5 Easy Steps To A Healthier Heart

Step One: GET MOVING!
Not only does exercise help to keep your entire body looking and feeling great, it's also doing amazing work inside. Consider exercise to be a form of medicine for your heart: getting up and moving each day lowers your risks of serious heart ailments like stroke and heart attack. Is 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week too much for you with a hectic schedule? Then get creative! Taking the stairs, walking on your lunch break, or parking far away from the door are all easy and practical ways to get some extra steps into your day. Get moving and promote heart health!

Step Two: CUT IT OUT!
Fat that is. If you're eating processed or fast foods, odds are that you're ingesting trans fats and hydrogenated oils and extremely unhealthy levels. The most dangerous types of fats are these and, unfortunately, they are the ones most commonly used in the cheapest and most appealing menu items. Try to stay away from these fats in order to keep your heart functioning properly. That burger from the golden arch may seem like a good idea now but your heart certainly doesn't think so. Also try to cut down on the amount of saturated fat you ingest... which is a bit more tricky than trans fats. For a healthy heart you must make some changes in your diet and cutting back on saturated fats will be a change you notice since they are found in meat, skins of poultry, and in full-fat dairy products. Consider incorporating a Meatless Monday into your week or even eating smaller portions of meats and larger portions of vegetables. As for the full-fat dairy products try to downgrade to low or fat-free versions of yogurt, cheeses, or sour cream and make gradual changes to milk; if you're using half-and-half try switching to whole milk followed by 2% then 1% and finally skim.

Step Three: WATCH THE PORTIONS!
As you're decreasing the trans fats and hydrogenated oils you may notice an increase in the monounsaturated and healthier oils like peanut, canola or olive. While these oils are beneficial for the function of your heart and body, too much of a good thing is bad. Monitor how much you are using of these by measuring instead of drizzling and pay attention to calories per serving. Like heart healthy oils, nut are also beneficial snacks but can pack on the calories. Almonds, for example, are wonderful substitutions for less healthy snacks but can still have a negative impact if too many are consumed. Just 6 almonds contain 50 calories and one cup of them contains 800 calories! Watch how much of the good thing you're eating and be mindful.

Step Four: FUNCTIONAL FOODS ARE BEST
Foods that serve a purpose beyond fueling your body with energy are functional foods. For the case of heart health these include high fiber foods, soy and soy proteins, as well as omega-3 rich foods. High fiber foods not only keep your digestive system happy and allow you to trim your waistline, they also reduce (bad LDL) cholesterol levels. Omega-3 rich foods raise HDL (good) cholesterol levels while soy and soy proteins help to keep cholesterol levels balanced as well. Examples of functional foods include salmon and other coldwater fish, beans and legumes, fruits, vegetables, soy milk, edamame, and whole grains. Be careful when purchasing foods you consider to be high fiber and read the labels carefully. While oatmeal is a beneficial food for so many reasons, it is not as effective as a bowl of steel-cut oats, for example. Pay attention and read your labels to check for fiber content.

Step Five: STOP SHAKING THE SALT
You need 500 milligrams of salt for your body to function properly each day. Guess what, that's less than a third of a teaspoon. How much are you adding to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner... not to mention how much is already in processed, packaged, prepared, or canned foods. Sodium intake is important to keep an eye on because too much of it causes your heart to work harder and can lead to high blood pressure. One teaspoon of salt has 2,300 milligrams of sodium and that's the maximum amount recommended for daily intake. Are you getting more than that? Probably if you aren't reading labels and watching how much you're shaking on to your food. For good heart health, keep an eye on what you're putting into your body and prepare your meals at home as much as possible so that you are in control.

The steps are easy to commit to if you're willing to make the change! Consider how much your heart does each day and make a couple of changes here and there to support it. While you may not want to make all 5 steps a part of your life, strive to incorporate some of them now and others later. You can trim your waistline and promote a healthy heart by monitoring your food and moving. How easy is that!

Sara Beth Watson uses the herbal remedies and products created by Hanna Kroeger, the Grandmother of Health, to outline the importance of using common sense in finding healing. Learn more about Hanna here and signup for enewsletters with remedies and sales here http://www.hannasherbshop.com/shop/newsletter

To learn more about these steps, visit this posting http://www.hannakroeger.com/2012/02/27/heart-health/

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Seven Safe Steps to Avoid Heart Disease

You have already heard the term you are what you eat. It's been around forever. It's also common knowledge that eating certain foods increases your risk for heart disease. But despite that fact we continue to consume more and more foods that we know is bad for us. This is often because changing your eating habits is one of the hardest lifestyle changes you can make. Or so it seems. But take it from me, someone who has 31 years of unhealthy eating attached to my name and frame, there are things you can do to make a change and turn back the hands of time. In this article you'll find eight different ways you can make a change and lower your risks for heart disease.

Meal Planning

When you are planning a meal, or a snack, remember the heart healthy meal plate released by Harvard's School of Public Health. When you're choosing the foods make sure to portion your plate with mostly vegetables, then fruit, then whole grains, and finally a source of low fat low sodium protein. An important thing to do when planning is add some variety to your food choices. Don't get hung up on a certain food for too long or you'll risk burning yourself out. Plus changing up the menu often makes sure your body gets the necessary nutrients on top of spicing up your meals!

Portion Sizes

You always need to watch what you eat. But you also need to watch how much you eat. Filling that plate up, or going for seconds, and especially eating until you feel so stuffed your about to bust is awful for you. It HAS to be stopped! When you eat like that you are taking in way to many calories, carbs, fat, and cholesterol than you should. This WILL lead to you becoming overweight and worse it can lead to numerous diseases such as heart attacks and possibly strokes. So make sure to keep an eye on the number of servings you eat as well as the sizes of those servings.

Scale Back On Sodium

Sodium can cause high blood pressure which causes you to face the risk of heart disease. So scaling back on the amount of sodium you intake is part of a heart conscious diet. In fact a healthy adult shouldn't take in more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. So walk into your kitchen and look down at the teaspoon. 2,300 milligrams is about as big as a teaspoon. But we're not talking just table salt. Remember that every food you eat already has a certain amount of natural sodium in it. So check the nutritional labels before you go adding salt to a dish. Another important fact is if you are over 51, an African-American, or have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease your sodium intake should me 1,500 milligrams of sodium or less per day! A great way to reduce the amount of sodium you intake though is just to stop adding salt to meals. Once you do that you should also consider eating only fresh foods. These usually have way less sodium than canned or processed foods. But if you're like me and just need the easy route sometimes because of a hectic schedule make sure to get them with reduced sodium.

Eat Only Whole Grains.

Whole grains are the greatest source of fiber and other required nutrients. These nutrients help regulate blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and promote good heart health. So forget the refined grains such as white bread and go for whole grains only. Eating these whole grains instead of refined grains substantially lowers total cholesterol, LDL, triglycerides, insulin levels, offers modest protection against colorectal cancer, prevents diverticular disease, and it also helps lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. So make sure to include whole grains as a part of every meal!

Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables.

Fruits and veggies are a major staple of every meal. This is because they are great sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and they also make a great low calorie low carbohydrate snack. As such they are one of the best ways to eat healthy and lower your risk for heart disease. A holdup for some people is figuring out how they can add these fruits and veggies into their diets. Well for snacks that's easy. Find some things you like and eat it. I tend to snack on broccoli, carrots, or celery with a small dribble of hidden valley ranch dressing or even some fresh cut cucumbers. These snacks are much better for you then meat, or cheese, or chips and a soda. For a meal I would typically eat some fruit for breakfast, a salad for lunch, and green beans, or broccoli and cheese, or a side salad, or even grilled red peppers, green peppers, and onions. It all depends on the rest of the meal. For fruits I'm not very picky. There are plenty of fresh fruits I enjoy such as apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, strawberries, peaches, grapefruit, lemons, limes, and much more. Just take a stop in your local produce section or your local farmers market and you'll be able to easily spice up your meals while lowering your risk of heart problems!

Choose Protein That's Good For You.

The best sources of protein are the leaner meats. Fish, Shellfish, Chicken, Pork Tenderloin, and similar meats are going to be your best sources of protein. When choosing protein it's all about going as low fat as possible. Such as eating a grilled skinless chicken breast over the country fried steak. For me I tend to gravitate towards seafood as my main source of protein. The oceans and rivers are endless in providing us with great tasting sources of healthy protein. The best thing about fish is that they are super heart healthy. Fish and seafood from colder deep sea's water are the highest in omega-3 fatty acids. These acids help protect against many diseases such as; Alzheimer's, cancers, arthritis, high blood pressure, inflammations, depression, strokes, and heart disease. So make sure to try and eat some seafood at least twice per week. Some seafood I tend to eat is shrimp, crab, crawfish, scallops, mussels, tilapia, salmon, and even canned light tuna.

Watch the Fat and Cholesterol

This is the last section but definitely not the least! Out of all the changes you can make this is probably the most important section when it comes to lowering your risk for heart attacks and heart disease. High cholesterol will lead to plaque building up in your arteries which is what causes you to have a heart attack or stroke. To reduce this risk it's important to limit the amount of fats and cholesterol included in your diet. The best way to do that is cut out the lard. Cut the butter, the margarine, and the shortening out of the food you cook. Start to trim the fat off of all the meat you get. Watch your sugar intake by using natural low sugar jellies and jams instead of the others. That also means trying to cut the cookies and cakes, the snack foods, and mostly everything that's high in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. If you have to use some sort of fat for cooking make sure to use canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, or even a nut or seed oil. If you start to adjust your diet around these principals you'll be on your way to a heart healthy diet!

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Simple Steps To Lowering HDL Cholesterol Levels

Looking for fast and simple steps in lowering HDL cholesterol count in your system? Let us stop you right there. HDL cholesterol is actually good for you. You should boost the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body, instead of wanting to minimize it. Here's why.

HDL cholesterol is actually known as the good cholesterol. HDL cholesterol is known to help people combat heart attacks. Thus, with higher levels, serious cases of blocked arteries or thrombosis is minimized. Thrombosis, if left untreated causes heart attacks. So, actually, lowering HDL cholesterol in your body is the opposite of what you want to do for ideal health.

Steps in Increasing, Not Lowering, Your HDL Cholesterol:

You don't have to make dramatic changes in your life to improve you HDL level. All you need is a few key changes to alter your over-all health. Here are some of the actions recommended for you to make, as suggested by the medical experts:

A MORE ACTIVE LIFESTYLE:

Do you routinely spend your most days seated at a computer in your office cubicle? Is riding in your car your preferred way of going anywhere? And are you a couch potato? Scientific research has found compelling evidence that a sedentary lifestyle is the one major cause for a person to have low 'good cholesterol.'

So, if you actually want to lowering HDL cholesterol, become a complete couch potato, as little to no amount of physical exertion is the best way to do it. If however, you want a better quality of life, start with just a few changes to become more physically active. Tiny changes could be true life savers. So, start adding more physical exertion in your daily tasks.

WATCH YOUR MOUTH:

Do you unconsciously put into your mouth whatever is served on the dining table? Contrary to popular beliefs, a heart-healthy meal doesn't have to involve hours and hours of slaving in the kitchen. All you have to do is to keep in mind these heart-healthy ingredients which you can steam, broil, and bake instead of frying:

Fruits and vegetables: At least 4.5 cups a day
Fish (preferably oily fish): At least two 3.5-ounce servings a week
Fiber-rich whole grains: At least three 1-ounce-equivalent servings a day
Sodium: Less than 1,500 mg a day
Sugar-sweetened beverages: No more than 450 calories (36 ounces) a week. Zero is best.

Nuts, legumes and seeds: At least 4 servings a week
Processed meats: No more than 2 servings a week
Saturated fat: Less than 7% of total energy intake

Aside from these delectable recommendations, we advise you to check out your local bookstore. You'll find cookbooks whipped up by chefs who want to help people make healthier choices. Make sure to choose those that offer recipes that you can achieve in minutes.

Hopefully you should understand that lowering HDL cholesterol is a step in the wrong direction. Raise it up as high as you can. You can make simple and easy changes in your daily routine. By being proactive about it, you will begin to enjoy a better quality of life.

Darran Butler is a heart health and cholesterol wellness expert with a passion for showing others how to live healthy and passionate lives. He has helped countless others achieve their health objectives and lowering HDL cholesterol. For more information on Darran Butler and how he can help you, visit his site for a free report that will show you how to stay super heart healthy with ideal cholesterol at http://improvinghealthsecrets.com/

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