How much exercise do you need to do to reduce stroke risk?
Kwan suggests 20 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each day. “Get on the rowing machine, do yoga or run – it doesn’t matter so long as it makes you puff. Pilates is good, too: there’s a direct relationship between strength in your 40s and how long you’ll live,” he says.
Our daily 10,000 steps do not count as moderate exercise, though – that’s just strolling around, which we should be doing anyway, he continues. If you’ve been doing no exercise at all, Sheldon suggests building up gradually from a brisk walk – too much too soon can cause inflammation. “Ask yourself if you can repeat this level of intensity again tomorrow – if the answer is no, take a step back,” she says. She does reformer Pilates to unwind but also recommends yoga, meditation and breathwork. “You don’t need to spend two hours in a spa each day to reduce stress levels: a little breathwork before a meal can be transformational, switching you from fight-and-flight mode to rest, digest and restore.”
How can I stroke-proof my diet?
Giving up smoking, cutting down on alcohol and reducing caffeine are a good starting point. Then it’s a question of eating at regular intervals, Sheldon says, which will prevent insulin spikes, while sticking to wholefoods to keep blood sugar stable. She recommends eating three nutritious, protein-rich meals a day with no snacks in between. “Get rid of the white stuff – flour, sugar, white rice – and replace it with protein, healthy fats and fibre,” she says. Kwan advocates the Mediterranean diet, with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish, while Sheldon also recommends including foods that are rich in nitric oxide such as leafy greens, cauliflower, pomegranate, radish and celery.
Isn’t red wine good for the heart?
There’s good evidence that a small amount of alcohol (particularly if it’s wine) is probably protective, most likely because of the antioxidants from the skin of the grapes, Kwan says. “But when you drink more than the weekly limit, you take on board too many calories.” Excess alcohol is also linked with higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol and poor brain health. “You make poor choices when you drink – you end up not eating or sleeping properly,” he continues.
I have high cholesterol – how can I bring it down?
It’s a myth that only overweight people have high cholesterol – those of healthy weight can have it, too, according to Kwan. “Eighty per cent of cholesterol is made by the liver – you make it yourself – we need fat,” he says. The key is to put good fat into our bodies: foods such as oily fish, salmon, trout, sardines, olives and olive oil. Cutting down on drinking helps, too. Kwan concedes, though, that it can be hard to bring down very high cholesterol: you can cut out all bad fats and only reduce it by five to 10 per cent. If this is the case, then it might be time to take statins.