| They all help cut your risk of heart disease, the top | | | | nitric oxide, a substance that helps fight plaque. There |
| cause of death among women. Are you ready to | | | | are plenty of tasty ways to take your medicine: |
| drink milk and groove to jazz? | | | | More than 130 pomegranate products were |
| Heart problems? Me? If that’s your | | | | introduced in 2006. |
| reaction when you hear all of the healthy-heart | | | | 5. Sprinkle on the soy |
| messages during American Heart Month in February, | | | | A daily dash of dark soy sauce (not light) in |
| here’s a wake-up call: Fact is, heart | | | | marinades, dipping sauces, salad dressing, or soups |
| disease kills far more women each year than cancer | | | | and stews can help fight heart-damaging substances |
| does. It’s also true that preventing heart | | | | linked to smoking, obesity, or diabetes, according to |
| problems is getting easier. Health gathered the latest | | | | research from the National University of Singapore. |
| tricks—all backed by solid | | | | The sauce has 10 times the antioxidants in wine, |
| research—to take care of your heart. | | | | which is also heart-healthy (in moderation). But watch |
| 1. Get milk | | | | out: Soy sauces often have a ton of salt, which can |
| A new study sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, | | | | raise blood pressure. Check labels for lower-salt |
| and Blood Institute found that, among people who | | | | versions. |
| didn’t eat a lot of saturated fat, those | | | | 6. Laugh it up |
| who consumed more than three daily servings of | | | | Something for your funny bone: People who watched |
| milk, yogurt, or cheese had systolic blood pressure | | | | comedy films like There’s Something |
| (the top number) almost four points lower than | | | | About Mary had better blood flow, compared with |
| those who ate only half a serving daily. High blood | | | | those who watched dramas like Saving Private Ryan, |
| pressure can damage your arteries, increasing your | | | | according to a study at the University of Maryland |
| risk for heart attacks and stroke. Researchers say | | | | School of Medicine in Baltimore. Principal researcher |
| low-fat dairy is the smart choice, because | | | | Michael Miller, MD, director of the Center for |
| it’s lower in saturated fat. | | | | Preventive Cardiology, recommends 15 minutes of |
| 2. Try new moves | | | | daily laughter. |
| Thirty minutes of Tai Chi—a gentle Chinese | | | | Don’t have enough time for movies or |
| martial art that includes sequences of slow, relaxing | | | | sitcoms? Get your giggles anytime from |
| movements—may also lower your blood | | | | YouTube’s comedy section (youtube.com |
| pressure. In one study, after 12 weeks of Tai Chi, | | | | categories). |
| participants showed a decrease in systolic pressure | | | | 7. Don’t skimp on sleep |
| of almost 16 points. To find a class in your area, visit | | | | Women who sleep less than 5 hours each night have |
| Taoist.org. | | | | a 30 percent higher risk of heart disease than those |
| 3. Go fishing | | | | getting 8 hours, according to a study from the |
| How fast your heart beats when you’re | | | | Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. |
| at rest can be an indicator of heart attack risk. In | | | | Too little sleep may play havoc with your hormones, |
| fact, higher resting heart rates have been linked to | | | | blood sugar, and blood pressure. So after getting |
| an increased risk of sudden death. The good news is | | | | your 15 minutes of laughs, turn off that PC and turn |
| that eating fish can lower your heart rate. In a new | | | | in. |
| Harvard Medical School study, people who ate five or | | | | 8. Breathe deeper |
| more servings per month of fish such as tuna or | | | | You can lower your blood pressure by taking 10 |
| salmon (baked or broiled) averaged 3.2 fewer beats | | | | breaths per minute (instead of the usual 16 to 19) for |
| per minute than those who ate less than one serving | | | | 15 minutes a day over 2 months, studies show. |
| per month. Researchers credit the omega-3 fatty | | | | Researcher David Anderson, PhD, a hypertension |
| acids in fish, though it’s not clear how | | | | expert at the National Institute on Aging, says |
| they help. (Our Kitchen Assistant search tool can help | | | | shallow breathing (more beats per minute) may delay |
| you find dozens of healthy and delicious fish recipes.) | | | | your body’s excretion of salt, a |
| 4. Hit the juice | | | | high-blood-pressure trigger. |
| Pomegranate juice seems to stave off hardening of | | | | 9. Feel the beat |
| the arteries—and may even reverse it. A | | | | A group of University of Oxford researchers found |
| recent study in the Proceedings of the National | | | | that slow, meditative musical rhythms can lead to a |
| Academy of Sciences found that pomegranate juice | | | | healthy drop in heart rate, while faster rhythms |
| reduced the rate of cholesterol plaque buildup in mice | | | | speed up breathing and circulation. Got Sheryl Crow |
| by 30 percent. And heart cells treated with the juice | | | | on your iPod? Try mixing in some smooth jazz, too. |
| showed a 50 percent increase in the production of | | | | |