A healthy heart is a happy body, when you think February you think hearts and after a long January of finishing off the selection boxes and copious amounts of tinned biscuits it’s time to start listening to your body and maybe make a few changes if necessary.

Heart Health Foods

What are you having for lunch today? Is it something healthy, does it have all the nutrients and vitamins you need to fuel you up for the rest of the day? Maybe it’s time to look at some new options, thankfully Ireland has got so much better over the last decade for catering to people with different diets, tastes and needs. It’s no longer as difficult to track down a restaurant or deli that serves up heart health foods such as fish high in omega-3s, like salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring and trout or go the Green veggies way. Popeye was right \u2015 spinach packs a punch! So does kale, Swiss chard, collard/mustard greens and bok choy. If you are looking for a sweet treat then dark chocolate could be for you, the higher the percentage of cocoa the better!

Make your Office a Smoke Free Workplace

Giving up isn’t easy but let’s give it another go and try to make the workday a smoke free time. Cutting down on cigarettes is a start but the end goal should be to stop smoking. As smoking is proven to increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases then ask yourself, do you really need that smoke break?

Limit Alcohol Intake

A lot of you may be coming off of dry January, if you completed it with no cheat days then congratulations to you. But here’s the thing, do you really need that pint or glass of wine now? February shouldn’t be a month where you go back to old habits and remember, your tolerance level for alcohol will have changed dramatically so maybe take that into account on your next session.

If you are looking for more comprehensive look at health heart then the https://irishheart.ie/ is full of fantastic online resources and great information on support groups. Take some time this February to look after yourself.