World Heart Day is observed on 29th September every year. The theme for 2020 is “Use Heart to Beat CVD (Cardio-vascular Diseases)”. Using your heart implies using your wisdom and knowledge to adopt healthy lifestyle, using your influence to motivate others to do so and using your compassion to help others.
It has been seen that many young people in the age group of 25-40 are falling prey to the deadly cardio-vascular diseases. Falling sick at such young age is detrimental not only to the individual but also to family members, organization they are working for and society and nation in general.
For today’s younger generation, solution to healthy living and healthy heart is disciplined lifestyle and not blindly mimicking western lifestyle. Healthy and disciplined Lifestyle include the following:
- Take adequate sleep for at least 8 hours (Extremely important)
- Water is the best natural and healthy drink
- Eat a well-balanced, nutritious, healthy and timely diet.
- Indian diet consisting of roti, vegetables, rice, dal, green leafy vegetables, curds or buttermilk, fruits and salads is a healthy diet.
- Eat more of green leafy vegetables and salads
- Include 1-2 fruits daily in the diet
- Avoid all junk food such as biscuits, fruit juices, noodles, cakes, pastries, cookies, packed snack items, cold/energy drinks, pizzas, burgers, fast food items, donuts, deep fried items, refined sugar etc.
- Reduction in weight if overweight or obese
- Blood sugar and blood pressure levels should be in control
- Exercise regularly e.g. a daily brisk walk for 30 minutes a day
- Avoid alcohol, smoking, tobacco or any harmful addictive substance
- Practise yoga and meditation as per expert’s advice
- Spend less time on electronic gadgets and more time with your near and dear ones
- Seek help of experts such as counsellors or psychiatrists if there are any mental health issues or stress symptoms
- Modify your behavior to reduce stress. Do not jump to conclusions. Learn to say “No”. Do not act on impulse. Plan your life well. Be calm and controlled. Harbor no negative feeling. Try to have healthy relationships with your family members, relatives, neighbors and office colleagues
- Stop being workaholic. Ensure a healthy work life balance
- Sitting continuously for a long time, sitting late for work and sleeping late are harmful to health and heart
- Adequate sleep, exercise, yoga and meditation are excellent stress busters and not dancing late night in pubs and drinking alcohol or smoking
- Have regular check-up especially if there is family history of high blood pressure, diabetes or heart attack
It has been seen that people with co-morbidities have more serious complications due to COVID-19. It is important to stay fit, maintain your weight, keep blood pressure and blood sugar under control and enhance immunity by all above measures. Take care of your heart and overall health to stay safe.