Steps You Can Implement Today!
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Your heart is an amazing organ. Every day it pumps over 100,000 times, ensuring all areas of your body receive the nutrient-rich blood needed to function. It does this without any thought or effort on our part, without rest or pause, from about 22 days after we are conceived until the day we die. Our heart is immeasurably loyal and dedicated to us, yet we often give it little consideration until something goes wrong.
This month, honor your heart for all it has done for you! Implement one or all of the steps below to give your heart thanks for all it has done, and continues to do for you in your life.
- Get Moving! Exercise encourages our heart muscle to get stronger, allowing it to pump all of that blood throughout our body with less effort. Don’t fret so much about time or intensity – just move more!
- Eat Your Greens! Leafy green vegetables contain many heart healthy nutrients, such as folate, vitamin K, phytochemicals, and beta carotene.
- Chill Out! Stress not only places a great deal of strain on our heart, but it increases the nutrient needs of our entire body, putting us at risk for deficiencies and increasing disease risk.
- Reach Out and Touch Someone! Many studies have shown that those who receive caring touch have fewer heart problems than those who do not.
- Get a massage! See numbers 3 and 4 if you need a reason!
- Scare the vampires! Garlic is a powerful heart protector. Enjoy it as often as you wish!
- Make Alpha Your Omegas! Most Americans are lacking Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet. Eat cold water fish several times a week, and take a fish oil or flax seed oil supplement to reduce inflammation (the initial step in most heart disease).
- Stop Smoking! Whether first hand or secondhand, avoid this toxic exposure at all costs. Get the help you need if you are having trouble quitting. You are not alone!!!
- Maintain a healthy weight. Less weight is less work for the heart, and excess fatty tissue increases inflammatory markers in the body, greatly increasing your risk of disease.
- Express Yourself! Let yourself shine – express yourself by sharing your feelings with others, journaling, playing music, cooking, painting, or dancing. Your life is meant to be lived fully and exuberantly; doing so will make your heart truly sing!