If you’re looking to improve your heart health, you can’t go wrong with a healthy diet, regular exercise and a good night’s sleep. These three healthy habits can help you prevent heart disease, even if you have a family history or other risk factors for heart disease you can’t change.
Yet have you ever wondered if there’s something else you can do to improve heart health? What if it was possible to improve your heart health through Chinese martial arts, a furry friend or even a filtered cup of coffee? Consider these six surprising ways to keep your heart healthier.
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1. Take a Hot Bath.
A hot bath is a great way to relax at the end of the day — and it’s good for your heart. Relaxation and high temperatures help blood vessels dilate, or open wider. Dilated blood vessels help improve blood pressure. Lower blood pressure can improve heart health long-term.
2. Practice Tai Chi.
Tai chi is a form of Chinese martial arts that uses slow, meditative movements. In a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, individuals with high blood pressure who practiced tai chi for three months or more saw their blood pressure decrease. Tai chi may also help you lose weight, lower cholesterol and decrease inflammation.
Tai chi is effective for people of all ages, body types and activity levels. The motions and breathing exercises can be adjusted for each participant. The movements and meditations of tai chi are safe for even individuals with high cardiac risk. The longer someone practices tai chi, the greater the heart health benefits become.
“Beyond these benefits, tai chi is a moderately intense form of exercise, making it a great option for people who don’t like or can’t do really high-intensity workouts,” says Dr. William Clare Jr., who provides adult primary care at Beaufort Memorial Lady’s Island Internal Medicine. “The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week.”
Finally, tai chi can help you meditate. Meditation uses breathing and quiet contemplation to increase focus on the present. With regular practice, meditation may help reduce blood pressure. It can also reduce insomnia, which prevents you from getting a heart healthy night’s sleep.
3. Eat Dark, Leafy Greens and Vegetables.
A diet rich in vegetables, whole grains and lean protein is important for good heart health. If you’re already eating three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits per day, you’re on the right track — another American Heart Association study suggests that could be the “optimal amount and combination” to protect your heart.
You can up your vegetable game by eating dark green, leafy vegetables three times a week. Dark greens are low in carbohydrates, sodium and cholesterol and rich in antioxidants as well as folate, a form of vitamin B that promotes heart health, and vitamin K, a nutrient that helps protect against inflammation, which can harm your heart.
Want to eat your way to a healthier heart? Add these to your plate:
- Arugula
- Collard greens
- Kale
- Mustard greens
- Spinach
Read More: Diet and Heart Disease: Good (and Bad) Eats
4. Get a Dog (or Take Yours for Lots of Walks).
Dog owners who regularly walk and play with their dogs benefit from the exercise as well as the social interactions they have with other pet owners. Caring for a pet provides emotional and social support, which also boosts heart health and reduces stress. These benefits, in turn, help lower blood pressure, prevent insomnia, and regulate anxiety and depression.
If you aren’t interested in getting a pet or have allergies or other circumstances that prevent you from doing so, rest assured that you can still benefit. Much of the heart-health benefits that stem from pet ownership have to do with the increased exercise, so even if you don’t have a dog, you can still go for a walk every day and achieve the same goal.
Read More: Take Charge of Your Heart Health
5. Make the Most of Your Morning Brew.
If a cup of joe is part of your regular morning routine, make sure to use a filter. A few studies have suggested that compounds in coffee beans may have a small but noticeable impact on cholesterol levels if you drink unfiltered coffee, for example, from a French press or espresso maker. A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that unfiltered coffee had roughly 30 times higher levels of these compounds than drip coffee that runs through a filter.
While you’re drinking your filtered coffee, remember to cut back on sugar and full-fat creamer. These unhealthy additives can be equally bad for your heart.
Looking for more ways to protect your heart in the future? Schedule an appointment with a member of our heart care team.