Kick Your Bad Habits
Smoking and high blood pressure account for 1 in 5 and 1 in 6 adult deaths, respectively, in the United States. These are just the top two causes of the most preventable deaths, according to a study that identified 12 risk factors. Besides taking prescribed medications, making simple changes in your behavior can reduce these risks to your health and add years to your life (table, below).
Source: PLoS Medicine, April 2009
| RISK FACTOR | SUGGESTED CHANGE |
| Smoking | Talk to your doctor about ways to quit. |
| High blood pressure | Trash the salt shaker, and get more exercise. |
| High blood glucose levels | Test your blood glucose often to find out how different foods affect you. |
| High LDL (“bad”) cholesterol | Skip foods that are high in saturated fat, and exercise daily. |
| Overweight/obesity | Stick to a healthy diet and exercise plan. Lose weight by burning off more calories than you consume. |
| Too much trans fat in diet | Read nutrition labels to avoid foods with trans fats, like many fried foods and baked goods. |
| Too little polyunsaturated fat in diet | Replace saturated fat with vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, and fatty fish. |
| Too little omega-3 fatty acids in diet | Eat fatty fish, like salmon and halibut, twice a week. |
| Too much salt in diet | Cut your sodium intake by checking food labels and avoiding offenders like soy sauce. |
| Too few fruits and vegetables in diet | Complement each meal with a side of veggies, swap a sandwich for a salad at lunch, and eat fruit for dessert. |
| Alcohol consumption | Drink no more than a glass of wine a day (two for men). |
| Physical inactivity | Get 30 minutes of exercise five days a week. |
Photo: iStockphoto
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