Some fitness enthusiasts seem to enjoy making us feel guilty if we’re not punishing ourselves physically.
Whether that’s training for marathons or pounding away on a treadmill seven day a week.
Others insist we need to take 10,000 steps a day to protect our heart and improve longevity.
But, when you examine the science, all that finger-wagging is just plain wrong!
In fact, a brand-new study shows there’s a “housekeeper SECRET” to warding off heart disease and stroke…and living longer.
Let me explain…
A simple way to support heart health
For this study, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers wanted to look at the effect of routine housework and yardwork on heart health and longevity.
They followed more than 5,400 women, ages 63 to 97, for an average of 6.5 years.
At the outset, all the women were free of any kind of heart disease.
And for seven days during the first few years of the study, they wore a device to track how much time they spent sitting, standing, walking, or engaging in routine daily life activities. (Like gardening, getting dressed, and preparing meals.)
During the study period, the women spent, on average, about 3.2 hours moving and 9.6 hours sitting each day.
Ultimately, 268 women developed coronary heart disease. (This condition occurs when a build-up of fatty substances block the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.) Two-hundred and fifty-three women had a stroke—and 331 died from these conditions.
But here’s the kicker…
Women who spent more time moving—or even just standing—were less likely to develop heart disease and/or die from it. Specifically, compared to women who got fewer than two hours of movement each day, women who got at least four hours had a:
- 43 percent lower risk of heart disease
- 30 percent lower risk of stroke
- 62 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease
These striking findings confirm what I’ve always said…
Staying active during the day—from the moment you get up in the morning until you go down for the night—helps keep your heart in prime working order.
It also improves your balance, strengthens your muscles, and reduces your risk of falling and becoming disabled. It even prevents you from suffering an early death!
Furthermore, you don’t need to run marathons or pound away on a treadmill to boost your longevity. As this study showed, even basic activities, like chores around the house and yard, protect you. If you are engaging in activity that involves sitting down, simply get up often for while.
“Your heart doesn’t care what we call them, it knows when your body is moving and responds,” commented study author Dr. Andrea LaCroix. And I quite agree!
So, my recommendations for you remain the same…
Aim to get 140 to 150 of light-to-moderate physical activity per week. (Housework and gardening both count toward this modest total.) And avoid working out too much or too hard, because “excess-ercise,” as I call it, can actually harm the heart and other parts of your body.
For more details about how routine housework can further boost your health, check out the March 2020 issue of my Insiders’ Cures newsletter (“Sweeping the floor and making the bed helps increase longevity and improve cognition!?”) If you’re not yet a subscriber, now is the perfect time to become one!
Lastly, I cover many more safe, effective, and sensible solutions to protecting your heart in my Heart Attack Prevention and Repair Protocol. To learn more about this comprehensive online learning tool, or to enroll today, click here now!
Source:
“Accelerometer‐Derived Daily Life Movement Classified by Machine Learning and Incidence of Cardiovascular Disease in Older Women: The OPACH Study.” Journal of the American Heart Association, 2022; 11(5):e023433. doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.121.023433