Importance Of A Healthy Heart
2011 – Depart of Nutrition (SJSU)
A healthy heart is important for the body to function properly and remove waste products that are not needed. South Asians, especially, are at high risk of heart diseases due to lifestyle choices and high risk genes. To end this statistic, it is first important to understand the disease and what we can do to minimize the risk:
Cardiovascular diseases result from an abnormal function of the heart and blood vessels. Age and gender are two important risk factors and it is estimated that 87 percent of people with heart diseases are 55 and older and men are at a higher risk.
Research suggests doing the following for managing your health to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease:
- Follow a healthy eating pattern: Follow the Healthy Thali portion plate.
- Reduce salt and sodium in your diet: Limit the use of table salt to no more than 6 grams a day.
- Maintain a healthy weight: Weight loss of 10 pounds reduces the blood pressure in overweight or obese individuals with hypertension.
- Exercise: It is important to remain very active and exercise every day. Aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes or walking for 1 hour.
- Limit alcohol intake: Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure. It can harm the liver, brain, and heart.
Knowing what it takes to maintain a healthy lifestyle, what can you do today?
Tags: heart, heart disease