5 Ways to Support a Healthy Heart

February is a month to celebrate love and focus on the heart! In honor of Valentine's Day coming up, here are a few ways to support your heart health.

1. Make Healthy Food Choices

When it comes to heart health, nutrition is crucial. Be sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and add in fish like salmon and tuna. Aim to reduce your intake of salt and sugar, and keep saturated fats like butter and cheese to a minimum.

2. Incorporate Exercise into Your Daily Life

To keep your heart healthy, you have to get active! Strengthen your heart and increase your circulation (and your endorphins!) by exercising. Even when you can't dedicate a full block of time to daily movement, try stretching on your breaks, or climbing the stairs instead of taking the elevator if possible. It helps to find a form of movement you really enjoy to make it sustainable, so aim for something fun!

3. Manage your stress

One of the most important ways to maintain cardiovascular health is to manage your stress. Incorporate mindfulness tools like yoga, meditation or deep breathing into your morning to start the day on the right foot. You can use an app like Calm, or search YouTube for stress-reduction techniques that are easy to tap into anytime you need to. And while these tools are helpful in the moment, it's important to look at your life as a whole, and ask yourself if there are lifestyle changes you can make in order to reduce stress and anxiety and prevent heart-related complications.

4. Stop Smoking and Limit Alcohol

Perhaps one of the most impactful ways to shift your overall health, if you're a smoker, is to work on quitting. This can be challenging so you may need support and accountability, and try to keep your intention for improving your health top of mind everyday. You'll also want to limit alcohol consumption, if you drink, to improve your heart health, since excessive amounts can lead to high blood pressure and heart failure. The recommended daily amount is one drink or less a day for women, and two drinks or less a day for men.

5. Add in Helpful Supplements

Adding in supplements to your daily routine, in addition to lifestyle changes, is a great way to support heart health. Dr. Lebro's favorite supplement for heart health is Cardio-Plus. It's made by Standard Process, and supports healthy functioning of the heart and other muscles. It also supports healthy circulation and energy metabolism.

If you want to Cardio-Plus, you're in luck! It's on sale for the month of February for 20% off! Call the office at 207-439-7246 or email lebrocenter@gmaiil.com to order.

You can also order it (or any other supplements) online anytime through our online store. Note the February sale price does not apply for online orders.

A few other helpful supplements from Standard Process are Cataplex E2, which contains vitamin E and selenium, which play key roles in the regulation of biological processes essential for cardiovascular health, as well as Cardiotrophin PMG, which includes bovine heart PMG™ extract to support heart muscle function.

If you're looking for a cardiovascular check up or more ways to support your unique body, contact us today to make an in-person or virtual nutrition appointment with Dr. Lebro at 207-439-7246 or email lebrocenter@gmail.com!