Page 15 - Prevention (February 2020)

4 STEPS TO A HEALTHIER HEART
You already know that maintaining a
healthful diet, avoiding smoking, and
getting plenty of exercise help keep
your heart strong, but these other
easy tips can give your heart-healthy
lifestyle a boost.
Start a gratitude journal:
Tapping into happy, positive emotions
has been linked to lower chances of
cardiac problems, while feelings of
negativity can contribute to heart risks
like high blood pressure over time.
Each day, write down one thing that
you’re grateful for—when you’re feel-
ing down (depression is also linked to
greater risk of heart attack or stroke),
flip through for an uplifting reminder
of all the good things in your life.
Plan your meals: If you can’t
seem to say no to that cookie or side of
fries, try keeping yourself on a healthy
eating track by planning out meals
ahead of time. Create daily or weekly
menus (snacks too!) that
include lots of fruits and
vegetables, whole
grains, and lean
proteins, then
write them out
and post them
SKY-BLUE IMAGES/STOCKSY.
in the kitchen. If you have time, cook
up a week’s worth of meals over the
weekend so it’ll be easier to eat well.
Try yoga: Cardio and strength train-
ing strengthen your heart and help you
maintain a healthy weight, but yoga may
benefit the heart too. Research shows
that all its components, from breathing
to mindfulness, work together to quell
inflammation (which can damage the
heart and its functions over time) and
reduce levels of the stress hormone
cortisol to lower blood pressure.
Blast belly fat: Being overweight
in general is a heart disease risk factor,
but carrying extra pounds around the
midsection is especially dangerous—
likely because this fat wraps around
internal organs and secretes hormones
and chemicals linked to high blood
pressure, hardening of the arteries, and
heart attack. Besides exercising and
getting good sleep, load up on fiber-
filled foods like produce,
nuts, beans, and oat-
meal, which can help
keep visceral fat
at bay.