Your daily diet is the final decider of your potential risk of heart disease. Poor blood circulation results in stroke or heart attack and could be a major killer. When plaque, a fatty substance builds up in your arteries, the fatty deposits block the blood vessels from bringing in adequate blood into the heart. The arteries become narrow and harden. The oxygen-rich blood is prevented from entering the heart and results in chest pain or heart attack.

Here are a few useful tips to maintain a healthy and normal functioning heart:

Ways to keep a heart healthy:

• Include a lot of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet regimen

• Consume whole grains in the form of wheat, oat, corn, brown rice, whole rye, barley, millet and avoid processed grains and flours in order to exploit the best amount of nutrients

• Consume low-fat or fat-free versions of dairy products, lean meat, skinless poultry, dry beans, nuts and eggs

• Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are extremely important for the body and are found in vegetables, nuts and fish

• Omega-3 fatty acids lower the chances of heart strokes and can be found in lean fish such as soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts, linseed and flaxseed oil, catfish, haddock and cod

• Avoid foods containing saturated fat and trans fat foods and cholesterol like whole milk and cheese, sherbet, corn chips, regular mayonnaise, ice cream, frozen yoghurt, crackers, cookies, cakes, butter, sausages, pies, potato chips, coconut, chicken, liver, pork and palm oil as it causes plaque build-up in arteries

• Shellfishes like shrimps contain a lot of cholesterol and have to be avoided

• Avoid a lot of sodium content foods like baking soda as it could result in hypertension

• In order to balance the extra sodium content, you need to supplement it with a potassium-rich diet. The potassium requirement for a normal adult is about 4700 mg a day. It can be found in tomatoes, orange and grape juice, white and sweet potatoes, lettuces, papayas, dates, raisins and prunes

• Avoid consuming foods with added sugars like corn sweetener, honey, raw sugar, fructose, lactose, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, molasses, invert sugar, caramel, malt syrup and fruit juice concentrates as it could cause diabetes and increase the risks of stroke and other heart related illnesses

• Alcohol addiction is a major source of risk for heart strokes. Moderate drinking may be handled by your body but excessive drinking could damage your heart health. Moderate consumption of red wine decreases the risk of heart disease

Lifestyle tips for keeping a healthy heart:

• Maintain normal weight and reduce excess body fat to decrease chances of heart disease, diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, menstrual complications and other illnesses

• Avoid weight fluctuations as it would affect the healthy balance of body and consult a dietician to achieve consistency

• Exercise regularly for maintaining good health and an active lifestyle. Brisk walking, cycling, gym workouts are highly beneficial for your body

• Drink plenty of water on a daily basis to keep your body dehydrated and flush out the harmful toxins from the body

Jason Ladock

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