healthy heart tips – Page 8 – The NEN

Healthy Heart Tips: Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is an approach to food where you pay full attention to eating. Research has shown that eating mindfully can improve digestion, help regulate appetite and helps us enjoy our food much more.

Here we share some simple ways to incorporate mindful eating into your daily routine:

Preparing your food
For many people, cooking can feel like a chore but it doesn’t have to be a rushed experience or something we do on autopilot. Whether you’re chopping, slicing, or marinating, the art of being mindful when you are cooking is an ideal opportunity to focus your attention on textures, sounds and smells. If your mouth waters – you know you’re on track!

Slow down
Taking the time to eat and chew your food thoroughly will enable you to taste the essence of the food. During a meal, you could practice taking smaller bites of food and try to put down your knife and fork between mouthfuls. You may be surprised at all the flavours that are released that you may not normally notice.

Eating around the table
When life gets busy, it can be easy to slip into the habit of eating on the run and neglect taking time to sit down together. Trying to factor in time for sitting around the table can be beneficial for all members of a family or household. It can help everyone switch off from the stresses of the day and provide an opportunity to reconnect over a meal.

No distractions
We tend to eat more mindlessly when we are distracted. We also don’t taste and experience the food as much because our mind is elsewhere.

Try eating with no distractions; this means eating without your laptop or phone, or when reading or watching TV so that you can relax and enjoy your food in the moment.

Mindful eating takes practice, and the more you practice, the more natural it will feel!

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tips: Insulin and our Hearts

Insulin is an important hormone that allows sugar to move from our blood, after digesting food, into our muscles and fat cells to be either burned or stored.

Diabetes, is the name we give to the disease related to problems with our insulin. Whilst some types of Diabetes are caused by factors out of our control, Type 2 Diabetes can usually be prevented in younger individuals by adopting a healthy lifestyle. What’s more, most of the lifestyle actions we can take to limit our diabetes risk will also help to improve our heart health!

With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that:

Eat more Fibre

Fibre can not only help to reduce cholesterol levels but also helps to slow down how quickly our blood sugar levels increase. Try and swap white pasta and bread for wholegrain options, eat more fruit and vegetables, and snack on unsalted nuts and seeds.

Create Activity Opportunities

Staying active is one of the most effective ways to maintain our weight and lower blood pressure. Consider how you can incorporate a minimum of one ‘activity opportunity’ every day, whether it’s walking the dog, cleaning your house, or dusting off your old bike. Remember to keep it fresh and do something you enjoy!

Take the 5% Challenge

Reducing our bodyweight by more than 5% is an effective way to positively manage our future health, however any weight loss is beneficial, so start small and build on your success! Remember to set a goal over a realistic timeframe; 0.5-2lb per week is sustainable.

Know Your Numbers

Eating excessive amounts of sugar over many years can be harmful to our health. Try and opt for foods with less than 5g of sugar per 100g most of the time, and limit high sugar foods such as fizzy drinks and sweets to less than twice per week.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tips: Sugar Awareness Week

Action for Sugar holds a national Sugar Awareness Week each year, highlighting the dangers associated with too much sugar in the diet and this year is held between 8th-14th November 2021.

Here are some healthy heart tips to ensure you are keeping an eye on your sugar intake.

Sugar Recommendations

Consuming too much sugar in your diet can lead to weight gain and becoming overweight or obese.
‘Free sugars’ are sugars that are added to foods as a flavour enhancement or to act as a preservative (increasing shelf-life of products). This is the type of sugars that adults and children in the UK need to cut down on.
The government recommends that free sugars should not make up more than 5% of the energy you get from food and drink each day.

This means:

Age	Maximum free sugar/day
4 – 6 years	19g
7 – 10 years	24g
Adults	30g

Tips to reduce sugar intake

Choose products that are labelled ‘no added sugar’ or ‘no sugars’.
Reduce consumption of sweets treats such as cakes, biscuits, and sweets.
Swap out canned fruit in syrup for fresh fruit.
Switch sugary breakfast cereals for unsweetened cereal and add fresh fruit for sweetness.
Swap sugary drinks for water, sugar-free or diet alternatives.
Limit fruit juices and smoothies to 150ml a day.
Cut down on sugar in hot drinks or try adding sweetener instead.

Checking Labels

Nutritional labels can help you reduce your intake of free sugars.

The “of which sugars” figure on the nutrition labels (part of the carbohydrate information) will help you understand the amount of sugar. Labels on the front of the packaging use a traffic light system to distinguish the amount of sugar in a product:

–              Red = high (more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g)
–              Amber = medium (more than 5g but less than or equal to 22.5g of sugars per 100g)
–              Green = low (less than or equal to 5g of sugar per 100g).

Ingredient list:

Watch out for these names which may suggest there are added free sugars:
•             Glucose
•             Xylose
•             Treacle
•             Honey
•             Dextrose
•             Sucrose
•             Sugar (palm, raw, beet, brown)
•             Cane juice
•             Fructose

Being aware of the amount of sugar in different foods & drinks and following these healthy tips can reduce your sugar intake and consequently, lower your risk of developing health complications such as heart disease!

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Healthy Heart Tips: How to enjoy a healthy Diwali

Diwali, known as the festival of lights, is a five-day religious festival celebrated around the world. The festival is celebrated by many different faiths, bringing family and friends together.

Here are some tips to help you enjoy a healthy Diwali:

Celebrate with healthier food choices

Traditional sweet treats and flavoursome food is a key part of the Diwali festivities, and it is fine to allow yourself to enjoy some of your favourite dishes. Avoid over-indulging for a prolonged period and try to make some healthier food choices, such as fresh fruit and unsalted nuts, rather than fried foods and sweets.

Healthy Food Preparation

If you are responsible for preparing food for the festivities, look after the health of your loved ones by avoiding too much fat, salt or sugar in your cooking. Include plenty of heart-healthy ingredients such as fruit, vegetables and wholemeal foods, for example wholemeal chapatis, brown rice and wholemeal pita bread.

Move more during Diwali

Take the opportunity to get more active during Diwali. Keep your normal routine going as well as finding opportunities to include more activities, such as walking and dancing.

If you know you will be consuming more calories during Diwali, why not build a workout in at the start of the day to compensate.

We hope you enjoy a happy and healthy Diwali!

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our other Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Pumpkin Potential this Halloween

Halloween happens every year on 31st October and is a day filled with various traditions around the theme of scary stuff! One key ingredient of a great Halloween celebration is a carved pumpkin (it used tae be a turnip! – Ed.).

Yet in-fact, pumpkins not only look great in your window, but are a versatile veg, full of fibre and vitamins.

Here are some ways you can use your left-over pumpkin this Halloween:

Make a Soup
Find our Pumpkin Soup recipe at the bottom of the page. This recipe contains plenty of heart-healthy fats, is low in salt to improve blood pressure and contains two of your 5-a-day!

Roast It
Roasting is a quick, healthy, and easy way to cook pumpkin. Simply peel, deseed, and slice into 1cm slices, then add a little olive or rapeseed oil and place in a heated oven at 200oC for approximately 40 minutes.

Swap it Out
A great way to use up left-over pumpkin from Halloween is to make some swaps. You can use roasted pumpkin as a great side-dish or substitute it for potato, pasta or rice for a more vegetable-filled plate with a flavour twist

Use the Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a great source of protein and fibre and are low in saturated fat. To cook, run water over the seeds to remove any excess pulp, boil for 5-10 minutes, drain and spread over a baking tray, adding a little oil, then roast at 180oC for 8-10 minutes.

Hearty Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

Light spray + 1 tsp of heart healthy rapeseed oil
2 white onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Finely chopped parsley
100g chopped tomatoes
800g chopped pumpkin
100g split red lentils
½ tbsp dried thyme
1 litre hot vegetable stock (go heart healthy with a low salt variety)
50g half fat or reduced fat crème fraiche
4 slices of wholemeal bread (toasted)
Optional black pepper for seasoning

Method:

Step 1: Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and fry the onions over a medium heat until translucent and turning golden brown. Add the garlic (keep the pumpkins to one side), lentils and dried thyme. Fry together for a minute.

Step 2: Add the vegetable stock then season with pepper and then cover. Let this simmer for 20- 25 minutes until the vegetables are cooked.

Step 3: Wash and dry the pumpkin seeds before heating up the teaspoon of oil. Add the seeds and fry them until they start to pop and jump. Cover and stir frequently. When the seeds look toasted, remove them from the heat.

Step 4: Blend the cooked lentils and pumpkin mixture with a hand blender until smooth. Add the crème fraiche and give it one last blend. Taste the soup and season with pepper if needed.

Step 5: Toast the bread and slice into croutons.

Step 6: Serve the soup in a jar or a mug with toasted seeds, parsley, and croutons on top.

Recipe by Simon Taylor

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our other Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:

https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/

Health Research UK Healthy Heart Tip: Keeping yourself fit

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Keeping yourself fit

Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 35%. Keeping fit is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle for people of all ages, since exercising regularly can have various long-term health benefits on both physical and mental wellbeing.

See the tips below on how to increase your fitness:

Join challenges/schemes

One of the main obstacles to improving fitness can be getting started. By joining challenges, plans, or schemes, it can help create structure to your fitness journey. Why not check out the NHS 12-week-plan which combines running, strength and flexibility workouts to improve overall fitness.

Work across different intensities

It is recommended that each of us try to do at least 150 minute of ‘moderate’ intensity exercise per week, or 75 minutes of ‘vigorous’ intensity activity.

To improve fitness levels, it is important to work at both high and low intensities. A good indication of ‘moderate’ activity is being able to talk but not sing during your exercise session. Moderate activities may include brisk walking, dancing, lawn mowing or moderate cycling.

A good indication of working vigorously is the inability to speak more than a few words without pausing for a breath. Vigorous activities include swimming, skipping, running, and sports such as netball, hockey, and football.

Engage in different types of exercise

There are four main types of exercise: aerobic fitness, strength, balance, and flexibility. Doing some of each creates variation in your day-to-day activities to combat boredom, reduce your risk of injury, and improve your all-round fitness. Activities that improve muscular strength include using resistance bands, lifting, weights or even heavy gardening tasks such as digging.

You may also incorporate balance exercises through activities such as tai-chi, and racquet sports such as tennis and badminton. Flexibility exercises include yoga and Pilates, which can help to improve mobility. Try finding a local fitness class or club today!

For more tips, visit our website at heartresearch.org.uk

Bank up some heart health this Bank Holiday

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

With the August bank holiday coming up tomorrow, what will you do with your extra day off? Why not follow our tips to bank some heart health and still have a good time.

Hearty BBQ

If the sun is shining this bank holiday weekend, it could be the perfect time to fire up the BBQ and try some healthy alternatives to traditional burgers and sausages. Tuna steaks can be sliced and flavoured with lime, ginger and coriander for a healthy zesty burger alternative. Why not roast some veggies on the BBQ, such as corn on the cob or vegetable skewers.

Raise your game

Games like basketball and swing ball can be a fun way of entertaining the kids or catching up with friends in the garden or park. Don’t let the threat of rain stop the fun, there are plenty of indoor activities, such as trampolining, indoor skating and swimming.

Take to the streets

With carnivals, markets and food events back on the calendar, make sure you know how to spot some heart healthy street food. Simple swaps can go a long way towards a healthier heart and still tingle the taste buds; try out some delicious vegetarian options for a meat free alternative that’s packed with goodness; go for a side of corn on the cob or baked sweet potato wedges instead of fries.

Laugh and dance

For a healthy heart it’s important to keep the oxygen and blood flowing. What better way to do this than to have a good laugh and a boogie with your family and friends.

However you choose to spend your extra day, try to make your bank holiday count towards a healthier, happier and longer life with those you love.

Heart Research UK: Healthy Heart Tips

Getting Fit Whilst Getting to Work

Many more of us who have been working from home will be set to return to offices either part-time or full-time over the coming weeks and months (writes Dr HELEN FLAHERTY).

There has never been a better time to start integrating exercise into your commute, as we begin to establish new routines both at work and home. With this in mind, here are some tips for doing just that:

Park further from work

Not everyone lives within cycling distance of their workplace, and you may rely on a car to get from A to B.

If this is the case, try parking further from work and cycling the last part of your commute.

Track your distance

It can be really motivating to see how far you have cycled over a week or month and you may be surprised about just how far you can go with an extra few miles each day!

Apps like Strava are great for tracking how far you have cycled over a long period of time.

Adapt your routine

If getting on your bike is simply a matter of starting out a little earlier, consider what might have to change within your routine to accommodate for this.

This may be getting to bed earlier, preparing your meals the night before, or having a lighter breakfast before you set off.

Invest in a new bike

Buying some new equipment can be a great first step towards committing to a new habit.

If you find your rusty old bike is putting you off commuting, you may look to see if your employer is signed up to the Cycle-to-Work scheme where you can get a brand new bike at a lower, monthly cost than you may otherwise pay.

You may also be able to donate your old bike to a local bike renovation scheme.

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip: Peel-to-Stem

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Peel-to-Stem

In the UK, it is estimated that we waste 6.6million tonnes of food each year, with 4.5million tonnes of that being edible food. “Peel-to-Stem” or “Root-to-Stem” is a growing food trend that focuses on using the parts of fruits and vegetables that we wouldn’t typically eat, such as the leaves, skins, seeds, and stalks.

Quite often, we may throw away and waste parts of fruits and vegetables such as the skins, but quite often, these parts can actually be the most nutritious.

For example, vegetables and potatoes consumed with their skins on can contain more fibre than without the skins, and a lot of nutrients found within fruits are contained in or just under the skin. Increasing your fibre intake can help to reduce your risk of heart disease.

Here are some quick and easy ways that you can use the edible trimmings from fruits and vegetables:

Make your own vegetable stock by simmering peelings from spring onions, carrots, and parsnips; and add celery leaves/tips to add flavour to soups, stews, and ramens

Make cauliflower crisps by baking slices of cauliflower at 200 degrees Celsius for 20-25minutes until they have crisped up.

Cut broccoli and cauliflower stems into batons and add to a stir fry to bulk out the vegetables; adding one of your five-a-day.

Don’t throw the seeds away from your pumpkins; remove any stringy bits from the seeds, wash, and bake at 180 degree Celsius for 10minutes for a tasty snack.

Make potato wedges with the skins on to add fibre to your homemade wedges, just give the potatoes a good wash first.

If you have any citrus fruit peelings left over from oranges, lemons, or limes; use these to make a favourable citrus marmalade; or add to water with ice cubes or crushed ice to make a refreshing glass of flavoured water.

Heart Research UK Healthy tip: Move like an Olympian!

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by Dr Helen Flaherty, Head of Health Promotion at Heart Research UK

Healthy Tips: Move like an Olympian

The 2021 Summer Olympics is an international multi-sport event, which will be held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.

Whether you participate in sports already, or if you are looking to increase your physical activity levels, here are some healthy heart tips to keep you motivated on the road to Tokyo!

Get Moving

Aerobic activity is the best type of exercise to keep your heart healthy, this is because your body requires more oxygen causing your heart and lungs to work harder. Aerobic exercise combines stretching and strength with rhythmic movement, involving large muscle groups such as shoulders, arms, and legs.

Popular aerobic Olympic sports include cycling, swimming and rowing. Some other aerobic exercises, which you can try at home, include walking up and down the stairs, dancing and skipping.

Step Challenge

You are probably familiar with the recommendation to take 10,000 steps every day. In the UK, the average person completes just 3,000 to 4,000 steps per day.

Why not increase your daily step count by taking on the Heart Research UK Step Challenge. This challenge involves walking 10,000 steps per day over four weeks.

Look for opportunities to increase your step count every day. For example, you could try parking further away from the supermarket or opting for the stairs over the lift, and you will be on the path to improving your physical health.

Some benefits of taking on this challenge:

Increases physical activity levels
Helps to manage weight
Improves heart health
Strengthens your bones and builds muscle
Lowers blood pressure

Join a Club

Has the Olympics inspired you to get involved in any sports or activities? If so, why not check out what activities or sports clubs are available in your local area?

You could either get in touch with your local club or check out BBC Sports Get Inspired web page.

No matter what your fitness levels, there is a sport or activity out there for you!