1. Sleep<\/strong> \u2013 Most people need about seven hours of sleep per night. Need sleep? Try Natural Wellness’s Fast Asleep<\/a> melatonin that helps you fall asleep and wake up feeling refreshed.\u00a0<\/em> Editor\u2019s Note<\/strong><\/span>: Great for your liver, gallbladder and digestive system, Turmeric 95<\/a> also protects the cell lining of your blood vessels, heart and lymphatic vessels. Visit Natural Wellness\u2019s page on Turmeric 95<\/a> today to learn more about its superior protection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February is American Heart Month. Try these 13 ideas to relax, lighten up, eat right, and get moving to enjoy a healthy heart all year long, and for many years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart-health"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4837"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8395,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4837\/revisions\/8395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naturalwellness.com\/nwupdate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2. Know Your Numbers<\/strong> \u2013 High blood pressure can damage the heart so get your blood pressure checked regularly, every year if you are over 40.
\n3. Stop Smoking<\/strong> \u2013 Quit smoking cigarettes and e-cigarettes!
\n4. Weighty Matters<\/strong> \u2013 Achieve and maintain a healthy weight, especially if you are carrying the extra weight around your mid-section.
\n5. Stress Less<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 Stress-reducing activities such as meditation and yoga can help lower your stress responses, many of which can cause damage to your heart.
\n6. Drink Less<\/strong> \u2013 Alcohol, especially consumed chronically, can damage your heart as well as lead to weight gain. While moderate consumption of alcohol can help raise HDL (\u201cgood\u201d cholesterol) levels and aid in preventing blood clot formation, but it is important not to overindulge.
\n7. Fill Up with Fiber<\/strong> \u2013 Adding fiber to your diet helps you feel fuller, and aids in weight loss by binding with fats in the digestive tract, reducing fat absorption and cholesterol.
\n8. Move It!<\/strong> \u2013 Moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes a day will help in reducing stress and burning excess calories, as well as aiding in regulating your insulin levels.
\n9. Reduce Salt<\/strong> \u2013 High salt intake is associated with increased levels of heart disease, so limit salt intake significantly. Beware when eating out, as most restaurant food is very high in salt, as are processed foods.
\n10. Eat Healthy Fats<\/strong> \u2013 Healthy fats such as avocado, salmon, and nuts can help to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increase good cholesterol (HDL), which is good for your heart. They can also add fiber and protein to your healthy diet.
\n11. Be Social<\/strong> \u2013 Studies have shown that those who engage in social activity have lower levels of stress and heart disease over time.
\n12. Play with Fido<\/strong> \u2013 Spending time with pets, yours or those at a shelter, is excellent for reducing stress in both you and the animal.
\n13. Unplug<\/strong> \u2013 Taking time to relax and unwind on a regular basis is a good way to relieve chronic stress and improve heart health.<\/p>\n