- Neglect yours Herz not – we give tips on how to improve your heart health
- Correct nutrition and a minimum of exercise are important
- Stress and alcohol pose risks to your heart
You can find even more information about heart health at the end of this article.
Especially at the beginning of the year, many new customers register at the gym – just in time for Beachbody. But most people neglect the most important muscle in the body: the heart. So you should make 2025 the year of heart health. We’ll tell you here how you can do something good for your heart.
Which diet is healthy for the heart?
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You can do a lot for your heart health with just the right diet. Processed meat and fatty foods are particularly unhealthy – instead, you should opt for low-fat meat or a completely plant-based diet. With the latter you should always pay attention to the sugar and salt content as well pay attention to vitamin intake. However, according to researchers, a balanced Mediterranean diet still performs best overall. In general, be careful not to consume too many calories. Gaining too much weight is generally never healthy for your heart and should therefore be avoided.
Little exercise is better than none
Sport can be fun, but it takes time. If you don’t have that, you should still take a few minutes a day. According to researchers at Harvard University, even short, intensive exercise sessions are enough to improve heart health. The exercises should last at least two minutes. Just 19 minutes of exercise per week can reduce the risk of developing heart disease by 40 percent. The risk of cancer also drops by 16 percent – not bad results when it comes to such serious illnesses.
Why you should avoid alcohol
Alcohol is a real poison for the heart: even a single beer after work damages your heart Health. And of course that adds up over time. In the long term, alcohol increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases – research agrees on this. It is therefore worth not consuming alcohol, even over longer periods of time. Trends such as “Dry January”, i.e. completely abstaining from alcohol in January, are also popular at the moment. If you don’t want to do without the taste of beer, there are now numerous non-alcoholic substitute drinks available.
Avoid stress – even the stress you cause yourself
“Avoid stress” sounds like a bit of clumsy advice – sure, who chooses stress? – but it’s also true: negatively perceived stress has a harmful effect on the cardiovascular system. However, it is not enough to just do a few relaxation exercises and then hope that everything will be fine.
You have to be aware of how often you expose yourself to stress, more or less voluntarily – due to your own principles, among other things. Ideals like “always be perfect” ultimately only harm you, especially since stress can have a negative impact on your performance at work and your ability to cope in social situations.
This article was prepared after extensive research and is not a substitute for medical advice. In an emergency, you should always ask a doctor or emergency services for help.
Sources used:
- Diab, A., Dastmalchi, L. N., Gulati, M. & Michos, E. D. (2023). A Heart-Healthy Diet for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Where Are We Now? Vascular Health And Risk Management, Volume 19, 237–253. https://doi.org/10.2147/vhrm.s379874
- Solan, M. (2023, 1. Februar). Short bursts of exercise may offer big health benefits. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/short-bursts-of-exercise-may-offer-big-health-benefits
- Piano M. R. (2017). Alcohol’s Effects on the Cardiovascular System. Alcohol research : current reviews, 38(2), 219–241.
- Yaribeygi, H., Panahi, Y., Sahraei, H., Johnston, T. P., & Sahebkar, A. (2017). The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI journal, 16, 1057–1072. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2017-480
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