The Heart: A Symbol of Love and Health

It’s that time of year again – February is American Heart Month.

The heart is both a symbol of love and one of the hardest-working muscles in your body. A heart might be drawn on a Valentine’s cards, but it also calmly pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood a day without asking for applause. Hearts may get credit for all our feelings, but really they are physical workhorses.

Quietly they are at work continuously pumping, reminding us that self-care, movement, good nutrition, and sleep are some of the most loving gestures we can give ourselves.

So, do yourself a favor and follow these six tips to show love to your heart, which works quietly, but endlessly, to keep you alive and well.

6 Tips for Heart Health

1. Eat heart-healthy foods most of the time

• This includes foods with fiber such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.
• Foods with unsaturated fat, such as olive oil, canola oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish provide heart health benefits.

2. Build movement into your day

   • Any movement counts.
   • The heart is a muscle and like with other muscles: the more you move and work it, the stronger it gets.

3. Get enough sleep 

   • Sleep allows the cardiovascular system time to rest and repair. Aim for at least 7 hours.
   • During sleep, blood pressure drops, giving the body a break, so getting enough sleep regularly can help lower blood pressure overall. This can lower the risk for heart disease.

4. Reduce stress

   • When the body is stressed, blood pressure naturally goes up. When this happens too much, it can increase the risk for heart disease.
   • Good news is, we already addressed two things that can help address stress – movement and sleep! Activity can help alleviate chronic stress and getting enough sleep can too.
   • Consider incorporating just 5-10 minutes a day of meditation or deep breathing into your day.

5. Stop Smoking

   • This can be hard, but you don’t have to do it alone.
   • Join a support group; there are many workplaces, community groups, and hospitals that offer classes to help people quit smoking.

6. Know and control your heart health numbers

   • See your doctor regularly for checkups.
   • Get your blood pressure and cholesterol checked, and talk with your doctor about where your numbers should be.
   • If you have diabetes, be sure to monitor your blood sugar.
   • Keeping track of these numbers, and making changes if needed, could help save your life.

Take one step at a time. If you are not already doing these things, make each change incrementally. Small steps add up to get you where you want to be. A little love for your heart goes a long way to help keep you alive and well.