How to manage your heart health this month of love

At Goodlife, we believe love is a two-way street, constantly under construction. Ahem, we mean the relationship between you and your health, in particular the heart that you wear on your sleeve every day.

Onto some serious stuff! Your heart is the engine of your body and you need to take care of it to ensure you’re physically and mentally sound, so you can spread your love in everything you do and for whom you do. Here are some simple steps to keeping a healthy happy heart:

• Take a chill pill from time to time. AKA REDUCE STRESS. Stress leads to increased production of stress hormones called fight or flight hormones that cause your body to fight stress or run away (flee) from stress. The occasional stress is good for your heart but constant stress can lead to heart damage. Stress encourages finding comfort in vices such as alcohol, and tobacco as well as indulgences in comfort foods which affect heart health in the long run! So yes, take a chill pill – some anti-stress supplements can help lower stress and anxiety levels and keep your heart happy! Ask our qualified pharmacists in-store and they will help you find one that’s right for you!
• Be proactive about your health – Ever heard the pilot say, put on your life vest before attempting to help others? The same goes for your health. It is only when you take control of your health that you can be of help to anyone else. Keep up with your regular check-ups and screenings with the doctor, and monitor your sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI regularly so you can get warning signs in advance. At Goodlife, all the above tests can be done by qualified pharmacists, for as little as Kshs 300/- at any of our 100+ stores countrywide. Some of these are even FREE and guess what, you don’t even have to pay a consultation fee! It’s cheaper and more convenient than booking an appointment with the doctor at the hospital.

  

   

• Keep moving & stay hydrated – Regular exercise and a good intake of water daily reduce your BMI, and your cholesterol, improve your blood sugar, and improves your blood pressure, all of which help your heart remain healthy. If you are one of those people who ‘don’t like the taste of water’ then you can add oral rehydration salts to your water. These improve your rehydration by adding salts that exit your body through sweat helping you to hydrate your body adequately. Ask in-store today!
• You are what you eat – Having a healthy diet i.e. reducing salt intake, reducing saturated fats for example dairy, increasing unsaturated fats like olive oil, avocado, and fish as well as increasing the fruits and vegetables in your diet helps in improving your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar keeping your heart fit. However, not everyone has the same dietary preferences and not everyone can get all the nutrition they need from diet alone. Supplements rich in Lycopene, Omega 3 oils, and Vitamin B complex improve the nutritional value of your food consumption hence improving heart health.
• Excessive Alcohol Consumption – We know it’s the season of love, but go easy on the booze. Consuming alcohol over the daily recommended limits increases your blood pressure and cholesterol and therefore impacts negatively heart health.

If you feel like your heart needs a bit of TLC, pop into any one of our 100+ stores and get access to diagnostic screening services such as Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, and BMI testing. If you are someone with chronic heart conditions and need regular medications and monitoring then join our Wellness 360 Programme, for long-term health and wellness monitoring, today and sign up for your monthly prescriptions so your health is on track!

To find out more call us or send a message to 0715703000.