Though the heart month had already passed, whether you are in a relationship or not, don’t take your heart health for granted because cardiovascular health is becoming an issue worldwide and this will not only happen during a certain month. According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data published in 2018 Coronary Heart Disease Deaths in the country reached 120,800 or 19.83% of total deaths. This data reminds us that we should take care of our heart! Below are the tips on how to take care of this important organ of our body:
1. Have enough exercise
Exercise strengthens your heart and improves circulation. The increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels in your body. This helps lower your risk of heart diseases such as high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, and heart attack.
2. Get enough sleep
Your blood pressure goes down while sleeping, giving your heart and blood vessels a bit of rest. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night so that your blood pressure doesn’t stay much longer during the day. High blood pressure can lead to heart diseases, including stroke.
3. Avoid oily foods
Greasy foods have several negative effects on heart health. Fried foods increase blood pressure, and lower HDL (good) cholesterol, and lead to weight gain and obesity, which can be associated with heart disease.
4. Avoid Smoking
Smoking increases heart rate, tightens major arteries, and can cause an irregular heart rhythm. Smoking also raises blood pressure, which increases the risk of stroke.
5. Use the Pinggang Pinoy
Pinggang Pinoy is a food guide that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per-meal basis. This guide helps Filipinos acquire healthy eating habits needed to attain optimum nutrition.
As the lyrics from the song “Please Be Careful With My Heart”… “Just a promise from you will do, From the very start, please be careful with my heart”, promise yourself to take care of your precious heart and your heart will love you and thank you for it! Let’s take good care of our heart not only during the Month of February but throughout the years.
AA VI Cielo Katrina M. Mabalot
References:
1. “Philippines: Coronary Heart Disease” from https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/philippines-coronary-heart-disease#:~:text=Philippines%3A%20Coronary%20Heart%20Disease&text=According%20to%20the%20latest%20WHO,Philippines%20%2332%20in%20the%20world.
2. “All There Is to Know About Philippine Heart Month” from https://seriousmd.com/blog/philippine-heart-month/
3. “Philippine Heart Association” from https://www.philheart.org/index.php/component/content/article/7-pha-news/875-heart-month-2021?Itemid=435#:~:text=The%20Philippine%20Heart%20Association%20(PHA,the%20Gap%20and%20Inequalities.%22%20Panelists
4. “Surprising Reasons to Get More Sleep” from https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/benefits-sleep-more
5. “Benefits of exercise” from https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html#:~:text=Exercise%20strengthens%20your%20heart%20and,blood%20pressure%20and%20triglyceride%20levels.
6. “7 Reasons to Avoid Greasy Food” from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/greasy-food#:~:text=May%20increase%20your%20risk%20of,17%20%2C%2025%20%2C%2026%20).
7. Smoking and Your Heart” from https://www.texasheart.org/heart-health/heart-information-center/topics/smoking-and-your-heart/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%20smoking,increases%20the%20risk%20of%20stroke.
8. “FNRI -DOST launches Pinggang Pinoy for different population groups” from https://www.fnri.dost.gov.ph/index.php/programs-and-projects/news-and-announcement/183-fnri-dost-launches-pinggang-pinoy-for-different-population-groups#:~:text=Pinggang%20Pinoy%20is%20a%20new,needed%20to%20attain%20optimum%20nutrition.
