As hearts begin to flutter in February leading up to the much anticipated – or avoided – Valentine’s Day, it’s a good time to think about the health of your heart. Whether you’ve highlighted or erased the day on your calendar, take the time to look at your heart in a different light, as the incredibly remarkable organ it is.
While there are heart health risk factors that you can’t change, such as your age, sex, background and family history, there are still plenty of things you can change or consider to help keep your heart in rhythm. This biggest factor you can control is nutrition! While your heart is at the forefront of your mind, here’s a little nutrition guide that could help assist its health.
Greens and Grains
Do you know that four out of five Australian adults don’t eat enough fruit and veg each day? And only 30 per cent of Aussies eat their recommended daily grains? A convenient way to get a head start is by adding some fruit, oats or a stick of Isagenix Greens™ to your customised IsaLean™ Shake recipe.
Zest up your Protein
More often than not people garnish their proteins with salt. Although its good to mix up your protein with lean meat, poultry and seafood, don’t undo all your good work by choosing salt to garnish. Reduce your salt intake by flavouring your food with herbs and spices like parsley, paprika, rosemary or oregano.
Say Cheese!
Dairy is an essential part of any diet. However, day-to-day dairy choices like milk and cheese are often high in saturated fat. Choosing reduced-fat milk, cheese and yoghurt is an easy fix to lower your saturated fats. Lowering your saturated fats alone isn’t going to make a world of difference to your heart health, but when replaced with unsaturated fat can reduce the risk of heart disease.
Don’t Overthink your Drink
Water makes up a large part of our bodies, so it makes sense to assume that water is the number one source of fluid for hydration every day. In moderation, it’s also okay to treat yourself to plain soda water, reduced fat milk either on its own or with tea and coffee. Take a bottle everywhere you go as a reminder!
When Valentine’s Day or Singles Awareness Day comes around this year, take a second to think about how you treat your own heart and show it the love and attention it deserves.
Information provided on this Website and on all publications, packaging, and labels is for general purposes only and designed to help you make informed decisions about your health. It is not intended to substitute advice from your GP or healthcare professional.
