How To Have A Healthy Heart
Jane Thurnell-Read
Keeping our hearts healthy is important, but how do we do it?
Fortunately the answers to this are very clear.
Being overweight, particularly if you carry the weight around
your waist, puts unnecessary strain on the heart. To find out
if you have a problem you need to know your height to weight
ratio (WHR). To work this out measure round your waist in
centimetres and divide it by your hip circumference. The
measurements need to be in centimetres, so if your measuring
tape is in inches, multiply each measurement by 2.5 before
dividing one by the other. If the figure you end up with is
greater than 0.9 for men and 0.8 for women then your fat
distribution is likely to be associated with an increased risk
of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Research has shown that many overweight people with angina,
raised blood cholesterol and high blood pressure found their
condition improved greatly, even after losing only some of
their excess weight. Many of those who kept their weight off
were able to reduce their medication or even stop it entirely.
Exercise is important for your heart too. If you take regular
exercise, it will speed up your basal metabolic rate. This
means that you will burn more calories, not only when you are
exercising but for some time afterwards as well. People often
imagine that they have to exercise hard to have an effect, but
it’s enough just to take exercise that leaves you warm and
breathing heavily, but still able to hold a conversation.
Did you know that each day most of us take between 3,000-4,000
steps? And that's just not enough. Experts say that we should
aim to take 10,000 steps to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Increasing to 10,000 steps a day will burn between 2,000 and
3,500 extra calories per week, which will result in achieving a
vastly better health profile and longer lifespan. There are lots
of ways you can increase the number of steps you take: get up to
change the TV rather than using the remote; park further from
the supermarket; take a walk around the local park or your
garden/yard; walk rather than take the car on short journeys.
Using a pedometer will help motivate you to clock up those
extra steps.
Giving up smoking is likely to have a dramatic effect on your
heart. Carbon monoxide produced when you smoke cigarettes
attaches to red blood cells, so that in smokers up to half the
blood can be carrying carbon monoxide rather than oxygen. No
wonder many smokers are breathless! If you need help giving up
smoking, try one of the books or CD’s by Allen Carr. He has
helped thousands of people to give up.
And, if you don’t already, start flossing your teeth! This may
seem bizarre in relation to the heart, but it has been shown
that there is a link between gum disease and heart disease. The
exact mechanism isn’t understood fully yet, but flossing your
teeth and having regular dental checks is important for a
healthy heart.
Finally, give and receive love. The scientific evidence isn’t
there (yet) for how important this is for our hearts, but it
has been established that people who have loving relationships
also tend to have long and happy lives.
About The Author: Jane Thurnell-Read is an author and
researcher on health, allergies and stress. Her web site
http://www.healthandgoodness.com
is full of tips and
information to help you be happier and healthier.
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