Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. But it can often be prevented, which is why it’s important to check your heart.
Doctors say the best way to prevent heart disease is by avoiding tobacco smoking and of course living a healthy lifestyle.
Haley Milks from Blink Fitness has a few tips to keep your heart healthy this month and every month, starting with something as simple as walking.
"You can walk ten minutes a day to start. And, if that seems too daunting, you can walk five minutes out and walk five minutes back. And, if you grab a friend that's even more of an accountability because with a friend you start to have a conversation and then that leads to 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise," said Milks.
Second tip: eat right
"Eat right. This is so important. Most people think that if they just exercise they can lose weight but it's all about the diet. And, a diet is not to be considered a restriction but more of a lifestyle. So, if you're looking to replacing foods, replacing high fat foods for low sugar, low fats, lots of fruits and vegetables, high fiber, stuff that will keep you full for longer. So, high volume low density foods," added Milks.
Third tip: drink at least six glasses of water a day.
"So, most people do not drink enough water and they carry around their coffee mug everyday. Instead of carrying around a coffee mug hurry up and drink your coffee and switch over to water," said Milks.
Fourth, meditate.
"I believe we should be teaching our children to meditate, to solve problems, to make themselves aware of their personal space. The same thing with adults. It will lower stress levels at work, it will lower stress levels at home, and it just creates an increase in your ability to manage problems that are outside of your boundary," added Milks.
Last but definitely not least, sleep. Research shows that consistently getting seven to eight hours of sleep per night is very important.
"Seven to eight hours is not getting into bed at 10 and then not falling asleep until midnight and waking up at four. It has to be seven to eight hours of consecutively sleep so that you just wake up and that's the time your body heals. It metabolizes all the nutrients that you're putting into your body throughout the day. So, it's very important for healing not only mentally but physiologically and physically," said Milks.
