Seven Best Ways to Maintain a Healthy Heart
Many serious conditions namely, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, high blood pressure and high cholesterol fall under the category of cardiovascular disease (CVD). These diseases not only damage our heart to a great extent but also have a drastic impact on our entire circulatory system. Studies have shown that men and women both are prone to heart diseases.
A stroke can be more dangerous than a heart attack, as the survivors are often left with serious disabilities. During a stroke, blood vessels or an artery gets blocked by a blood clot that interrupts the flow of the blood to a particular part of the brain.
Ways to Keep a Heart Healthy
The main reason of any CVD is the elevated level of cholesterol in the blood stream. The following are few healthy foods for keeping a person away from most heart-related problems:
1. Consume high quantities of vegetables and fruits rather than meat. Under the guidelines of the British Heart Foundation (BHF), five portions of fruits and vegetables should be eaten everyday, with one portion being equivalent to one whole fruit or two or three tablespoons of vegetables. These include green leafy vegetables such as romaine lettuce, collard greens, sea weeds, mustard greens; orange and yellow fruits like yellow apples, pumpkins, papayas and purple fruits such as eggplants, purple grapes and raisins. It is also healthy to eat garlic, chili peppers and Shiitake mushrooms.
2. Eating oily fishes at least once a week is the best way in keeping a heart healthy. Oily fishes are good sources of omega 3 fats which helps prevent blood clotting.
3. Oats contains soluble fibers that help to reduce the amount of cholesterol absorbed from the body. An egg can also be eaten everyday provided the method of cooking is considered, such as poaching rather than frying.
4. There are also some cholesterol-lowering foods in the form of spreads and yogurts and these have been proved to reduce harmful cholesterol levels by up to 15%.
5. A regular intake of green tea helps in keeping a heart healthy.
6. Soy foods and other legumes are also best ways to keep a heart healthy, if consumed regularly.
7. Physical activities such as swimming, running or brisk walking for twenty-thirty minutes at a time, three times a week can be very beneficial for your heart.
