Summertime is just around the corner. Summertime means to many people vacation time and party time. But while they are experiencing all the fun and the sun of summer, does anyone think about cardiovascular time?
The heart is an organ that gets neglected from a person's youth until the doctor declares 20 or 30 years later that heart disease is a reality. It is true that eventually the body wears out and falters, but is it possible to delay the number one killer of both men and women?
The answer is yes. If a person is committed to the cause of having a healthy heart, positive changes are possible to achieve over the summer. One just has to break some unhealthy habits that could be damaging the following.
Changing any one of these habits can delay heart disease by a few years.
Smoking
Smoking causes all sorts of problems. A person's hair, clothing and breath smell horribly. The habit of smoking leaves most folks with stained fingernails. It is the leading cause of mouth, throat and lung cancer. If a woman is pregnant and she smokes, she risks stunting the growth of her baby as well as its life. Now, to top it off, smoking causes heart disease also? The public is well aware of manner of these facts and yet many still continue this deadly habit. Luckily there is help for those individuals who are serious in the cessation of smoking. Those individuals should check in with their doctors to find out more information.
Exercise
Many people cringe at the word "exercise". It is like saying a taboo word that needs to be exorcised from a person's being. The nation has become reliant on popping pills to burn calories and lose weight rather than eating correctly and exercising. Exercising has many benefits such as weight loss, muscle tone, having more energy and staving off heart disease. Exercise not only tones and strengthens those larger muscles such as the arms and the legs, but it strengthens the heart muscle as well.
Stress
Bad stress is a silent killer. It causes the body to produce adrenaline to make the person more aware of his/her surroundings in fight or flight situations. While this type of stress can be helpful if a person's response time to getting out of the way of a speeding car prevents them from getting hit, it is not fine to be in this fight or flight all the time. Learning how to manage stress through yoga, exercise and meditation can help reduce the stress on the heart.
Eating
People should take the time to cook their fresh, unprocessed food instead of eating convenience foods all the time. Portion sizes should be reduced as well. By not adhering to these guidelines, people have become obese. Of course, obesity can lead to such diseases as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It is important to eat correctly in order to maintain a healthy heart.
These changes are not going to happen overnight. These suggestions are not a quick fix. It takes anywhere from 60 to 90 days to create new habits but with hard work and dedication, a person can change his/her heart health destiny.