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5 Habits of Heart-Healthy People
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When you add these healthy habits to your life, you’ll keep your ticker going strong.
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By Kalia Doner
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August 2006
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Walking is good for body and soul (particularly if you join it with weight training to tone your body and increase fat burning). Regular physical activity can decrease blood pressure, increase HDL (“good” cholesterol) decrease triglyceride levels, maintain weight and induce weight loss. In Heart, researchers discovered people who were previously inactive then became very active after age 40 cut their risk of heart disease about 55 percent.
How Much Activity Do I Need?
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most, if not all, days of the week. So try walking briskly, lifting light weights gardening or even housecleaning. If you need to, divide the 30 minutes into shorter periods of at least 10 minutes each.
Most of us don’t sleep enough, which can affect our good health. Research shows that high blood pressure and increased levels of CRP—a marker for bodily inflammation associated with heart disease—have both been identified as health hazards associated with lack of sleep. In the Archives of Internal Medicine researchers reported that women 45 to 65 who got five or less hours of sleep a night were 50 percent more likely to develop heart disease than women who got 8 hours of shut eye a night. They also speculate that the same is true for men. So make getting a good rest your priority.
Weight loss requires that you keep calorie intake moderate—but exercise is also essential! The Stanford University Medical Center suggests that to lose weight and keep it off, a balanced diet that is restricted in calories—1,200 to 1,400 calories for women and 1,500 to 1,800 calories for men—may work well. But don’t count on eating less to take care of all your worries about your heart. A review of data from the 9,790 participants in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that those who were overweight or obese, exercised least and took in fewest calories had the highest rate of death from heart disease; calorie-loaded normal weight but very active people had the lowest rates.
According to the NHLBI (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute), record keeping is one of the most successful behavioral techniques for weight loss and maintenance. Putting on paper all that you eat each day makes you aware of habits and nutritional problems like nothing else! To download a copy of their journal form go to http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/diary.htm .
Depression and anxiety are associated with increased risk of heart disease—but laughter and joy are just as powerful in their ability to reduce the risk. British researchers tested 116 men and 100 women, ages 35 to 55, to see how often during the days they had moments of happiness. The scientists then correlated that information with many known factors that contribute to heart disease. For example, the happiest folks had 32 percent lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, known to be associated with abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other disorders. And the happiest people also had lower levels of fibrinogen, an inflammatory marker that predicts future coronary heart disease—in fact the least-happy study participants had 12 times higher levels of this potent chemical than the most upbeat people.
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