Big Red Tour

Supporting heart health includes a combination of exercise, a heart healthy diet and heart supplements. Each of these three elements plays an important role in promoting heart health and the combination of all three works in synergy for maximum heart health benefits.

Exercise
The American Heart Association suggests that even moderate activity can be beneficial for the heart. According the studies the effect of inactivity on the heart is comparable to that of smoking, raised cholesterol levels and high Blood pressure. So living an inactive lifestyle may be as harmful for the heart as smoking!

The American Heart Association recommends that all healthy adults get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise, five days a week. Such activities can include swimming, jogging, aerobic dancing, yard work, gardening, walking, climbing stairs, or cycling.

Aerobic exercises in particular help to stimulate the production of oxygen in the blood and increase heart palpitation. This gives a good workout for the heart and lungs. Anaerobic exercise helps to build muscles. It is advisable to mix your exercise routine with aerobic, anaerobic and stretches.

Exercise helps to:

• Strengthen the functions of the heart and lungs, as well as other organs in the body.
• Build strength and endurance
• Help to increase energy levels
• Optimize metabolism
• Release stress and tension accumulated in joints and muscles
• Increases joint mobility and flexibility
• Supports healthy circulation of blood to all organs
• Tones skin health
• Helps promote regularity of bowel movements
• Supports immune health

Before starting any exercise program consult with your doctor for an exercise regiment that is suitable for you.

Diet that Supports (Heart) Health
There is really no such thing as a heart healthy diet! What we’re talking about is well-balanced nutrition which is recommended for everyone. The reason we think it’s a heart healthy diet is because of the consequences associated with unhealthy eating which have a direct or indirect influence on heart health.

A well balanced diet supports healthy eating habits and overall health, including cardio health. A balanced diet includes:

• At least 5 servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables
• At least 6 cups a day of grains (preferably whole grains).
• An adequate intake of 25 to 40 grams of dietary fiber a day
• Watching your calories to maintain an optimal weight.
• Limiting your intake of high calories foods, as well foods that contain trans fats, hydrogenated oils, fast foods and fried foods.
• Eating fatty fish at least twice a week for the omega 3 benefits.
• Focus on eating nutritional foods, instead of high-calorie foods which have little nutritive value.

Heart Supplements
There are certain nutrients that research shows have a favorable affect on cardio health. Take a look at these nutrients and how they help to support heart functions:

• Omega 3 fatty acids. Both the Food and Drug Administration and the American Heart Association have recognized the benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids for supporting heart health by helping to maintain normal cholesterol levels.
• CoQ10. This vitamin-like substance is concentrated in the Heart Muscles and provides energy for its functions.
• Folic acid.This member of the B vitamins helps to support healthy homocysteine levels, needed to arterial health.
• Phytosterols. Research indicates that phytosterols may play a role in the proper elimination of bad cholesterol from the system, inhibiting its absorption by the body.

A well-formulated cardio supplement like CardioMatrix contains a blend of the above heart-healthy nutrients. Used regularly, they play an active role in supporting cardio health along with a healthy diet and exercise regimen.

Kevin Agrawal
http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/the-three-basic-approaches-for-promoting-heart-health-1286533.html

When an exercise program is started, there will often be statements or indications about finding and staying within a target heart rate range. For the novice exercise participant, these terms can seem like Latin. Finding your target heart rate range is a simple process that can make your workouts more effective, more substantial and more fat burning.

Fat burning occurs when the heart rate is maintained within a certain range for an extended period of time. This range is called the target heart rate range. In order to find this range, a mathematic equation can be used.

1) Find your maximum heart rate. The maximum heart rate of a person is needed to find the target heart rate range. The maximum heart rate is simply 220 – (your age). For example, a 50 year old woman who wants to find her maximum heart rate would take the number 220 and subtract her age (50) giving her the maximum heart rate of 170.

2) A little division. Once the maximum heart rate is found, the target heart rate range is easy to establish. The target heart rate of physical fitness and fat burning normally ranges from 50% of the maximum heart rate to 85% of the maximum heart rate. For the 50 year old woman, the target heart rate range would be 85 beats per minute to 145 beats per minute.

Using the Target Heart Rate Range

At first, this range will be a guide for the exercise your are doing each day. The lower number should be your friend throughout workouts. This is the lowest heart rate that should be sustained for a longer period of time in order to activate the fat burning mode of the muscles. As your physical fitness levels increase, the upper ranges of the target heart rate range can be reached to enhance the fat burned during a workout.

How Long Do I Have to Sustain an Elevated Heart Rate

The body stores carbohydrates for energy and these stores are the first fuels that are burned by the body. In general, the first 15 minutes of an aerobic, or heart rate raising, workout will just be burning the carbohydrate stores. After that the fat burning begins and every step, lift, punch and kick are taking a few more fat calories off that body.

Cautions for Beginners

It is important for the person just beginning a fat burning exercise program to seek medical advice before beginning. The target heart rate range figures assume a healthy person with no associated health problems. There are effective ways for every person to lose weight through fat burning, but if these methods are directing a negative effect on the body related to a health problem the weight loss will certainly not be a good trade off.

For the healthy individual, the lower ranges are your home for the first few days, up to two weeks. The main reason people stop an exercise program for fat burning is because of burn out. Their bodies are tired, their muscles are achy and they just do not want to do it anymore. By sticking with the lower end and slowly climbing the range, your body will adjust more quickly and their will be less pain.

Robert Kokoska
http://www.articlesbase.com/weight-loss-articles/exercising-for-fat-loss-within-your-target-heart-rate-range-428154.html

Does anyone know why a lack of oxygen to the Heart Muscles causes pain, and why it causes breathlessness?
Note that oxygen supply to the heart does not determine oxygen supply to the lungs. Therefore how would the lungs be affected by the inadequacy of the heart?

Lack of oxygen and blood supply hurts most muscles. Your heart is full of nerve fibers that control and monitor it’s cycle. So when you cut off bloodflow/oxygen to that area..you can bet it’s going to hurt like 9 kinds of hell.