Here’s a summary of the
Mayo Clinic Healthy Heart
Plan’s quick start:
Eat 5.
Eat five servings of fruit
and vegetables a day to boost your
heart health. Start by eating breakfast
and including at least one serving of
fruit or vegetable. Snack on vegetables
or fruit in between meals. Make a
conscious effort to include fruits and
vegetables in your daily meals. Don’t
worry so much about foods you
shouldn’t eat, just work on getting
five or more servings of fruits and
vegetables a day.
Move 10.
Add at least 10
minutes of moderately intense physical
activity to what you do every day. Sure
government recommendations say 30
minutes or more, but the bottom line
is even 10 minutes makes a difference.
For example, just 60 to 90 minutes a
week of physical activity can reduce
your heart disease risk by up to half.
That’s a big benefit from a pretty small
commitment on your part. It doesn’t
have to be elaborate — take the stairs,
take a walk, just get moving. As you
become more active, you can try to
increase your total amount of activity
a day.
Sleep 8.
Quality sleep is good
for your heart. It can be a challenge
to make time for good sleep, but it’s
important. For two weeks try to get
eight hours of good, quality sleep
each night. Yes, each person’s sleep
needs vary slightly, but eight is a good
number to shoot for.
All of these tips - Eat 5, Move
10, Sleep 8 - are meant to be
tried for two weeks before
you move on to a more
established healthy heart
plan. But there’s nothing
wrong with continuing
this quick start for longer
periods. Consider trying
other reputable diet and
exercise plans offered by the
American Heart Association
and government agencies.
The point is to get started
with something and keep
at it.
H
71
July/Aug 2014