Nancy Mann
UK Health Alliance on Climate Change
Have you ever thought about how the changing climate might affect your heart? Whether you’re 25 or 75, you’re not immune. The good news is that you can act to protect your heart and the planet too.
Start with simple dietary swaps. Could you switch beef for beans (or another plant-based alternative) even a couple of times a week?
Eating better for your heart
Exchanging a beef burger for a bean-and-rice burrito would protect your heart health, lower your weekly food bill and support the natural environment. Almost 85% of the UK’s farmland is devoted to livestock – either grazing animals or growing their feed.1
Eating less red meat and choosing more plant-based foods can make a significant difference to your heart health, with plant-based diets being linked to a 32% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.2 It would also free up land that could be turned over to growing crops – boosting the amount of British-grown food, strengthening our food security and cutting the methane produced by livestock.
Switching to active travel
Why not swap some car journeys for walking or cycling? You’ll be investing in your heart twice: getting active and helping to clean the air you breathe. The NHS recommends at least 150 minutes of activity a week: as simple as a brisk 30-minute walk, five days a week.3
Cleaner air protects more than our own hearts. Children are growing up breathing in fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) linked to higher blood pressure (an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease4). In London, annual PM2.5 levels have been recorded at up to three times the WHO-recommended limit.2 Much of this pollution comes from the same fossil-fuel burning that drives climate change, meaning using less fuel can help protect our hearts and the planet.
Small changes to how we eat and travel can add up — because what’s good for the environment is also good for our health.
[1] Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Chapter 2: Structure of industry. GOV.UK. 9 July 2026. tinyurl.com/47njeuas.
[2] Bion V, et al. Population and Planetary Health. Accessed 11 August 2026. tinyurl.com/yckapcex.
[3] NHS. Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults Aged 19 To 64. 2024. tinyurl.com/nycpbtwu.
[4] Zhang D. et al. Air pollution, meteorological factors, and cardiac remodelling in children: a multi-omics cohort study. 2026. European heart journal. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1086
