HEART HEALTHY DIET
Although you might know that eating certain foods can increase your heart disease risk, it’s often tough to change your eating habits. Whether you have years of unhealthy eating under your belt or you simply want to fine-tune your diet, here are eight heart-healthy diet tips. Once you know which foods to eat more of and which foods to limit, you’ll be on your way toward a heart-healthy diet.
How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Overloading your plate, taking seconds and eating until you feel stuffed can lead to eating more calories than you should. Portions served in restaurants are often more than anyone needs.
Use a small plate or bowl to help control your portions. Eat larger portions of low-calore, nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and smaller portions of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods. This strategy can shape up your diet as well as vour heart and waistline.
Keep track of the number of servings you eat. A serving size is a specific amount of food, defined by common measurements such as cups, ounces or pieces. For example, one serving of pasta is 1/2 cup, or about the size of a hockey puck. A serving of meat, fish or chicken is about 2 to 3 ounces, or about the size and thickness of a deck of cards. Judging serving size is a learned skill. You may need to use measuring cups and spoons or a scale until you’re comfortable with your judgment.
Vegetables and fruits are good sources of vitamins and minerals. Vegetables and fruits are also low in calories and rich in dietary fiber. Vegetables and fruits contain substances found in plants that may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Eating more fruits and vegetables may help you eat less high-fat foods, such as meat, cheese and snack foods.
Featuring vegetables and fruits in vour diet can be easy. Keep vegetables washed and cut in your refrigerator for quick snacks. Keep fruit in a bowl in your kitchen so that you’ll remember to eat it. Choose recipes that have vegetables or fruits as the main ingredients, such as vegetable stir-fry or fresh fruit mixed into salads.
- Fruits and vegetables to choose Fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits
- Fruits and vegetables to limit
- Low-sodium canned vegetables
- Canned fruit packed in juice or water
- Coconut
- Vegetables with creamy sauces
- Fried or breaded vegetables
- Canned fruit packed in heavy syrup
- Frozen fruit with sugar added
How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Overloading your plate, taking seconds and eating until you feel stuffed can lead to eating more calories than you should. Portions served in restaurants are often more than anyone needs.
Use a small plate or bowl to help control your portions. Eat larger portions of low-calore, nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, and smaller portions of high-calorie, high-sodium foods, such as refined, processed or fast foods. This strategy can shape up your diet as well as vour heart and waistline.
Keep track of the number of servings you eat. A serving size is a specific amount of food, defined by common measurements such as cups, ounces or pieces. For example, one serving of pasta is 1/2 cup, or about the size of a hockey puck. A serving of meat, fish or chicken is about 2 to 3 ounces, or about the size and thickness of a deck of cards. Judging serving size is a learned skill. You may need to use measuring cups and spoons or a scale until you’re comfortable with your judgment.
Limiting how much saturated and trans fats you eat is an important step to reduce your blood cholesterol and lower your risk of coronary artery disease. A high blood cholesterol level can lead to a buildup of plaques in your arteries, called atherosclerosis, which can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
HEART HEALTHY LIVING
To keep our heart and body healthy YOGA is the best exercise to follow everyday. Everyone should do YOGA for atleast 30 minutes per day prior in the morning.
YOGA CAN HELP YOU WONDER
- As we know millions of hearts flourish under your care. Practice YOGA to allow your heart to flourish as well.
- Yoga is a great way to work on your flexibility and strength. Just about everyone can do it, too it’s not just for people who can touch their toes or want to meditate.
- Some types of yoga are about relaxation. In others, you move more. Most types focus on learning poses, called asanas. They also usually include attention to breathing.
MEDITATION
Meditation will help you a lot
- What is meditation?
Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention to help vou feel calm and give you a clear awareness about your life. Eastern philosophies have recognized the health benefits of meditation for thousands of years. Meditation is now widely practiced in the West, with the belief that it has positive effects on health.
Two meditation techniques are most commonly used: concentrative and mindful.
Concentrative meditation, such as transcendental meditation (TM), focuses on a single image, sound, or mantra (words spoken or sung in a pattern), or on your own breathing Mindful meditation, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBS), does not focus on a single purpose. Rather, you are aware of all thoughts, feelings, sounds, or images that pass through your mind.
Meditation usually involves slow. regular breathing and sitting quietly for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
- What is meditation used for?
People use meditation to help treat a wide range of physical and mental problems, including:
- Addictive behaviors, such as drug, nicotine, and alcohol use.
- Anxiety, stress, and depression.
- High blood pressure.
- Pain.
Managing hot flashes, which are sensations of intense body heat that affect women around the time of menopause.
Most of these conditions may also require conventional treatment for best results.
People also use meditation to relieve anxieties from long-term (chronic conditions such as HIV and cancer.
Is meditation safe?
Since meditation usually involves sitting quietly for a period of time and breathing deeply, anyone who cannot sit comfortably or who has respiratory problems may have difficulty practicing meditation. Some people with mental health problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or schizophrenia, may not be able to use meditation therapy effectively.
Meditation is not thought to have any negative side effects or complications alone or when combined with conventional medical treatment, but it is not considered appropriate or safe for acute, life-threatening situations.