Last Updated Feb 2013
Among all the leading causes of death, heart disease remains at the top. Tablets and medications are not always the answer in keeping your heart healthy. There are many other steps you can take to save yourself in spending a lot of money on doctor's visits. Start making a huge difference by concentrating on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Make these simple changes in your daily routine to build a stronger heart.
- Consume tomatoes. An antioxidant called lycopene can be found in tomatoes which helps lower blood pressure and the level of protein in your blood.
- Adopt the Mediterranean diet. This diet emphasizes healthy fats, fruits and vegetables. Include more vegetables, fish, olive oil, garling and red wine to your meal.
Laugh your way to a healthy heart. Keep yourself busy with hilarious videos. This can relax your blood vessels and helps lower blood pressure. Your body reacts to stress which leads to heart pain.
- Indulge in chocolates. A bite or two of dark chocolate won't harm your weight. Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, helps increase your good cholesterol and lower the bad cholesterol. Chocolates can even boost a heart attack recovery.
- Don't forget fiber. Foods containing fiber can help maintain a healthy weight and it is also good for a healthy bowel movement.
- Engage in physical activity. Get off the couch and get physically active. You can pick any exercise depending on your comfort level. You may walk, swim, run or jog, it doesn't really matter as long as you are moving. Being fit decreases the chances of heart problems.
- Get some rays. Vitamin D deficiency increases risk of heart disease. Get exposed to sunlight at least 10 minutes a day.
- Cope with stress. Uncontrolled and work-related stress can increase your blood-sugar levels, blood pressure and, eventually, cause a heart attack. Learn to respond to stress effectively.
- Be optimistic. Even if we do all the right things, there is no guarantee that we will not fall sick. Improve the quality of your life by staying positive and realistic. Develop this mental attitude to be stress-free.
Learn Tai-Chi. This type of Chinese martial art is practiced for its health benefits. It is known to lower blood pressure. Exercise both your mind and body with tai-chi or any regular meditation.
You may face obstacles in making these simple changes in your day to day activity but with determination and motivation, these tips can help you enjoy a better and healthier heart. You won't benefit anything if you keep relying on medicines and various kinds of tablets but not keeping a healthy lifestyle.
Tanya Stroh, B.S., NSCA, ACE, is the founder and creator of GetinShapeforFREE.net featuring a “6 Week Shape UP Challenge” with Sequential Progression. This brand new fitness and exercise website is completely Free and available to everyone who has the desire to be fit and healthy.
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