5 Heart-Healthy Habits You Can Start Today - Saffola Oil

1. 5Heart-HealthyHabitsYouCanStartToday-SaffolaOil We knowourhealthisthemostimportantpartof ourlivesbutweoftendon’trealizehowsmall,everyday things canaffectit.Whileyoumighthavea short-termfitnessgoal,leading ahealthylifestylerequireslong- termgoalswhichyouworktowardseveryday.Your heart isone of themostvitalorgansthatkeepsblood flowingto otherpartsofyourbodytokeepthem workingwell.Itisimportant to take careofyourheart, to reduceyourriskofdiseasesinthelong term.Hearthealth needsmorefocusascardiovasculardiseasesareone ofthebiggesthealthconcernsworldwide,accordingtotheWHO.Manyofyoureverydayactivitiescanimpact yourhearthealth, butyoucanmakethechoiceto startchangingwhatyoudotoreduce yourrisks.Hereare five heart-healthyhabitsthatyoucanstartfrom today: Increase fruits &veggiesinyourdiet Howmuchfruitsandvegetablesdoyoueatina day?Ifyouhaveasedentarylifestyleandyouhavelessthan 300g of vegetables and 100g of fruits daily,you’re eating less than the intake recommended by the National InstituteofNutritionguidelines.Freshvegetablesand fruitsarerichinmicronutrients-mineralslike calcium, magnesium,and ironandvitaminslikevitaminC,folicacid, andvitaminA.Youshouldalsobeawarethatthere isn’t any one type of fruit or vegetable that you should eat, the key is to consume a variety of fresh, colourful produce —redtomatoes,leafygreens,yellow ororangecitrusfruits—allofwhicharerichindifferenttypesof nutrients.Fruitscanalsobe a greatreplacementfordessertsand helpyouavoidsugar.Multiplestudieshave shownthatincreasingyourintake offruitsandvegetablesreducesyourriskof cardiovasculardiseases.One studyobservedthatsimplyeatingonefruitadaycanreduceyourriskbyasmuchas10%. Includeexercisein yourdaily routine Globally,1in3womenand1in4mendon’t do enoughphysical activity tostayhealthy,accordingto the2020 factsheet by the WHO.Physicalinactivityhaslongbeenassociatedwithanincreased riskofheart diseases,so themoreexerciseyouget,the lesserchancesyou’llhaveofdeveloping heartissues.Basedonthe latest WHOguidelines,theminimumamount ofweeklyphysical activityforadultsbetween18-64 is 2.5–5 hoursof moderate-intensityaerobicphysicalactivity,1.25–2.5 hoursofvigorous-intensityaerobicphysical activity,ora mixofboth.Exercisethatfocusesonstrengtheningmajormusclegroupsshouldalsobedone2or more daysof theweek.Makingthetimeto exercisejustforjusthalfan houreverydayis one of thebestheart- healthyhabitsyoucanpractice. Startmeditating Highstressforlong periodsoftimecanbeginto physicallyaffectyourbody,evenwithoutbeingnoticeable.It canalso increasetherisksof cardiovasculardiseasesandheart attack.Whiletherearemanystress managementtechniquesyoucantryout,meditationisoneoftheeasiestonesthatyoucanpracticeand start fromtoday.Meditation,besidesbeinga greatwayto letgoof stress,hasbeenproventohave manyhealth benefitsincludingloweringyourcortisollevels,bloodpressure,and heartrate—allofwhichareamazingfor yourhearthealth. Youcanmakemeditationa partofyourdailyroutineof heart-healthyhabitsbysettingasidea fewminutesinthemorning,evening,orboth. Reducesodiuminyourdiet Youmightknowthatdoctorsrecommend having lesssaltif someonehashighbloodpressure.Butareyou awarethatsaltisjustoneof themanywaysyoumightbe consumingsodium?Sodiumisalsofound inavariety of foodssuchasmilk,eggs, andmeat.Itisparticularlyfoundin highquantitiesinprocessedfoodslike bread, biscuits,andchipsandingredientslike soysauceorstockcubes.Highsodium intake isnot just linked with hypertension.Studiesshowthatreducingyoursodiumintakecannotonlyreduceyourbloodpressurebutalso reducetheriskof cardiovasculardiseases,stroke,andcoronaryheartdiseases.Youridealconsumptionof sodiumshouldbe lessthan2gperday(5gperdayof salt), aspertheWHO.

2. 5.Get7hoursofsleep Ifyousleepforlessthansevenhoursa day,youmightbesleep-deprived.Thelackof sleep,besidesputtingyou inabad moodforthenextmorning,canleadtoanincreasedriskofheart diseases.Adultsneedatleast 7-9 hoursof sleep,witholderadultsneedingbetween7-8hours.However,inIndia,thepercentageof sleep- deprivedadultsishighanditisestimatedthataround 33%mightbesufferingfrominsomnia,a disorderthat makesithard to fallasleeporstayasleep.So,incaseyou’renotgettingenoughsleep,trysleepingearlysoyou cangetthe proper hoursofrest and lookafteryourhearthealth.These arejustsomeofthesimpleheart-healthy habitsthatyoucanstartincluding inyourdailyroutine fromtoday.Thiscan helpyoumakeadifferenceinyour lifeandyoumight evenstart seeing somebenefitsimmediatelyinadditiontopreventingheart diseasesinthe longrun.Apartfromfollowingtheseheart-healthyhabits,alsoconsidermakingchangesthathelpyouinthe longrunlikeswitchingtoaheart-healthy