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Many of us who are trying to prevent heart disease have begun
to take steps to change our lifestyle so that we can reduce our
risk of heart disease. And, it’s important to note that heart
disease is one killer that you can do much to prevent.
Sure, if you have a family history of heart disease, you are
immediately at a higher risk than those who don’t; but the
biggest risk factors for most of us are the life we lead. Many
heart disease risk factors are entirely preventable.
Dietary and exercise habits are two of the most important ways
to reduce your risk of heart disease. A sedentary lifestyle and
poor diet are surefire ways to get cardiovascular disease as you
get older. Here are ways you can improve your lifestyle to
reduce your risk.
Exercise =96 Most doctors recommend some form of cardiovascular
exercise for at least 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week. Many
doctors suggest walking as your primary form of cardiovascular
exercise.
This is because walking is something everyone can do, and it
requires no special equipment, beyond a good pair of shoes. You
can walk anywhere, and as you gain strength and endurance, it’s
easy to make your walk more difficult simply by walking longer
and adding some hills to your walk.
Many doctors also recommend that you get in about 15 minutes of
strength training 3 times a week. Strength training will help
you build muscle, which will make you stronger overall. Muscle
also burns more calories at rest than fat, so adding muscle will
help you burn more calories in a day.
Diet =96 A diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol is important
for heart health. Limit red meats, butter, and eggs. Learn to
read food labels, and avoid any food whose ingredients include
“partially hydrogenated” anything, anything with trans fats and
anything with “high fructose corn syrup”.
Your diet should also be rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Not only will this help you reduce the amount of fatty foods in
your diet, but it will also provide vitamins, nutrients and
anti-oxidants.
Anti-oxidants are critical because they fight free radicals
that are created in the body as we convert our food to energy.
These free radicals damage cells and DNA, eventually leading to
disease and aging if we don’t consume enough anti-oxidants to
neutralize them.
Lose weight- One of the best things you can do to help your
heart stay healthy is to maintain a normal weight. If you follow
the diet and exercise plan mentioned above, you should be able
to lose weight without a lot of trouble.
Don’t smoke =96 Smoking significantly increases your risk for
heart disease, as well as your risk for cancer. It also
contributes to high blood pressure, which contributes to heart
disease as well.
Know your numbers =96 Know your cholesterol levels, and know your
blood pressure. High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels
lead to heart disease. The diet and exercise plan outlined above
can help you lower blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels
naturally.
However, for some people, diet and exercise are not enough.
Other factors, such as family history, may cause you to have
high blood pressure or high cholesterol no matter how much you
diet and exercise.
For this reason, it’s important to work with your doctor to
determine the best approach for getting your cholesterol and
blood pressure in line. He can help you come up with the right
combination of diet, exercise and medication, if necessary to
protect your heart health.
Drink green tea =96 Drinking green tea each day may be the
easiest thing you can do to protect your heart. Many studies in
recent years have pointed to green tea as an effective way to
prevent many forms of disease, including cardiovascular disease.
Green tea has been shown to work in several ways:
Green tea seems to prevent cholesterol from turning into
arterial plaque =96 Some studies have shown that green tea
prevented the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Oxidation is the
process by which LDL cholesterol hardens and sticks to arterial
walls, narrowing the arteries. When arteries are narrowed, you
are at a higher risk of stroke and heart attack.
Green tea is very high in anti-oxidants =96 As mentioned above,
anti-oxidants are potent disease fighters. And, green tea is
loaded with some of the most potent anti-oxidants you can find.
One study was performed to see if adding green tea to your diet
could improve your body’s overall oxidative status. This study,
reported by the UK Tea Council examined a group of healthy
participants. All of the participants were placed on a heart
healthy diet. Half of the participants were also given two cups
of green tea each day. The results were quite impressive.
After 42 days, the participants who consumed green tea showed
lower blood plasma lipid levels, lower LDL cholesterol and
higher resistance to oxidative damage than the participants who
ate a healthy diet, but did not drink the green tea.
The study concluded that, when coupled with an overall healthy
diet, green tea can improve your body’s lipid and cholesterol
levels and make you more resistant to the oxidative damage of
free radicals.
Green tea may create thermogenesis =96 In some studies, green tea
has been shown to help burn fat and regulate blood sugar. This
is especially important to those who need to lose a few pounds
for optimum heart health.
So, as you can see, drinking green tea may have lots of
potential in the battle against heart disease. And, it’s such an
easy beverage to add to your diet. Green tea is inexpensive and
readily available.
Green tea can be found in loose form, tea bag form and bottled.
Whether your preference is hot or cold, flavored or plain, there
is probably a green tea our there that you’ll like. And, knowing
that you’re helping to protect yourself from a heart attack
makes green tea even more enjoyable for all of us!
About The Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and wu
long tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com
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