7 Ways to Get (and Keep!) Yourself Heart Healthy!

Heart health is the foundation of our body’s health!  It is the muscle that pumps the life force of blood through our entire body.  Living a heart-healthy lifestyle is crucial to our overall well-being.  Managing our heart’s health is a lifelong investment to achieving a balanced, abundant life.

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) website is a treasure trove of vital information on all matters relating to the heart’s health!

According to an online article by the American Heart Association entitled, “The American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations”:

“A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think!  Remember, it’s the overall pattern of your choices that counts.”

Following are seven of the top heart healthy management tools from the American Heart Association that we need to use from our healthy lifestyle “toolbox”:

1. Manage Our Weight and Our Diet:

Another article by the online source, AHA News, called “Overall heart-healthy diet is more important than occasional indulgences” states that:

“Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults have high or elevated blood pressure. Another one-third of adults have elevated levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol. Reducing those ranks and preventing heart disease and stroke is the purpose of the new recommendations, some of which replace previous best practices from the American Heart Association.”

The AHA also has a separate guideline that gives recommendations on diet and physical activity for weight loss:

“This is where heart health starts,” Eckel said. “Lifestyle is the beginning of everything we do to prevent heart disease and stroke.” The recommended dietary pattern emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish and nuts. It also calls for limits on red meat and sugary foods and beverages. Many diets fit that pattern, including the Mediterranean diet, the DASH – short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension – eating plan promoted by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and diets suggested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the American Heart Association.

The pattern can be easily adapted based on a person’s cultural and food preferences. The guidelines also place specific limits on a trio of unhealthy nutrients: sodium, saturated fat and trans-fat.”

I highly recommend the following excellent books that I purchased for my overall health.  They are:

“The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution: The 28 Day Kick-Start Plan for Lasting Weight Loss” by Julene Stassou, MS, RD.

“The Complete Mediterranean Diet Cookbook 2021: The Ultimate Quick and Easy Guide on How to Effectively Lose Weight Fast, Affordable Recipes That Beginners and Busy People Can Do”by Andrew Ball.

“The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy” by Marla Heller, MS, RD.

2. Manage our Blood Pressure Level:

Unfortunately, high blood pressure (hypertension) is very common, especially in people of color like myself.

If not detected and properly treated, hypertension can lead to both heart attacks and strokes.  Certainly, diet (foods high in saturated fat; processed foods), smoking, stress, and lack of exercise contribute to hypertension. Even though I have been blessed not to have hypertension, the principles in the book “The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy” by Marla Heller that I purchased and recommended before proves to be an excellent resource for maintaining good health.

In addition, recommended DASH-related cookbooks by Marla Heller are:

“The Everyday DASH Diet Cookbook: Over 150 Fresh and Delicious Recipes to Speed Weight Loss, Lower Blood Pressure, and Prevent Diabetes”

“The DASH Diet Mediterranean Solution: The Best Eating Plan to Control Your Weight and Improve Your Health for Life”

3. Manage our Cholesterol Level:

In AHA’s online article, “Causes of High Cholesterol”, lifestyle and/or heredity play roles (good or bad) in our cholesterol levels:

“You can make lifestyle changes to improve your cholesterol numbers.

Your body naturally produces all the LDL (bad) cholesterol it needs. An unhealthy lifestyle makes your body produce more LDL cholesterol than it needs. This is the cause of high LDL cholesterol for most people.

Behaviors that can negatively affect your cholesterol levels include:

• Unhealthy diet
• Lack of physical activity
• Smoking or exposure to tobacco smoke
• Being overweight or obese”

The AHA’s article, “Prevention and Treatment of High Cholesterol (Hyperlipidemia)” stresses the importance of us keeping proactive about knowing our “numbers”, along with adopting healthy habits:

“When it comes to cholesterol, it’s important to know your numbers. Hyperlipidemia means your blood has too many lipids (or fats), such as cholesterol and triglycerides.”

“Often, changing behaviors can help bring your numbers into line. If lifestyle changes alone don’t improve your cholesterol levels, medication may be prescribed.”

“From a dietary standpoint, the best way to lower your cholesterol is reduce your intake of saturated fat and trans fat…becoming more physically active…quitting smoking…lose weight.”

4. Manage Our Stress Level:

We all deal with various levels of stress throughout our lives.  The trick is how to handle our stress effectively and also managing chronic stress.  According to another article by the American Heart Association entitled, “Stress and Heart Health”:

“When stress is constant (chronic stress), your body remains in high gear off and on for days or weeks at a time. Although the link between stress and heart disease isn’t clear, chronic stress may cause some people to drink too much alcohol which can increase your blood pressure and may damage the artery walls…stress may affect behaviors and factors that increase heart disease risk: high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, smoking, physical inactivity and overeating. Some people may choose to drink too much alcohol or smoke cigarettes to “manage” their chronic stress, however these habits can increase blood pressure and may damage artery walls.”

Also, long-term (chronic) stress can also put us at risk for:

• digestive problems
• anxiety
• headaches
• depression
• sleep problems
• weight gain
• memory and concentration issues
• high blood pressure
• heart disease and stroke

To counter the negative effect of stress on our bodies, the article also states that:

“Exercising, maintaining a positive attitude, not smoking, not drinking too much coffee, enjoying a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight are good ways to deal with stress, said Schiffrin, who is also the Canada research chair in hypertension and vascular research at Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research. ‘All those people are doing the right thing,’ said Schiffrin, a volunteer with the American Heart Association.”

5. Manage our Blood Sugar Level:

The AHA stresses the need to reduce our intake of sugar!  About a year and a half ago, I discovered through a blood test that I was prediabetic.  My A1c level was right on the verge of crossing over into the diabetic range.  Needless to say, I told myself that there was no way that I was going to push myself over that edge willingly!

I drastically cut back on my sugar intake (it was difficult, but I did it for me!). I use an alternative to sugar called Truvia® (made from the stevia plant) as a sweetener in my coffee and cereal. It is readily available in most grocery stores. I also started exercising more frequently. By the end of eight months, my A1c level was just one point above the normal level! I am still managing my sugar intake as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Another AHA online article, “Preventing and Treating Diabetes” positive lifestyle changes are discussed: 

“Lifestyle changes such as losing weight, eating healthy and engaging in regular, moderate physical activity may reduce the progression of Type 2 diabetes and control Type 1 diabetes. They can also minimize other risk factors such as high blood pressure, blood cholesterol and even heart attacks and strokes.”

6. Exercise!

Along with my reduction of sugar intake, I know that exercise is vital to healthy living! I set a goal of losing thirty pounds by my birthday in 2020, and I made it! The AHA stresses that exercise is vital for our health. The online AHA article, “What Exercise is Right for Me?” states that:  

“Exercise is essential to living heart-healthy. Why? “Our bodies were designed to be physically active, and they don’t do well with long-term exposure to sedentary living. Lack of physical activity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” says Russell Pate, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Exercise at the University of South Carolina.

In fact, according to the American Heart Association’s 2013 exercise standards, “Exercise can be viewed as a preventative medical treatment, ‘like a pill’ that should be taken on an almost daily basis.”

The article has recommendations for adult activity levels for exercise, calories burned when performing certain exercises, walking/jogging/running, and more ways to work out.

The Bottom Line: MOVE!!  Your heart will thank you for it!

7. Don’t Smoke! 

It’s hard to believe that in this day and time, we are still having to discuss the dangers of smoking.  AHA’s online article, “How Smoking and Nicotine Damage Your Body” the negative aspects of smoking are discussed:

“You probably know about the relationship between smoking and lung cancer, but did you know smoking is also linked to heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases? Smoking can increase your risk for cancer of the bladder, throat, mouth, kidneys, cervix and pancreas…Cigarettes, e-cigarettes and tobacco products contain many dangerous toxins. The best thing you can do for your health is to quit tobacco entirely. Don’t spend the rest of your life chained to a nicotine addiction. Thousands of people kick the habit every year, and you can be one of them. It may not be easy, but you can do it!”

IMPORTANT: The AHA has provided resources available to help with smoking cessation in their online article, “Help! I Want to Quit Smoking!”. 

Conclusion: Getting and keeping your heart healthy is not impossible, even if you suffer from chronic conditions.  I hope that my blog post has helped you to either start or continue on the path to heart health, and a richer, more abundant life. You and your heart are so worth it!

For more information, read my other blog posts:

The Mediterranean Diet: Give Love to Your Heart and Mind!

Walk Your Way to Overall Good Health: It Starts with Just One Step!

The Benefits of Exercise to Decrease Anxiety and Depression

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