Heart Health

People always say exercise and eating right are the key to good health. Is there something we can to specifically to improve our heart health (prevent heart disease)? In my opinion we can ALWAYS do something to make our situations better.  

For a long time, we have been told to avoid FATS, fats are bad. This is not 100% true! We actually need fats in our diet in order for our bodies to work optimally. We should be consuming saturated and polyunsaturated fats. Trans fats are something we should avoid; these are found in fast foods, packaged goods, margarine, etc. This type of fat has been shown to increase a person's risk of developing heart disease and stroke over their life time (Milanowski, 2020). How? It raises the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol), by limiting your trans-fat intake you are effectively improve blood flow throughout the body (Milanowski, 2020). 

Get enough SLEEP! I cannot preach this enough. Sleep is when the body can truly rest and recover from the day. Try and get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night in order. If you are someone with sleep apnea or other sleeping conditions, have this treated because it is linked to heart disease (Milanowski, 2020).  

Avoid SECOND HAND SMOKE. Studies have shown that those who were exposed to second hand smoke were at 25 to 30% greater risk of developing heart disease than their counterparts. (Milanowski, 2020). Nonsmokers who have high blood pressure or high cholesterol are at even greater risk (Milanowski, 2020). 

 

Take care of you, you are what matters!  

Milanowski, A. (2020, January 16). 5 Things to Do Every Day to Keep Your Heart Healthy. Retrieved May 25, 2020, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-things-to-do-every-day-to-keep-your-heart-healthy/ 

Yours truly, 

Meg