Several habits, such as smoking and excessive drinking, can damage your heart. Our everyday practices can also affect the health of our hearts – how often we brush our teeth, which supplements we take, and how much coffee we drink.
Blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart rate are significantly influenced by what we do, eat, and drink. These every day habits can cause heart problems:
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Crash Dieting Or Eliminating Certain
Macronutrients
Temple University Hospital’s chief of cardiology, Daniel Edmundowicz, said people often think they are eating a healthy, balanced diet but are setting themselves up for heart disease. Low cholesterol diets, for example, avoid healthy fats, an essential macronutrient. Then they may consume too many carbohydrates.
Research shows that a sudden and extreme change in eating habits can deteriorate heart function and tax the cardiovascular system. In Edmundowicz’s view, this diet would not increase cholesterol levels, but it could lead to weight gain and stress on the sugar and diabetes systems. “Going from one extreme to another really doesn’t help,” Edmundowicz said.
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Social Isolation And Loneliness
Board-certified cardiologist Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar says isolation can also profoundly impact our heart health. Those who live in social isolation and those who live with loneliness have an 8% higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
The effects of social isolation do contribute to poor heart health, Edmundowicz said. Heart disease risk increases to 27% for those experiencing social isolation and loneliness. According to Edmundowicz, social isolation can also contribute to depression, leading to hypertension, sedentary lifestyles, and poor eating habits.