STEPS TO KEEPING YOUR ARTERIES CLEAR
If you’re reading this, you’re probably concerned about the health of your arteries, heart, or even your entire health. Our goal is for you to walk away with a better understanding of how your circulatory system works and, more importantly, what you can do on a daily basis to keep your arteries healthy.
Let’s speak about what arteries are and how they work before we get into the five things we said in the title. Arteries transport oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the sections of the body that require it. These are not to be confused with veins, which return used, oxygen-depleted blood to your heart. Both are crucial, but your body requires a steady flow of oxygen to function, which is why arterial health is so crucial.
A higher risk of stroke is one of the most significant outcomes of clogged arteries. When arteries get congested, they become clogged with a substance known as arterial plaque. A accumulation of cholesterol on the inner linings of the arteries is known as atherosclerosis. When plaque fragments break off and clog your arteries, it can cause major complications. A clog in one of your carotid arteries (the huge ones that go up the sides of your neck) can cut off blood supply to your brain and cause a stroke.
Let’s get started on how to take care of your arteries now that we’ve established why they’re so vital.
1. Exercise on a regular basis
There’s nothing surprising about this. We’re sure you’ve heard many people tell you that exercise is important for you throughout your life: your doctor, your mother, your gym teacher…pretty much everyone. But has anyone ever explained why exercise is beneficial to one’s health? Or, to be more exact, useful for maintaining healthy arteries?
Exercising has been shown to raise the number of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) in the body. Remember that acronym because we’re going to use it again. Some HDLs (sometimes known as “good cholesterol”) have been found to reduce the build-up of arterial plaque. Exercise also helps to strengthen your heart, which helps to lower your blood pressure. Exercising, of course, burns body fat. Excess body fat puts extra strain on your arteries and makes your heart work harder than it has to.
Again, this comes as no surprise, but it must be stated. Did you know that smoking is responsible for one out of every four deaths caused by cardiovascular disease? What causes this to happen? After all, you’d think that smoking would mostly impact the lungs. Your body, on the other hand, is a connected machine, and your lungs and heart work together to get blood where it needs to go.
Remember how we discussed HDL? LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is HDL’s evil twin. When you have too much LDL, your arteries become clogged with cholesterol. Smoking is particularly harmful since it elevates LDL levels while decreasing HDL levels. Furthermore, the chemicals in cigarettes cause blood vessels to swell and become irritated. They become more rigid and tight as a result, allowing less blood to travel through and raising blood pressure. The good news is that when you stop smoking, your body can begin to mend itself, automatically restoring the balance between LDLs and HDLs.
3. Smart Eating
Making an effort to consume the correct meals is one of the finest things you can do to lower cholesterol and enhance your overall heart health. The good news is that there are numerous heart-healthy diets to choose from. What is the best option out of all the possibilities? Whichever option is most convenient for you. Even if you don’t want to commit to a full diet, you may be deliberate and include items that have been proved to promote heart health. The following are some healthy items to add in your diet:
Kale
Spinach
Greens Collards
Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are examples of berries.
Barley, quinoa, oats, and rye are examples of whole grains.
Green beans, brown beans, and pinto beans are all types of beans.
Walnuts and almonds
Stress is an odd beast. It’s completely psychological, but it can have very severe bodily consequences. Dealing with long-term stress can lead to headaches, exhaustion, and, yes, clogged arteries. Your body will react to stress in a variety of ways over time, one of which is an increase in cholesterol in your blood and plaque deposits in your arteries.
This may be the most difficult aspect to deal with. After all, you have complete control over the other items on this list. It may be difficult, but anyone can build an exercise plan, keep track of what they eat, and finally quit smoking. You have little influence over when pressures enter your life, unfortunately. Your job, your partner, your children, your finances, the news…there is no shortage of stressors in our lives. So, while we have no control over when stressful events occur, we do have power over how we respond to them.
There are many healthy ways to de-stress, and how we let off steam differs from one individual to the next. Introverts could curl up with a good book while extroverts go out to eat with friends. Crafty persons may choose a project to make, while the more handy among us may choose a home renovation job. You can cook, listen to music, relax in a bubble bath, or go for a run. Find something you enjoy doing and make time for it on a regular basis. Self-care isn’t something that happens by chance.
Diabetics’ Healthy Habits
This one isn’t for everyone, but for diabetics, vascular health is extremely crucial. Did you know that diabetics are more prone than non-diabetics to suffer heart disease? High blood pressure, which is linked to diabetes, is one of the reasons for the higher risk. When blood pressure is excessively high for an extended period of time, it harms the heart and arteries. Diabetics must therefore pay extra attention to their heart health in addition to their insulin levels. The most crucial component of this is maintaining blood sugar /js/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3665806312799815″>
Diet and taking the right drugs are the two most popular strategies to do this. Diabetics must be much more careful about what they eat because of their condition, therefore all of the heart-healthy foods listed above still apply to them. There are many different drugs to choose from. Consult your doctor if you have diabetes to learn which ones are best for you.
Final Thoughts
It’s far easier to maintain your arteries clean than it is to unclog them, and you can get started right now on everything we discussed in this post. There is no better moment than now. Furthermore, in addition to reducing arterial plaque, putting any of them into practice will have numerous other advantages.
It’s always a good idea to be checked out if you’re concerned about the health of your arteries for any reason. The easiest way to do so is to have an ultrasound exam to look for present plaque buildup in your arteries. These tests are noninvasive and take less than thirty minutes, making them a convenient and quick method to learn more about your health.
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