As well as leading less active lifestyles peoples diets have gradually changed as well over the last 20 years
. The increased availability and convenience of processed foods means people are eating more food that is high in saturated fat and full of additives. These two factors combined play a huge role in the increase of heart disease.
The good news is that heart disease is preventable. You can reduce your risk of getting heart disease by changing your diet and lifestyle. The following are a few steps to get you started.
Step One:
Avoid food that has a lot of saturated fat in it. This includes red meat, processed food and especially junk food. Also, avoid frying food as this increases the level of fat.
Step Two:
Introduce leaner meat and fish into your diet. Leaner meat such as chicken is lower in fat than red meat. Eat more fish especially the oily variety. Oily fish includes tuna and herrings.
Step Three:
Eat plenty of fresh fruit and leafy green vegetables every day. These foods are high in essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C and D, calcium, and potassium.
Step Four:
Reduce your intake of salt. Most processed foods have high levels of salt to improve the taste so there is no need to add more to it. If you do use salt use a healthier alternative that has lower levels of sodium such as rock salt or sea salt. Both of these taste much better than ordinary table salt.
Step Five:
If you lead a sedentary life both at home and at work then you need to acquire the habit of regular exercise. This does not mean that you have to train for a marathon. All you have to do is 20 to 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. The key thing is consistency. If you are not use to exercise then, start off gradually with walking at a pace that makes you out of breath. Gradually increase the time and intensity each day.
If you have a health condition or food allergy then consult with your doctor before changing your diet.