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Here,
some tips are given on how to maintain a healthy heart. A total of ten
tips are given out of which if you can follow the first seven and don’t
smoke, you are reducing the chance of a heart attack by as much as 90%.
1.
Walk for about half an hour a day every day. It decreases the risk of
having a heart attack by about 30 percent. If you can do this step, you
can do other tips listed here also with success which would improve
your health. If you can’t do this step, it means you are of a
compromising character and you might compromise your health in other
ways also. A better thing to do would be to keep a dog as a pet.
A dog needs to be taken out daily at least twice and hence, it forces
you to walk.
2.
Keep an eye on your blood pressure. Persons with high blood pressure
are more prone to heart attack than persons who have controlled blood
pressure. Ideally you should strive to keep your blood pressure at
around 115/75. Blood pressure control is more important than
cholesterol. The best way to control blood pressure is to do a
little exercise and losing some abdominal fat. Why this is important is
because fat stored in the abdomen presses upon the kidneys and in turn,
kidneys get squeezed and release hormones that cause increased blood
pressure. When you lose a little of the abdominal fat, even with just a
few kilos of weight loss, your blood pressure goes down really fast.
Cutting back on salt will help. Also, for some people, reducing sugar
and saturated fat in diet may help even more. If your blood pressure is
140/90 and you are not going to do these things reliably, then you
should take medication to reduce blood pressure. New drugs can reduce
blood pressure without major side effects.
3.
Eat at least 30 grams of nuts a day. Nuts raise HDL good cholesterol
and decrease inflammation. But, they have a heart benefit also apart
from the above benefits. Nuts have healthy omega-3 fatty acids, healthy
protein and some fiber. This tip is easy to implement. Nuts that are
raw, fresh and unsalted have the most benefit. You can develop a taste
for them if you give them a chance. If you want to roast them, put them
in the oven at 180 degrees C for about nine minutes.
4.
You have to increase your good cholesterol up to a number of 50. To
increase it, you have to exercise, have one drink a day, and eat
healthy fats, such as olive and safflower oil and nuts. Talk to your
doctor about niacin, which raises HDL cholesterol but can have side
effects.
5.
Eat at least 10 table spoons of tomato sauce a week. Tomato sauce is
rich in blood pressure slashing potassium. Don’t add salt to it. Keep
it simple.
6.
Floss your teeth regularly. Avoiding gum disease helps prevent
inflammation in the arteries, which helps prevent heart disease.
7.
Eat no more than 20 grams of saturated fat a day. Saturated fat leads
to inflammation in the arteries. Butter, coconut oil and other palm
oils and blended vegetable oils contain saturated fat. Switch to
safflower, corn and soyabean oil and reduce the amount of cooking oil
to a minimum. Transfats found in baked foods are at least as bad as
saturated fats.
8.
Read labels and throw out all food that has sugar as an important
ingredient. If you eat more sugar than necessary, it gets converted
into abdomen fat. But the sugar in fruits is a complex carbohydrate, it
is usually fine.
9.
Have a glass of wine or beer once a day. It reduces inflammation of
arteries. Teetotalers have a higher risk of heart disease than people
who drink a little. People who drink a lot have little heart disease
but tend to die of cancer.
10.
Eat several servings of colourful fruits and vegetables a day. They
contain a lot of fiber. Make sure to wash fresh produce carefully and
thoroughly.
Read more on how to keep your heart healthy.
Note: While every care is taken
to provide medically accurate and up to date information in this web
site, it is to be noted that this advice is not intended to replace the
advice of your physician. Before undertaking the advice contained in
this web site, you should consult a medical professional.
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