Ways that Sugar Affects You

Are you feeling tired, sluggish, and slow? Pay attention, because we’re going to talk about how sugar affects you both short-term and long-term.

All products that contain refined sugar: breakfast cereals, donuts, muffins pastries, and sugar you put in your tea coffee can all have long-term health effects.

Short-Term

It makes you gain unhealthy fat. Unhealthy fat can develop in your stomach and upper back. It decreases your energy. Why? Because when you eat sugar, it’s basically an unhealthy supplement to the body, so the body has to release its resources in order to neutralize those toxins. Those resources are B vitamins, chromium, magnesium, and calcium. All nutrients needed for energy production.

It decreases your mental sharpness (and if you’re an athlete, throw reaction time into the mix). Sugar negatively affects your memory and mood. It makes you feel good for the first 15-30 minutes when you’re on your “sugar high”, but after that, you don’t feel so upbeat and peppy.

Long-Term

It causes diabetes. Diabetes is high blood sugar and leads to a ton of complications.

It causes cancer. Cancer cells are the biggest consumer of sugar in your body, so that’s the first place sugar goes.

Contributions to an unhealthy heart also involve donuts, cereal, and whole wheat muffins. Any food with high consumption of sugar can cause unhealthy and complicated health factors.

If you’re the type of person that enjoys desserts and sweet drinks, everything is fine in moderation, but try to eliminate sugar from your diet, it will help increase your heart health, tolerance, and energy.

Why Eating Less Meat and More Vegetables is Better for your Heart Health!

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Most of us have been told, that eating vegetables provides a lot of nutrition for our bodies, but did you know that eating more plant-based foods and fewer animal products is not only beneficial to your heart health but also does good for the planet?

An increasing number of studies have suggested that eating a more plant-centric diet could reduce your risk of heart failure by 40%, and another suggests that a vegetarian diet cuts the risk of heart disease death by the same percentage.

An Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study followed participants between 1987 and 2016. Researchers of this study found that those who had the highest intake of plant-based foods were 16% less likely to develop cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and heart failure when compared to adults that consumed the smallest amount of plant foods.

People with high plant-based diets were also 25% less likely to die from health-related causes along with 32% less of a risk of dying from a heart condition.

While researchers said that you don’t have to give up animal-derived foods completely, their study suggests that increasing your proportion of plant- based foods paired with a smaller consumption of meat could help reduce heart complications and risks.

Make sure you are choosing foods that are rich in nutritional value and low in added sugars, sodium (salt), cholesterol, and not-good-for-your-heart trans and saturated fats. Instead of processed foods reach for some fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain choices as a healthier snack option.

Learn more about the study here.

Ways you can Improve your Mind through a Healthy Heart

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Often times, our dietary and workout routines can affect each and every part of our body. To continue to keep your memory sharp as we age, it is important to keep your heart healthy- according to research published in the journal Neurology.

Other factors, including not smoking, past high scores on cognitive tests and the presence of a particular gene variant, were also linked to better memory for people in their 90s, the study found.

One can ask the question though, what are some things that an individual do to help improve heart health? Below are some easy ways to get you started.

Exercise

Regular exercise has numerous benefits for not only your heart health, but your overall health. Even doing something as simple as going for a vigorous walk for 30 minutes a day can offer great results.

Avoid transfats and other unhealthy fats

Many of the heart healthy diets that doctors or health practioners recommend, focus on have lots of fruits, vegetables and lean or legume proteins. Generally, this means that you should try to reduce the amount of meals that are fried or have loads of unhealthy fats that you would see at fast-food joints or at restaurants.

Take care of your teeth

People with gum disease often have the same risk factors for heart disease, so be sure to brush and floss your teeth twice daily.

Improve your sleep

Poor sleep has been linked to cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, insulin resistance and diabetes. It can also increase plaques that cause artery blockage

3 Ways to Manage Stress for your Heart Health

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Stress is an inevitable part of our everyday lives. It’s important to recognize and manage it because stress can significantly raise the risk of heart disease and stroke. It could also lead to the detriment of your mental health such as depression and anxiety if stress is overlooked for an extended period of time.

Sometimes managing your levels of stress can be as simple as changing aspects of your daily lifestyle. We have come up with three ways on how to better manage stress:

Get enough sleep

Getting adequate sleep is vital for mental and physical health. Fall short on rest can take a serious toll on your energy levels throughout the day, productivity, emotional balance, and weight. 

Avoid sleeping in on weekends. The more your sleep schedule alternates, the more likely you will experience jetlag-like symptoms. To make up for those late nights, opt for a nap during the day rather than sleep in to prevent your natural sleep-wake rhythm from being thrown off.

Get off your phone! Plenty of us is guilty of mindless browsing on our phones before bed. Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone is needed to help regulate sleep and wake cycles. The light emitted from all the screens of electronics suppresses melatonin production. Try listening to music or read a book instead.

Follow smart eating habits

Cut down on the alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. These disrupt your ability to get good rest and interferes with your sleep cycle when you are out of it, especially if you have any of them closer to your bedtime.

Avoid eating large meals late at night. Try scheduling your dinners earlier if you’re planning on having a large meal. Your digestive system requires time and energy to digest food which may be pulling you back from your body on concentrating on sleep.

Exercise

Exercise during the day for optimal results. Regular exercise allows you to sleep better at night and energizes you throughout the day. Exercise speeds up your metabolism and stimulates hormones like cortisol. Morning or afternoon does not make a big difference but working out too close to bed can make sleep afterward difficult.

It can take several months of consistent physical activity before you can get the full sleep-promoting benefits. Just walking at least 10 minutes a day is enough to improve sleep quality. If you’re not a fan of intense exercise, yoga and stretching are great alternatives to help regulate your sleep.

Have any advice on how to get the best sleep you’d like to share? Please comment down below!

Mayo Clinic: 5 Ways to Prevent Heart Disease

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Although genetics does play a part in your overall heart health, there are steps you can take to help lower the risk of heart disease. If you follow these 5 strategies you’ll be well on your way to a heart-healthy lifestyle.

1. Don’t smoke or use tobacco

Smoking or using tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors for developing heart disease. Chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis can ultimately lead to a heart attack. When it comes to heart disease prevention, no amount of smoking is safe. Smokeless tobacco and low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes also are risky, as is exposure to secondhand smoke.

2. Exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week

Getting some regular, daily exercise can reduce your risk of fatal heart disease. And when you combine physical activity with other lifestyle measures, such as maintaining a healthy weight, the payoff is even greater.

3. Eat a heart-healthy diet

Eating a special diet called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can help protect your heart. Following the DASH diet means eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol, and salt. The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products, which can help protect your heart. Beans, other low-fat sources of protein, and certain types of fish also can reduce your risk of heart disease.

Continue reading at www.mayoclinic.com for the rest of these 5 heart health tips.