Did you know that in Belgium, according to La Ligue Cardiovasculaire Belge, 50% of the population is concerned when it comes to heart diseases? One-third of the population is obese, and there's 15% of deaths related to heart disease.
Over the last few decades, there has been an unfortunate shift in society caring more about appearances and weight than our true physical health. This has led to the population fueling themselves with processed and low-calories products in o
rder to "stay in shape". The truth is all those products are sugar bombs. In other words, say hello to heart disease risk exposure!
If you wonder why sugar is so bad for your heart, it's simply because it damages your arterial vessels creating hogs. These hogs may block your vessels, and consequently prevent blood circulation.
Of course, there're always alternatives and hacks to creating a healthier lifestyle, which I'm about to share with you. How kind eh?!
“Start each day with a positive thought and a healthy heart.”
More caffeine for a better heart health
This has been a topic of great debate for quite some time! Many surveys suggest that certain beverages containing caffeine are actually very good for our heart health. If we consume a healthy amount (approx. no more than 2 cups per day, too much of anything is often never good for you), we may actually decrease our heart failure in the future. Those surveys also explained that caffeine does have some heart-healthy antioxidants such as chlorogenic acids. These antioxidants protect against cell damage contributing to heart disease. It does not only mean coffee of course but also black and green tea, dark chocolate as well (for hot chocolate lovers ;)).
Don't forget to go easy on cream and sugar in your coffee!
Note that our caffeine consumption should not exceed 400mg/day.
From processed to whole
Reason number 1 why we should switch from processed to whole food: sugar intake. As already mentioned, processed food is full of sugar, which is very very bad for our heart health. Whole food does also contains lots of other good nutrients for our body such as fibers, proteins, etc.
Contrary to many beliefs, whole food is delicious when well prepped. Go little by little and start to switch your regular
white-wheat bread with whole-wheat bread.
Move your body
The number of surveys telling how bad sedentariness is for our body is countless! Moving helps reduce blood pressure. A good rule of thumb is to move at least 30 min a day. It can be everything from walking, to a yoga session, to running, to workout, to cooking, you name it!
Read a label properly
Labels are definitely the first thing we should check when it comes to grocery shopping. It's like the "DNA" of the products we're about to buy and eat. If the description is longer than 3 or 5 lines, it may not be great for you! This holds true if you see a ton of long words that are hard to pronounce, or if the list starts with sugar, salt, fat...
By the way, sugar is EVERYWHERE even in our charcuterie, so keep your eyes wide open. Also, note that sugar has more than 100 designations.
For heart's sake, quit smoking
Not sure it's really necessary to remind you how bad cigarettes are for our health but better safe than sorry!
When it comes to smoking, the smoke we inhale contains a ton of chemicals damaging our heart and blood vessels. This no doubt may lead to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, heart attack, stroke, etc.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for informal educational purposes only, please consult with your physician for medical advice.