In case you didn’t know, your heart happens to be one of the most important organs in your body. Keeping it healthy is in your best interest if you want to live a long life and enjoy all of the many perks of good health.
While some people may have magical hearts that can withstand anything, many others have to put in work to ensure they stay healthy and whole. Keeping your heart healthy requires you to develop good habits that are beneficial to your heart. These habits are usually related to staying active, watching what you eat, and generally being more conscious of what enters your body. This article is going to discuss five common habits that could negatively be affecting your health.
Inactivity is a common habit that can negatively affect your heart. As well as affecting your heart, the failure to exercise could lead to coronary heart disease, weight gain, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Staying active, on the other hand, has multiple benefits and keeping your heart healthy is one of them. Trying cardiovascular exercises such as running, jogging, step aerobics, biking, skipping rope, and swimming is a way to keep your heart pumping and working as it should. It can be difficult finding time to work out, however, if you’re determined you can make it happen. Consider looking for a workout buddy who will motivate you to stay active. Some other ideas include making a conscious effort to walk to destinations as opposed to driving, incorporating exercise into your daily life and social activities, and making exercise more of a hobby than it is a chore.
It has been stressed time and time again that alongside exercise, healthy eating is a must. Unhealthy eating habits such as consuming too many snacks with empty calories, greasy foods, excess carbs, sugary foods, and ones that are high in sodium could have a negative effect on your heart. On the other hand, changing your diet to ensure that it incorporates a good balance of foods that are essential in keeping your heart going could have the opposite effect. Although a balanced diet is needed to help all of your organs function to maximum capacity, there are certain foods that are good for your heart. These include ones such as oats and barley, fatty foods like salmon, dark leafy greens, nuts and seeds, beets, avocado, olive oil, low-fat dairy and foods that are low in sodium. Sticking to such diets can be difficult considering all of the temptations every time you turn on the television, go on the internet, listen to the radio, and step outside. However, it is essential that you give it your best go to ensure a healthy heart.
There is nothing wrong with having an occasional drink, however, developing the habit of excessive drinking isn’t the best for your heart. Specific consequences of too much alcohol on the heart are both heart disease as well as heart failure. Aside from affecting your heart, too much alcohol can have other adverse effects on your health and life. It may also be interesting to know that 88,000 deaths annually are attributed to excessive alcohol use. Before it gets to the point of death, unhealthy amounts of alcohol can affect your coordination, cause complications in diabetes, blur your judgment, destroy your relationships, derail your career, and infect your lungs. It could also lead to addiction and if not controlled, alcohol poisoning. If you seem to be struggling with an alcohol addiction, perhaps consider Aetna drug rehab coverage as their insurance has treatment plans that offer continuing care for those struggling with addictions. In any case, overcoming your addiction as soon as possible could help save your heart from breaking down. If you’ve been battling with alcoholism for some time and still can’t seem to overcome it, you should keep trying rehab as well as surround yourself with the right support system as it may help.
Smoking is a common habit that many people struggle to get rid of. Tobacco use is said to be the largest preventable cause of death in the United States killing more than 480,000 people annually. These statistics show just how bad it is for our health, yet it still appears to be a difficult habit to change. In terms of how it affects your heart, it could cause coronary heart disease or a heart attack like some of the other habits mentioned above. The good thing is that the risk of your heart health is said to reduce significantly once you stop smoking. Quitting as early as possible is, therefore, advised. There are a number of ways that you can try and quit smoking such as behavioral therapy, nicotine replacement therapy, medication, and combo treatments. Trying to avoid hanging out with people who smoke to reduce the temptation may also be a good idea. You could also try quitting without any support, but only a small percentage of people are successful when they use this method.
Allowing life to weigh you down and stress you out isn’t good for your heart. It is, therefore, imperative that you consider finding ways to manage your stress. You could try looking for ways to engage yourself in activities that make you feel happy and lift your mood. This could be spending time with friends that make you laugh, watching movies, cooking, going to the spa, or spending time getting rest. To avoid heart attacks, keeping our stress levels to a minimum and learning to take it easy is very important.
Your heart is in the center of your body and likewise, it is one of the pillars that hold your health together. For that reason, it’s important that you try and take care of it and make a conscious effort to protect it from negative substances and foods. It isn’t always easy as often times, bad habits seem to be far more popular than good ones. However, remember that bad habits can be changed with persistence. Ultimately, avoiding some of the things mentioned in this article is a way that you can ensure your heart stays around for years to come.