Healthy Heart and Blood Pressure FAQ

One good way to determine how healthy you are is to assess your heart health. Although there are many factors that can contribute to a healthy heart, the most important areas you can easily measure yourself are your resting heart rate and your resting/active blood pressure.

1. What is resting heart rate?

When you’re resting, count how many times your heart beats in a minute. Resting could be standing, sitting, or lying down. The most important factor to consider is that you are not engaging in exercise, as this would raise the heart rate.

2. What should my resting heart rate be?

Most healthy adults will have a resting heart rate of 60-100 beats per minute (BPM).

Generally, the lower the number of beats the more efficient the heart is at pumping blood. For example, elite athletes have been shown to have resting heart rates around 40 BPM.

3. What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the amount of strength at which the heart pumps blood through the arteries.

4. What is a healthy blood pressure?

Healthy blood pressure should fall around 120/80.

5. What happens if my blood pressure is too high
or too low?

If the pressure is high, this is an indication that the heart is working harder than it needs to and can put strain on the heart and lead to chronic disease.

If the pressure is too low you could be pushing more blood through than is needed or your blood could be too thin.

In general, the higher the blood pressure the higher the instance of chronic diseases. Even someone who has a blood pressure of 135/80 is twice as likely to have heart disease than someone with a blood pressure of 115/75.

6. Can I reduce my blood pressure without
medication?

There are many ways you can lower your blood pressure without any prescription medication. The best ways are:

• Get regular exercise ‒ especially cardiovascular exercise
• Eat a diet low in cholesterol
• Limit your intake of fatty foods
• Avoid smoking

7. Healthy Heart = Healthy Body

Keep in mind that you might be visually fit, but if your heart is not functioning efficiently, you can be prone to chronic disease.

Take some time to visit a qualified health professional and get your blood pressure checked out.

Be at your best: monitor your heart rate and blood pressure to live your healthiest life.

Top 5 Protein Myths That Hurt Your Diet

You know that you need protein to have a healthy diet and body. However, there are some myths about protein that can confuse you and lead you down the wrong path. Not everything you hear about protein is true.

Protein is an essential nutrient for your entire body.

Beware of falling for these protein myths:

Myth 1: Protein magically builds muscle. One common myth revolves around eating protein such as peanut butter, meat, or other foods and magically getting big or strong muscles.

Unfortunately, simply eating protein isn’t going to make you bulk up overnight. If you don’t exercise, the protein you eat won’t turn into muscle. You have to exercise regularly in addition to eating protein to see results.

Myth 2: All protein is the same. Protein gets broken down into amino acids in your body. Does it really matter if it’s coming from a candy bar with nuts or a protein shake?

The truth is that the source of the protein does matter.

For example, animal and plant sources of protein aren’t identical. The main difference is that many plant sources don’t have all the essential amino acids your body requires. In addition, it’s harder for your body to extract some of the protein from plant sources.

Myth 3: You can’t overeat protein. This myth focuses on falsely believing that you can eat as much protein as you want without any consequences.

You hear many warnings about eating too many carbohydrates and fats. However, how often do you hear warnings about eating too much protein? On the contrary, many believe you can’t overindulge in protein. This is simply not true, and there are consequences to eating too much protein.

Some of the common issues surrounding too much protein consumption include weight gain. Extra protein can turn into fat that is stored in the body. In addition, overeating protein can cause kidney damage and bad breath.

Myth 4: You must eat protein after every workout. You may be tempted to eat protein after workouts because of this myth. The idea behind the myth is that you need protein to rebuild the muscles you’re using.

The protein can refuel your body after a long day at the gym. However, if you forget to eat it or simply don’t want to eat it, then it’s not an issue.

Research shows that having a large amount of protein right after a workout doesn’t offer any long-term benefits. As long as you’re getting enough protein from your meals and other snacks during the day, you don’t have to rush to eat more protein right after running for a mile.

Myth 5: Protein will help you lose weight. Protein can be part of a weight loss plan, but eating it alone won’t be enough to lose weight.

For example, if you dramatically increase the amount of protein you eat, but don’t exercise or change other habits, then you may not lose any weight.

Protein isn’t a magic pill that will melt pounds away the minute you increase your protein consumption. It’s still important to control your calories, work out, and eat healthier.

Protein is a crucial nutrient, but it’s important to avoid falling for these myths. For your best results, maintain a healthy, balanced diet with many types of nutrients and exercise to stay fit.