Heart diseases claim 17 million lives annually. If you think about it, that’s a lot of friends and loved ones that could have lived longer. If only they knew how.

As we celebrate World Heart Day, Karviva would like to take the opportunity to spread heart health awareness. Dig into these bits of advice on how to start a healthier lifestyle that supports your heart so you may live longer and better.

Maintain Your Weight

A healthy weight reduces the chances of high blood pressure and diabetes—both of which can lead to cardiovascular disease.

Exercise is an excellent way to reduce or maintain weight. Another thing is to stick to a healthy diet and eat adequate portions.

Get Some Exercise

Exercising moderately for at least 150 minutes a week (or 75 minutes with high intensity) is good for the heart. Increasing your heart rate with interval workouts can reduce the likelihood of heart diseases, strokes, and diabetes. 

Every week, strive to put in some hours of high or moderate intensity workouts, or even a mix of both, to maintain good cardiovascular health.

Avoid Trans Fat

Eliminating or reducing trans fat is important if you want to keep your heart healthy. Consuming excessive trans fat can put you at risk of coronary heart disease, so turn your back on it if you can. 

Trans fat is common in fast food restaurants using hydrogenated vegetable oil to deep fry food products like chicken or french fries. If you’re always ordering fast food, it’s time to cut the habit loose.

If avoiding it is not possible, limit your intake to 0.5 grams per meal serving. This is the healthy limit, according to the World Health Organization.

Cut Back on Salt

Another good thing about eliminating fast food is that you also reduce your salt intake, since fried fast foods tend to have high sodium content, too. But while saying no to these types of food helps your heart significantly, it’s always better if you can cut back further. 

Ideally, your daily salt intake should be no more than 0.2 ounces. This is equivalent to 1/3 tablespoon a day. Excess salt causes high blood pressure, which can lead to heart-related diseases and poor heart conditions in the long run.

Add Fiber to Your Diet

Diabetes can also contribute to vascular diseases. So part of managing your heart health is managing your sugar.

Soluble fibers help regulate your sugar levels. Be sure to eat whole grains, oatmeal, and veggies. Foods that are fiber-rich help maintain a normal blood glucose level and low cholesterol for a healthy heart.

Consider Going Vegan

If you want to take a ”healthy diet” to an even healthier level, consider switching to a plant-based diet. Going vegan can help maintain good health, keep the bad cholesterol away, and maintain low blood sugar.

However, going on a vegan diet can be challenging if you love meat and dairy. This may be a significant lifestyle change, but it also yields significant health results. If you want to consider this diet for a healthy heart and body, then take a deep look into veganism.

Manage Your Stress

Chronic stress is another risk factor that can affect your heart condition. Stress and anxiety can eventually lead to high blood pressure, which increases your risk for strokes.

So be gentle with yourself, be intentional with your relaxation, and incorporate natural ways to relieve stress.

Get Good Sleep

According to the American Heart Association, the right amount of shuteye helps improve your heart health. Thus, the less likely you’ll suffer from a heart attack and other heart-related diseases.

Sleep deprivation has an effect on stress and high blood pressure, and we know what those lead to if left unchecked.

So put in at least seven or eight hours of sleep a night. We’re talking about undisturbed REM sleep. Here are ways to help you have a great one every time.

Foster Loving Relationships

Building loving relationships with the people around you is important to maintain your heart health.

When your interpersonal relationships are filled with affection, it contributes to your happiness and health by reducing stress and improving your immune system. This decreases the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases.

So start building loving relationships with your friends and family because love sparks better heart health. You can start by showing compassion to others, but especially to yourself and your body.

Incorporate Healthy Drinks

If you’re planning on starting a healthy diet, the first step is to be compassionate with yourself. Start by including antioxidant juice rich in healthy ingredients that your heart will thank you for.

Karviva offers several of these drinks. Unlike cold pressed juice, Karviva’s line of drinks fuses tasteful whole food ingredients from various organic sources such as fruits, plants, berries, and mushrooms—all while minimizing waste. It’s a gentle and effective way to slowly ease into a healthy lifestyle.

Overall, Karviva’s organic drinks are a practical choice for those wanting to start changing their diets for the better. You can easily pack a cold one in your bag to get you through the day. Each sip will give you a burst of flavor and fill your heart with joy.

Share Health Drinks and Tips this World Heart Day

This World Heart Day, let’s get in the spirit of compassion for our bodies. Let’s start caring for our hearts and the people around us. It can start with one bottle shared with another over a workout, a conversation, or a meal.

In addition, we encourage you to pass these heart and health tips around to the people you know. Equip them with knowledge on how to care for themselves so they can enjoy life better, just as you are.

Here’s to celebrating heart, health, and happiness. Get yourself and others a Karviva drink today.