Keeping Your Heart Healthy

There is nothing more important than keeping your heart healthy. It is the motor that brings life to all parts of your body. Your blood carries oxygen, minerals, nutrients, proteins, and more to the vital parts of your body like your brain, lungs, other organs, and of course your arms and legs. If your heart does not work correctly it can cause a bunch of problems and become life threatening.

We are going to look at some of the good habits you might consider in order to keep your heart healthy and maybe some of these new habits you might need to implement immediately to keep your heart healthy for as long as possible in order to sustain a healthy life.

Some bad habits that can cause fatal outcomes include smoking, alcohol, certain drugs, the wrong types of food, obesity, and the lack of exercise.

If you are a smoker

The single most important thing you can do, if you want to live longer is to quit smoking. Smokers are twice as likely to have heart attacks than a non smoker. It’s never too late to quit, the moment you decide to quit, and actually quit, the risk of heart attacks is reduced. With the introduction of banning smoking in public places there has never been a more opportune time to pack this bad habit in for good. There are many options available these days to help you stop smoking because of how addictive this drug is. Please ask your doctor for the best choice for you.

Salty Foods

As we all well know, smoking isn’t the only cause of heart problems, high blood pressure greatly increases the risk of heart attack and excess salt is a contributing factor to high blood pressure. Remember, salt sprinkled over food isn’t the only way we absorb it. Salt comes in all shapes and sizes, many of the food items we automatically think of as being healthy are loaded with salt. Many of the popular breakfast cereals contain high levels of salt as do a lot of breads, rolls and pizzas. Perhaps more obvious contributors of salt to our systems are crackers, salted nut, sauces and soups which are very high salt content foods.

If you like to drink alcohol

Another healthy heart stopper to watch is your alcohol intake. Alcohol in excess can damage the heart muscle. It also increases blood pressure and just to make things even worse alcohol can lead to gaining weight and gaining weight can lead to high blood pressure and high blood pressure can lead to heart attack. An alcohol limit of between one and two units a day is the advised quantity. Binge drinking greatly increases the risk of heart attack.

Being overweight or obese

The number of obese and overweight people in the world is rising rapidly, at the moment more than fifty per cent of the population is overweight. Carrying all that excess fat increases the risk of diabetes and coronary heart disease which as we all know are life threatening conditions. Those overweight or obese can improve their general health just by making small changes to their diet and doing a little more in the way of exercise.

Stress

Stress is also believed to increase blood pressure, perhaps not directly, but a person suffering from stress is more likely to smoke excessively, drink too much and not take the trouble to eat healthily. All the things that increase the risk of heart attacks.

There is evidence that a close relative, alive or deceased, who is or was overweight, suffered from high blood pressure, smoked excessively and was generally unfit could be putting you at risk of the same problems.

Some great choices for your heart

Food

A well balanced, healthy diet consisting of plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with wholegrain bread, brown rice, wholegrain pasta and oily fish (like Salmon) or a completely vegan diet can help reduce the risk of heart diseases. Try to avoid too many rich dairy product and treats especially the ones high in sugar and saturated fats.

Don’t forget about water!

Did you that up to 60% of the adult body is water. Crazy thought, right! So, it make sense to replenish your body with fresh water daily.  Drinking at least half a gallon of water per day is the recommendation. That’s eight glasses of water. If you can filter it, that even better. I use a Berkey Filter as it get out all the fluoride and metals for a very clean glass of water. Personally, I think it taste better too. I fill up my 32 oz Hydro Flask 3-4 times a day with only filtered water.

Exercise

Your heart needs exercise, after all it is muscle. It needs to be fit to keep on pumping the blood around your body twenty four hours a day, seven days a week and three hundred and sixty five days a year. It needs to be fit. A good goal would be thirty minutes a day of moderate intensity exercise.

No need to go mad at first, if half an hour seems too much, begin with more gentle exercise for as long as you are comfortable with. The benefits of regular exercise will not only improve your physical health, you will feel better in yourself and feel more alert. I have use a standing desk and a desk treadmill while I work which allow me to walk all day if I want. Why not lose weight, exercise, and get paid to do it. I know,  right? $

Regular Doctor Check up

If you have any concerns about your general health, get checked out by your doctor. He can check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes, get yours checked out before it happens to you, not after!

Your liver can produce high levels of cholesterol in the blood from saturated fats, this can lead to fatty deposits in your coronary arteries which in turn leads to blocked arteries, strokes, coronary heart diseases and blood circulation problems. Eating healthy high fiber foods, oats, vegetables, fruit and nuts can help to lower your cholesterol levels.

I actually just bought a glucose meter even though I’m not diabetic. I use it to check my glucose a couple of times a week; just to keep myself in check. It’s a small pinch in my finger (does not really hurt. Depends on your pain tolerance). What I like about it is that within seconds I get my glucose levels. If I’m off I can adjust my diet. Maybe less processed carbs for dinner. With my schedule I usually check it the same time in the morning after not eating for 10 hours to get a more accurate reading.

Some things to keep and eye on for a healthy heart and that can save your life!

Let’s take a look at some of the early signs of heart problems.

If you suffer from tightening of the chest or discomfort of the chest or stomach, neck or arm when you are doing something energetic which then disappears when you relax, it may be the first signs of angina. Angina, left untreated can lead to heart attack.

If you have any doubts what-so-ever, see your doctor as soon as possible or go to the emergency room. Better safe than sorry. I did a “safe than sorry” visit once and it saved my life. 5 days in ICU but I’m here.

The earlier heart problems are diagnosed the more chance you have of complete recovery. Your doctor can treat early problems far easier than he can a heart attack!

An encouraging note

Our dear friend was told he would have a heart attack if he didn’t change his bad habits and he took it to heart (so to speak). So, he changed his diet immediately, added walking to his life, drank water instead of soda, beer, and whole milk and cut out things that were causing a lot of stress in his life. As a result his doctor just told him he is out of danger as long as he keeps the new good habits a part of his future lifestyle. Always talk with your doctor to find the best things for your body and your lifestyle.

Wishing you a strong and healthy heart!