Stay Healthy

By Author: Curtis Reddehase
Total Articles: 15
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Do you know what it takes to be heart healthy? Everyone seems to have some type of stress in their life now a days and it is time that we pay attention to what doctors are telling us, which is take care of your health. Taking care of our self first is a win win situation if you think about it. When we feel good about the way we look and feel we become more positive about ourselves. We do better in life because we have a positive outlook, we have more energy and we are more confident about ourselves, who doesn't want to be with people that are upbeat? Life begins to fall into place. We are able to help other people and do a good job at it. To maintain a heart that is healthy and free from disease we need to eat right, consistently exercise 3-5 times a week, be smoke free and learn to manage our stress level. One way to begin living a healthy life style is to find out what we are working with and a good way to do this is by scheduling a HeartSaver CT through your local Heart Hospital. It is an easy and non invasive test to measure calcium build up in the coronary arteries. Another tool to point us in the right direction ...
... is to take a quiz that is offered through a web site for heart healthy living. How much do you know about your heart? Of course most important is scheduling annual checkups with your doctor.

Diet plays a very important part in a healthy heart. The Journal of the American Heart Association recently reported on a study conducted on the foods we eat and without a doubt fried foods, too much meat and diet soda do not equal a healthy life style. The Association suggests that we eat a diet that is low or fat-free in dairy products, add plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables that are colorful such as broccoli, spinach, pumpkin and cabbage, eat fish and seafood at least twice a week plus poultry and whole grains, like oatmeal . Minimize our in take in sugar, sodium, trans fat, saturated fat and cholesterol and avoid tobacco products altogether. How about starting the day with a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of grape juice or cranberry juice? Did you know that oatmeal has soluble fiber which can bind with cholesterol and can remove some of it from you body? Cranberry and Grape juice contain antioxidants, these compounds crush the damage that natural oxidants can do in the body. A large number of disorders connected with the aging process, heart disease among them, have been linked to damage caused by a slow and unremitting onslaught of oxidants. The American Heart Association offers a great service that educates you on food choices. For example enter cereal and the site will provide you with a list of cereals that are good heart healthy choices by brand name, select the cereal you want and the program will enter your choice into a grocery list, continue your shopping on line when you are finished print your list and you are ready for a trip to the grocery store with healthy food choices in hand.

Exercise regularly, think quality not just quantity. Don't be discouraged if you do not have a large amount of time in your day to devote to exercise studies show that it is the intensity of the work out not the duration of the work out that matters most. Park your car further out in the parking lot or better yet walk rather then drive get in the habit of taking the stairs rather then the elevator. A fast paced hike is better then no hike at all. If you can join a gym look for a gym that offers classes and has a pool, swimming and water aerobics are good exercises for the heart. Start biking, roller blade or jog. Begin a routine of walking, walking with a partner will encourage you to keep your exercise program up or download a good book to your iPod and let the walk begin! If you don't smoke good for you, if you do stop today. Keep your heart clean smoking adds extra work to your heart and doubles the chance of heart attack. The sooner you quit the sooner your risk begins to decline. Stress free living is it possible? Start out small, one task at a time. Make a list of what makes you happy if you are upset write it down put it on paper and release the stress. Don't be a doormat, stand up for yourself voice your opinion. Get the proper amount of sleep. Learn to manage stress and practice inner peace, breathe deeply and adopt a pet. February is the month of love, take care of yourself, love yourself. Chocolate lovers rejoice! Studies show that dark chocolate and cocoa powder are good for us and can even increase our good (HDL) cholesterol levels. Flowers (a stress reliever) and some dark chocolate for Valentines Day, now that is saying I love you! Start today; make February the month to begin taking care of your heart!