Urgent consultation with our Obesity Doctor / Nutritionist may be needed if you have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 29 or above which is considered in the Obese category as it may lead to the onset of many lifestyle illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis etc etc.
Lifestyle Changes including dietary changes to protect and maintain a healthy heart
Bring on these changes in your life and protect your Heart
“Survival of the fittest” – meaning one needs to be pliable enough to change according to the needs of the situation and time. If your health demands attention and age alarms you to be cautious then it’s your immediate duty to bring on suitable changes to your lifestyle that can add years to your life and also make you stay protected from health problems for longer.
Medical studies are ever happening and a lot is known now about the physiology of our organ systems and the way food elements work for or against our body. Going by these studies and the advancing medical knowledge, one should adapt changes for betterment of our health and in the same light, there are certain things that once exercised can bring on huge difference to our heart health.
So throwing light up on few such things:
Eat a heart healthy breakfast: Bored of your low-fat breakfast smoothies, oat meal puddings, brown bread crackers and egg white omelettes, then try on something that tantalise your taste buds along with providing you wholesome nutrition. Recent research shows moving most of your daily fat into your morning meal (and saving carbohydrates for later in the day) reduces your production of artery-clogging triglycerides and prevents blood sugar surges – two huge risk factors for heart disease. Eating fat first thing in the morning switches on your body’s natural ability to properly burn and use all types of fat – so that far less of it ends up clogging your arteries and damaging your heart.
Spice up your meal: All that chilli is not bad, rather fresh chillies do you good. Studies suggest that capsaicin – what gives these spices their fiery flavor – is a powerful anti-inflammatory compound that prevents the formation of dangerous blood clots in the arteries, break down blood fats before they could be converted into artery-clogging cholesterol and also relaxes the arteries, cutting the risk of damaging blood pressure into half.
Eat fruits: Adding two cups of fruit to your daily diet can lower your risk of heart disease as much as 25 percent. Fruit contains dozens of phytonutrients, polyphenols and antioxidants that lower the levels of artery-clogging fats, plus help keep your heart’s blood vessels clear and healthy.
Munch on some nuts: Nuts like walnuts, almonds and pistachios are loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids – a healthy kind of fat that nourishes and strengthens artery walls, helping to prevent plaque build up.
Take fish oils daily: If you are a fish eater then its good but otherwise also you need to supplement your diet with capsulated fish oils. Its omega-3 fats lower your liver’s production of triglycerides – a troublesome type of fat that clogs arteries and makes blood less sticky and far less likely to form dangerous clots.
Snacking in the afternoon: An easy way to flatten a bulging tummy is to enjoy a daily snack in the mid-afternoon. Snacking later in the day helps tame the evening munchies, cutting up to 300 calories out of your daily diet.
Clean up the mess: Daily exercise for about 30 minutes can be of much help to stay fit and heart healthy because exercise raises your production of artery-clearing HDL cholesterol by 10 percent or more. But a daily routine can become monotonous and boring to maintain for longer span of time. In a surprising new study, the fittest women weren’t the ones exercising outdoors but those with the cleanest houses! People who dust, vacuum, wash floors and keep their homes tidy and organized are naturally active and it’s often easier to stay fit by puttering around indoors than by trying to carve out time for formal workouts. So choose you way to stay fit.
Sip on hibiscus tea: This ruby red colored flavourful brew contains plant pigments as powerful as ACE Inhibitors, a class of prescription drugs used to lower blood pressure. Now you a new flavour to try and be healthy with a sip.
Socialize: Yes take out some time from your busy schedules to chill out and make merry with your friends and near & dear ones; nurturing a couple of solid friendships can cut your risk of heart disease and add years to your life. Having great friends to chat with and rely on keeps your blood pressure lower, even during life’s most stressful and trying times. A unique stress buster, isn’t it.
