The “Why” And “How” To Improved Heart Health

Does your heart ache? Are you  giving your heart the love it needs? Sadly, around 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year, and it is the leading cause of death for both men and women.

WHY? With all the knowledge, technology, and modern medicine, how does this disease continue to take so many lives?

Are we too scared to face the truth or too stubborn to change? Truly, we can no longer afford to use excuses. Our improper nutrition and lack of movement continue to hamper our health. For example, look at the following stats to gain an understanding of our diminishing health.

Heart of Darkness

1. A sedentary lifestyle is one of the 5 major risk factors (along with high blood pressure, abnormal values for blood lipids, smoking, and obesity) for cardiovascular disease. In fact, more than 80 percent of adults do not meet the guidelines for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities.
2. Physical inactivity is linked to overweight and obesity issues and the associated health consequences. Importantly, those with higher a BMI are at elevated risk for having diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
3. Today, we have already reached more than 30 million Americans with diabetes. Another 86 million adults, more than one in three U.S. adults, have prediabetes where their blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes.  Without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.  
4. Individuals with high cholesterol have twice the risk of heart disease. And, nearly 29 million adult Americans have a total cholesterol level greater than 240 mg/dL.

If those stats are not alarming to you, they should be. We are suffering from this disease when instead we should be taking control of our health. Are you willing to take charge for your heart’s sake? Let’s see what we can do to show our heart the love it deserves.

Movement Therapy

Movement is a key factor in our heart’s health. Let’s see what adding movement specifically aerobic exercise provides.

1. The relative risk for heart disease decreased when your energy output equals 2000 plus calories per week.
2. If high blood pressure is what your heart faces, regular aerobic exercise can reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Further, the application of aerobic exercise has the potential to reduce or remove medication as the treatment.
3. It can also raise HDL cholesterol levels. HDL sometimes is called “good” cholesterol.
4. Exercise helps your body manage blood sugar and insulin levels, which lowers your risk for type 2 diabetes.
5. It reduces levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in your body. This protein is a sign of inflammation. As such, high levels of CRP may suggest an increased risk for heart disease.
6.  Overweight and obesity can be reduced when exercise is combined with a reduced-calorie diet. Moreover, physical activity also helps you maintain a healthy weight over time once you have lost weight.

Your heart matters, my heart matters no matter what anyone else thinks or does, give your heart a fighting chance. Start by adding exercise in your day. Change your foods to heart healthy. Ultimately, make the right choices each chance you get. You never know if you will get another so do it today. Rise and shine, my fitness friends!

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Yours In Health,

Jerry Cox