Three Mistakes That May Be Hurting Your Heart

Today's excerpt from Intelligence For Your Life: Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth is about doing everything you can to have  a healthy heart.   We’ve already talked quite a bit about finding the passions of your heart and pursuing them. But we’d better not forget your real heart—the one that’s pumping blood through your body. If your heart isn’t working as it should, you’re going to have a hard time pursuing your heart’s desires! Here are three big mistakes you might be making right now that increase your risk of heart disease.

Mistake #1. Grabbing that salt shaker.

According to a study in the British Medical Journal, lowering your salt intake by just 25 percent reduces your risk of heart disease by almost 30 percent. This study recommends keeping your intake below one teaspoon of table salt a day and avoiding commercially-prepared and processed foods. Take a look at the back of those boxes. They are loaded with salt (sodium).

Mistake #2. Never taking a nap. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health found that midday naps reduced coronary death by 30 percent. Scientists believe it’s because napping may decrease some of the day-to-day stress that wreaks havoc on our hearts.

Mistake #3. Never saying no. When you consistently agree to do things you don’t want to do, you raise your levels of stress hormones. This not only exhausts your body, but can also cause you to gain weight by raising your cortisol levels. Only say yes if the activity “feels” right.  And don’t ever let your friends or associates guilt you into agreeing to a bunch of stuff that leaves you no time for yourself. How hard is it to say no? Type in “How to Say No” into Amazon.com and see how many books have been written on the topic. We are a guilt-ridden society, and we are killing ourselves by saying yes way too often.

Diet. Exercise. Rest. Stress. Manage those four things, and protect that passionate heart of yours!

John
Email John:  johnsblog@teshmedia.com

John's book Intelligence For Your Faith: Powerful Lessons For Personal Growth is now available at your local bookstores or you can go online and order it from Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com.

Comments

[Ashley]

Hi, I found this to be very useful. I especially like the idea of taking a nap to reduce stress; my dad is a teacher, and I am guessing that he still smokes because of the stress in his relationships at home and at school, so in order for him to decrease his chances of getting coronary diseases or cancers I had no idea that napping was a good thing to take the stress off his heart. Although he does still smoke, increasing his chance of getting many cancers at least napping will do him some good in the long term.

But the idea of 'never sayig no' was particularily useful on my own life, because I am a natural people pleaser, so I hope to buy a book on how to say no more often than usuall to people; this would be very helpful since heart problems exist on my mother's side.

So thanks Mr. John Tesh for helping to improve mine and my families life with this very very handy knowledge; I enjoy your radio show and just bought your book 2 days ago; keep up the flow of valuable information.