Heart is one of the most important organs of our body and keeping it healthy is important. Heart connects the entire body through its vital functions.
What does the heart exactly do? Why is it related to blood pressure?
This small fist like structure works hard to maintain blood flow to our body day and night. Fundamentally it takes all the impure blood from the body makes it pure with lots of Oxygen (fresh air) and sends it back. While doing this it also contracts and relaxes (medically termed it as systolic and diastolic respectively) in between a single beat. In normal course if the person is healthy this happens smoothly without much pressure on it. Normal blood pressure levels should be 120/80 mm/hg.
Blood pressure is the culprit to heart issues. It’s natural to increase our blood pressure due to certain unpleasant situations but, if the blood pressure stays elevated for longer periods then it turns into hypertension.
Causes for increased blood pressure:
- Less water intake
- High salt intake
- Intake of more processed or bakery food.
- Junk food or less fibrous food Intake
- Less activity
- Less sleep
- Kidney disorders
- High fat food intake
All of these lead to plaque formation in the tiny blood vessels due to which heart has to put more pressure than usual for a smooth blood flow. When it goes beyond the heart’s limit (it has muscles after all) it stops pumping blood (which carries water, nutrients and oxygen) thus it results in heart attack.
Good news is that one can avoid high blood pressure and avert heart attacks by just taking care of our daily meals, activities, water, sleep, stress etc. in short keeping a check on our lifestyle.
We need to improve all micro habits which set into our routine. Once you set yourself a routine, it’s difficult to break it.
Salt is the crucial factor that can lead to high blood pressure. Salt is a combination of sodium and chloride. Daily requirement of sodium is 1500mg to 2300mg that means we can include approximately 1 TSP of salt. Sodium is also found in baking soda, monosodium glutamate (MSG), various seasonings, additives, condiments, meat, fish, poultry, dairy foods, eggs, smoked meats, olives, and pickled foods. High sodium directly contributes to high blood pressure.
Here are some heart friendly food options I have listed down for you
Antioxidants ( green tea, red wine)
Fiber and Vitamin K( green leafy vegetables, whole grains, beans, whole pulses)
Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats (Almonds, walnuts, flax seeds, fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, herring, tuna, avocado)
Ample amount of water intake.
Doing regular breathing exercises help us increase our Oxygen uptake.
Yoga or meditation or giving time to your hobbies keeps stress at bay.
Staying active through the entire day or indulging in any type of activity or game you enjoy can keep stress levels under check.