Top 5 tips for a healthy heart
Our hearts can’t survive without love or a healthy lifestyle!
February is heart health month.
Every single one of us has a heart. It’s the organ that pumps the blood around our body replenishing all our cells with the nutrients they require to stay healthy. It’s an essential part of us.
Currently, there are about 2.6 million people in the UK living with Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Heart disease by itself is the biggest single cause of death in the UK. In 2014 it accounted for 15% of male and 10% of female deaths. The number of deaths from heart disease have been decreasing in recent years but it is still one of the major cause of premature death (before 75 years) in the UK and a leading cause of ill health and every single one of us is at potential risk, even if we think we lead a healthy lifestyle.
Stopping smoking, cutting down on alcohol and watching your blood pressure are just a few important factors.
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Here are our top five tips to keeping your heart healthy:
Maintain a healthy weight
Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology has linked excess belly fat to higher blood pressure and unhealthy blood lipid levels. If you’re carrying extra fat around your middle, it’s time to slim down.
The latest fad crash diet probably won’t provide the balance of nutrients you need and you may lose the weight only to put it, and more, back on when you start eating properly again.
In general, you should aim for a well-balanced diet. A healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease and stop you gaining weight, reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure.
A balanced diet would contain: plenty of fruit and vegetables, plenty of starchy foods - these include bread, rice, potatoes and pasta (choosing wholegrain options where possible), some milk and dairy products, some meat, fish, eggs, beans and other non-dairy sources of protein and only a small amount of foods and drinks high in fats and/or sugar.
Currently, the advice is to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. With a portion weighing approximately 80g (3oz).
You should always aim to choose options that are lower in fat, salt and sugar whenever you can.
And keep within the recommended guidelines for alcohol consumption.
Keep physically active
Getting, and staying active can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. It can also be a great mood booster and stress buster.
In recent years, research has suggested that staying seated for long periods of time is bad for your health no matter how much exercise you do, which is bad news for the many people who sit at sedentary jobs all day. In addition, sitting for long periods of time (especially when traveling) increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot).
It is important to keep moving throughout the day as couch potato and desk jockey lifestyles seem to have an unhealthy effect on blood fats and blood sugar. If you work at a desk, remember to take regular breaks to move around. Park further away from the office, use a standing work station (if possible), go for a stroll on your lunch break, and enjoy regular exercise in your leisure time.
In general we should aim for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate exercise – or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. One way to achieve this target is by doing 30-60 minutes of activity on 5 days a week, fitting it in where you can, or specifically making time for it.
But, keeping fits doesn’t have to be boring. Let your inner child take the lead by enjoying an evening of roller skating, bowling, or laser tag. You can have fun while burning calories and giving your heart a workout.
Look after your mental health
In our recent article on 'How physical exercise works to improve mental health' we noted that:
"Everyone has mental health, just like everyone has physical health and as the World Health Organisation (WHO) said: “there is no health without mental health”.
"Our mental health, or well-being, means our emotions, thoughts, feelings, ability to solve problems, social connections, etc. We will all, at some point struggle with our mental health (some much more than others), just like we all have challenges with our physical health." (Continue reading)
But did you know that heart health and mental health are closely connected?
Research has shown that people with severe mental health problems are two to three times more likely to suffer from heart and circulatory diseases due to medication and lifestyle factors.
So how can we improve our general mental health?
As well as a healthy diet and exercise, some other ideas include thinking positively, writing down things that you are grateful for, focussing on the now, doing something for someone else and taking a break.
Good dental hygiene
Dental health is a good indication of overall health, including your heart, because those who have periodontal (gum) disease often have the same risk factors for heart disease.
Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said: "The link between oral health and overall body health is well documented and backed by robust scientific evidence. Despite this, only 1 in 6 people realises that people with gum disease may have an increased risk of stroke or diabetes. And only 1 in 3 is aware of the heart disease link."
Gum disease is an infection of the tissues that support the teeth, mainly caused by bacteria from plaque build-up. Studies continue on this issue, but many have shown that bacteria in the mouth involved in the development of gum disease can move into the bloodstream and cause an elevation in C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation in the blood vessels. The result of the intense gum inflammation is that it also affects the bloodstream, and is believed to slowly damage blood vessels in the heart and brain over a long period of time.
Therefore, brushing your teeth can prevent gum disease and improve your overall health.
Get plenty of sleep
Sleep is essential for a healthy heart. People who don't sleep enough are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease—regardless of age, weight, smoking and exercise habits. One study looking at 3,000 adults over the age of 45 found that those who slept fewer than six hours per night were about twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack as people who slept six to eight hours per night.
It's not completely clear why less sleep affects your heart health, but researchers believe that sleeping too little causes disruptions in underlying health conditions and biological processes like glucose metabolism, blood pressure, and inflammation. The same may also be true for oversleeping.
Recent research has shown that too little sleep earlier in life could take its toll as well. For example, in one study, adolescents who didn't sleep well were at greater risk for developing cardiovascular problems. Those teens had higher cholesterol levels, a higher body mass index, larger waist sizes, higher blood pressure, and an increased risk of hypertension. It's easy to see how these alterations in childhood health could snowball into major concerns later on, and why it's important to protect sleep at every age
Getting enough good quality sleep is important if you want to lower you risk of heart disease.
If you're looking for a fun way to exercise contact Gordon at Combat Arts about 1-2-1 or small group training sessions.
