Month: April 2026

Heart Focus – Move more to keep your heart healthy.

Did you know just two hours of walking a week may reduce heart disease risk by up to 53%?

According to recent research, physical activity levels for Australians are declining, particularly among those aged 30 to 44 years. Across all age groups, around 15% live sedentary lives.

While some Australians are keeping active, the sad truth is only over half of all Australians exercise enough to gain the health benefits of increased fitness, reduced body fat and lowered risk of obesity-related disorders.

Enjoyment is key.

If you find it hard to stick with regular exercise, the key is enjoyment. Find activities you enjoy doing, to help you stay on track. Vary your weekly activities or exercise with friends to help maintain motivation.

Remember – exercise doesn’t have to be running or playing a sport. Gardening, mowing the lawn, washing the car or cleaning the house are all great activities that can get your heart pumping.

If you are just getting started, take small steps and set reachable goals.

  • Aim to walk 10,000 steps each day. Start with 1,000, then next week try for 2,000.
  • Get 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity, five times a week. Moderate-intensity physical activity will cause a slight, but noticeable increase in both your breathing and heart rate and should be carried out for at least 10 minutes. Examples include brisk walking, bike riding or kicking a ball.
  • Do muscle-strengthening exercises on two or more days per week. This is essential for maintaining healthy muscles and preventing loss of bone density. A mixture of weight-lifting, using resistance bands, planks, sit-ups, yoga and Pilates is suitable for muscle strengthening and increasing bone density.

 

 

 

Heart Focus – Manage your blood pressure.

Why focus on your blood pressure?

In Australia nearly 1 in 3 adults have high blood pressure. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey, just 11% of diagnosed adults have their condition under control. In addition:

  • Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases a person’s stroke risk by up to 6 times.
  • Lowering your blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure and cardiovascular death by 25%.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force on your arterial walls as your heart pumps blood around the body.

Your blood pressure does not stay constant throughout the day. The simplest way of explaining this is by comparing your blood pressure to how your body reacts on a roller coaster. When you are on the flat section of a roller coaster you feel relatively relaxed, but when the roller coaster changes speed and direction or descends sharply, your body feels this and reacts by releasing adrenaline and becoming excited.

Similarly, your blood pressure changes throughout the day because your body senses a change in its position, a change in your mood or your activity level etc. This variation in blood pressure is perfectly normal, but it is detrimental to your health when you have a consistently high resting blood pressure.

Your blood pressure is important because if it is too high, it affects the blood flow to your organs.

Five ways to improve your blood pressure.

  1. If you have been prescribed blood pressure medication, ensure that you take it according to your doctor’s guidelines. Why? High blood pressure medication works best when taken as prescribed. Only 20% of people on blood pressure medication take it correctly.
  2. Switch from white bread to brown and/or whole grain bread varieties. As a general rule, the darker the grain, the healthier it is. Why? Studies show that eating three servings of whole grains a day is linked to a reduction in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading).
  3. Swap one packaged food item each day for a piece of fruit to reduce your salt (sodium) intake. Why? Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can improve your heart health and reduce blood pressure by about 5 to 6 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg).
  4. Move more! As little as two 10 minute brisk walks per day may lead to a meaningful reduction in blood pressure. Why? Exercise strengthens your heart so it can pump with less effort, reducing the pressure placed on artery walls. Exercise also burns off the stress chemical cortisol which is linked to vascular dementia.
  5. Choose a relaxing or stress busting activity to do every day (every second day if you can’t fit it in daily). It can be as simple as spending 10 minutes reading your favourite magazine or taking a few minutes for some deep breathing. For example, listening to music daily has been shown to reduce systolic blood pressure. Why? Chronic stress is thought to increase blood pressure due to the release of stress hormones into the body.

 

 

Heart Focus – Stay on top of stress.

Many of us know what stress feels like – headaches, muscle tension, moodiness, irritability, difficulty sleeping, low energy and digestive issues.

But it’s what we can’t see or feel that’s most concerning.

The stress hormone cortisol is produced by the body for stress response and survival. However, studies show that high levels of cortisol in the body from long-term stress can increase:

  • Cholesterol
  • Triglycerides
  • Blood sugar
  • Blood pressure
  • Plaque build-up

These are common risk factors for not only cardiovascular disease but also neurological conditions such as stroke, dementia and cognitive decline.

Take control of your stress.

  1. Identify your stress triggers. Knowing your stress triggers gives you a powerful tool to effective stress management. What specifically makes you feel angry, tense, worried or irritable?
  2. Have a ‘go-to’ stress busting strategy for instant relief. Try deep breathing, a quick walk, guided imagery, mindfulness, cold water therapy or five minutes of full body stretching.
  3. Fuel your body with stress-busting nutrients. A poor diet can bring greater reactivity towards stress. Bolster your defence against stress with:
  • B vitamins: eggs, avocado, lean red meat, tuna, lean chicken, milk, oats and nuts.
  • Vitamin D: sunlight, salmon, mushrooms, cheese and natural yoghurt.
  • Vitamin C: citrus fruits, berries, capsicum and broccoli.
  • Magnesium: leafy greens, potatoes, green beans, almonds, pumpkin and turkey breast.