We all know the basics to staving off heart disease: a balanced diet low in saturated fats, plenty of exercise, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in check, and steer clear of cigarettes. To boost your defense against the country’s leading cause of death, fine-tune your health routine with a few tips gleaned from the latest in heart-health research. Here’s how:
1) Ditch the sugary drinks. In a 2011 study from the University of Oklahoma, researchers found that women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages daily were nearly four times as likely to develop high levels of heart-harming blood fats compared to those who drank one or fewer sugary sodas, juices, or flavored waters daily.
2) Cut indoor air pollution. Using high efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters may reduce heart-disease risk by removing blood-vessel-damaging pollutants from indoor air, according to a 2011 study from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
3) Fill up on fish. Women who rarely or never eat fish may have a 90 percent higher risk of heart disease than those who dine on fish high in omega-3 fatty acids weekly, suggests a 2011 study from the journal Hypertension. Omega-3 rich fish include salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines.
4) Deal with your insomnia. In a 2011 study published in Circulation, insomniacs were found to face a 45 percent greater risk of heart attack (compared to people who rarely had trouble sleeping).
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