Your heart works hard, you might even say it never skips a beat.

Your heart is your body’s engine, it works hard to deliver fresh, oxygenated blood to the body while eliminating waste. Over the course of a single day, your heart will beat over 100,000 times. That’s pretty impressive.

Of course, as strong as your heart is, it still needs proper care in order to properly function at an optimal level. A struggling heart can result in some major health problems including heart disease, heart failure, stroke and an aneurysm.

A healthy heart can facilitate a longer life in addition to the other physical benefits. Ameriden, your source for Rhodiola Rosea supplements, offers ways in which you can maintain a strong heart.

Quality Sleep

When you sleep, your body uses that time to recover and repair itself. Adults who get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night risk heart consequences. A lack of sleep can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, heart attack and high blood pressure. Do yourself a favor and go to bed at a decent time every night.

Limit Alcohol Intake

While there is some research that shows a link between heart health and moderate consumption of red wine, hitting the bottle too hard can lead to all sorts of heart problems. Drinking too much can lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation and cardiac arrhythmia.

If you are male, you should limit your alcohol intake to two drinks a day. Women should limit their alcohol intake to just one drink a day.

Enjoy Plant-Based Meals

A balanced diet consists of eating just about everything in moderation, this includes meat. So if you are downing three burgers a week, it is not good for your heart. Studies show people who eat diets high in red meat have an increased risk of heart disease.

Not only is incorporating more plant-based meals in your diet delicious, but it will also improve your heart health.

Plant-based diets are associated with lower risks of heart disease. This does not mean you have to go full vegetarian, just mix in a few meatless meals a week.

If you feel you have to have meat, try swapping that burger out for salmon. Having two or three servings of fish a week will improve your heart health.

Nutritious Breakfast

Donuts are yummy, but you should avoid them if you desire a healthy heart. You should be starting your day with a serving of oatmeal or whole-wheat toast, these are foods high in fiber that will help you maintain an ideal weight, which is a great thing you can do for your heart.

Fruits and Vegetables

There is a well-established connection between heart health and eating fruits and vegetables. A diet consisting of lots of fruit and vegetables can rescue your risk of a heart attack by as much as 30%.

Even just adding one fruit and vegetable a day to your diet will help.

Avoid Processed Foods

Processed foods tend to be high in hydrogenated fats, sugar and sodium, none of which will do your heart any good. So if you desire a healthy heart, you should avoid eating cookies, cakes, bagged snacks, canned meat, sugary cereal and potato chips.

Meditation

Chronic stress negatively affects your entire body, especially your heart. Studies have shown that people who work highly stressful jobs have an increased risk of heart disease, as much as 40% higher. However, quitting a stressful job might not be an option.

What you can do is manage your stress by getting plenty of sleep, plenty of exercise and engaging in activities that lower stress. For example, you could meditate. Meditation is the key to connecting more deeply with yourself and understanding why you react to certain situations. Set aside time in your day to honor a moment or two of daily stillness and inner calm.

Stop Smoking

Quitting smoking should be at the top of your to-do list. It is a bad habit that is a major factor in heart disease.

Daily Walks

We get it. You are busy and between work, kids, a spouse and everything that needs to be done every day, you have little time to hit the gym.

Well, exercise is important for heart health so you need to be doing something. One of the easiest ways to get some exercise is by going for a walk. Yes, it is that simple. You can sneak a five or 10-minute walk in at any time throughout the day.

The American Heart Association recommends that you get at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise a week. And if you can walk a mile in under 20 minutes, it counts as aerobic exercise.

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