Tips for a healthy heart

No other organ can be so easily rejuvenated by the decade as our heart. At the same time, it suffers like no other organ from bad eating habits, symptoms of deficiencies and lack of exercise.

Man grabs his heart with both hands in heart attack

Antioxidants for a strong heart

Scientists agree that oxidative stress is jointly responsible for both arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease. For this reason, a diet rich in antioxidants has a positive influence on the risk of arteriosclerosis. Antioxidants are found mainly in green vegetables and salads, in red or blue fruits, and in fresh herbs and spices. Make sure that vegetables and lettuce in particular are fresh garden and not greenhouse products, because only plants that have been exposed to the sun and thus to UV radiation produce antioxidants for their own protection.

High HDL cholesterol, low LDL cholesterol

High LDL cholesterol levels are responsible for deposit buildup in the blood vessels and for the development of coronary heart disease. For a long time, people were warned against eating eggs because of their high cholesterol content. It is now known that this does not affect the cholesterol level, even if you ate an egg daily. This is because dietary cholesterol plays only a minor role. The body produces 90 percent of its own cholesterol, because cholesterol fulfills vital functions in our body. For example, cholesterol is the precursor of many hormones and at the same time protects us from the growth of degenerative cancer cells. It is therefore not desirable to have the lowest possible total cholesterol level, but rather an ideal ratio of good HDL to bad LDL cholesterol levels.

Omega-3 fatty acids are able to increase good HDL cholesterol and lower harmful LDL cholesterol. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include fish, linseed or flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, avocado and all nuts and seeds.

Training for the heart muscle

In addition to a balanced diet, regular endurance training ensures that arteries remain elastic and provide an optimal supply of oxygen to the tissue. The heart is a muscle and can be very well trained. Depending on age, an endurance load at a heart rate between 100 and 130 beats per minute is ideal. In this way, your heart becomes stronger and does not reach the limit of its power so quickly. At the same time, regular endurance training reduces bad LDL cholesterol and increases good HDL cholesterol.

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