By now, it’s hard to imagine anyone disputing the importance of heart health. But what seems a little vaguer is how to achieve a healthy heart. Although taking aspirin therapy or taking statins may give some a false sense of heart security, studies show that these patch solutions do not affect heart health.
A recent study found that a healthy lifestyle could be the key to preventing heart disease for nearly 75 percent of women. In the study, 92 percent of women who practiced six healthy lifestyle habits had a reduced risk of heart disease. They are as follows:
Six healthy lifestyle habits that reduce the risk of heart disease
Healthy habits are the best defense against heart disease. You should also work with your healthcare provider to keep your cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels at healthy levels.
Quit smoking
Smoking is one of the leading causes of heart disease and also causes atherosclerosis (blockage of the arteries). Research shows that just one year after quitting smoking, the risk of coronary heart disease decreases by 50 percent. If you quit smoking now and follow the following five steps, you will significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and feel healthier every day.
Be physically active
More than 2.5 hours of physical activity per week (30 minutes per day) is beneficial not only for the heart, but for all organ systems. This does not necessarily mean organized exercise. Even physical activities around the home, such as cleaning and cooking, or outside the home, such as grocery shopping and running errands, can provide benefits.
Exercise is obviously the best and most consistent way to achieve this goal, with aerobic exercise being best for the heart, although stretching and anaerobic (weight training) exercises can also help. However, too much exercise can overload your heart, so don’t overdo it.
Choose good nutrition
You’ve heard it before; Like exercise, a healthy diet helps prevent heart disease. Processed, fried and fast foods all speed up the atherosclerotic process. Processed meats (cured, fermented, or smoked) can double the risk of mortality from all causes, but unprocessed meats have minimal effects if not eaten every day and not in large quantities (4 to 6 ounces at one time or 18 ounces per week in total).
Fruits and vegetables are useful, especially because they contain fiber, which women may benefit from more than men. Every 7 gram increase in dietary fiber significantly reduces the risk of heart disease. Barley and oats also reduce the risk.
One meal a week of cold-water fish such as mackerel, tuna, herring, salmon, cod, trout or halibut can cut the risk in half, and a handful of nuts can reduce mortality from heart disease. Any nut can be useful, but a specific study has shown this effect with almonds.
Normal body mass index
Obesity makes you significantly more susceptible to heart disease, so a normal body mass index (BMI) of less than 25 lowers the risk. However, BMI has some disadvantages, so a normal waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) should also be a goal. People with a “pear” shape (more fat around the buttocks, hips and thighs) have a lower risk than an “apple” shape (more belly or abdominal fat; this reflects more fat around the abdominal organs). There are several cardiac diets that can prevent and reduce heart disease, including the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), the USDA Food Pattern and the American Heart Association (AHA) diets.
Limit alcohol intake
Your weekly alcoholic beverage intake should average less than or equal to one alcoholic beverage per day, which is defined as 1.5 ounces of spirits, 5 ounces of wine or 12 ounces of beer. Red wine is slightly tastier than white wine due to the added antioxidants, but the difference is not substantial.
Limit TV time
Set a goal to watch less than 7 hours of TV per week. A new syndrome called ‘sitting disease’ has recently been described. A recent study noted that people who sit for more than eleven hours a day have a 40 percent increased risk of death over the next three years. Unfortunately, even exercise cannot reverse this. If you sit for long periods of time, such as using your computer or watching TV, walk around during commercials or stand up while you watch. Better yet, break out your dumbbells or hop on a stationary bike. If you sit at work for long periods of time, get an elevated computer and stand while you work.
Not all of these steps are easy to complete, but all six of these steps will definitely put you on the path to better heart health. Even if you partially achieve these goals, you will reduce your risk of heart disease. Get started today!