Enjoy your prime longer and healthier: Here’s what you need to do

Keep your heart healthy – why? What else would pump your blood for you? Bypass – heck no!

Here are easy diet and exercise changes when you hit your 20s.

The Active Years of 20s

You might may have heard that heart disease had been killing more women than lung, breast, and ovarian cancers combined, however, only 1 in 10 women considers themselves at risk. Now before you say, “Heh! I don’t need to worry about that until I’m 40,” take a look at this: Studies found out that heart trouble – including high cholesterol and clogged arteries – can begin as early as childhood (oops). The good news is you have some control over the risk, since more than 80 percent of heart disease is avoidable. Taking preventive measures in your 20s can help you lower the odds of developing such diseases by as much as 60 percent!

Begin Early

As stated above, heart trouble can start surprisingly early. The earlier you begin to change your habits, the faster it will be to keep a healthy heart throughout your life.

Get your periodical checkup

By age 20, you should already have (or planning to) check with a professional health care provider for your complete physical lab work. The most important thing at this time is to be aware of your personal risks. Ask your doctor for any advice about ways to lower them through diet, medication, and exercise if necessary.

Test: Blood Pressure

Recommended: Normal 120/80 mm Hg

Test: BMI

Recommended: Normal 18.5-24.9 kg/m2

Test: Cholesterol

Recommended: Total, Normal 200 mg/dL; LDL (bad),Normal 100 mg/dL

Test: Triglycerides

Recommended: Normal 150 mg/dL

Test: Fasting Blood Sugar

Recommended: Normal 100 mg/dL

After your visit, your doctor will oftentimes give you prescriptions that you need to purchase and take ritually to keep yourself healthy. A pharmacy online is a perfect place to start looking because most of these stores have comprehensive selections that are prescribed by doctors.

Know your family medical history

A first-degree relative who has a heart attack or diabetes increases your risk of the same diseases. The same is true if you have a strong family history of prostate cancers – making lifestyle changes in your 20s is a sure way to lower your risk significantly.

Quit Smoking

Lighting up a cigarette doubles a person’s odds for developing coronary heart disease. Within a year of quitting, your risk of contracting coronary heart disease decreases by more than 50 percent!

Start eating the right foods

You are what you eat says the old maxim. You love fatty, preservative laden, additive injected bacons so much? Then, that’s what you are. Replace pizza with a veggie slice, trade sugary cereals for whole grains and oatmeal, which give you fiber, helping to drive cholesterol out of your bloodstream. Eat foods that contain high levels of antioxidants: oranges, beets, plums, broccoli, red grapes, etc.

Move it!

Exercise and fitness never goes out of style. Both walking and running, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, can significantly reduce cardiovascular issues such as stroke and heart attack, regardless of age, race or BMI. Start by taking a 10-minute walk every morning.

It’s not that hard to start – considering the benefits you will get in the long run. Or would you rather be in a wheelchair contemplating why you should’ve acted sooner?