A couple walks through their city.
Cardiologist José Luis Zamorano warns about the great enemies of cardiovascular health
Tobacco is not only bad for the heart, it will also make us die worse, according to the cardiologist
You have to avoid binge sports on the weekend, warns this expert
Recommendations to preserve health reproduce like spores in the media and are not always based on strictly medical criteria. This is not the case. He Cardiologist Jose Luis Zamorano is vice president of the European Society of Cardiology and Head of the Cardiology Service of the Ramon y Cajal Hospital. He has just received the highest award Royal National Academy of Medicine awarded each year. This expert, one of the best cardiologists in Spain, has shared in an interview on the podcast ‘La belleza es nuestra’ the best exercise that we can do every day to preserve the health of the heart and what time is best to practice it.
before exercise
According to Dr. Zamorano, in addition to exercising, other recommendations must be followed. The first, avoid tobacco resoundingly and consume the famous Mediterranean diet healthy, based on olive oil, better extra virgin, vegetables, fish, legumes and few meats, better white.
Portions are also important. The Mediterranean diet is, by definition, frugal. To achieve this, you have to take moderate portions and never get completely satisfied. chew slowly each bite will help us control the satiety signal.
how much and when
There is an exercise that we can practice every day to keep our heart healthy and fit: walking. “It should be a national sport,” he said on the podcast. For Zamorano it is essential walk every day between 35 or 40 minutes and, especially at sunset. “Lipid metabolism is carried out fundamentally at night, so that this sunset walkit will improve my physical capacity, my metabolism and my hypertension”, he assures. Fortunately, more and more citizens are joining the challenge of walking in the afternoon: “When you start practicing it, you realize that there are authentic “professionals of the ride” on the street with whom you pass every day. You see married couples who do not speak, but are focused on the walk. Others are listening to music, for example”.
No to sports binge
In contrast, the cardiologist advises against a very widespread practice: concentrating on sports at the weekend, doing marathons by bike or running. The exercise should never be aggressive and should include a part of training, warm-up and stretching to end.
With an adequate practice of exercise we can get rid of the cardiovascular problems related to lifestyle. Those related to genetics, unfortunately, no. However, in all cases, it is important to keep an eye on the great threats of the heart: tobacco (“Poison for our body”), LDL cholesterol (prioritizing green leafy vegetables and foods rich in Omega 3), the obesity (which usually brings as side effects the hypertension and diabetes) and the stress. In the latter case, the walk itself, better in a green area, will help us reduce anxiety.