5 Ways to Maintain Heart Health

5 Ways to Maintain Heart Health

Cardiovascular diseases include coronary heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, hypertension, peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart diseases, congenital heart diseases, heart failure and cardiomyopathies. In the development of cardiovascular diseases, tobacco use, low physical activity, a diet that causes obesity or diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia can be listed. According to the Turkish Cardiovascular Diseases Prevention and Control Programme 2021-2026 published by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey, cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death worldwide. In 2016, it is estimated that approximately 17.9 million people died due to cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 31% of all deaths.

It is stated that the combination of primary prevention and individual interventions covering the whole population is effective in prevention and protection. We know that a large proportion of cardiovascular disease and other non-communicable diseases can be prevented by reducing behavioural and modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. Metabolic and physiological changes such as elevated blood lipids (dyslipidaemia) are observed due to cardiovascular disease risk factors. Risk factors cause atherosclerosis and damage to coronary and cerebral vessels. Cardiovascular diseases, which can lead to death at very high rates, are among the most preventable diseases. Let's take a look at the ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases together:

You can benefit from healthy fats.

For your heart health, you can prioritise monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 and omega-6) in your diet. These healthy fats are found in foods such as avocados, nuts, fish and sunflower seeds. By consuming nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts in your snacks, you can take a step to protect your heart health with the healthy fats contained in these foods. However, it is useful to remember that these foods are not low in calories and to ensure portion control. It should not be forgotten that being overweight is also a risk factor for heart health.

You can harness the power of fish.

Fish, whose benefits are countless, is known primarily for its positive effects on heart health. You can try to consume fish, which is a very rich food source in terms of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, at least 2 days a week. Especially oily fish supports your heart health with the high omega-3 fatty acids they contain. When consuming fish, it will be the right choice for your heart health to avoid frying by paying attention to the cooking method and preparing the fish with cooking techniques such as baking or steaming instead.

You can include whole grains in your diet.

Whole grains are a rich source of dietary fibre, B vitamins, vitamin E and healthy fats. Therefore, when consuming bread, cereals, rice, and other cereals, you should be careful to choose whole-grain options. Switching to a whole-grain diet is as easy as choosing brown rice, wholemeal pasta and multigrain bread instead of white rice/pasta/bread.

You should try not to neglect adequate and quality sleep.

When we do not get enough sleep that our body needs on a daily basis, we increase the risk of heart disease and heart attack, regardless of our age, weight or physical activity rate. Studies also show that individuals with poor sleep quality have higher food consumption and lower diet quality. When we consider the effects of nutrition and diet quality on heart diseases, we see the importance of adequate and quality sleep for heart health together with nutrition and diet quality.

You can consume more vegetables and fruit.

A diet rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables offers the opportunity to get heart-healthy fibre, vitamins and minerals into the body. High consumption of fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. If you think that your vegetable and fruit consumption is low during the day, you can fill half of your plate with vegetables in your main meals and colour your snacks with fruits. Thus, you will support your fruit and vegetable consumption, which is low during the day. For your heart health, you can aim to consume five portions of vegetables and two portions of fruit every day. The portion size will vary according to your daily energy and nutrient requirements.

Source:

T.C. Sağlık Bakanlığı (2021). Türkiye Kalp Damar Hastalıkları Önleme ve Kontrol Programı 2021-2026. 2021, Ankara. Access date: 16.08.2024 https://hsgm.saglik.gov.tr/depo/birimler/kronik-hastaliklar-ve-yasli-sagligi-db/Dokumanlar/Kitaplar/KalpDamarEylemPlani_2021-2026.pdf
Heart Foundation. Protect your heart 5 Simple Steps. Access date: 16.08.2024. https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/getmedia/cc44adb8-b06c-4635-a5e7-df1731e3f9e3/ProtectYourHealth.pdf