✨ Eating Healthy is Good for Your Heart✨
Shocking, right? 😂
The great thing is that the science is solid on this one.
The Harvard School of Public Health just released a report that analyzed the dietary patterns of more than 200,000 Americans over the course of 32 years.
The results were clear.
People who followed a healthy diet—whether it was similar to a Mediterranean diet, Plant-Based diet, or Healthy Eating Index—experienced less heart disease.
As a general rule, here were the eating patterns that helped:
👍 More fruits and vegetables
👍 More nuts, beans, and whole grains
👎 Less processed meat
👎 Less soda and sweetened beverages
Sounds reasonable, right?
“All you need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt! Dark chocolate may lower your risk of heart disease by reducing blood glucose and bad cholesterol while boosting levels of good cholesterol.”
So what ARE some tips for keeping your heart healthy?
REDUCE STRESS! I cannot stress this enough! 
Stress plays a large role in heart health. Our stress hormone cortisol keeps our body in fight or flight mode. When we have stressor after stressor, our bodies don’t get into the rest mode often enough. So what should we do? Breathe deep, inhaling through your nose for 6 seconds and exhaling through your mouth for 6 seconds. Repeat 4-5 times. Meditate or pray. There are great apps for helping you meditate for 5-10 minutes at a time. Go for a walk, exercise, chat with a friend or play with an animal.
Exercise! Get moving! 30 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week gets your heart pumping!
Get enough quality sleep! Studies show this is imperative to heart health. Turn off electronics an hour before bed. Sleep in a dark room to promote adequate melatonin levels (which is one of the best antioxidants) and induce sleep. Give yourself enough time to get 7-8 hours a night.
Eat more vegetables
No really, eat a lot of them
Even when you think you have eaten a lot, eat more! Vegetables are packed full of nutrients and antioxidants that can reverse cellular damage caused by oxidation. Vegetables contain fiber that lowers cholesterol as well as being very nourishing you’re your intestines.
Everybody can benefit from more fruits and veggies, but nobody needs the exact same diet. We love to support our clients with personalized nutrition recommendations. Want to learn how? Give us a call to learn how we can help.
Reference
Shan Z, Li Y, Baden MY et al. Association Between Healthy Eating Patterns and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease. JAMA Intern Med. 2020.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2767106
