It goes without saying that the health of your heart is essential to you living a long life. However, millions of people every day engage in bad habits that sabotage their heart health. The sad part is that most of these people know what they are doing is bad for them, but they continue to do it anyway. Let’s take a look at five of the most common habits that need to be reduced or eliminated from your life to prevent the risk of heart disease.
- Smoking
The surgeon general’s warning about the harmful effects of smoking has been printed on packs of cigarettes since the early 1960s. However, tens of thousands of people continue to die every year due to smoking related illnesses. When most people think of parts of the body negatively impacted by cigarettes, they usually think of the lungs and the throat. However, the heart also feels the impact of this devastating bad habit.
- Drinking
You have probably read some of the many published studies which indicate that alcohol can be healthy for your heart. This is true, but only if it is a small amount. Unfortunately, there are millions of people that are not able to limit their drinking. The simple fact is that studies have also indicated that drinking too much alcohol has been directly linked to heart failure, the level of blood fats being too high and a risk of having high blood pressure. In addition to that, alcoholic drinks contain a lot of calories. These additional calories can cause you to become overweight. When people become too heavy, the health of their heart is at risk.
- Eating junk food
Let’s face it, obesity has never been a bigger problem than it is today. Much of this problem has been caused by the large amount of fast food restaurants that exist in our society. This is not to say that eating fast food a couple of times each month is going to harm your heart, but many people rely on junk food much more often than that. Along with fast food, people are drinking lots of soda and eating large amounts of sugary candy. This will eventually lead to a person becoming obese. The more overweight a person becomes, the more strain is placed on their heart.
- Consuming high amounts of salt
While sugar gets the lion’s share of negative publicity, the harmfulness of salt goes largely unnoticed by the majority of the population. However, consuming too much salt can also be devastating for the health of your heart. As a person consumes larger amounts of salt, his or her blood pressure will rise. Having high blood pressure gives a person an increased risk of suffering cardiac arrest, failure of their kidneys or a stroke. Be sure to always read the labels of food you buy to see how much salt it contains.
- Failure to exercise on a regular basis
It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that exercising several times each week will help to improve the health of your heart. However, many people live sedentary lifestyles, failing to get the amount of physical activity that their heart needs to stay healthy.
Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who is trying to be healthier this year. She currently writes for AEDs Today, a leading supplier of automatic external defibrillators including popular models such as LIFEPAK AEDS.
Recent Comments