February is Heart Health Month—Here’s How to Strengthen Your Ticker

Your heart is incredibly important and we collectively are not taking great care of ours. Heart disease is the world’s biggest killer. Luckily, there are several easy things that you can do to help your heart and keep it healthy. 

Exercise

Exercise of any kind is great for the heart. A simple ten minute walk can be a big change to your overall health—it’s good for your mental health too. Add it into your daily routine by doing simple changes like parking a bit farther away, taking the stairs instead of an elevator or hosting walking meetings. The blood flowing will help with creativity too. 

Weight Train

Lifting a few weights can be hugely beneficial to heart health. This can be as easy as grabbing a few cans and doing some arm curls in the kitchen. Even tacking on a one pound weight to your wrists or ankles can help strengthen your ticker and increase your overall health. What’s good for your heart is good for your overall well-being. 

Eat More Fruits and Veggies

Adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet is endlessly beneficial. Your skin, gut and heart will feel better. Red meat and dairy are absolute artery cloggers so to avoid a heart attack or open heart surgery, choose the side salad over fries. 

Choose Water

Sugary drinks and alcohol are a sneaky way to add calories to your diet and mess with your overall health. So when you are choosing a beverage, pick water. It’s the best thing for your heart and, as a bonus, it’s the cheapest, best skincare around. If plain water doesn’t excite you, infuse it with some lemon or fruit. 

Go Nuts for Nuts

Nuts are a fabulous snack for your heart. They are healthy, filling and an excellent addition of what’s known as a “healthy fat.” Keep a bag of nuts in your purse or car. They are a way better option for snacks than chips or candy so they can keep you fuller faster. 

Enjoy a Mediterranean Diet 

Mediterranean diets are one of the best for your health—especially eating fish instead of other proteins. The lean fats make for an excellent delicious way to keep your body healthy and working well for a long time. 

Take a Deep Breath 

Meditating or even taking a few deep breathes in a stressful situation can lower your blood pressure, which is the major indicator of heart health. It also goes a long way to regulate emotions and reduce anger outbursts. 

Wash Your Hands

We all learned how to wash our hands during the pandemic—warm water, soap and keep scrubbing for 20 seconds. It can keep illnesses at bay and it can also keep your heart healthy because illnesses like the flu or COVID are hard on your organs. 

Think Positive

A smile can go a long way. A bit of optimism can help keep you healthy. Thinking positive can help with your overall well-being, better health and longevity. And being negative and pessimistic can do just the opposite and lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. So in the case of the heart, the glass is always half full.