Exercise & Healthy Eating

The function of the heart and circulatory system can be greatly improved by ensuring that lifestyle choices are of benefit to us. Aside from smoking, diet and exercise have been very highly documented, and research has proven their presence in the maintenance of a healthy heart.

How Exercise Helps

The heart is an organ that can significantly benefit from exercise, as it is a muscle. As with all muscles, it can become improved and stronger with regular exercise. With exercise the muscle develops and becomes better at managing its workload. It will be able to work at a higher capacity for longer with less strain, therefore the risks of injury are reduced.

Exercise also helps the blood vessels stay healthy as they seem to have less tendency to narrow in those who participate in regular exercise, meaning that cholesterol and fatty plaques are less likely to collect and obstruct the vessel.

The Role of Healthy Eating in Preventing Heart Disease

Reducing the amount of fat in your diet will benefit your heart and circulatory system in many ways.By avoiding fats and greasy food the amount of cholesterol and fatty plaques in your blood will be reduced. Reducing salt will also help to keep blood pressure within its healthy limits, and care should be taken when doing the supermarket shopping as many otherwise apparently healthy options contain a high level of salt. Always check the label and compare to Government guidelines.

How to Improve Your Diet and Exercise Levels

We are all probably aware of how we can achieve a more active lifestyle and find it difficult incorporating this into our lives. There are however a few basic measures that can be taken and easily introduced into our existing lives.

When wanting to have a take away, choose boiled rice instead of fried rice or chips. It contains lots less fat and is just as tasty with a nice sauce. Instead of fizzy drinks, try fruit juice or weak cordials mixed with soda water. They contain less fat and chemicals but taste like normal fizzy drinks. Fruit juice based drinks can even count towards part of the ‘five a day’ initiative.

When you find you have a few spare minutes, try running up and down the stairs until a sweat develops. This is free and easy exercise and can be done during the day or at night in the safety of your own home.

Instead of using a mop to clean the floor, try getting on your hands and knees and doing with a cloth and bucket. This is a sure fire way of increasing physical activity without costing anything or spending time away from the home.

The role and recognition of diet and health has seen huge increases in manufacturers produce in recent years, but always remember that clever advertising and marketing exist to benefit the company not often the public so please be aware of labelling and check the contents of all goods purchased.

A moderate amount of exercise taken regularly and a diet low in fats, sugars and salt will all help to keep the heart healthy. Not smoking and keeping alcohol in moderation will also contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Everyone should be allowed the odd treat, and menus can be very flexible with a little imagination, and by keeping in shape and feeling good about yourself, you will be less stressed and be able to enjoy all aspects of life more fully.