Make Fish Your BFF
Eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can also help ward off heart disease. Many fish, such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and herring, are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Try to eat fish at least twice a week, suggests the AHA. If you’re concerned about mercury or other contaminants in fish, you may be happy to learn that its heart-healthy benefits tend to outweigh the risks for most people.
Optimistim
Live your life looking for the best in everyone and everything.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Lighten Up
Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously. Balance in life is important for maintaining emotional health. Too much emphasis on work causes stress as well as wear and tear on the body and mind. Take time off; go to the beach, the park or a movie to take your mind off your current quandaries. Chances are when you come back you will see things from a fresher, more productive perspective.
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it.” Jack Handey
🍎 Health Hack ~ 2 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Play Between the Sheets
Or you can play on top of the sheets! That’s right, having sex can be good for your heart. Sexual activity may add more than just pleasure to your life. It may also help lower your blood pressure and risk of heart disease. Research published in the American Journal of CardiologyTrusted Sourceshows that a lower frequency of sexual activity is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ 10 Things That Make Us Feel Good
Choices to Help You Feel Good Today
1. Sleeping in a freshly-made bed
2. Feeling the sun on your face
3. People saying “thank you” or a random act of kindness from a stranger
4. Finding money in unexpected places
5. Having time to myself
6. Laughing so hard it hurts
7. Snuggling on the sofa with a loved one
8. Freshly-made bread
9. Doing something for others
10. The clean feeling after a shower
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Keeping Busy is a Good Thing
Staying busy can be stressful, but not when you fill your calendar with things you love doing. According to 2008 study published in the journal Social Indicators Research, spending less time in front of the TV and more time doing things you love will make you much happier overall. In fact, unhappy people were 51 percent more likely to feel like they have toomuch extra time on their hands. So get out there and do something fun.
🍎 Health Hack ~ 1 of 5 Healthy Heart Tips
Got to Lose the Love Handles
That is, focus on your middle. Research in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologyhas linked excess belly fat to higher blood pressure and unhealthy blood lipid levels. If you’re carrying extra fat around your middle, it’s time to slim down. Eating fewer calories and exercising more can make a big difference.
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Keep Your Brain Active
Keep your brain active. Don’t let complacency or boredom set in. In order to feel alive and vibrant we need to keep our minds active by learning new things and challenging ourselves.
“If I had to live my life again I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week; for perhaps the parts of my brain now atrophied could thus have been kept active through use.” Charles Darwin
Health Hack ~ Pass the Guacamole
Including an avocado in your daily diet is a delicious way to increase your intake of healthy fats and potentially reduce risk of heart disease. . . . Curious how to include an avocado per day into your diet? 136 grams of avocado is the equivalent of two thirds of a cup of guacamole, two slices of generously slathered avocado toast, or an entire batch of avocado chocolate truffles. You can get your daily dose all in one go, or spread it throughout your day. A few slices of avocado with your eggs in the morning, a side of guacamole and crudité with your lunch, and avocado-chocolate mousse for dessert . Who knew that heart health could be so delicious?
🤗 Feel Good Hack ~ Love Others
When we show love and compassion to other people, it releases chemicals in the pre-frontal cortex and reward center of the brain that professionals refer to as the “Helper’s High.” People who help others report many positive mental and physical health benefits, including lower levels of stress, lower blood pressure, and relief from depression and physical pain. Research also shows that those who engage in altruistic behavior not only have a higher quality of life, but they also live longer.1 Engaging in some type of regular volunteer activity on at least a monthly basis, or just spending more time doing loving, kind things for the people in your life, helps get you out of your own head, creates well-being for others, and makes you feel good about yourself.
🍎 Health Hack ~ It’s Never Too Late to Get in Shape
Maintain good physical health. This point is so basic it’s often overlooked. Our physical health affects our emotional health much more than we realize. Make sure to eat well, exercise and get plenty of sleep. As Virgil said: “The greatest wealth is health.”
