Keep Your Heart Healthy This Christmas Season

The Christmas season is a long-awaited time for family and friends to come together and celebrate. While Christmas should certainly be enjoyed, you should also be mindful of the risks of indulging in too much eating and drinking, particularly for your heart health.

Fortunately, there are ways to enjoy the holidays while keeping your heart healthy.

Eat and drink in moderation. Limit your portions of indulgent food and go easy on alcohol. Excessive eating and drinking raise your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Make healthier food choices such as grilled fish or chicken, vegetable salads with low-fat dressing, and fruits.

Exercise regularly. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day on most days of the week. Regular exercise helps control blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

Get adequate sleep. You should get 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Adequate sleep helps lower blood pressure, which reduces your risk for heart disease.

Manage stress. Too much stress increases blood pressure. Effective ways to manage stress include thinking positive thoughts, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, deep breathing, and meditating.

Consider taking heart health supplements. Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil supplements help lower levels of artery-clogging cholesterol and triglycerides, which reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Animal studies show that mangosteen extract reduces risk factors heart disease by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing HDL (good) cholesterol.

Consult your doctor for more information on heart health and whether supplementation is right for you.

Shop at Watsons for heart health supplements, prescription medications, and other essential healthcare needs.

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References:

https://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/holiday-tips-for-heart-health. Accessed 13 October 2021
https://theheartfoundation.org/2019/12/21/8-tips-to-keep-your-heart-healthy-during-the-holidays/. Accessed 13 October 2021
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/sleep.htm. Accessed 13 October 2021
https://www.heart.org/-/media/files/health-topics/answers-by-heart/how-to-manage-stress.pdf. Accessed 13 October 2021
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/managing-stress-to-control-high-blood-pressure. Accessed 13 October 2021
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/mangosteen#TOC_TITLE_HDR_10. Accessed 13 October 2021