Four Tips for A Healthy Heart

1. Move It Like You Mean It!

Walking, swimming, dancing, jogging and group exercise classes are an excellent way to get your heart rate up. Those activites help to make that amazing muscle, your heart, stronger and more efficient.

The American Heart Association and U.S. Department of Health recommend that adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise 5 times a week and strength training twice a week. However, any level of activity can be a huge benefit for heart health.

2. Embrace Loving Foods

There are foods that you love to eat and they love you right back. They give your more energy and put you in a better mood. The loving food list:

• Vital Veggies and Fabulous Fruit:

Vegetables and fruits are loaded with nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals (which fight disease), and fiber. Fiber helps to lower your cholesterol and maintain a healthy heart.

According to the DASH study, individuals who ate 8 servings of vegetables and fruit a day reduced their chances of heart attack and stroke by 30 percent.

• Powerful Protein:

Chicken, fish, beans and egg whites are great sources of lean protein. Eating protein at each meal helps to build and maintain muscle – including your heart. Protein also helps to steady blood sugar. Think of protein as a log on your digestive fire, it burns more slowly and keeps your appetite more satisfied between meals.

• Colorful Carbohydrates

Whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat, and oatmeal still have their color. Sweet potatoes, corn, butternut squash and peas are also colorful, starchy foods. All of these are full of nutrients and fiber, which lower cholesterol.

Avoid colorless carbohydrates like bleached white flour, white rice, and white sugar. They send your blood sugar upward and then careening downward. This is just the opposite of what we want for a healthy heart. They also quickly convert to fat.  

• Friendly Fats

Unsaturated fats as seen in the Mediterranean diet are the best. Grapeseed oil is great for cooking; at high heat, it does not turn into a trans fat.  Olive oil is a wonderful dressing for salads;  just add a little lemon juice and you have a tasty pairing.

3. Sleep

It is important to get a least 6 to 8 hours of sleep a night and to establish a regular bedtime. If you are deprived of a good night’s sleep, your heart has to work harder on less rest. Eating at least 3 hours before bedtime, putting away electronic devices at night, and hydrating regularly during the day will set a good foundation for a healthy night’s sleep. If you wake up in the middle of the night and cannot go back to sleep, try deep breathing exercises or read a book.

4. Manage your Mood and Stress Levels

Yoga and meditation are great ways to manage stress. The breathwork in these practices act as an emotional regulator. Slower and deeper breaths tend to put your parasympathetic or rest/restore the system back online. According to stress management expert  Stephen Porges, extending your exhale to 5 seconds sends a biofeedback loop from your body to brain that all is good.  Cultivating this sense of calm is great for your heart.

Conversely, vigorous movement can also discharge stress, change your mindset, release endorphins, and put you in a happy place. At the end of vigorous activities, we tend to round back to that calming and relaxed breathing pattern.  

At the JCC we offer a variety of group exercise classes from Yoga to Body Blast that provides the full spectrum of soothing to invigorating activities. Exercising with others is an excellent way to activate your social engagement system, combat loneliness, meet new people and feel a sense of belonging. We are, after all, social creatures and a sense of community makes our hearts glow. Come join us! From our hearts to yours, we are excited to meet you!

Dianne Daucher is a yoga instructor at the Merage JCC teaching Gentle Yoga and Candlelight Yoga. She worked as a health coach for Jewish Federation and Family Services, receiving a grant from Hoag Hospital – encouraging seniors to eat more vegetables and exercise more regularly.