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A Healthy Heart Brings Longer Life
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A healthy heart is not too difficult to achieve You just need to exercise every day and improve your diet. The heart is a muscular organ and, like any muscle, without exercise it becomes less efficient. Gentle exercise will increase your heart rate and make you slightly out of breath and this is what you should aim for. This way you are not only helping your heart but helping to avoid some cancers, diabetes and many other illnesses.
Exercise can take many forms, but walking exercise is one of the best. A brisk 30 minute walk every day is all that is needed to improve the health of your heart and increase your general level of fitness. You can also cycle, jog or swim yourself to fitness quite easily. For those who are more serious weight training with light weights will help your upper body fitness.
You can, of course, get exercise in your everyday life. Mowing the lawn, doing housework, bathing the baby, climbing the stairs is all exercise and is good for you. Although some things may be more enjoyable than others they can all be thought of as part of your fitness program.
Exercise helps your mental health. Older people who exercise at least once a week are 30 per cent more likely to maintain cognitive function than those who exercise less. Walking speed does not seem to be correlated with cognitive activity, so a gentle stroll may be all you need - although it will not do much for your overall fitness.
Exercise will certainly improve your health, but on its own it will not do a great deal to make you lose weight. What happens is that you exercise to burn calories. Afterwards you will feel hungry and want something to eat. This puts back the calories you have just burnt off and so it goes on. This is why people complain that they go to the gym on a regular basis and are still over weight.
Generally do not eat a lot of fatty food, sugars, or drink fizzy drinks. Try to eat regularly, three meals a day is ideal, and do avoid mid morning pastries in coffee shops or other high calorie snacks.
Older people should eat foods rich in starch and fibre such as rice, cereals, pasta, beans, fruit and fresh vegetables. Also iron rich foods like oily fish and red meat, but do avoid fatty meats. To fight osteoporosis eat dairy products such as milk and cheese, but be aware that these contain fat, so eat them in moderation. Older people should also be aware that it is possible to be too, thin due to loss of appetite, so they should try and make sure they are eating regularly.
Another aspect of heart health is avoiding clogged arteries. You must lower your fat intake. Eat no more than 35 per cent fat overall and no more than 10 per cent saturated fat. Food labels will tell you how much saturated fat you have in your meals. Cut out eggs as much as possible. One egg provides more than the recommended daily consumption of cholesterol.
Stop smoking. Smoking is one of the most effective ways of clogging up your arteries. You cannot smoke and look after your heart at the same time.
Remember these few simple things and together they will help you achieve a healthy heart, overall fitness and a longer life. It really is worth the effort.
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Additional information:
Peter Stockwell is a writer, walker and author of the Senior Walking Fitness Blog helping all ages to walk for weight loss and achieve lifetime fitness. For more articles, tips and help on any aspect of diet and fitness visit Senior Walking Fitness Blog
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