Did you know that one hour of gardening can burn off around 290 calories? That is equivalent to having a piece of chocolate cake. Simple lifestyle changes such as eating healthily, reducing salt intake, exercising and not smoking, can help reduce our risk of heart disease which remains the biggest killer in the UK. As allotment week is here there’s no better time to become 'green fingered' and get digging towards a healthy heart. Not only will your heart reap rewards from the exercise there are plenty of other benefits too.

• Home-grown fruits and vegetables means they won’t have travelled miles to the supermarket meaning you won’t lose out on essential vitamins, minerals and heart healthy antioxidants.
• Think of the savings; you won’t need to add them to your shopping list and there’ll be no excuse not to have your 5-a-day.
• Spread the heart healthy message to your children and get them involved – they will love to see the crops grow and it could encourage them to try new things – from cabbage to courgettes, runner beans to radishes, tomatoes to turnips
• Growing herbs in the garden, which are a great alternative for flavouring food rather than salt, will help keep your blood pressure in check.
• No garden? Get yourself a little herb box which you can keep on the windowsill or on a patio and be creative with your surroundings by growing cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets and potatoes in an old bin.

Make the most of your summer, get those spades out and get digging for a happier, healthier heart.

This content is provided by Heart Research UK working in partnership with Sovereign Health Care. The charity currently funds over £4m of research projects at 31 hospitals and universities across the UK and funded six of the first eight successful UK heart transplants. Sovereign Health Care is proud to support Heart Research UK through donations from The Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust. If you would like to add your own support you can visit their site www.heartresearch.org.uk