Tips for Healthy Living
This section summarises current thinking on how to look after your heart – while much of the advice is either common sense or widely known, we feel that it doesn’t hurt to repeat it here. The rules for healthy living are very simple (though not always easy to stick to!):
- Eat a variety of fruit and vegetables – aim for at least 5 portions a day
- Drink lots of water – ideally 8 glasses a day
- Check the labels on packaged foods to ascertain levels of fat, sugar, salt and calories per serving
- Reduce fat intake, especially saturated fat – try to keep total daily intake to 70g (women) and 90g (men)
- Keep sugar intake low – 50g/day (women) and 70g/day (men)
- Keep salt intake moderate – no more than 6g/day (6g salt equals 2g sodium on food labels). Remember, a balanced diet provides all the salt the body needs.
- Choose high-fibre foods like complex carbohydrates e.g. pasta, cereals
- Cut out unhealthy snacks – choose nuts, seeds, fruit or yoghurt instead
- Keep moving:
- get more active in your daily life – e.g., walk don’t drive to the shops, use the stairs instead of the lift
- get yourself a pedometer and set yourself goals of number of steps taken each day
- try for the equivalent of 3 to 4 x 30 minute exercise sessions a week
- always check with your doctor before starting an exercise programme
- build up gradually if you have been inactive for a long time
- Do not eat more calories per day than you burn off! Average daily calorie requirement for women is 1940 and 2550 for men (actual amount depends on age, weight, height and activity levels)
- Drink alcohol in moderation – 14 units per week for women and 21 for men
- If you smoke – stop!
