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Heart and Health Depend Upon Diet and Exercise

By: Julia Pizer With over 65 percent of the population considered obese, no doubt United States has heart disease as the number one killer disease. The numbers are rising alarmingly and the cost of health is slated to go up steeply in the near future. The trend refuses to ebb and is rapidly going from bad to worse. The government is concerned, and as a result it unveiled its new food pyramid that emphasizes on a well-balanced diet and a good deal of exercise.

While the exercise component to the pyramid was indeed new, so too was the outlook on a balanced diet. The new pyramid takes into account that not all members of a food group are equal. Certain vegetables might be better for you than others and so it is important to remember that you have to pay attention to which members of food groups you consume. The actual servings are not as important as what is in those servings.

To achieve sustained weight loss in true sense you need to increase your body's metabolism. This can be achieved by reducing the size of each serving you take in and alter the traditional "3 meals a day" regime. Thus, you may consider taking three comparatively light meals with two snacks each day. This is sure to give you best results for sustained weight loss.

Your metabolism reflects the speed at which your body's engine is running. The higher the metabolism, the more energy it takes to keep the body functioning normally. Thus, if you give long gaps between meals, the body naturally slows the metabolism to conserve more energy. And, if you eat meals more often and in smaller amounts it helps to keep the metabolism up and, consequently, lose weight.

It is a known fact that muscles are the most energy burning tissue in our body. So, larger are your muscles, higher will be your metabolism. You can increase your body metabolism by exercising regularly. It helps, especially if you lift weights as ultimately it is beneficial for your heart.

Apart from work outs, aerobic exercises such as jogging, biking, cross-country skiing and swimming also help maintain a strong heart and healthy body. You may not do them daily. In fact, it is best to perform aerobic exercises three days a week for about thirty minutes for best results. If you push too hard, you may land up with injuries that will discourage you from exercise altogether.

One of the best things that you can do for your heart and overall health is to drink plenty of water every day. Water is a natural purifier and helps remove toxins from your body. It is recommended that you drink half an ounce of water for every pound you weigh. Getting serious about your heart and its health now will lead to big benefits down the road including lowered medical costs, cleaner living, and simply feeling better about yourself than you do now. If you don't want to become another statistic, then make the changes to your diet and lifestyle necessary to a better heart and better living.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Julia Pizer is the owner and operator of F heart, the #1 source on the internet for information about heart. For more articles on heart visit: www.fheart.com/articles
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