One is never too young — or too old — to take care of his heart. Or have a heart attack. Whether you have high cholesterol, at high risk for heart disease and heart attack, or you just want to keep your ticker fighting fit, it’s important to take care of your heart.
Here’s how to have heart-healthy habits from prevention.com:
Take mini steps
for your health
Deciding you’d like to take
better care of your heart is
admirable — and smart. But such a large, sweeping goal can leave you feeling overwhelmed. The more manageable (and empowering) route is to make smaller lifestyle changes one at a time. A Harvard Medical School study of more than 84,000 women showed an association between making small changes and a lower risk of heart disease. These four tweaks will help put you on a heart-healthy path.
Tune up your diet
Healthy eating doesn’t have to leave you feeling deprived. Each of your three main meals should include fiber-rich whole grains, low-fat protein, vegetables, and a fruit.
First, eat a wholesome breakfast. If you think you’re saving calories by skipping breakfast, think again. Breakfast is the key to getting your metabolism revved for the day. It’s also the perfect opportunity to get closer to the 25 g of dietary fiber you should aim for daily, including the heart-healthy soluble type fiber found in oats and psyllium. Try topping your bowl of cereal with your favorite fruit for even more fiber—and flavor—to start your day.
Moving on, you may use the American Heart Association-endorsed MyPlate strategy for balanced, heart-smart meals: Produce fills half the plate; grains, at least half of which should be whole grains, fill slightly more than a quarter of the plate; and lean protein takes up just under a quarter.
Try adding brightly-colored vegetables to your meals throughout the week. Most vegetables have some fiber, but they don’t all have the same vitamins and minerals.
By enjoying vegetables from across the color spectrum, you can ensure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals nature has to offer.
Explore healthy oils
Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can lower your cholesterol, but olive oil is just the beginning. Whether you’re cooking or making salad dressing, various plants offer delicious and distinctly different oils, such as almond, grape seed, sunflower, hazelnut, flaxseed, and hemp. But don’t ruin a good thing. Even healthy fats should be enjoyed in moderation.
Get moving
If you have time for a 10-minute coffee break or to watch your favorite sitcom, you can slip in physical activity. A half-hour of a low- to moderate-intensity activity (like walking or biking) per day is all it takes to start lowering your blood pressure and triglycerides and raising your heart-healthy HDL cholesterol. And studies have shown that splitting movement into 10-minute chunks of time throughout the day are just as beneficial as one longer session.
Learn to take it easy
In many surveys, many women and men report that stress is a major obstacle to heart-healthy living. The important thing is to have one or more strategies for managing whatever puts you on edge. Try to block out time every day to do something that’s definitely not on any to-do list: call your funniest friend, click on that cat video, or pick up the funny papers. Laughter stretches and relaxes the linings of the arteries, allowing blood to flow more freely. When it comes to dealing with life’s everyday stressors, it doesn’t matter what makes you laugh–just find a way to do it every day. Or you could meet up with a friend. People with supportive social networks are less likely to be overweight, smoke or have high blood pressure.
Take more small trips
Desk-bound? Consider breaking up long sessions of sitting–every hour, if possible. Instead of sending another e-mail to a colleague, take a walk to his or her desk. Maybe stop in the kitchen for a glass of water along the way. Taking short walks throughout the day not only protects your heart, it can also help relieve tension, depression, and anger.
Maintain motivation
For any of these heart-healthy changes to last, they have to fit your life. Experiment to find out what works for you. Caring for kids or grandchildren? Make a few laps around the mall with the stroller, or do some squats and lunges from the sideline of your child’s game.
Many people find that visualizing themselves with more energy and a trimmer waist helps them stick to their new choices. Others rely on motivational mottos or a reward system to keep them on track. And most people will find the support of friends and family key. Try to include your loved ones in your goal of developing healthy new habits and everyone wins.
