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Issue date: Feb 6, 2000
5 easy ways
to help your heart
Little changes, big results.
February is American Heart Month, so there's no better time to
learn to protect yourself from the nation's No. 1 killer.
 One
of the most important lessons: Avoiding heart disease is not necessarily
a big deal. In fact, you can disease-proof your heart quickly and
easily just by making small changes in your everyday life. Over
time, these tweaks can pay off big where your heart is concerned.
Here are five simple changes.
Brush and floss. Your dentist is always after you to floss
regularly to keep teeth and gums healthy. Here's another reason
to heed the dentist's advice: Regular flossing for at least 1 to
2 minutes a day is one of the best preventers of gum disease, which
can cause oral bacteria to enter your bloodstream and in turn narrow
blood vessels, increase blood clots and put you at greater risk
of a heart attack.
Pick these fruits. To keep your diet high in natural salicylates
(a main ingredient in aspirin that helps prevent heart attacks),
eat more oranges, raspberries, apricots and cherries. For additional
salicylates, season your food with cinnamon, curry, cayenne and
thyme.
Walk a little farther. In a study of 2,600 men, researchers
at the University of Texas found that those who walked 11Ú2 miles
a day had half the heart-attack risk of those who walked only a
quarter-mile. If you don't take a walk every day, you should. And
when you do, start adding 5 minutes -- the average time it takes
to walk a quarter-mile -- to your walk every two weeks. Keep adding
5 minutes until you're walking two miles a day.
Try a new cut of beef. Heart health doesn't require you
to give up meat. At least one study has shown that eating beef every
day made no difference in cholesterol levels compared to eating
chicken and fish. But here's the catch: That beef has to be a lean
cut, such as a flank steak, a loin or beef that's labeled at least
95% lean. And when you eat it, keep the serving size to around 3
ounces -- roughly the size of a deck of cards.
Go nuts. Nuts contain a lot of fat, but much of it is heart-healthy
monounsaturated and omega-3 fat. Nuts also have vitamin E, magnesium
and copper, nutrients linked to heart health. Add them to your diet
by sprinkling on cereal, salads or stir-fries. Any nuts will do;
just get a half-ounce serving four or five times a week.
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Daily vitamins
that pump up your heart
Vitamins and minerals can prevent heart attacks, lower cholesterol
or even neutralize chemicals in your body that increase your risk
of heart disease. Here's what some doctors recommend as part of
your heart-disease defense. Take these daily:
Beta carotene, 10,000-25,000 international units (IUs)
Vitamin C, 60-50 milligrams
Vitamin E, 60-100 milligrams
Folic acid, 400 micrograms
Iron, 18 milligrams
Selenium, 70-100 micrograms
Zinc, 15 milligrams ../
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