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