Skip to main content

Three Easy Steps to Keeping Your Heart Healthy



With assistance from Northeastern graduate student Melissa Pryputniewicz

The heart's main function is to pump blood throughout your body. Blood brings oxygen and nutrients to your organs and carries waste products like carbon dioxide to be excreted from the body. When you think about it, the heart is a pretty important organ - and it is one that many young people take for granted.

It is very easy to think that you don’t have to start worrying about your heart health until your 40s, but the truth is that many behaviors you are engaging in now have an impact on your heart health later in life.

So, what puts you at risk for developing heart disease?

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, risk factors include:
  • High blood pressure
  • High cholesterol
  • Smoking
  • Diabetes
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Being physically inactive
  • Having a poor diet
  • Excessive alcohol use
As you can see from the list, there are many risk factors that can be controlled through your lifestyle choices. So what are three things that you can start doing now to keep your heart healthy?

Eat a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet can benefit your heart in many ways. The most important things you can do to improve your diet are quite simple:
  • Be sure to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. They are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber all of which help your heart.
  • Include fiber in your daily diet. Some evidence has suggested that fiber can help lower cholesterol, which decreases your risk for developing heart disease.
  • Watch your salt intake. Too much sodium can cause increased blood pressure, which puts extra stress on your heart. One of the easiest ways to cut back on your salt intake is to stop adding salt from the shaker to your meals. You can also eat less frozen and pre-packaged foods; these types of foods often contain a lot of sodium.
  • Eat less high fat foods. Saturated and trans fatty acids have been know to raise LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol. To decrease your saturated fat intake, eat less animal products, especially fatty parts of beef, pork, lamb and chicken; you can also decrease your intake of cheese and whole fat milk products, along with other fats like butter and cream.
Be Physically Active
Engaging in moderate-intensity physical activities on most days of the week can lower your risk for developing heart disease. Regular physical activity can also decrease your blood pressure. The American Heart Association suggests being physically active for 30 minutes per day, five days per week. If you don't have 30 minutes to fit a full workout in, try taking a brisk 10-minute walk three times per day. Sometimes it is easier to break the large chunk of time into smaller ones. Other simple ways to increase your physical activity include taking the stairs instead of the elevator or parking further away from your building on campus. These little changes all add up throughout the day.

Quit Smoking
Smoking increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. If you don't smoke currently, don't start. If you do smoke and need help quitting, you can look into the Ready to Quit program offered by Northeastern University's Health and Counseling Services.

-------------------

Melissa Pryputniewicz is a graduate student of nutritionist Christine Clark in the MS in Applied Nutrition program through the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University.

Nutritionist Christine Clark works with Dining Services to provide you with tips and techniques to stay healthy during your time at Northeastern. If you have any further questions about this topic or are looking for more information about any other nutrition or diet topic, such as food allergies or sports nutrition, please contact her at christine.clark2@compass-usa.com.

References:
  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Heart Disease Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Heart Disease. http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm Published October 16, 2012.
  2. American Heart Association. "American Heart Association Guidelines for Physical Activity." American Heart Association. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/StartWalking/American-Heart-Association-Guidelines-for-Physical-Activity_UCM_307976_Article.jsp Published November 15, 2012.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish For Your Heart?

Cutting back on red meat is a common recommendation for both health and sustainability. What’s less clear is what we should replace the meat with. A recent study looked at this and the results may surprise you. If not red meat, what? Red meat appears on many lists of foods to eat less of due mostly to its saturated fat and cholesterol content, and the fact that we tend to eat too much of it. A recent study looked at what we should consider substituting for red meat when we follow the advice to cut back. Of all of the substitutions the study looked at, one stood out as the best choice – fish high in omega-3s. The fatty fish showed more benefits for heart health than poultry, unprocessed meat and even lean fish. Is fish safe to eat? Fish, especially the kind that gives us omega-3s, has long been considered a healthy choice. Warnings related to contamination by mercury and other toxins has left many people wondering if fish is safe to eat. For most people, the benefits of eating fish far ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cutting the Salt!

Salt is found in more food products than you may realize. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that American's should consume fewer than 2,300 milligrams (mg) per day of salt (this is slightly less than 1 teaspoon of salt). Adults age 51 and older, African Americans of any age and people with high blood pressure, diabetes or chronic kidney disease should reduce their sodium intake to 1,500 mg a day. These new dietary guidelines emphasize the importance of making meals and snacks from scratch versus choosing processed foods too often. The most common salts available are table salt, sea salt and kosher salt with the major differences among these being taste, texture, and processing. Kosher and sea salt have a larger course grain providing more air space, which in turn provides less sodium when used in place of table salt. The chefs in our kitchen across campus use kosher salt in their recipes to provide an overall reduced amount of sodium. Using items lik...
Post a Comment
Read more

Superfood: Tomatoes

Fruit or vegetable? It is a fruit that works well as a vegetable! Tomatoes are considered a type of superfood because they are rich in lots of great nutrients. They contain lycopenes, which is an antioxidant that offers a protective effect in the body. Tomatoes are also a great source of vitamin A, E and C, which means tomatoes contain even more antioxidants than just lycopenes. Incorporate tomatoes and tomato products to help boost your immune system as well as promote skin and eye health!    Good News: You should eat pizza!!   Through research at the Harvard School of Public Health, it was determined that consumption of oil- and tomato-based products -- specifically tomato and pizza sauce – there was an association with cardiovascular benefits.  So, choosing 1-2 slices of pizza paired with a side salad can be a healthy meal option.
Post a Comment
Read more