10 Heart Health Tips

Tip number one is take a deep breath. Deep in through your nose. Hold it. Let it out. Let out anxiety. Let out concern. Let out anything that you're holding on to so you can start your day healthy. Tip number two is eat protein first. When you eat protein first, your stomach stays fuller longer, your blood sugar stays stable, and it keeps you from overeating things that may not be as healthy. Tip number three is stand up and exercise more. Many times we sit at our desk, we drive in our car, we get logged into our computer or our phones and we forget to stand. When you stand up, you move your blood around and evidence shows you'll live longer and your heart will thank you. Tip number four, stop smoking. Smoking causes your blood vessels to decrease in size and can cause heart attacks. So please be heart smart and stop smoking. Tip number five, drink water. Make it easy. Keep it next to you. Keep it in your car. Keep it at your desk. Wherever you go, keep a bottle handy. Tip number six, sleep more. When we rest, our bodies recover. Use technology. Use your phone. Set an alarm for one hour before you go to sleep. Use a book, meditate, music. Do something to get you ready to go to sleep. Plan to sleep more. Tip number seven, forgive someone. Stress impacts our heart in negative ways. When we're sad, when we're depressed, or we're holding a grudge, we hurt our heart. I want you to forgive someone. I mean truly forgive someone. Not just someone who cut you off in traffic, but someone who has hurt you. You don't have to call them up. You don't have to let them know. Forgiveness is for you and not them, but let it go so you can live. Tip number eight, send love. Use your phone to send out messages of love to someone you care about. Think of someone in your life that you really love. Send them a text and let them know you're thinking of them and that you love them. It'll help your heart and theirs. Tip number nine, know your numbers. Knowing your numbers is important. It tells us at how high a risk you are for heart disease. Just like the speedometer on your car, you need to know how fast you're going and how much danger you may be in. So I need you to know your blood pressure, your weight, your cholesterol, your triglycerides, your blood sugar. Your doctor can help you with this. Know your numbers so we can help you. Number 10, eat red. Make it a game with you and your family. Try to get one red food in each meal. Red foods are high in vitamins, high in fiber, and they really help you make it fun to be healthy. Here's some red foods. Tomatoes. Strawberries. Red peppers. Apples. I challenge you to find one red food every meal to eat.