Be Good to Your Heart: Omega-3 Fatty Acids
During college, you probably didn’t think too much about your heart, unless you were going through a particularly bad breakup. But once you hit your 40s, keeping the ol’ ticker healthy should be a top priority, especially if you have heart disease in your family tree.
Omega-3 fatty acids are a key component of a heart-healthy diet, and many of us simply don’t get enough of them. Omega-3s are naturally found in flaxseed, walnuts, sardines and salmon, but one of the easiest ways to make sure you’re getting enough is to take a fish oil supplement.
Antioxidants Defeat Free Radical Damage, Every Time
Free radicals: they might sound cool, but they can cause serious damage to your body. In order to wrap your head around the importance of antioxidants, you’ve got to understand how free radicals work. Free radicals are atoms that have been broken apart by oxidization, and when that happens, they end up with unpaired electrons, which puts them in a really needy and unstable state, sort of like a crazy ex-girlfriend.
Free radicals have been implicated in Alzheimer’s, arthritis, stroke, heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and a whole roster of other diseases worth avoiding.Free radicals go out hunting for electrons, and they often end up stealing them from healthy cells, which turns previously normal cells into free radicals, starting the vicious cycle all over again. If the cells that are robbed of their electrons contain DNA, that’s where the real trouble starts. Free radicals have been implicated in Alzheimer’s, arthritis, stroke, heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and a whole roster of other diseases worth avoiding.
Anyway, back to antioxidants. When free radicals go out looking for electrons to steal, antioxidants “take one for the team” so to speak, and give up their electrons, protecting healthy cells in the process.
Antioxidants are found in fruits, vegetables, and some sea critters, but one of the best and simplest ways to make sure you’re getting enough of them is to swap your morning coffee for green tea, or to mix a green tea supplement into your smoothie before you fire up the Vitamix.
Trouble With Digestion? Try Fiber Supplements
Dietary fiber is extremely important for digestive health, and it’s also been found to reduce inflammation and to help keep LDL levels and blood pressure low. Plus, it keeps the plumbing running smoothly. You can get the recommended dose of fiber if you eat five servings of raw fruits and vegetables per day, but many of us don’t actually do that.
There are several ways to boost your fiber intake. Kicking off your day with oatmeal instead of coffee and a donut is an excellent start, and topping it off with apple slices is even better. Other high fiber foods include carrots, celery, nuts, beans, and whole grain breads and breakfast cereals.
