5 Simple Steps to a Healthy Heart

Coronary heart disease is still the biggest killer of menStep Two:
and women in the Western World. The rate of peopleIntroduce leaner meat and fish into your diet. Leaner
dying has increased rapidly over the years andmeat such as chicken is lower in fat than red meat.
especially in the last 20 years. There is a directEat more fish especially the oily variety. Oily fish
correlation between heart disease and people'sincludes tuna and herrings.
lifestyle and diet. Increasingly people are living moreStep Three:
sedentary lives which involve a lot of sitting and veryEat plenty of fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables
little exercise. Advances in technology have removedevery day. These foods are high in essential vitamins
most labor intensive jobs and most people work inand minerals such as vitamin C and D, calcium, and
offices sitting at a desk.potassium.
As well as leading less active lifestyles peoples dietsStep Four:
have gradually changed as well over the last 20 years.Reduce your intake of salt. Most processed foods
The increased availability and convenience ofhave high levels of salt to improve the taste so there
processed foods means people are eating more foodis no need to add more to it. If you do use salt use a
that is high in saturated fat and full of additives. Thesehealthier alternative that has lower levels of sodium
two factors combined play a huge role in the increasesuch as rock salt or sea salt. Both of these taste
of heart disease.much better than ordinary table salt.
The good news is that heart disease is preventable.Step Five:
You can reduce your risk of getting heart disease byIf you lead a sedentary life both at home and at work
changing your diet and lifestyle. The following are athen you need to acquire the habit of regular exercise.
few steps to get you started.This does not mean that you have to train for a
Step One:marathon. All you have to do is 20 to 30 minutes 3 or
Avoid food that has a lot of saturated fat in it. This4 times a week. The key thing is consistency. If you
includes red meat, processed food and especially junkare not use to exercise then, start off gradually with
food. Also, avoid frying food as this increases the levelwalking at a pace that makes you out of breath.
of fat.Gradually increase the time and intensity each day.