4 Tips To Keep Your Ticker Tickin’

A few simple additions to your everyday diet/lifestyle can help keep your heart healthy for years to come. Here are a few tips you can use right away. Your heart will thank you!

 

  1. Use plant sterols and stanols. These are substances that occur naturally in plant-based foods. They work by preventing some of the cholesterol in your diet from being absorbed into your bloodstream. Instead, the cholesterol gets “flushed” out as waste. In addition, numerous studies suggest they are highly effective at reducing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

 

  1. Take guggul. This ancient herb has been used for hundreds of years in Indian Ayurvedic medicine. Many studies suggest it can be effective at lowering LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. It’s believed it does this by blocking cholesterol synthesis to some extent and helping remove excess LDL cholesterol particles from the bloodstream. Before you take it, however, be sure to check with your doctor as it may interfere with certain medications.

  1. Take fish oil. This is one of those “miracle” supplements that seems to do everything under the sun. Fortunately, there are hundreds of studies to back up all the heart-health benefits. You can choose to eat fatty fish 2—4 times a week. But due to possible mercury contamination, you may opt for taking it in supplement form.

  1. Laugh More. Yep. Laughter could very well be the best medicine. We now know that mental stress correlates with impairment of the protective barrier that lines our blood vessels. Laughing helps ease that stress and could potentially save your heart! In fact, one study done at the University of Maryland School of Medicine suggests that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels and may help protect against heart attack!