Easy tricks for a healthier heart!
Think you need to take a slew of vitamins and give up all your favorite foods if you want to keep your heart healthy? Not so! Some of the very best ways to reduce your risk of heart troubles are as simple as they are effective!
Avoid heart woes with H2O!
Water naturally thins your blood, preventing dangerous clots from forming in your blood vessels, in turn, cutting your heart attack risk 50%, say Loma Linda University scientists. Find it hard to remember to down five 8-oz. glasses a day? Download a free app, such as Aqualert for Android or Waterlogged for iphone. You can customize the app to remind you to get something to drink at scheduled or random intervals and to track how well you’re meeting your daily water-drinking goals!
Protect tissues with COQ10!
One of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, COQ10 (Coenzyme Q10) seeks out and destroys damaging free radicals in your blood before they can harm your heart’s muscle or blood vessel walls, according to naturopath Michelle Schoffro Cook, PH.D., D.N.M., author of Weekend Wonder Detox. It also boosts your circulation and helps to keep “bad” LDL cholesterol in check. One option: Doctor’s Best High Absorption COQ10 ($14.60, Amazon.com); follow label for dosage. ■ Important: Always check with your doctor before taking any supplement for the first time.
Steady your blood pressure with baked potatoes! A diet high in sodium can spike your blood pressure, which can spell trouble for your ticker. But if you’re a salt lover, don’t despair: Just eat more potassium-rich foods like baked potatoes! This essential mineral acts like a patrolman, zeroing in on sodium in the bloodstream and pushing it out of your body. “When your potassium level goes up, your sodium level automatically goes down,” says Schoffro Cook. Other top sources of potassium include nonfat yogurt (8 oz. = 570 mg.), cooked broccoli (1 cup = 457 mg.), raisins (1/2 cup = 543 mg.), cantaloupe (1 cup = 427 mg.) and orange juice (6 oz. = 372 mg.).
Tame the blues with a pet!
Depression is proven to negatively affect heart rhythms, blood pressure and cholesterol levels—and one of the easiest and most fun ways to keep it away is to adopt a pet. National Institutes of Health research shows that pet owners are significantly less likely to have heart attacks because their affection for their furry friends works wonders at increasing joy and reducing the stress that strains the heart! ■ Tip: Not able to adopt right now? Get the same benefits by volunteering at your neighborhood shelter or asking a neighbor if you can pet sit!
—Kallie E. Kristensen