5 Non-Drug Paths To Heart Health

If your heart isn't healthy, you won't be. A healthy lifestyle can lead to a healthy hard, and it isn't hard to make some fundamental changes that could give you a great lifestyle, and good health, as you get older. You can't control everything, such as age or family history, but you can do your best to give your heart, and your health, the best start possible.

Here are 5 tips you can follow to be heart healthy.

1) FOLLOW A HEART-HEALTHY DIET

Americans eat far too much fat, sugar, and salt, and some of the diets we follow here in South Florida may taste great, but don't do much to help your heart. Your best choice to heart health is to avoid fats, especially saturated fats, while bringing more fruits and veggies into your diet. Whole grains can to wonders for f your heart, as can avoiding foods high in cholesterol.

• Avoid foods high in saturated fat, including:
• Red meat
• Dairy products
• Coconut and palm oils

• Trans-Fats are particularly heart un-healthy. Avoid:
• Deep-fried fast foods
• Bakery products
• Packaged snack foods
• Margarines
• Crackers

You can find out what foods include bad fats by checking labels, which will also point out high salt and sugar content. Also, products are reformulated all the time. Become a label checker for health.

When planning your diet, look to have 5-10 servings of fruit, vegetables, and grains a day.

Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat, may decrease your risk of heart attack, protect against irregular heartbeats and lower blood pressure.

2) WATCH YOUR WEIGHT

Yo-Yo dieting is bad. Maintaining a safe weight is good. The closer you are to the recommended weight for your age and sex, the better your chances of having normal blood pressure, lower risk of diabetes, and overall better health. Even a small weight loss is better than none. If you are overweight or obese, make a decision to take action. Every day you drop even a little weight brings you one step closer to better health.

3) DON'T AVOID THE DOCTOR

Some people are heading for serious health problems and don't even know it. High blood pressure often has no symptoms, but it can be silently damaging your heart. Regular trips to your doctor or cardiologist, or regular health screening, can help uncover silent trouble before it strikes.

Things you want to check are:

• Blood Pressure
  If you're healthy, once every year is usually OK.If you're not, or have a family history of heart disease, you need more frequent checks.
• Cholesterol
  While essential to good health at reasonable levels, Americans generally have cholesterol levels that can be of concern. Think of it as a sticky substance that can gum up your circulatory system. A healthy diet can usually being levels into acceptable range.Healthy people shgould have checks every 5 years, starting at adulthood. Those with a family health history, poor health, or poor diet should have morefreuent checks.
• Diabetes
  This disease can damage the heart and a host of other organs. Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled by a good diet, but you may need a fasting blood sugar test to determine if you have a problem. Ask your doctor.

4) TAKE 30 TO EXERCISE
Most people don't get enough exercise, and the heart, as a muscle, needs exercise to perform at it's best. Exercising helps you control your weight, as well as making your body work better as the living machine it is.

Try getting at least 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity mos tdays of the week. However, even shorter amounts of exercise offer heart benefits, so if you can't do 30, don't give up. You can even break up your workout time into 10-minute sessions.

Activities like gardening, housekeeping, taking the stairs and walking the dog all count. Exercise does not have to be strenuous to do your heart good, but you can see bigger benefits by increasing the intensity, duration and frequency of your workouts.

5) DON'T SMOKE

If you don't smoke, don't start. If you smoke, quit. Smoking is one of the most significant risk factors for heart disease, and it's one everyone can control. Just say no.

No amount of smoking is safe. Pipe and Cigar smoking offer the same heart disease risks as cigarette smoking. Infrequent smoking, social smoking, and using 'light' cigarettes all offer dangers.

Women who use birth control pills and smoke have even nigher risks.

If you smoke, it can damage your heart, shorten your life, and make you feel rotten while you're still here. If you quit, you can reverse a lot of that damage over time.