Do you want to boost your heart health? A lot of clients in Raleigh, NC come to me want to do that. They want lower blood pressure and more endurance without being tied to a list of prescriptions that cost a fortune and often have side effects. While diet and exercise won’t solve all problems and does need to be cleared by your health care professional, it can help most people to improve their numbers, whether it’s blood pressure or cholesterol levels. Most people who check with their physician find that the health care provider is delighted with the choice.
Benefits of eating healthy for your heart.
The average American’s diet is brutal on health. It’s filled with foods that promote inflammation. Inflammation is good if you have an illness or injury. It sends white blood cells to the area, promotes blood flow to the area, creates new blood vessels and starts the healing process. However, it can go awry. When it’s chronic, it can cause plaque build up in the vessels and create other problems. Eating heart healthy means eating foods that reduce inflammation, plus provide the nutrients the body needs for good health.
Try an anti-inflammatory diet that’s heart healthy.
The Mediterranean diet is one route to improving heart health. It’s an anti-inflammatory diet that includes eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, healthy fats and fish. It cuts down the amount of red meat and often boosts the amount of nuts people normally include in their diet. Some of the reasons this combination helps is that it boosts the omega-3 fats that aid in protecting the body from inflammation damage. It removes some of the inflammatory foods like dairy, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, sugar, refined carbs and red meat.
Exercise helps strengthen all muscles, including the heart.
While you’re building strong biceps, you could also be building a healthy heart. Aerobic workouts improves your circulation, while boosting the strength of your heart so it doesn’t have to work as hard. It also helps control blood sugar levels that can cause inflammation. Strength building exercises changes the body’s composition by reducing the fat. It helps you lose weight. While flexibility training doesn’t directly affect the heart, it helps prevent injury that can put you out of commission for weeks. It helps normalize cholesterol levels and boosts circulation to send blood to all parts of the body.
- Regular exercise also boosts the length of telomeres that protect cells and increases the amount of stem cells to create new cells. It can slow aging and even reverse some of the damage that occurred throughout the years.
- A heart healthy diet also reduces the amount of Omega-6 and boosts Omega-3 fatty acids. The healthy ratio of those fats should be 4 parts Omega-6 to one part Omega-3. Instead, the average American diet is more like 20 to one.
- Exercise is a stress buster. The hormones of stress create changes in the body that affect all parts of the body, including the heart.
- Exercise lowers blood pressure and helps you shed extra pounds. It also reduces the risk of diabetes that can affect your heart. A healthy diet and regular exercise are two ways to take control and live longer and healthier.