THIS Summertime Activity DOWNS Heart Risk
If you want to lower your risk of heart disease, you’ve probably been told you need to work really hard to do it.
Exercise five times a week.
Lose weight.
Stop eating everything you love.
Blah, blah, blah.
Well, it turns out that one of the best things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease happens to also be one of the easiest, most enjoyable things I can think of.
And you might be doing it right now!
There’s no doubt that vacation can make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated… but lowering your risk of heart disease?
Yes, it can do that, too.
In a study conducted by professors at Syracuse University, the researchers found that folks who took vacations more often in the past year had a lower risk of metabolic syndrome – which is a major risk factor for heart disease (not to mention type 2 diabetes and stroke).
Metabolic syndrome is a collection of health problems, including excess belly fat, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, and inflammation.
It’s a recipe for disaster, but every single one of those health problems can be reversed.
And going on vacation is a great way to do that.
This study wasn’t a fluke, either. Another one from last year followed about 1,200 men in their 40s and 50s for nearly 40 years.
The researchers found that men who took less than three weeks of vacation a year were 37% more likely to die compared to those who took three or more weeks.
There could be any number of reasons for these benefits.
One is that vacations help reduce stress, which is known to lower blood pressure (a key component of metabolic syndrome and a risk factor for heart disease).
Another possibility is that when people go on vacation – especially a beach or lake vacation – they’re more likely to go barefoot. Connecting your body directly with the earth (called grounding) has been shown to lower numerous risk factors for heart disease.
The possible reasons for the benefits are long. But the bottom line is that the more vacations you take, the longer you’re likely to live.
Now that’s my kind of medicine!
