Healthy Diet and Exercise for Healthy Heart

Exercise Guideline for Healthy Heart

Your heart is the center of your cardiovascular system. It is involved in many of the daily functions that bring your body to life. So having a healthy heart is vital to your overall health. Two of the simplest yet most important ways to help your heart health are through diet and exercise.

Keeping your heart healthy by making healthier food choices isn’t as hard as it sounds! Just follow these tips for a heart-healthy diet.

Choose healthy fats:
Despite what you may have heard, some fats are actually good for you. When you use fats for cooking, choose monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil or canola oil. Avocados are also a good source of monounsaturated fat. Polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids are also healthy choices. Polyunsaturated fats are found in nuts and seeds. Omega-3 fats are found in fish such as tuna and salmon. In general, you should try to avoid trans fats. Trans fats are usually found in processed foods and snacks such as crackers or snack cakes. To see whether a food contains trans fats, look for the words “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredient label.

Go whole-grain:
 Whole-grain breads or pastas are higher in fiber and complex carbohydrates. Choose them instead of white breads or regular pastas for sandwiches and meals.

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables:
 They contain fiber, vitamins and minerals that are good for your body. They also add flavor and variety to your diet.

Prepare meat healthfully:
 Baking, broiling and roasting are the healthiest ways to prepare meat and poultry. Trim any outside fat or skin before cooking. Lean cuts can be pan-broiled or stir-fried.

Don’t forget beans:

 Dry beans, peas, and lentils offer protein and fiber. Once in a while, try substituting beans for meat in a favorite recipe, such as lasagna or chili.

Choose low-fat dairy:

 Go for fat-free or low-fat versions of milk, yogurt, and cheese products. Eat no more than 4 egg yolks a week (use egg whites or egg substitutes).

Pack in protein:

Eat protein–rich foods, including fish, lean meats, skinless poultry, eggs, nuts and seeds, and beans.
Try a diet.
 The DASH eating plan is a heart-healthy approach that lowers blood pressure  and bad cholesterol  in your blood. Or try the Mediterranean Diet for one of the healthiest approaches to eating we know about.

What should I NOT eat?

A heart-healthy diet limits some nutrients. These include:

Sodium.
 Flavor foods with spices or no-salt seasonings instead of salt. Watch out for prepackaged foods, sauces, canned foods, and processed foods. They can all contain a high amount of sodium.

Saturated and trans fats:
 Saturated fats are found in fatty meats, poultry skin, whole-milk dairy, butter, lard, and coconut and palm oils. Tans fats are found in some desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen pizza, stick margarine, and coffee creamers. Look for the words partially hydrogenated oil on the food label.

Added sugar.
 Sweetened drinks, snacks, and sweet treats are the main source of added sugars in the United States. These include sodas, sweetened coffee and tea, energy drinks, cakes, pies, ice cream, candy, syrups, and jellies. Limit these types of foods and drinks.

Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, poultry, fish, nuts

Recommended are dietary patterns that emphasize fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish and nuts.

Avoid red meat, sugary and processed foods

Red meat and sugary foods and beverages should be limited. Many diets would work, including the DASH eating plan and plans suggested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Heart Association.

“Eating a healthy diet is not about good foods and bad foods in isolation from the rest of your diet – it’s about the overall diet,

Exercise:

Exercise makes your heart stronger. This helps it pump more blood with each heartbeat. This delivers more oxygen to your body. With more oxygen, your body functions more efficiently.

Exercise can also lower blood pressure. It reduces your risk of heart disease and reduces levels of LDL (“bad” cholesterol). Bad cholesterol can clog the arteries and can cause a heart attack. At the same time, exercise can raise levels of HDL (“good” cholesterol). HDL helps protect against a heart attack by carrying fatty deposits out of the arteries.

When combined with a healthy diet, exercise can speed up weight loss. Regular exercise builds lean muscle, which burns more calories than fat. This helps you burn calories faster, even when you’re sitting still.
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What’s the best type of exercise for my heart?

se do I need?

Aerobic exercise causes you to breathe more deeply. It makes your heart work harder to pump blood. Aerobic exercise also raises your heart rate (which burns calories). Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, jogging, running, dancing, swimming, and bicycling.

How much exercise need into my busy schedule 

If you haven’t been exercising, try to work up to 30 minutes, 4 to 6 times a week. Your doctor may recommend a different exercise regimen based on your health. Alternate exercise days with rest days or days you do a very different type of exercise. This will help prevent injuries.

How will I fit exercise into my busy schedule?

There are lots of ways to raise your heart rate during your regular day. Some examples include:

Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Walk during a coffee break or lunch.
• Walk to work, or park at the end of the parking lot so you have to walk farther.
• Walk more briskly.
• Do housework at a quicker pace and more often (for example, vacuuming every day).
• Rake leaves, mow your lawn, or do other yard work.

Things to consider

Diet and exercise are an important part of your heart health. If you don’t eat a good diet and you don’t exercise, you are at increased risk of developing health problems. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. These increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
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