Keeping your heart healthy is something you can do every day.
What you eat, how much you move, and so many other small daily factors can have a big impact on your heart.
With that in mind, try these six tips from registered cardiologists and start living a heart healthy lifestyle!
Buy local
“Local fruits and vegetables are fresher and have fewer preservatives. They also taste better, so you’re more likely to eat them and get more of the nutrients—dietary fibre and vitamins C and A—that have been proven necessary for cardiovascular wellness.” — Dr. Andrea Lavoie, Regina Cardiology Associates
Eat raw veggies – while making dinner
“It gets me part of my daily requirement. While preparing dinner is when you’re hungry. An apple for dessert, when you’re full, doesn’t really work.” — Dr. Alex MacLean, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown
Read labels
“There’s a lot of sugar in our food, including virtually every cereal. Same with granola bars for kids—you might as well give them candy bars. We have an epidemic of type 2 diabetes directly related to the level of obesity in the population. More fat tissue requires more insulin, and at some point your pancreas cannot secrete enough of it to compensate for the elevated blood glucose. That’s when diabetes develops. Diabetics have a higher incidence of hypertension, high cholesterol and kidney disease, all of which accelerate hardening of arteries.” — Dr. David Bewick, New Brunswick Heart Centre, Saint John, N.B.
Track your calories
“I was a bit overweight a few years ago. I used a smartphone app to track all my calories, which taught me what I was doing to myself. You wouldn’t realize that a small cookie has 400 calories! My patients say to me, ‘I don’t eat much.’ But it’s not the amount that matters. It’s what’s inside.” — Dr. Imad Nadra, Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria
Related: The worst habits that impact heart health
Steer clear of saturated fats
“Saturated fat, like that in desserts and red meat, accumulates as plaque in the arteries, which is a cause of heart attacks and stroke. I use healthy oils, like grapeseed, which is higher in polyunsaturated fats.” — Dr. Amin Aminbakhsh, Royal Columbian Hospital, New Westminster, B.C.
Eat more complex carbs
“I try to make meals that include whole wheat, hummus, quinoa, seven-grain rice, black beans or kidney beans. Complex carbs are absorbed more slowly in the small intestine and don’t cause significant fluctuations in glucose levels.” — Dr. Bewick
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