A Healthy Heart in 10 simple steps
Live Long. Live Well.
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Every 10 minutes, an Australian loses their life to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). According to the National Heart Foundation, the incidence of heart disease has risen an alarming 18 per cent over the last decade. In fact, CHD was responsible for 34 per cent of all Australian deaths in 2006 - deaths that were largely preventable.All that is needed is a watchful eye over your diet and regular exercise. Help protect yourself by following these steps to a healthy heart.
STEP 1 Â Â Â Get to know your numbers
Do you know your cholesterol and blood pressure levels? Since one in two Australians aged 25 years and older has high blood cholesterol and one in three has high blood pressure, this could be you. See your GP annually and keep tabs on these numbers: both high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure are two important risk factors for CHD.
STEP 2Â Â Â Â Â Â Start by losing just 5-10 per cent of your current weight
About 52 per cent of womena nd 58 per cent of men aged 25 and over are overweight or obese - which increases your risk of developing CHD up to three times over. Your risk also increases if you store fat around your tummy, as this fat is considered more dangerous than fat on the thights and buttocks. But lose just 5-10 per cent of your body weight and you'll see a drop in blood pressure and cholesterol. If you weigh 100kg lose 10kg, 90kg lose 9kg and so on.
STEP 3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Try eating a Mediterranean diet
A Mediterranean diet loaded with fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and olive oil can reduce the risk of CHD by about 30 per cent.
STEP 4Â Â Â Â Â Â Check your stress
Stress has many detrimental effects on the body, and one of those is an increased risk of developing heart disease. Luckily, simple things can help you manage it. Practice yoga, listen to music, take a walk or a bath, use candles, get adequate sleep (eight hours a night), and make an effort to laugh more - laughing has been found to reduce stress and benefit health. The most important stress relief of all though - is to do what makes you happy. Relationships, career and general lifestyle choices are intrinsically linked to emotional and physical health.
Physical touch is important too: studies have shown that frequent hugs can slow blood pressure and heart rate, reduce stress in women and increase levels of oxcytocin, a 'feel-good' hormone.
Finally don't bottle up your emotions. Research has found that women who keep th eir feelings to themselves are four times more likely to die from CHD.
STEP 5Â Â Â Â Â Â Kick the salt
Recent research suggest that reducing salt intake by 25- 35 per cent can lead to a 20 percent reduction in CHD and stroke, so toss out that old salt shaker and avoid adding salt when cooking. Instead, look for salt-reduced or no-added salt products, packaged foods marked with less than 120mg sodium per 100g on the label, and flavour your meals with herbs and spices instead.
STEP 6Â Â Â Â Â Â Eat healthy fats
The low-fat, no-fat mantra of the '80s and '90s didn't help reduce CHD risk because we need to eat healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to help regulat cholesterol production. Try a handful of nuts most days, fish three times a week, avocado on salads and sandwiches, use small amounts of cooking oils and look for products rich in omega-3 fats (a type of polyunsaturated fat) such as fish, eggs, certain milks and yoghurts.
STEP 7Â Â Â Â Â Â Quit the habit
On average, one in five Australians still smoke. Smoking not only makes your chances of developing heart disease up to six times more likely, it increases the risk of CHD in others by 30 per cent. But within one day of quitting smoking, your blood pressure drops. Within one year of giving up a pack-a-day habit, you save more than $3,500. And within two to six years of living cigarette-free, your risk of developing CHD returns to similar levels as non-smokers.
Quit smoking naturaly
STEP 8Â Â Â Â Â Â Count 'exercise minutes'
To maintain a heart-healthy weight and fitness level, we need an hour a day of exercise - but the majoirty of us don't get it. To squeeze more exercise into your day, try adding in periodic, 10-minute bursts of activity. Park the car 10 minutes from the office, walk 10 minutes to the next bus stop, buy your morning coffee or lunch 10 minutes from your office or walk 10 minutes to the shops to buy those few groceries. Then, walk a little longer the net week, aiming for an hour a day. If you haven't exercised in a while see your GP first
STEP 9Â Â Â Â Â Â Get a dog
Having a pet not only gets you exercising, but provides you with a source of unconditional love, which helps prevent social isolation and reduce stress. Pet ownership also increaes your chances of surviving a heart attack. But overweight dogs can be at risk of heart disease too, so you both need to stay active.
STEP 10 Â Â Â Eat low-GI carbs
This helps in two ways: firstly, the fibre in these foods can help reduce cholesterol reabsorption, thereby lowering cholesterol levels. Secondly, wholegrains help control blood glucose levels, which is important because high blood-glucose levels cause proteins to become sticky and, instead of functioning properly, they accumulate in the blood, become incorporated in the wallas of the arteries and form atherotic plaques.