The beauticians are promoting their pampering products, the flower shop is stocking up on red roses, the confectionary store is crammed full of heart shaped sweet delights and the local restaurant has created a special Valentines menu.
What do you do?
Well here’s a novel suggestion. Instead of just giving a simple gift that will end up being thrown away, used up or eaten why not give something a lot more lasting….. If you really want to give your heart to that special someone then why not give them a very healthy heart?!
Did you know that heart disease still kills more people in the United Kingdom than any other condition? National statistics showed one in five men and around one in six women died from heart disease, including heart attacks, in 2005, and around 2.7 million People are estimated to be living with coronary heart disease in the UK and this number is rising each year.
The majority of us lead a lifestyle which encourages an unhealthy diet, excess alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, a stressful working environment and a serious lack of physical activity. I can almost guarantee that you will have at least one of these factors in your life at the moment.
Obviously hereditary conditions account for a number of cases but a huge number of cases are self inflicted through poor choices on the individual’s part. Most heart disease is avoidable if we take simple measures to improve our lifestyle. Too many people in the UK are exercising too little, eating diets too high in fat, salt and sugar, and consequently, becoming overweight or obese.
Another huge factor that we allow into our lives to cause damage to our heart is stress. Stress is the way we all react to change. It includes our mental, emotional and physical responses to the pressures of everyday life.
The pace of our lives in the 21st century is getting faster and faster. Consequently it seems to be harder to find the time to exercise or cook well-balanced, healthy meals. We rev our engines with stimulants like caffeine, sugar and nicotine but then need depressants like alcohol to slow us down again.
Stress is also associated with depression and anxiety disorders and can reduce the amount of pleasure you get out of life. Chronic stress can numb you to feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment. Eventually, this numbness could have a negative impact on your work and your relationships.
How do we change and create long term health benefits?
The simple answer to long term health is long term practice. Unfortunately as stated earlier we live in a world that runs at 100 miles per hour and we want everything now. Therefore we look for the quickest possible way to achieve our desired results.
These usually include prescription medication. What they don’t tell you is that these medications only mask the underlying problems and that every drug has a side effect and a negative impact on the human body, and are you really taking control of your own health by taking a pill?
There are other ways to look after your heart that are much more effective, long lasting and enjoyable.
1. Exercise
Even a brief amount of exercise each day will enable your metabolism to start functioning more effectively. It will reduce excess body fat, stabilise blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthen the heart an it is a fantastic way to alleviate stress.
2. Take control of your diet
People talk a lot about reducing the amount of fat in your diet and to an extent this advice has been taken a bit too far. Saturated fats WILL increase the clogging of the arteries but Omega 3 oils and essential fatty acids are crucial for the body to survive a healthy existence.
The big change that needs to be made in the majority of diets is a reduction in the amount of refined carbohydrates. Consuming these types of foods not only causes bloating and poor digestion, they also raise blood sugar levels, which stimulates the production of insulin.
Unfortunately we are extremely misinformed about what we eat. Food companies are allowed to exploit our naivety and as a result consumers are unaware of what foods are actually good for them and those that are actually causing more harm. The key is to eat real foods preferably organic as often as possible.
3. Relax
We need to slow down our body’s adrenal system, turn off the fight or flight response and learn to relax, replenish and recharge. Simple processes such as cutting out the amount of stimulants we consume and learning to breath properly get a higher quality a quantity of sleep and take time to switch off each day.
So this Valentine’s make plans to look after your health and give your loved one a healthy heart for years to come, - but probably go with the flowers as well to avoid ending up in the doghouse!
We’ve got a great article on stress management coming up in the next few weeks...
