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3 Tips for Heart Health
"There is a lot of real rubbish floating around on the internet. Hopefully I am providing small bites of useful and accurate information and comments in an understandable, relevant form." There are quite a few websites that I look at on a regular basis. Some I will forget to check out, and then, like today, find them again. I had forgotten that the American Heart Association website is always a good place to look for cardiovascular-related news and information about heart health and disease. An estimate of the health effect of consuming a little less salt, 3 grams per day (which is about 1,200 mg of sodium) is there would be a quarter of a million less new cases of heart disease in a decade. This number is quite staggering considering that most people would not even notice a 3 gram per day decrease in their salt intake. Apparently most Americans eat 9 to 12 grams of salt (3,600 - 4,800 mg sodium) per day. The recommendation is 5-6 grams of salt (2,000 - 2,400 mg sodium) per day. Now that most of us are eating out less due to the economy, reading the labels on foods and choosing more low sodium foods, should make it easier for most people to lower their salt/sodium intake. Many brands of prepared foods will have the American Heart Association check mark on them if they are within the heart healthy guidelines. Those that routinely get less than 6 hours sleep per night on workdays are at an increased risk of having higher fasting glucose. An increase in fasting glucose levels is an indicator of the beginning of development of diabetes. There was no downside, with regards to fasting blood glucose, to getting more than eight hours sleep. 
This is yet another study that shows a negative impact on health for those who consistently do not get enough sleep. We all need to get lots of sleep. Those who exercise after a heart attack improve blood vessel function. Both aerobic and resistance training are effective. Those who did not exercise had very little improvement in the functioning of their blood vessels. The bad news is that for the improvement to be maintained, the exercise program had to be maintained. So – lower your salt intake, make sure you get your zzzz, and keep exercising. Head on over to Healthy Alternative Solutions home page.
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