Have a heart

Today is Valentine’s Day and, for many, today was about that special someone they love. While I enjoyed a special Valentine treat with my husband, I also kept in mind something that we see everywhere on Valentine’s Day: A heart.

Specifically, the human heart.

Even more specifically, heart health. February is Heart Health Month, so it's a good time to think about just how good your heart health is.

There are some people in my family who have survived heart attacks. However, their surviving the heart attacks has not made me take heart health for granted. On the contrary, it has made me be more aware of how important it is to take care of our heart and practice good habits that keep our hearts strong.

Last week, I finished the first draft of a new ebook. This week, I am fixing up the manuscript – editing, formatting, citing sources, etc. And I thought it was interesting that, on today in particular, I was working on the chapter about exercises you can do to boost your heart health. In fact, one article I cited was talking about how the less we pump up and exercise our hearts, the weaker it will get, and it just won't be able to keep working as well as it used to as we age. Here, on a day where the heart is a big thing, I was reading about how we can take care of our heart health!

The coincidence was not lost on me. In fact, it was a good reminder that I need to revisit my habits that boost heart health.

Sure, exercise is one thing. But diet is important, too. We need to monitor what we eat and be careful not to overdo things that can be detrimental to our heart health. Also, cholesterol is a big thing to watch in monitoring our heart health. (This is actually covered in the next chapter of the ebook.) Another thing is to avoid doing activities that are too strenuous.

For some time, however, I have made it a point to be conscious of my diet and how it affects my heart health. And, today, I have decided that I am definitely going to try to find SOME WAY to squeeze in a 30-minute walk every day. The weather has been lousy and definitely not something to walk in if I can avoid it. Maybe I can find somewhere indoors to do a good walk. I do miss going for walks and need to make it a point to go for a walk every day.

Diet and exercise affect our heart health, but so does our environment. So do the choices we make in our lives. So the next time you choose something to eat or something to do, choose something that is good for your heart. Even if it is eating a piece of dark chocolate.