We’ve been thinking a lot about our hearts recently, and why shouldn’t we? Our hearts are vital and supply the rest of us with blood and oxygen and all the things we so desperately need, so keeping our hearts happy and healthy should totally be a top priority for us, but if you’re like us, there’s a good chance you could commit a little bit more to a heart-healthy diet. Today we’re looking at the benefits (aside from the obvious, of course) and some “diet” tips (though we prefer the phrase ‘lifestyle change’!) So let’s get started!
The Benefits of a Hearth-Healthy Diet
- It lowers your blood pressure and works wonders on your blood sugar levels as well.
- Cholesterol, the bad kind, can clog your arteries and that’s no bueno. Eating a heart-healthy diet will keep that bad cholesterol way down.
- Eating healthy and getting exercise will trim that waist down; an added benefit.
- Heart disease is the number one killer in both men and women all over the world, so living a heart-healthy lifestyle can increase your longevity, and we love to see that.
Heart Healthy Livin’ Tips (Because We Hate the Term ‘Diet’)
(image via: psu)
Committing to any type of lifestyle change can be tough, and we get that greasy burgers and extra cheesy pizza tastes *chef’s kiss*, but eating too much can be super damaging to your health, so let’s talk about ways this whole heart-healthy lifestyle can be made a bit simpler.
Make cooking at home a thing. It’s really hard to stick to a healthy diet if you find that you eat out pretty often, so do whatever you need to do to make cooking at home a regular thing; get everyone involved, plan delicious and healthy meals (they exist, we promise!), play some music, and plan easy to reheat meals if meal prepping is more your thing.
Pay close attention to your portions. Without even realizing it, most of us are probably eating significantly more than we really need, which means we’re probably packing on a few more pounds than we should be, which means our heart is working real hard to keep up. Controlling our portions will lead to dropping some lbs., and our heart not having to work quite as hard and that makes our heart happy.
(image via: lean with lesley)
Focus on high-fiber foods. There are a ton of benefits when it comes to eating foods high in fiber such as helping you stay fuller longer, giving you energy, and lowering bad cholesterol (among many other things!)
Be informed and make good choices when it comes to fats. Cut out your artificial trans fats like frozen pizzas and microwave popcorn, limit your saturated fats like desserts and fatty meats, and eat more healthy fats like avocados, dark chocolate, and nuts.