You can add years to your life by making four simple, healthy and often enjoyable changes in your daily habits that dramatically reduce your risk for heart disease and other dangerous disorders, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
In fact, those who practiced four heart-smart habits—eating a Mediterranean-style diet, exercising regularly, maintaining a normal weight, and avoiding smoking were 80% less likely to die from any cause during the eight-year study, the researchers reported.
“We followed about 6200 men and women of various ethnic backgrounds from locations across the U.S. and looked at their diet, exercise, weight, and smoking habits,” says Dr. Haitham M. Ahmed, MD, the lead author of the study. “We did CT scans on them at the start of the study and a few years later, and we found that healthier people had lower calcium deposition in their coronary arteries.”
Over time, those healthy participants were less likely to develop heart disease and experience heart attacks, compared with less healthy people. The evidence makes it clear that adopting these four basic lifestyle habits can improve your wellbeing in many ways, empowering you to live a longer, healthier life!
Go Mediterranean
Instead of skimping on fat, add some extra-virgin olive oil and nuts to your meals, along with more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains. These are key components of the Mediterranean diet, which is also characterized by moderate intake of fish, poultry, and even red wine, while limiting red meat, high-fat dairy products, and sweets.
Following a Mediterranean diet with extra servings of nuts can diminish your chances of stroke by a whopping 46 percent and reduce your likelihood of heart attack and death from cardiovascular causes, according to new research in The New England Journal of Medicine. These remarkable benefits may arise from the anti-inflammatory effects of nuts, olive oil, and other nutrient-rich foods.
These perks are easy to enjoy, because the Mediterranean diet is not only healthful, but also delicious! Start savoring the benefits today by:
- Replacing butter with olive oil
- Nibbling a variety of nuts, like walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts
- Enjoying multiple servings of fresh fruits and berries
- Keeping an assortment of vegetable sticks and hummus on hand for easy snacking
- Experimenting with cereals and whole grains, like brown rice, quinoa, and millet, among others
- Diversifying your protein choices with nuts, seeds, legumes, and moderate amounts of fish and poultry, while cutting back on red meat, high-fat dairy products, and sweets
- Sipping the occasional glass of wine with dinner
Enjoying hearty breakfasts and eating less in the evening may also help you ward off high blood pressure and heart attacks, according to a new study published in the Journal of Hypertension.
Get Moving
Most of us know that exercise is important, but only 30 percent of Americans get enough of it.
Whether you prefer to walk, run, swim, or pump metal, it’s important to add aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities to your daily routine. Even moderate levels of physical activity can improve sleep, sharpen your mind, and decrease your odds of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
For adults, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a minimum of two and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (like walking) and two bouts of muscle-strengthening activities each week to work your major muscle groups (arms, shoulders, chest, abdomen, back, hips, and legs). You can get away with 75 minutes of aerobic activity per week, if you increase the intensity of your workouts to a vigorous level (like running).
If you’re having trouble meeting your fitness requirements, start by getting active in ten-minute increments and build up gradually to longer sessions.
Lose a Few Pounds
Exercise and healthy weight loss not only help your heart, they also trim the threat of developing diabetes by up to 58 percent and cut your risk of cancer.
Start shedding excess pounds by adopting a healthy diet, meeting your physical activity requirements, and practicing these slim-down strategies:
- Eat regular meals. Skipping meals may slow down your metabolism and stimulate the production of appetite-inducing hormones, leading to binge-eating later.
- Keep a food journal. Using a diary or smartphone app to track every bite can help you pay attention and remain accountable to your weight loss targets.
- Limit meals out. Packing your lunch can lead to 3% greater weight loss, compared to eating out.
- Love your body. Developing a positive body image can actually help youmeet your weight loss goals. Appreciate what you have and learn to accept what you see in the mirror, even if you’d like to lose a few pounds.
Stay or Go Smoke-Free
One cigarette a day is all it takes to boost your risk of heart attack, according to arecent study of “social smokers” in The Open Addiction Journal.
Fortunately, after just one year of kicking the habit, you can reduce your risk of heart disease by half. In fact, among the four lifestyle habits examined by the Johns Hopkins research team, smoking avoidance was most strongly associated with lower rates of coronary heart disease and death.
“If you exercised, ate healthy, had a normal weight—you did everything else right!—but you smoked, you were still worse off than people who did nothing else right but stayed away from cigarettes,” says Dr. Ahmed. “Not smoking is probably the best singlehanded thing that you can do for your cardiovascular and overall health. We think that the reason for this is because smoking not only damages your blood vessels, it also affects nearly every organ in your body.”
If you currently smoke, improve your chances of quitting successfully by combiningsmoking cessation counseling with nicotine replacement (a patch, spray, or gum). Or try a less conventional approach, such as acupuncture or hypnotherapy, which have yielded surprising success in clinical trials.
And, if you are already smoke-free, pat yourself on the back: you’re already one healthy habit closer to a longer life.
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