3 ways to better protect heart health

■ More than 30 percent of folks won’t get a flu shot this year.

■ U.S. adults spend 9½ hours a day sitting or lying down.

■ A full 33 percent of American adults sleep six hours or less a night.

That’s the trifecta for heart woes. Here’s how reversing those common behaviors can protect you from cardiovascular disease and heart attack.

1. Get your flu shot, especially if you have a chronic condition such as heart disease. It may reduce your risk of heart attack by 26 percent and the risk of cardiovascular death by 33 percent according to three studies, the latest in Nature. The benefits may come from a reduction in inflammation, prevention of secondary infections associated with the flu and ensuring stability of plaque in the arteries.

2. Stand — and walk — in protest against sitting down. The international Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep (PROPASS) consortium looked at data on more than 15,000 folks and found that replacing 30 minutes a day of sitting time with moderate to vigorous exercise significantly reduces your BMI and waist circumference, and lowers A1C readings.

3. Plan on sleeping more than six hours a night (but not more than eight). The Mayo Clinic says data on 3,000 adults age 45 and older shows that folks who sleep fewer than six hours a night are at around double the risk for stroke or heart attack compared with people who sleep six to eight hours per night.

Gut check

What goes on in your gut is a miracle of interdependence and biochemical magic, as the trillions of microbes in your gastrointestinal system work together to digest your food and thereby help regulate the health of your immune system, the metabolism of glucose and nutrients and the functioning of all your organ systems, including your brain.

A recent lab study published in Brain Behavior and Immunity shows how gut-dwelling lactobacilli, found in probiotics as well as in fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir, may help protect you from depression and anxiety. The bacteria seem to upgrade your immune system so that you avoid intestinal inflammation and disruption of neurotransmitters that influence your mood. The researchers also found that when you’re chronically stressed, lactobacilli in the gut declines, increasing your vulnerability to emotional distress.