IT’S no secret that many of the choices we make can directly impact our heart health.

Yet in the UK, heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), is a significant health issue affecting around 7.6 million people, making it one of the leading causes of death and disability.

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Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the UK – so doing everything you can to reduce your risk is essential[/caption]

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Dr Jonathan Behar avoids things like a sedentary lifestyle and being lonely to keep his heart health in check[/caption]

Eating a healthy, balanced diet, regularly exercising, giving up smoking, and reducing your alcohol intake are some of the general recommendations experts make to keep on top of heart health.

But what are the experts doing themselves to keep their ticker ticking?

Consultant Cardiologist Dr Jonathan Behar of King Edward VII’s Hospital doesn’t just help patients lead healthier lives – he follows his own advice every day too.

He shared with Sun Health a few of his most beneficial heart-healthy habits – including four things he avoids.

1. Foods to cut down on

To reduce the risk of heart disease, it’s recommended to cut down on foods that are high in saturated fat, salt, and added sugar.

Dr Behar doesn’t entirely ban any one particular food from his home (except Marmite for the taste!).

He said non-heart healthy foods can be consumed in small amounts as part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle.

But he did advise: “I try not to have too many tempting things around like chocolate spreads, fatty crisps and sugary drinks.

“If it’s very sugary, salty, or high in saturated fat, it’s something to have infrequently and in small amounts.”

2. Sedentary lifestyle

A sedentary lifestyle significantly increases the risk of heart disease by contributing to factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity, ultimately putting strain on the heart muscle and raising the likelihood of cardiovascular issues like heart attacks and strokes.

Multiple studies have suggested sitting for extended periods, particularly exceeding 10 hours a day, can be especially detrimental to heart health. 

So any habits that keep you from a sedentary lifestyle are habits to keep, said Dr Behar.

He added: “Even smaller things like walking up the escalators on my commute can help.

“If it gets the blood pumping then it probably helps.”

3. Sitting on the sofa before 8:30pm

It’s great to relax at the end of the day but it is all too easy to fall into an inactive lifestyle.

To keep even further away from a sedentary lifestyle Dr Behar tries not to touch his sofa before 8.30pm.

He said: “Being on my feet keeps me burning calories and hopefully makes sure I’m spending my day doing something interesting.”

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To stay away from a sedentary lifestyle Dr Behar tries not to touch his sofa before 8.30pm[/caption]

4. Being lonely

Amazingly, your social life does affect your heart health.

Research shows social isolation and loneliness can increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, while strong social connections are associated with better cardiovascular health.

Dr Behar said: “I make sure to see my friends and family as often as possible and to go out and engage in my hobbies.

“We are social animals and our general health genuinely declines when we spend too much time alone or in tricky environments.”

As well as doing things to keep your heart health in check, spotting the first signs something’s wrong is also important…

JOSH PADLEY has admitted he is ready to give up his day job after fighting lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson.

The Doncaster bruiser took on Stevenson at just four days’ notice after Floyd Schofield dropped out after being allegedly ‘poisoned’.

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Josh Padley took on lightweight world champion Shakur Stevenson[/caption]

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He is ready to go full-time in boxing[/caption]

Padley, 29, may have lost the bout, but last nine rounds and earned plenty of plaudits for his performance.

He has now insisted that he is ready to box full-time and give up his part-time job as an electrician.

He had been managing the load by training alongside the part-time role.

He had even been working on a construction site on the Tuesday morning before he got the call to see if he could fight Stevenson

He told Sky Sports: “Luckily I am in a position now where I can probably pack that in and fully dedicate my life to boxing.

“I’m grateful for that, thank you to [Turki Alalshikh] for giving me that opportunity, we’ll be back.

“There’s more of that to come.

“That was four days’ notice. Eight-week camp and I know I’ll be better.”

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Padley was presented with a medal by the WBC after the fight with Stevenson.

He joked: “Not quite the hardware I had in mind to come back with.

“But the rebuild will be on and very good possibility of being a full-time athlete.”

Padley also admitted that he left the ring after the defeat to Stevenson without any regrets.

He added: “I would have loved to have got the win and there would have been some back story to it, but didn’t get it.

“I tried my hardest, no regrets, I gave it everything I could but the body wasn’t conditioned to take them shots.”

He made a name for himself after beating Alalshikh favourite Mark Chamberlain in September 2024.

Stevenson spoke about the fight after being named the win and insisted he could have finished it earlier.

He said: “I barely got touched. Yeah, I probably could have got the stoppage a little bit earlier, but there’s always going to be something to critique.

“As long as I enjoyed what I did, that’s all that matters.

“I was knocking out the ring rust. I fought in July. If I can stay active and stay locked in, I’m good.

“He was supposed to come in here and give it his all, make sure he can make it to the 12th round.

“That’s what he was trying to do. So, I succeeded at my job and he was trying to do his job.”

ONE of the UK’s biggest broadcasters has issued a huge update on when its shiny new streaming service will land.

The relaunch will see a brand new look, as well as even more binge-worthy box sets and streamed channels to watch.

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All Creatures Great and Small are among the favourites on My5[/caption]

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My5 will be rebranded and refreshed across all platforms next month[/caption]

My5 has been the destination for Channel 5’s on-demand service since 2018, as well as its sister brands 5STAR, 5USA, 5SELECT and 5ACTION.

Previously, it was known as Demand 5 and before that the platform was called Five Download.

But next month, it’ll take on a simple unified name for both streaming and the broadcast channel: 5.

And the company has now confirmed to The Sun exactly when the relaunch is set to happen.

Viewers can expect to see the new 5 service hit screens on March 12.

It’s not clear whether the fresh app will be available across all platforms straight away.

Often there is a roll out – bear in mind, My5 is widely available on mobiles, tablets, laptops, Sky, Virgin Media, smart TVs and more, so the update may not appear on your device immediately on March 12.

Channel 5 has only recently launched My5 on Sky Q boxes, as The Sun exclusively revealed.

My5 grew at its fastest ever rate in 2024, with shock documentary My Wife, My Abuser its number one most watched single title.

Original dramas including All Creatures Great and Small, Blindspot, The Teacher and Ellis have also helped My5 grow.

The channel has just announced that it will air six new dramas with a twist.

Each one will be a standalone drama that runs for a single episode.

This way viewers will have little to no commitment to the programmes as well as the ability to watch and catch-up at their leisure – a game-changer in the streaming era.

The single drama strand will be known as Drama of the Week and is a nod to the iconic Play for Today series which ran on the BBC between 1970 and 1984.

AN Irish MEP was among a delegation refused entry to Israel and the West Bank on Monday.

Sinn Fein MEP Lynn Boylan, who is chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Palestine, said she was detained on arrival at Ben Gurion Airport.

PA:Press Association

She said French MEP Rima Hassan and two senior civil servants travelling with the delegation were also detained and questioned before being returned to Brussels.

Ms Boylan said the incident was an “insult to all members of the EU”.

She said the four-person group was on an “official mission” to Palestine, where they were going to stay in East Jerusalem until Thursday evening.

Ms Boylan said: “We were due to meet with members of the Knesset, we were due to meet with Israeli politicians as well. It’s about strengthening dialogue. It’s about constructive engagement – and we were prevented from doing our job yesterday.”

She said the visit had been approved by the European Parliament and co-ordinated with Israeli authorities by the EU embassy in Palestine in advance.

The delegation monitors EU policies towards Palestine, the Middle East Peace Process and the establishment of the two state-solution. It also scrutinises the use of EU funds for Palestine, including to UNRWA.

Both Ms Boylan and Ms Hassan are members of the Left group in the European Parliament, however the delegation is a cross-political grouping.

They were met at the door of the plane in Tel Aviv by several security officials and taken to an interrogation room for around an hour and 40 minutes, Ms Boylan said.

The Dublin MEP said their bags were searched and their phones, tablets, and passports were taken from them. Their bags were also searched.

She told RTE radio on Tuesday they were later escorted to a return plane.

She said: “We were stood there with, again, security around us, so that everybody boarding the plane were aware that we were, I suppose, ‘persons of interest’. We were the reason why their flight had been delayed.

“So they started to film us. Some of them shouted abuse at us, and then we were put onto the plane and we were separated.

“Myself and the two officials were together, but they put Ms Hassan down the very back of the plane on her own, at which point I objected and said I didn’t think it was safe for her to be sitting on her own down the back, but they refused to change and said that they called security if we challenged it.”

Ms Boylan said photographs of her and the other three members of the group have been spread on social media.

She said: “Whatever about being a politician, that’s very unfair on civil servants. They’re just there to do their job.

‘DEEPLY CONCERNING’

“It’s unprecedented that civil servants wouldn’t be allowed to continue on the mission.”

She added: “To stop the civil servants traveling and meeting up with the rest of the delegation, and then for those civil servants to have their their faces put out into the public domain is deeply concerning.”

Ms Boylan said her diplomatic passport, provided by Ireland, was not returned until she arrived back in Belgium.

She said they had not been given any reason as to why they were refused entry.

She added: “The EU was completely blindsided by the fact that we were going to be treated in this way.”

Asked if she believed her support for BDS may be the reason she was refused entry, Ms Boylan said: “If that was the case, they had months to refuse my admission.”

She further raised concerns about Israel’s handling of her data and privacy following the seizure of her phone and tablet, as well as her Irish diplomatic passport being taken for hours.

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