A study from the University of California found that daily activities such as gardening, washing or cooking can reduce an individual’s risk of heart disease.

Using data collected from more than 5,000 American women, the results, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, show that these activities can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Dr Steve Nguyen, lead author of the study, said: ‘The study shows that all movements are important towards disease prevention. Spending more time in the movement of daily living, which includes the wide range of activities we all do while standing on our feet and away from our chairs, has led to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.”

And when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, any movement is good, as one of the most important risk factors for heart disease is lack of activity combined with a poor diet.

The more one moves, the healthier it is because this constitutes exercise.

In terms of a healthy amount of exercise per week, the NHS suggests at least two and a half hours.

While housework does involve physical exertion, it is best to supplement it with traditional forms of exercise such as jogging, walking, cycling, swimming or other forms of activity.

Another research from the University of Oxford, Bristol and Hong Kong concluded that vegetables alone may not be enough to reduce the risk of heart attack.

And while those who ate only vegetables were 15 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, the researchers said other factors could explain this.

“This is an important study with implications for understanding the nutritional causes of cardiovascular disease,” said Ben Lacy, a physician at the University of Oxford.

However, Professor Naveed Sattar, from the University of Glasgow, cautioned that the study should not change current facts about the beneficial effect of vegetables… In fact, I suspect we may have underestimated the importance of a healthy diet on health and disease in general.

And while vegetables alone may not reduce the risk of heart disease, the study doesn’t suggest it’s useless.

The key to a healthy life is a balanced diet taken in conjunction with adequate levels of exercise.

Exercising in turn can have other health benefits such as improving mental health, because during exercise, endorphins are released that improve the mood of the individual.

Furthermore, joining an exercise club can help relieve loneliness and allow an individual to improve their mental health and fitness while working as part of a community.