Not Smoking as Part of a Heart Healthy Lifestyle

Not smoking is an important part of a heart healthy lifestyle. A heart healthy lifestyle also includes following a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and doing physical activity regularly.

Following a Healthy Diet

A healthy diet is important for heart health. Choose a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains; half of your grains should come from whole-grain products.

Choose foods that are low in saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol. Healthy choices include lean meats, poultry without skin, fish, beans, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products.

Choose and prepare foods with little sodium (salt). Too much salt can raise your risk of high blood pressure. Recent studies show that following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can lower blood pressure.

Choose foods and beverages that are low in added sugar. If you drink alcoholic beverages, do so in moderation.

For more information on following a healthy diet, see the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Aim for a Healthy Weight Web site, "Your Guide to a Healthy Heart,"and "Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure With DASH." All of these resources provide general information about healthy eating.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Being overweight or obese increases your risk of heart disease, even if you have no other risk factors. Overweight or obesity also raises your risk for other diseases that play a role in heart disease, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Your weight is the result of a balance between energy IN and energy OUT. Energy IN is the energy, or calories, you take in from food. Energy OUT is the energy you use for things like breathing, digestion, and physical activity.

If you have:

• The same amount of energy IN and energy OUT over time, your weight stays the same
• More energy IN than energy OUT over time, you’ll gain weight
• More energy OUT than energy IN over time, you’ll lose weight

To maintain a healthy weight, your energy IN and energy OUT should balance each other. They don’t have to be the same every day; it’s the balance over time that’s important.

Doing Physical Activity Regularly

Physical activity also is part of a heart healthy lifestyle. Physical activity is good for many parts of your body and can lower your risk of many health problems.

Many Americans are not active enough. The good news, though, is that even modest amounts of physical activity are good for your health. The more active you are, the more you’ll benefit.

The four main types of physical activity are aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone strengthening, and stretching. You can do physical activity with light, moderate, or vigorous intensity. The level of intensity depends on how hard you have to work to do the activity.

For major health benefits, adults should do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes (1 hour and15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week. Another option is to do a combination of both.

You don’t have to do the activity all at once. You can break it up into shorter periods of at least 10 minutes each. Running, swimming, walking, bicycling, dancing, and doing jumping jacks are examples of aerobic activity.

If you have a heart problem or chronic disease, such as heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure, talk with your doctor about what types of physical activity are safe for you.

You also should talk with your doctor about safe physical activities if you have symptoms such as chest pain or dizziness.