THE HEART

*The Heart*

Hello there! Welcome to today's burst of health gist by *the Apothecaries.*

Today you will be learning about the heart, its functions and basically how to keep your heart healthy. Now to the juice of the jist.

The heart is a part of the body that pumps blood, oxygen(air), and nutrients round the body: at the same time, it helps the body get rid of wastes. Your heart has veins and arteries, like rivers and seas, to help it achieve these functions.

The heart pumps blood in rhythms, and relaxes or contracts as the case may be, hence making a beat. This is what is heard as the thump-thump sound. It takes in blood as it relaxes, releases the blood to the vessels as it contracts. Which inturn helps to circulate blood round the body. This process is continuous i.e happens day in, and day out to ensure the proper functioning of the body. It's so amazing that it pumps about 5000litres of blood everyday.

Moving on, the heartbeats may differ depending on individual ages and activities. For children it may be from 70 to 110 beats per minute, or 60 to 100 beats per minute for adults. These could increase depending on how active the child or adult is.

After all said and done, you would want to know how to maintain a healthy Heart, right? It's simple, you must:

1.) Eat healthily: reduce salt consumption as much as possible and use herbs or spices instead. Why?

It's because too much consumption of salt is bad for the heart, as it could increase the risk of developing a high blood pressure(a major risk factor for heart diseases)

▪️Eat more vegetables, fruits and wholegrains: reports have shown that people who eat varieties of veggies and fruits, have a healthier heart with lower risks of developing heart diseases.

Whole grains have nutrients like dietary fibres,B-vitamins,vitamin E and healthier fats: which helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Examples of wholegrains include oatmeal, corn tortillas,whole wheat pancakes or brown rice e.t.c. depending on what you may find around you

▪️Eat good fats: this can be found in nuts,avocados or fish as they contain omega-3 and omega-6 fats which are better for the body.

2.) Maintain an ideal body weight: obese people are at a greater risk of having heart attacks,stroke,high blood pressure and other heart complications. This is why an individual needs to maintain an ideal weight per his/her age.

3.) Exercise often: exercise is good for the heart, so try as much as possible to get regular physical activities. It lowers the risk of early death particularly from heart diseases. An adult shouldn't just sit throughout a day. You must be active, and move around as this is healthier for the heart.

4.) Quit smoking and drink alcohol in moderation.

5.) Managing stress: stress often triggers heart attacks, so try as much as possible to relax even under really disappointing and stressful situations.

Often, heart attacks and other heart complications do not just happen overnight. These complications are mostly as a result of a longtime accumulations of an unhealthy lifestyle. These tips would definitely go a long way in helping you; to maintain a healthy heart, and greatly reduce the risks of heart diseases and/or complications.

Thanks for reading.

Leave your thoughts or questions in the comments section below and we will get back to you.

By: Semilogo O. Ralphael and Uyinonijesu Victor-Ogie