6 Ways to Improve Your Heart Health

It goes without saying that it’s important to look after your heart – after all, it’s what keeps you going! If you’re looking for ways to improve your heart health, there are plenty of simple changes that you can make to your daily routine.

Kickstart your journey to a healthier heart with these six ways to keep your heart healthy.

6 Ways to Improve Your Heart Health

We’ve put together six ways you can support your heart health and reduce risk factors for a potential cardiovascular disease. From losing weight to reducing your alcohol consumption, keep these top tips in mind to help look after your heart.

1) Lose Weight

Losing weight is a great place to start for a healthier heart. Carrying around extra pounds can result in variety of health concerns, from high cholesterol to high blood pressure. Many health concerns related to being overweight, such as high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, have one thing in common – they may increase your risk of heart disease. With a healthy weight, all those issues can be avoided.

If you’re looking to kickstart your weight loss journey and have a healthy diet, you’ve come to the right place! Discover our range of OPTIFAST meal replacement products to help support your weight loss journey. Choose an OPTIFAST diet plan, combining OPTIFAST products with low-calorie conventional meals, to help get you started.

The OPTIFAST Starter Pack is an option to kickstart your weight loss journey:

Browse our full range of low-calorie Soups, Meal Replacement Shakes, Bars, and Desserts.

2) Consume Lower-Calorie, Balanced Meals

A healthy heart starts in the kitchen! Fuel your body and look after your heart with healthy and varied low-calorie meals. Ensure you’re consuming plenty of whole grains, fresh fruit, and vegetables in your diet, and switch the frying pan for steaming, boiling or, grilling in order to increase the intake of healthier foods.

Try to avoid cooking your food in saturated fat, such as butter. Try to lower levels of salt – aim for less than 6g (approx. 1 teaspoon) a day and consider using different herbs and spices to add flavour to your dishes. These simple swaps will support you on your way to a healthier heart.

Unsure where to start? Get inspired with our wide range of low-calorie recipes here and improve your nutrition.

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3) Eat More Fibre

Keep your heart healthy by consuming more fibre. Fibre can contribute to lowering your risk of heart disease and supports normal digestion.

Fibre is found in a variety of wholegrains, including bulgur wheat, oats, barley, granary bread, wholewheat cereals, and flax seeds to name a few! For a quick, convenient, and easy way to boost your fibre intake, simply sprinkle flax seeds onto your porridge or salad.

Our range of OPTIFAST meal replacement products provide a source of fibre, in addition to protein and essential vitamins and minerals. The OPTIFAST Bars are a convenient option to take with you whenever you’re on the go and can support your daily fibre intake alongside balanced, conventional meals. These meal replacement bars are available in Berry, Cereal, Chocolate, Cappuccino and Almond, Date & Honey flavours.

4) Don’t Smoke

We’re sure you’re already aware of the many health risks associated with smoking – one of them being the increased risk of heart attack or stroke.

A great way to ensure you’re keeping your heart healthy is to avoid or stop smoking. We know that quitting smoking is easier said than done, but there are plenty of support groups in addition to the NHS Better Health website to help and advise you on your journey to quit smoking. You can also visit your GP for advice where you may be eligible to receive prescribed medication to help you give up smoking. As soon as you stop being a smoker, your risk of heart attack is significantly reduced as your heart health improves.

5) Drink Less Alcohol

When consumed in excess, the effects of alcohol can be damaging for the body. From liver problems to high blood pressure and fast heart rate, alcohol can contribute to an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.

Not only can alcohol contribute to these health problems, but it also contains lots of calories. To give some context, a pint of beer can be equivalent to eating one caramel chocolate bar, while a glass of wine is equivalent to eating three biscuits. If you’re trying to lose weight, it is best to reduce your consumption of alcohol as the liquid calories can slow down and affect your progress.

Reduce your consumption of alcohol to keep your heart healthy in the long term. If you’re following our OPTIFAST meal replacement plan, we recommend that you don’t consume any alcohol at all in order to best support your weight loss journey.

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6) Get Moving

We’re not saying that you need to start training for a marathon, but one great way to boost your heart health is to start moving more. Whether that’s a quick stroll on your lunch break, a yoga session at home, or walking somewhere instead of driving, any activity is better than none.

Choose forms of physical activity that you enjoy so that it feels less like a chore to get moving. Keeping active can help to reduce your risk of heart disease and is one of the best ways to improve your heart health.

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Learn more about our OPTIFAST Bars and how they can support you on your weight loss journey here: