Heart disease is said to be the #1 cause of death for both men and women in the United States. The good news is that there are things we can do to reduce our risk.
We can:
- Stay at a healthy weight. Healthy weight is different for everyone. Healthy weight is your height, weight, age, and gender at birth.
- Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke. There are safe programs to help you quit if you are a smoker, and staying away when others are smoking is an easy choice.
- Control your cholesterol and blood pressure. Watch your eating habits or the types of food that you eat daily.
- Drink alcohol only in moderation. Some sources suggest that one drink daily for women and two for men is moderate.
- Manage stress. You can talk with a counselor or someone you trust, remove yourself from the situation, read, listen to music, or engage in prayer and meditation.
- Practice eating a healthy diet.
- Get active. The Mayo Clinic recommends getting at least two and a half hours of moderate aerobic activity weekly. Aerobic activity could be walking a couple of minutes daily or two to three days a week. If you prefer swimming, biking, playing sports, or going to the gym, 75 minutes per week is enough to keep you healthy.
Can you reduce your risk of heart disease? The answer is yes. Healthy heart, healthy body.
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Disclaimer: This is not a diet or a medical consultation; neither should it replace the instructions to manage your specific medical condition given by your doctor or registered dietician.
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