1. BE ACTIVE: 30 minutes a day
Try to do at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on 5 days or more a week. You can split the 150 minutes into longer sessions if you need to. Vitality Yoga/ pilates passes have been created to help you do as many yoga and pilates classes as you can a week.
2. Don’t live with smoke
Give up smoking; it is one of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease. By a year after you have stopped smoking, your risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker. Hypnotherapy with Amanda can help you with this.
3. Keep the balance
Try to have a well-balanced diet that is low in fat and high in fruit, vegetables and essential fats. Konstantina our Nutritionist can help you boost your diet with super foods.
4. Salt or no salt…
Stop using salt at the table, reduce the amount you use in your cooking, or even better cut it out completely from your cooking. It may take a little getting used to, but your taste buds will adapt and your blood pressure will lower. Be aware that most takeaways, shop bought food can be high in salt to limit the amount you eat of these.
5. Enjoy five a day
Up your intake of fruit and vegetables and help get your 5-a-day. Try adding some dried fruit to your cereal in the morning or adding extra vegetables to pasta sauces, curries, casseroles etc.
6. Combat your stress levels
If things are getting too much, go for a walk on your lunch break, take the baby for a walk, have a massage or reflexology, discover yoga or simply sit in a café and watch the world go by. These precious minutes you take out of your daily routing can buy you many more in life. Acupuncture is effective in reducing blood pressure.
7. Cut the saturated fat
Make small changes to your diet, like switching from full fat milk to skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, choosing leaner cuts of meat or steaming or grilling foods rather than frying in lots of oil. Maybe even try more vegetarian receipes as variety is what we all need.
8. Make your diet omega rich
Eat oily fish regularly, such as mackerel, sardines, fresh tuna and salmon. Oily fish is an excellent source of omega 3 fats, which can help protect against heart disease. Seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin, linseed or sesame are rich in omega 6 and 9. So enjoy fish salads over the summer. You can also find a good range of biocare supplements in the shop, including omega 3.
9. Check out food labels
Get in the habit of checking the label on food packets when out shopping. The information will help you understand what is in food you are buying and make healthier food choices.
10. The vices…
Alcohol, caffeine based drinks, chocolates – these give us moments of pleasure but what do they really do in the long run? The next time you fancy a sip or a bite take a moment to consider if it is really worth it! Or make a change – one small glass of red wine, dark chocolate and only one small cup of coffee day (maybe give decaf a try) a day!
