For National Heart Month, Balcos Insurance is featuring some simple ways to use your heart a little every day. With Valentine's Day just around the corner, it's fitting that we honor the heart. There's a number of ways to fix a broken heart - it all starts with the small stuff. Don't think about it as exercise, think about it as action. Standing is better than sitting, walking is better than standing. Increase physical activity to at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week, even if it’s 10 minutes at a time.

• Do housework instead of hiring someone else to do it.
• Stand up while talking on the telephone.
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator, or get off a few floors early and take the stairs the rest of the way.
• Walk the dog.
• Park farther away at the mall and walk the extra distance.
• When golfing, walk instead of using the cart.
• Dance with someone or by yourself!.
• Plan family outings and vacations that include physical activity (hiking, biking, swimming, etc.).
• Participate in a recreation league or start one of your own.
• Make a date with a friend and enjoy your favorite physical activities; do them regularly!
• Walk around the building for a break during the work day or during lunch.
• When walking, pick up the pace from leisurely to brisk.
• Walk while waiting for the plane at the airport.
• Instead of asking someone to bring you a drink, get up off the couch and get it yourself.
• At a picnic, play badminton instead of croquet.

Other key factors in reducing heart disease is smoking cessation and healthy food habits. A healthy diet reduces risks such as high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, and excess body weight.

• Eat a balanced diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, cereal and grain products, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts, fish, poultry, and lean meats.
• Eat foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
• Eat with other people—you’ll eat less than if you eat alone.
• Know your snack “triggers” and plan ahead. Be ready with healthy snacks to fight the urge for high calorie or high saturated-fat foods.

A healthy lifestyle, even little bits at a time, make a huge impact over the course of your lifetime. Start today and get heart healthy!