Five Practices to Nurture and LOVE Your Heart!
Forget chocolates and roses - your heart craves more than fleeting gestures! It wants love that nourishes it from within, fostering well-being, joy, resilience, and connection. In this article, we’ll explore five practices beyond the superficial, offering your heart the deep love it deserves. Join us on a journey to unlock a new level of self-care, where you’ll discover practical ways to nurture, cherish, and celebrate the most vital organ in your body. Here are five essential areas to consider when pursuing your heart in the name of love: diet, exercise, healthy weight goals, stress reduction, and consistent healthcare.
1. Love your heart with your DIET.
Throughout your journey toward Living Well, show your heart some love by embracing a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Watching what you eat promotes good health by reducing the chances of experiencing heart disease, stroke, and other harmful conditions. The National Institutes of Health outlines the fundamental principles supporting a balanced diet to promote a healthy heart:
- The foundation of your diet should be fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because the vitamins, minerals, and fiber they supply will support your heart health.
- Enjoy fat-free and low-fat dairy products and fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils.
- Limit foods with saturated fats and avoid trans fats altogether. While some saturated fat intake is necessary, consuming too much can raise your “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and put you at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Thankfully, the FDA banned artificial trans fats in the U.S. in 2015. However, small amounts may still be present in some processed foods, and some naturally occurring trans fats exist in animal products like meat and dairy.
- Reduce your intake of sneaky added sugars. Added sugars appear more often and in higher quantities on food labels than you might think – they are not limited to sweet-tasting foods and drinks!
- Limit sodium Intake. (Hint: added salt can be even sneakier than added sugar.) Always check your food labels for sodium levels. You might be surprised at how much sodium there is in foods that don’t necessarily taste salty! The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams (2.3 grams) daily, roughly equivalent to 1 teaspoon of table salt.
2. Love your heart with EXERCISE.
Exercise is a fundamental way to show your heart some love. Especially if exercise is new to you, it is wise to consult a qualified healthcare professional for examples of exercises that would be appropriate for you to do. A combination of a balanced diet that your heart agrees with and some regular physical activity helps your heart maintain blood pressure levels that mitigate the risk of a stroke or other health conditions.
If exercise is “not your thing,” we have good news: Exercise doesn’t have to be fancy or exhausting to benefit your heart health! Focusing on sustainable, enjoyable activities you can build into your daily routine is often more effective than sporadic bursts of intense exercise. Think of activities that elevate your heart rate and make you sweat slightly, like brisk walking, swimming, dancing, cycling, or gardening. These are just as effective for heart health as vigorous activities like running or HIIT workouts. Consistency is the key to heart health with exercise: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week.
Dr. Vivian Ebert’s go-to hack for daily exercise: “Just getting up and stretching in the morning does the body some good! Check out this fantastic zero-impact guided stretching resource called Classical Stretch, which airs every morning at 6 a.m. on our SWFL PBS station, WGCU.”
2. Love your heart with HEALTHY WEIGHT GOALS.
Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for safeguarding your heart’s health. Please consider the following benefits that accompany reaching your healthy weight goal:
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Reduced burden on your heart: Excess weight is like carrying extra baggage for your heart. Every pound lost means less stress on its muscles, allowing them to pump blood more efficiently and effortlessly. Healthy and consistent blood flow translates to lower blood pressure, a prime factor in preventing heart attacks and strokes.
On the flip side, being underweight, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5, can have negative consequences that can stress your heart, including reduced muscle mass, electrolyte imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, and a weakened immune system.If you’re unsure about your healthy weight range, refer to this convenient Ideal Weight Calculator courtesy of Calculator.net.
- Improved cholesterol management: a healthy weight helps regulate cholesterol levels, keeping the “bad” LDL in check and nurturing the “good” HDL, which acts like a shield for your heart. Less harmful LDL means less buildup in your arteries, leading to smoother blood flow and reduced risk of heart disease.
- Better sleep quality: When you maintain a healthy weight, sleep tends to be deeper and more restorative, allowing your heart to rest, recharge, and prepare for the demands of the day ahead. Adequate sleep also regulates hormones that impact blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health. *BONUS* Maintaining a healthy weight decreases the odds of developing many sleep disorders, including sleep apnea!
- Improved metabolism and energy levels: Healthy weight management often fosters a healthy metabolism, improving your body’s ability to convert food into energy efficiently. A healthy metabolism yields increased energy levels and a greater motivation to engage in physical activity to improve circulation and strengthen your muscles, including your heart!
4. Love your heart with STRESS REDUCTION.
Emotions such as anxiety and depression are mental conditions that can exacerbate chronic stress and further contribute to unhealthy behaviors that impact heart health. Thus, gaining control over your emotions is one of the foundational steps in the journey to stress reduction. The American Heart Association suggests you can manage your emotions, improve your well-being, and reduce stress-related health risks with meditation, deep breathing, and yoga. This trifecta of techniques can help lower blood pressure and ease the burden on your heart. According to Harvard Health Publishing, “Researchers are now beginning to better understand how these mental changes affect the cardiovascular system. A number of well-designed studies show that meditation can modestly lower blood pressure, according to an American Heart Association scientific statement published in the journal Hypertension.”
5. Love your heart with CONSISTENT HEALTHCARE.
Regular checkups with your primary care provider allow for early detection of potential health problems. Early detection may include monitoring blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar, plus checking for signs of arrhythmia or other abnormalities. Early detection makes intervening early with lifestyle changes, medication, or other treatments possible, often preventing more serious issues later.
Paired with holistic health support, such as booking regular chiropractic adjustments and medical massage, you can enhance your primary healthcare routine by increasing joint mobility and range of motion, enhancing flexibility and reducing stiffness, and improving communication between the nervous system and other bodily systems.
When you’re searching for a “chiropractor near me,” you can feel confident directing all your chiropractic care-related questions to Dr. Vivian Ebert of LivingWell Chiropractic in Bonita Springs, FL, located in The Brooks Town Center at the northwest corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Coconut Road.
LivingWell Chiropractic provides state-of-the-art chiropractic care, spinal decompression, medical massage, and nutritional guidance with a holistic wellness approach focused on pain relief for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Centrally located in Bonita Springs, the office is convenient for patients from Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, and South Fort Myers.
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