SEVEN (7) WAYS TO KEEP YOUR HEART HEALTHY

Hey Hiveans,

Welcome to my blog. Hope you're doing great. I'm @daniky. I'll like to use this medium to reveal the seven ways to keep our heart healthy.

The heart is known as a muscular but very sensitive and delicate organ in our body responsible for pumping blood in our body. It is located in the left chest between the lungs behind our breastbone where it is been protected against collision or puncture.

The Heart

Since our Heart is the engine or powerhouse of our body, there is a need to constantly maintain its health and functionality. Below, are seven ways to keep your heart healthy.

1. Consume more of fruits and vegetables

source

Fruits are high in potassium which help lower your blood pressure. The nutrients in fruit and vegetable which include vitamins, minerals and fibre may also help to keep your heart healthy. Some fruits and vegetables that are rich in soluble fibre may also help to lower your cholesterol. These include citrus fruits, mango, sweet potato, most beans and pulses and aubergine.

2. Limit your salt intake

source

Consuming salt more often than the recommended daily allowance is likely to cause high blood pressure which could increase the risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke. The recommended daily intake of salt should not be more than 6g for adults and 3g for children. When salt is applied on Earthworms, it plasmolyzes them by bursting their cell cytoplasm there by cutting them in pieces. So imagine how much harm salt is capable of causing to our internal delicate organs of the body and heart. Moreover, make sure you keep an eye on food labels to check how much salt you’re eating in processed foods (foods with more than 1.5g salt or 0.6g sodium per 100g are high in salt content, so avoid them wherever possible). Drink more water to rehydrate your body and boost your heart function

3. Cut down on sugar

source

Excess sugar in your diet is stored as fat (glycogen) in the body which can result in a weight gain and may raise your blood pressure consequently leading to diabetes and heart disease. Insulin convert excess sugar or glucose to glycogen thereby reducing the blood glucose level in the body. When the activity of Insulin is being impaired, it will result to the accumulation of a high blood glucose intermediates in the body thereby causing diabetics and heart failure. So there's a need to cut down on the amount of sugar we consume daily in order to boost our heart function.

4. Add more Fish in your Diet.

source

Oily fish such as salmon, pilchards, mackerel and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which functions are beneficial for your heart as they improve your good cholesterol levels. Vegetarians can as well get omega-3 fats from walnuts, flaxseed and flaxseed oil, soya and canola, spinach, wheat germ, oil and pumpkin seeds. Fish is also rich in zinc.

5. Limit intake of saturated fat

source

Eating too much saturated fatty food such as butter, margarine, fatty meats, dairy fats and processed foods such as pies, pastries and cakes – is believed to increase cholesterol levels which can result in a plague buildup within the artery whorls of our heart leading to atherosclerosis. So to prevent this, switch to low-fat dairy foods instead of full-fat ones or to semi-skimmed milk and choose lean cuts of meats and steam or grill instead of frying.

5. Quit smoking.

source

Smoking is one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease, and smokers are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack compared with those who have never smoked. It not only damages the lining of your arteries but reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood and raises your blood pressure.

6. Cut back on alcohol.

source

Alcohol can affect your heart by causing high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and damage to the heart muscle. But you don’t have to give it up completely. Just stick to current guidelines for moderate alcohol drinking, which are two to three units a day for women and three to four for men. Find out more by visiting the Drinkaware Website

7. Exercise more.

source

Studies has shown that people who actively exercise more frequently are less likely to have a heart attack than those who Don't. Exercise for at least, 3hrs.30minutes per week to lower your risk of developing coronary heart disease. Don't stress much when you're not fit to exercise having undergone stress for a longtime. Aerobic exercise will best keep your heart fit to carry you through your day. Drink more water while exercising to rehydrate your heart and optimize its activity.

So from the few points I've stated, i hope you can now realize the need to constantly care for your heart to keep it healthy daily as you grow. Thank you

For more details on heart health, kindly go through the references below.

References

1. clevel and clinic.orf
2. hopkin Medicine
3. myoclinic.org
4. Ucihealth