The perfect gift this Valentine’s Day is the gift of heart health!

February marks heart month, a great time to commit to a healthy lifestyle and make small changes that can lead to a lifetime of heart health.

A healthy diet can help reduce your risk of developing coronary heart disease and stop you gaining weight, reducing your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. It can also help lower your cholesterol levels and reduce your risk of some cancers.
There are multiple things you can do to affect the overall health of your heart, ranging from altering your diet to the amount of physical activity you do.

Your heart works hard for you non-stop for your whole life, so show it some TLC with these heart healthy tips from doctor, blogger and Linwoods brand ambassador Dr Hazel Wallace aka The Food Medic.

5 Tips For A Healthy Heart

EAT MORE FLAXSEED: Flaxseeds are brimming with nutritional goodness and are more versatile than you may realise. Flax is a great source of fibre, which is beneficial for digestive health and can also help lower cholesterol. Flaxseeds contain powerful antioxidants called lignans that provide many health benefits. The combination of lignans, fibre and omega 3’s have linked flax to cardiovascular protection. To get the nutritional and health benefits of flaxseeds, try adding our Milled Organic Flaxseed to your diet.

EXERCISE: Whilst increasing your exercise will help maintain or lose weight, it is also extremely useful in increasing the strength of your heart. The NHS recommends that people should partake in at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week to help stave of CVD. Just 30 minutes of moderate activity a day can reduce your risk of coronary heart disease and high blood pressure as well as reducing stress, tension, depression and anxiety.

INCREASE YOUR MAGNESIUM INTAKE: Magnesium superfoods play a significant role in supporting normal healthy bones, muscle function and nerve function and is important for normal energy release within the body. Consuming 200mg daily could slash your cardiac disease risk by 22% and just one serving (30g) of our Shelled Hemp provides 50% of your recommended daily allowance (RDI).

HEALTHIER MEALS: You can easily boost your fibre and Omega 3’s by incorporating our range of superseeds into your diet. Looking for healthy recipes? Look no further! Our tried and tested recipes can be found here.

ENJOY SOME CHOCOLATE: Cacao is one of the most nutrient dense foods in the world because of its rich source of nutrients known as polyphenols. Cacao has also been shown to reduce the amount of both LDL (bad) and total cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease. Try our Flaxseed, Cocoa and Berries blend which include this superfood.