Exercise

A Healthier Heart Equals A Healthier Brain Later In Life?

A Healthier Heart Equals A Healthier Brain Later In Life?Studies recently published by the American Heart Association in combination with scientific findings by Michael Bancks, Ph.D., of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL have tested and found that how you treat your heart today, can significantly impact your quality of life and your brain functionality as you age.

Anyone serious about maintaining a healthy heart – and mind – should first consider the following seven steps which might “guarantee” a healthier life, you, and increased overall happiness.

1. Firstly, watching and maintaining a healthy blood pressure is at the top of the list. This means not only watching the foods that you eat, but also your physical activity levels (see more below), overall stress levels, and how you manage each.

2. The advice of properly managing your cholesterol is not something new, although it is a piece of health advice that is being pushed on the public and broadcasted more aggressively in recent years. And believe us, this deserves a place at the top of the list, as it can mean the difference between life and death – or your susceptibility to a heart attack!

3. Monitoring and taking care of your blood sugar we know it sounds simple, and unfortunately, a lot of people assume that if they just avoid sweets, coffee, and soda that they’ll be just fine. But the truth is, there are plenty of fruits and other healthy foods that can just as easily raise your blood glucose (sugar) levels to unhealthy heights. Worse, doing so consistently over the years can harm both your heart, and in turn your brain reducing performance, and overall longevity of the human body aging process.

4. Being more active – Who could forget this? Research has shown that those who exercise more frequently, even a simple 15-30 minute walk once a day or every other day will dramatically their overall health, and happiness. Walking also serves as an excellent way to reduce stress or even quit bad habits like smoking and drinking (see more on this below.) Taking care of your muscle and bone growth today can make the aging process and your body all the more happy, and likely to be still properly functioning by the time you’re 40 or 50 years old.

5. Finally, quit smoking. We know it sounds easier said than done, but stopping today can make a world of difference for how you feel, and the ways which you grow tomorrow. Protect yourself from a wide range of various likely cancers you can develop by smoking, and breathe better in just a matter of weeks by quitting today!

Be Happy, and Be Healthy!

Picture Credit: ElisaRiva

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Maintaining a Healthy Weight through Routine Workouts

Maintaining a Healthy Weight through Routine WorkoutsWhy maintaining weight through regular workouts is so crucial?

Almost every health-conscious individual is aware that obesity can lead to grave lifestyle diseases and disorders eventually affecting one’s well-being as well as cutting short the lifespan. Over 33% of the adult populace in the US was found to be obese in 2010. Obesity is rated in terms of BMI or body mass index and anybody with a BMI of 30 or above is said to be overweight.

Corpulence is a leading cause of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, and even some kinds of cancer. Limiting calorie intake by controlling what you eat and exercising regularly will lead to weight loss on a gradual basis.

Losing Weight by Harmonizing Exercises with Balanced Diets

In order to ensure that you burn excessive fat gradually, you should exercise regularly as well as stick to a balanced diet. In fact, the key to torching the calorie build up is to strike a balance between a regimented workout program and low-calorie meals. Exercising habitually will not only help in weight loss but also prevent, reduce or delay the onset of several disorders and diseases.

Exercise boosts your confidence levels, keeps you energetic all day long, stimulate your metabolic and immune systems, and help keep cholesterol as well as blood pressure levels under control.

How Frequently Should You Exercise for Losing Weight?

You should do some sort of cardiovascular exercise nothing less than thrice weekly, each session lasting for at least 20 minutes in order to keep yourself in the pink of health. Nevertheless, you’ll tend to lose weight faster and with consistency if you exercise for half an hour. For instance, you can go on an early morning trek in your neighborhood walking for 2-3 miles or you can consider cycling, swimming or jogging as well.

Estimating the Targeted Heart Rate

For getting the best out of your workouts, you’ll have to perform some strength building exercises. Running on the treadmill, doing pushups, and exercising with kettlebells will keep your heart in perfect working order. To keep a tab on the efforts that you are putting, calculating your heart rate would be necessary. Consult a fitness expert for knowing the intense workouts that will be suitable for you and surely get in touch with a doctor before starting on a fitness schedule.

Various Forms of Workouts

Depending on your age and level of fitness as well as taking into account any ailment you suffer from there are different kinds of exercises you can perform including aerobics, meditation, yoga, and weight training.

Integrating Exercises with Your Lifestyle

No matter how hectic or busy your daily life is, you can always take out some time for engaging in some sort of physical activity. For instance, you can get a little early in the morning and go for a walk or jog in the local park. Or, instead of driving to your workplace, you can cover the distance by striding in case your office is not situated very far away. Sometimes you can pace up and down the stairs rather than stepping into the elevator.

Before Getting Started

You should definitely talk to a physician before you start following a workout program and more so if you suffer from diabetes, kidney disease, arthritis or heart disease.

Picture Credit:5132824

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