While the number of deaths caused by car accidents and cancer often makes headlines more often, the leading cause of premature death in the U.S. is actually heart disease. In fact, every 36 seconds, someone in the country dies as a result of cardiovascular disease.
Certain conditions and demographics can cause a person to be more susceptible to heart disease. But lifestyle choices are also contributing factors to your risk.
If you’re looking to lower your risk and increase your chances of living a long, healthy life, keep reading to learn a few health-conscious tips you need to know.
1. Quit Smoking
Smoking is one of the biggest contributors to the risk of heart disease. It’s also one of the easiest to avoid or to reverse.
While giving up a smoking habit isn’t easy, doing so can not only lower your risk of heart disease but also boost your overall health.
2. Get Moving
You don’t have to hit the gym for hours each day to lower your risk of heart disease.
Getting moving for even just a half-an-hour each day can help you build a strong heart. Walking or enjoying low-impact exercise like yoga each day is a good heart-healthy habit to adopt.
3. Skip the Fried Food
Adding healthy fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to your diet is great for boosting your overall health. But avoiding certain specific foods can have a big impact on your heart-health.
Fried foods, in particular, affect your cardiovascular health.
In fact, eating just a single 4 ounce serving of fried food is enough to increase your risk of heart disease.
4. De-stress
Stress can have a far-reaching effect on your overall health. It can cause you to lose sleep or to abandon other healthy habits like eating well.
Finding ways to reduce and lower stress in your life, or to manage the stress that you can’t avoid, can actually help you lower your risk for heart disease.
5. Eat Better
Giving up fried foods may be a heart-healthy choice, if you want to make a real, long-term difference in your risk for developing cardiovascular disease, your entire diet may need an overhaul.
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet is essential to the health of your body as a whole. But it’s also important for your heart, and for warding off heart disease. Even if you don’t plan to make a complete change to your diet, incorporating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins into your daily meals can still make a difference.
Developing Health-Conscious Habits
Developing health-conscious habits isn’t something that happens overnight. But if you want to lower your chance of heart disease, making even just a few small changes can have a major impact.
From eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and avoiding fried foods to getting active each day and finding ways to reduce stress, any of these ideas can help you keep your heart and body healthy.
For more healthy tips, check out the rest of our blog.