat with healthy fats that beneficial for heart health. A diet high in saturated fats and trans fat leads to high levels of LDL cholesterol. Instead, unsaturated fats including PUFA and MUFA can improve blood cholesterol levels and lower the risk of heart disease.
Saturated fat are found in animal products while trans fats are found in processed food like shop-bought cakes, biscuits, fried food, packaged snack foods and pre-mixed products. Thus, eat more fatty fish such as salmon, herring to increase the intake of omega-3 fatty acid. The essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 can also be found in nuts and seeds. You can choose the use vegetable oil for cooking such as canola oil, safflower oil, and corn oil.
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#3 Cut down on sodium intake
It has been estimated that a universal reduction in dietary intake of sodium by about 1g of sodium a day, about 3g of salt, would lead to a 22% drop in the number of deaths resulting from strokes and a 16% fall in the number of deaths from coronary heart disease.
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Thus, reduce the consumption of canned or processed foods and fast foods are one of the ways to steer clear of salt intake. Besides, always cook at home with the use of spices for flavor or salt substitutes to make your dishes delicious without increased salt consumption.
#4 Control portion size
Being overweight can increase the risk of heart disease. Therefore, maintain healthy weight within healthy BMI is important. The effective way to keep healthy weight is learn to control portion size.
Studies found that 38% of those who practiced portion control for two years lost 5% or more of body weight, compared with 33% of participants who did not. Thus learn to portion your meal using “rules of thumbs”. Do remember to read food label whenever purchase or consume any food products.
#5 As Active as you can
Physical activity protects you by regulating your weight and improving your body’s use of insulin. Being active is beneficial for your blood pressure, blood lipid levels, blood glucose levels, blood clotting factors, the health of your blood vessels and inflammation, which is powerful promoter of cardiovascular disease.
Studies show that doing more than 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate physical activity or an hour of vigorous physical activity every week will reduce your risk of coronary heart disease by about 30%. What are you waiting for? Start exercise today.
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#6 Quit smoking
Smoking is a major cause of heart disease. It is estimated that smoking increases the risk of stroke, coronary heart disease and impotence by 100%. Smoking increases the risk of death from undiagnosed coronary heart disease by 300%.
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Although smoking causes a great deal of damage, quitting smoking effectively reduces cardiovascular risk to close to that of a person who has never smoked over a period of time. It is never too late to stop smoking.