How to Improve Heart Health: Diet, Exercise, and More.

Many of the recommendations for improving heart health focus on diet.

of American Heart Association (AHA) It recommends that people eat:

• Various vegetables and fruits
• Unthreshed wheat
• Lean proteins such as seafood and plant proteins from tofu and other sources
• Liquid, unheated oils, such as olive or avocado oil
• Minimally processed foods
• No added sugar
• Some salt
• Some alcohol

There are a few specific foods that have these properties, including:

Mediterranean diet

of Mediterranean diet It focuses on regular consumption of vegetables, grains, lean proteins and olive oil. It recommends that people eat dairy and red meat infrequently and foods with added sugar.

2019 review by Blood circulation study They found strong and consistent evidence supporting the benefits of the Mediterranean diet for heart health. The more a person sticks to this diet, the lower their risk of heart disease.

DASH diet

The DASH diet includes plenty of protein from low-fat dairy, meat, and poultry.

A 2019 review Previous research has shown that the DASH diet has the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve blood pressure, as well as other heart health benefits.

Exercise plays an important role in heart health. It can also help a person to have a healthy weight, especially in combination with diet.

In the 2019 study Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine Improves cardiovascular function in people who have moderate and vigorous physical activity Heart problem.

A variety of physical activities and exercises provide heart health benefits:

Cardio

Cardio, or aerobic exercise, is any physical activity that gets your heart rate up and gets you sweating.

Moderate-vigorous physical activity can lower. A person’s risk of heart disease by improving blood pressure and cholesterol levels. One should at least plan to get it. 150 minutes Aerobic exercise during the week if possible.

Examples of moderate-intensity cardio activities include:

• A quick walk
• Water aerobics
• Cycling on mostly flat ground
• Playing doubles tennis
• Mowing the grass

Examples of high-intensity cardio activities include:

• run or run
• Length of swimming pool
• Bike fast or on hilly terrain
• Playing singles tennis
• Playing basketball

A person can combine moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity physical activity. Doing this allows people to get more exercise because 1 minute of vigorous-intensity activity is equivalent to 2 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

Strength training

Aerobic exercise is not the only form of exercise that is good for heart health.

2021 Systematic Review by Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine He concluded that resistance training combined with aerobic training is more beneficial for people with diabetes Heart disease Instead of aerobic training.

The authors report that resistance training improves a person’s physical activity and quality of life.

of CDC They also recommend doing strength training over aerobic exercise. One should plan to do strength training at least 2 days a week.

They can train using their own. Body weightLike doing pushups, or using resistance machines or free weights at the gym. One should aim to work all major muscle groups including:

• legs
• Hip
• go back
• the stomach
• Chest
• Shoulders
• Arms

Flexibility exercise

Study in Journal of Strength and Conditioning ResearchIt suggests that stretching may be a useful treatment for improving the regulatory effects of the nervous system on the heart. Additionally, without flexibility, the body may struggle to perform certain aerobic or strength exercises.

of American College of Sports Medicine For best results, he recommends stretching at least two or three times a week, or daily until you experience mild tightness or discomfort.

In addition to diet and exercise, several lifestyle changes can help improve heart health. of AHA He recommends:

One should also prioritize sleep supports General health and well-being, including heart health.

Some people take supplements to improve their heart health. However, studies supporting the use of many popular heart health supplements are mixed. In some cases, there is no hard evidence that they work.

Heart health supplements include:

Coenzyme Q10

Co-enzyme Q10 (Co-Q10) supplementation may be beneficial for people with cardiovascular disease.

Authors of 2017 review He looked at a mix of data from human and animal studies to evaluate the benefits of this nutrient, and found some evidence that Co-Q10 reduces morbidity and mortality in people with heart and metabolic problems.

However, the authors point out controversies in the available data and urge future researchers to conduct randomized trials that evaluate the effect on life.

Vitamin D

Low levels of vitamin D are associated with certain risks of cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure and inflammation. For people who are deficient in vitamin D, taking this supplement or getting more sunlight may be helpful.

A 2018 review Out of 81 studies, vitamin D supplementation may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health. However, other studies have found different results.

For example, in 2019 review, scientists analyzed data from 21 randomized clinical trials involving 83,000 participants. They found no connection between them. Vitamin D Supplementation and reduction of major adverse cardiovascular events, heart failure, Strokeor death from any cause.

More research is needed to confirm whether vitamin D supplementation is beneficial for heart health.

Niacin

A 2017 review Researched whether niacin is good for heart health. Although niacin has been linked to lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, the authors found no evidence that taking it as a supplement reduced the rate of death, heart attack or stroke.

Additionally, 18% of people experienced side effects and had to stop taking the supplement.

How quickly steps to improve heart health, such as diet and exercise, work depends on a person’s condition and what their goals are.

For example, a person who quit smoking will begin to benefit from this little by little 2 weeks. At this time, blood circulation and lung functions begin to improve. After 1 year, the risk of cardiovascular disease is 50% lower.

Lowering cholesterol can be more flexible. Doctors can only allow people who use diet and lifestyle 3 months To see if it works. Cholesterol can be significantly reduced for people taking statins 6-8 weeks.

Other changes may be harder to predict or measure. If a person wants to monitor heart health symptoms while changing their diet or lifestyle, they can ask a doctor to help with this.

It is a heart disease leading factor deaths in the US, but people can do a lot to reduce their exposure. This includes eating nutritious and nutritious food that is low in added sugar and salt.

Getting regular exercise and making lifestyle changes like quitting smoking can also support heart health.