We know that sometimes it can be difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, eating nutritious food will benefit your body and overall well-being as you become more prone to certain health risks as you age.
We found this YouTube video that explains what happens as we age and the reasons why nutrition is important for a healthy lifestyle:
Let us know your thoughts and ways you continue to have a healthy lifestyle in the comments below!
This week’s blog post is brought to you by Mayo Clinic and the information has been taken directly from the article.
2. Eat more Vegetables & Fruits: Vegetables and fruits, like other plants or plant-based foods, contain substances that may help prevent cardiovascular disease. Eating more fruits and vegetables may help you cut back on higher-calorie foods, such as meat, cheese, and snack foods.
3. Reduce your Intake of Unhealthy Fats: According to Mayo Clinic, limiting how much saturated and trans fats you eat is an important step to reduce your blood cholesterol and lower your risk of coronary artery disease. A high blood cholesterol level can lead to a buildup of plaques in your arteries, called atherosclerosis, which can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
3 Heart-Healthy Foods to add to your diet by Healthline.
It’s important that you are continuously taking care of your heart. We have put together a short article which contains 3 heart-healthy foods to add to your diet
Whole Grains
Health-line shows a study that whole grains lower the risk of heart-disease by 22%. A few types of whole grains are brown rice, oats, and quinoa.
Berries
Whether you eat berries for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner- you cant go wrong! Not only are they delicious and contain natural sugar, but berries contain antioxidants which can severally reduce the risk of heart-disease.
Avocados
Avocados have a ton of healthy-fats, which can also lower cholesterol and you’re also not likely to have metabolic syndrome.
To learn more about the other types of heart-healthy foods you should be adding to your diet, you can check it out here.
1) What is a MIKEY?
A MIKEY is a Public Access Defibrillator (PAD), also called an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). Defibrillators can hard to spell and even harder to say, so we call them MIKEYs.
An AED is a portable user-friendly electronic device that automatically diagnoses potentially life-threatening heart rhythms. If the AED detects a problem that may respond positively to an electric shock, it permits a shock to be delivered to restore a normal heart rhythm
2) How many people have been saved by MIKEYs so far?
Because of the quick thinking and decisive action of people on the scene, and the fact a MIKEY was available, 44 people have been saved by a MIKEY defibrillator! You can read all about their stories on our Saved By A Mikey page.
3) Do I have to be a professional to use one?
You don’t have to be a medical professional to use a MIKEY and save a life!
AEDs provide simple audio and visual instructions and are designed for use by laypersons. Some AEDs advise the operator to press a button to deliver the shock. Other AEDs automatically provide a shock if the heart is in a fatal rhythm.
4) Where can I find a MIKEY?
Since its formation, The Mikey Network has placed over 2700 life-saving MIKEY defibrillators. You can find a map of every MIKEY location on our MIKEY Locations page.
5) How can I help The Mikey Network save lives?
You can start by joining Team Mikey, a dedicated group made up of staff, volunteers, and community organizations who care deeply about saving lives. We participate in a variety of events throughout the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, to raise awareness and funds for our cause.
You can also help place a MIKEY directly by donating to The Mikey Network. Let’s all help those who suffer sudden cardiac arrest have a second chance at life!
Exercising regularly can be one of the most beneficial things that you can do for your heart health. Performing physical activity helps you to live longer and allows your body to run and perform better in the long term. It’s advised that everyone should be performing 150 minutes of exercise a week to maintain a heart-healthy lifestyle.
But after suffering a heart attack or a cardiac arrest it can be a daunting thought to begin exercising again. What’s safe to do? What should I focus on? Where do I start?
Although you may face these questions with uncertainty, the truth is that there is almost no disease that doesn’t benefit from exercise in some way. As such, you shouldn’t give up, sit around and do nothing. You should focus on ways that you can begin to strengthen your body and improve your overall heart function.
Benefits of regular exercise for the heart include:
Although we encourage you to exercise, we strongly recommend that before you do anything; you contact your physician to see what they recommend. They’ll understand your level of recovery and fitness level better than anyone else, and will be able to provide you with a detailed plan to begin exercising again.
Here are some questions that you should ask when you go to meet your doctor:
After you have met with your doctor, they may recommend that you should go through a rehabilitation program to teach you how to safely become more active. You can find a cardiac rehab program in any province at cardiachealth.ca.
If your doctor has advised you that you’re all right to perform regular exercises instead of going to a rehabilitation center, we recommend that you slowly ease back into a workout routine. Everyone should perform 30 minutes of exercise a day, but it’s best if you go at a pace that you’re comfortable with; especially if you haven’t worked out in a long time.
Here is a simple workout that you can do anywhere.
Week 1 – 10-minute walk (Every second day)
Week 2 – 5-minute walk to warm up, a 10-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.
Week 3 – 5-minute walk to warm up, a 15-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.
Week 4 – 5-minute walk to warm up, a 20-minute walk, and 5-min cool-down.
As you begin the transition back into exercising again, it’s important to remember to look for any symptoms of a heart attack during your workout. If you can, aim to workout with a partner for the first two months so that they can monitor you as you get back into the rhythm of going to the gym. While you workout both you and your partner should be conscious of:
Exercising and making your way back towards a heart-healthy lifestyle will take time, so no matter what your results are initially; always aim to keep moving forward.
