Our country is now witnessing a sharp increase in sudden cardiac deaths. Unfortunately, young individuals are the worst sufferers. These premature deaths may be due to our faulty diet patterns, unhealthy and stressful lifestyle, obesity, uncontrolled blood sugar, and blood pressure levels, unhealthy sleep behaviors, and more. The good news is you can prevent this risk at any age. Heart health experts suggest that even healthy individuals should get a heart health check up regularly. This needs to be done every 5 years after the age of 20. Also, making healthy lifestyle changes can go a long way to protecting your heart health.

This blog post is all about 10 ways to keep your heart healthy. Embracing these simple yet proactive steps each day strengthens your heart health, even if you’ve already suffered a heart attack. The younger you begin, the longer you can get the benefits.

Countdown To a Healthier Heart

10. thousand Steps Per Day – Aim to walk 10,000 steps each day and try to walk briskly. Based on your current activity levels, you can start gradually with any number. This is probably the best way to interrupt the time you spend sitting and motivate yourself to move more.

• Another rule of thumb is to do 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least 5 days a week like cycling, aerobics, or swimming.

• Practice yoga for heart health if you find it a more convenient option. Tadasana (Mountain pose), Bhujangasan(Cobra pose), and Dhanurasan(Bow pose) are some of the best poses. You can also combine Yoga practices with simple meditation and Pranayama.

• Avoid high-intensity physical activities. According to experts, high-intensity exercise is a precipitating factor for incidences like heart attacks even in the fittest persons.

9. Foods to Include–There are certain foods that have protective benefits for heart health. Incorporating different types of these foods into your regular diet is a perfect way to boost your heart health. These foods are leafy green vegetables (like spinach and kale), whole grains (like oats, barley, and whole wheat), walnuts, beans, tomatoes, almonds, seeds (flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds), sweet potatoes, and oranges.

8. Hours of Sleep-Get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. This not only makes you feel good the next day but also boosts your heart health. As per Ayurveda, individuals should

• Sleep on the left side for health benefits

• Keep a gap of at least 2 hours between sleep and dinner time.

• Avoid eating late at night

Keeping their Vata and Pitta doshas in balance is also important to reach a state of deep sleep. Try a healthy sleep routine and Ayurvedic medicine for sleep like Blissful Sleep to calm these aggravated doshas and bring back the balance necessary for restful sleep.

7. Glasses of Water- This is an important step to prevent dehydration. Ayurveda suggests the correct way of drinking water

• Individuals should always consume water while sitting. This promotes the absorption and distribution of the water consumed.

• Take water sip by sip and avoid gulping it down in big volumes.

• Say no to ice water as it disturbs digestive fire (Agni) and causes constipation. It also negatively affects heart health.

• Water intake should not be very close to food intake. There should be a gap of at least 45 minutes between these.

6. Healthy Habits to Embrace- Cleanse Ama (Toxin) from Physiology

This needs to be done regularly as our physiology cannot get rid of it efficiently. Due to this, the arterial plaque gets accumulated in your blood vessels. Individuals can use Lipomap, an Ayurvedic medicine for cholesterol, which is formulated to cleanse the fat tissue (medha) of Ama and help maintain the right cholesterol levels.

• Manage Stress

Support the emotional wellness of your heart by managing mental and emotional stress. Stress increases inflammation, which is associated with high blood pressure. Include herbs like Ashwagandha that helps you reduce stress. Using Ayurvedic stress relief tablets, like Worry-Free, also helps you manage occasional stress and anxiety.

• Eat mindfully

This means being fully attentive to the food you eat. Gratitude is a way to avoid mindless eating. It is also good practice to start with small portions.

• Focus on unplugging from the digital world

This is important, especially if you have been using social media in excess. Meditation, walking barefoot, or taking a salt bath can benefit you. Let’s not forget to stay smarter than our smartphones.

• Stick to Dincharya

Every individual needs to follow a daily routine. This keeps the doshas, mind, and body in balance. This includes waking up early (with the sunrise), taking care of personal hygiene, doing self-massage, and eating your largest meal of the day between 12 noon and 1pm (Pitta time)

• Cultivate the positive

Ayurveda recommends engaging every day in those activities that give you happiness. This can be enjoying the beauty of nature, talking to your loved ones, listening to uplifting music, and more.

5. Unhealthy Habits to Avoid-

• Smoking

Tobacco smoking permanently damages your heart and blood vessels and should be avoided.

• Alcohol consumption

Avoiding alcohol benefits your heart health. Taking too much alcohol puts you at an increased risk of developing high blood pressure.

• Overeating

Avoid overeating. This is because your digestive fire (Agni) becomes weak or aggravated, especially during and after periods of overeating.

• Processed meat

Your risk of heart disease increases with the consumption of excess saturated fat which predominantly comes from red and processed meats.

• Processed and Junk foods

Intake of fries, sugary beverages, and other less healthy foods causes inflammation, thereby leading to the formation of artery-clogging plaque. This is detrimental to heart health.

4. Things To Keep in Check

Keep your controllable risk factors - blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, and weight - in check. For instance, high blood pressure has no symptoms and can only be detected by checking it. A score of 120/80 is optimal for most people. The higher readings mean that you need to control your blood pressure levels.

3. Meals Each Day-

Eat 3 healthy and fresh meals each day. In Ayurveda, skipping your meals is not recommended. This may throw the digestion rhythm off. Ideally, one should eat at around the same times each day as your digestion benefits from a regular routine.

2. Things to Take in Limits-

Cut back on Sugar and Salt. High intake of sugar causes obesity, high blood pressure, and inflammation, the risk factors for heart disease. Our body needs only a small amount of salt (sodium) to function well and taking it in excess should be avoided. Increased sugar consumption elevates blood pressure levels, thereby increasing heart disease risk.

• One should avoid intake of more than 6g of salt a day (2.4g sodium) and that's around 1 teaspoon.

• As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), individuals should avoid taking not more than 30 gms of sugar each day.

1. Ayurvedic Supplement to Support Your Heart Health

Using Amrit Kalash, an Ayurvedic Heart Health Supplement has been clinically proven to protect heart health. Taking this extensively researched Ayurveda formulation as a precautionary measure strengthens your heart health and can add years to your life. It can also be taken by Angina patients as it reduces the frequency of pain in them. Its regular use

• Reduces blood clots and thereby reduces artery-clogging in the heart

• Reduced risk of heart diseases

• Reduce free-radical damage due to antioxidant capacities

• Improves heart function and strengthens it from within