You may have read before that cardiovascular diseases – in other words, ailments of the heart – are the world’s leading cause of death, accounting for more than a third of all deaths. But do you often find yourself at a loss for how to keep your heart going strong?
We list out four simple things you can do starting right about now, to keep your ticker ticking on for long. And as you will see, the first three are strongly interrelated as well.
1. Watch what you eat.
Excessive sugar, salt and fat are the three main enemies of the heart. An occasional ice-cream or bucket of French fries won’t hurt, but a regular diet of sugary drinks, high-sodium processed foods such as soy sauce and ketchup, and salty meats such as ham and bacon, are all things that you should take off your regular menu and your kitchen shelf. Studies say that a sugar-laden diet can increase your risk of heart disease even if you’re not overweight, by increasing your blood pressure, and leading to chronic inflammation, diabetes and liver disease.
How much is too much?
The American Heart Association recommends no more than 100 calories (about 6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day for women, or 150 calories (about 9 teaspoons) per day for men.
“But I seldom drink more than three cups of coffee or tea,” do we hear you say?
Know that added sugar is not merely in the hot beverages into which you scoop them by the spoonful. They’re also present in foods like bread, sweetened yoghurt, biscuits, tomato sauce, packaged soups, cereals and canned juice, so be sure to take all of what you eat and drink into account. Nothing like it if you can go sugarless with your coffee and tea – rest assured your body will miss calories, but not miss any nutrition, since sugar is really empty calories.
When hungry for a snack, reach out for a fruit instead of a doughnut or biscuit, and certainly steer away from carbonated beverages. Don’t let your sweet tooth leave you with a bitter heart.
2. Maintain a healthy weight.
Obesity or significant overweight are closely linked to heart trouble. Part of the problem is that we often find it difficult to judge, so here are some numbers: aim for a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or below. And how exactly can you do that? You get the idea – with points 1 (above) and 2 (below).
3. Be physically active.
There are a dime-a-dozen myths about exercise and physical activity, most of them around how it’s bad to strain your heart and sweat. But so long as you’re not overdoing it, here’s a simple fact: sedentariness can cause serious problems with your heart, and there is really no substitute for physical activity and exercise.
Don’t worry; that doesn’t necessarily mean that you must take out the gold membership at your nearest fancy gym and tread the mill in Just not being sedentary – taking the stairs instead of the lift as much as you can, not being stuck to your desk at work all day, taking a walk instead of the car for a nearby place to run an errand, adding an outdoor game to your leisure calendar, going on an occasional hike into the mountains – there are numerous small things you can do that can give you your much-needed light workout. Over and above all this, if you can add a half-hour run thrice a week, all the better. It’s good for adults to clock at least 2.5 hours of physical activity per week.
Physical activity regulates blood pressure, reduces cholesterol and other blood lipids, and helps you lose weight. Start small and increase frequency and intensity as you progress. Go dancing and enjoy tapping your feet, or cycling and savour the sunrise on a hill, or simply take a walk in the park. Do anything; anything you like. Just don’t spend your weekdays in chairs and weekends in couches all day!
4. Avoid tobacco and alcohol.
Need we explain this? Tobacco is surely one of the worst things on the planet that humans have willingly consumed on a large scale. The effect of smoking on your lungs is well recorded, but as it turns out, it wreaks havoc on your heart as well. A study estimates that smoking can reduce life expectancy by 10 years, even if you escape the cold hands of cancer. If you are a regular or chronic smoker, here’s a good incentive for you to quit: a year after quitting, your risk of heart disease is half of that of a smoker.
It will take you a while longer to reduce your risk level to the same as that of a non-smoker, but that journey begins only once you quit, which you should, right now, for the sake of your heart. And although there’s a lot of propaganda about the benefits of drinking alcohol, do not get high on all the propped-up news: alcohol is definitely not an ideal liquid to be consuming, and while the occasional glass of wine or pint of beer will not kill you, it’s easy to let one become two and two turn into a ten, so watch out and stay away from baits that give you a short-term rush and mow over you in time.
Right then, do you see how simple it is to care for your heart? Simple but not easy, we admit. Of course you have to make an effort to achieve anything, and it’s the same with the health of your heart. But the question is, considering that you don’t have a life without your heart, isn’t it worth doing the little things that go a long way in protecting it? Make a small start today, and with a little attention, you can let go of all the habits that are hurting your heart. After all you don’t like anyone breaking your heart, so why should you do it yourself?
