Positive Thoughts for a Healthier Heart!

Everyone has experienced a bad day, but having a positive mindset offers benefits beyond just improving your mood. Research shows that optimism can play a key role in helping you live longer and prevent cardiovascular disease.
Over the past 20 years, research has increasingly focused on the link between mindset and health. Initially, it was believed that poor health triggered a negative mindset. However, evidence suggests that a negative mindset can actually lead to unhealthy behaviors and worse health outcomes. A large study involving nearly 230,000 people found that more optimistic individuals had a 35% lower risk of heart attacks, strokes, and heart-related deaths compared to pessimists. Another study found that optimistic people live 15% longer.
Optimism increases the likelihood of engaging in healthy habits such as exercising, eating well, and socializing. On the other hand, pessimism tends to encourage unhealthy behaviors like smoking, drinking alcohol, and adopting harmful habits. Here are a few healthy habits that become easier with positive thinking:
Regular Exercise
An optimistic mindset encourages you to be more physically active. Activities like walking, running, or cycling not only keep your heart healthy but also boost your mood and energy levels.
Healthy Eating
Optimism makes individuals more likely to choose nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These healthy options, especially those with a low glycemic index, help maintain stable blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Maintaining an Ideal Weight
Positive thinking helps maintain motivation to control your weight. By keeping a healthy weight, you can reduce the strain on your heart and prevent health complications related to obesity.
Managing Stress
Optimism makes stress management easier. Techniques like mindfulness and meditation help calm the mind, lower blood pressure, and protect heart health.
Quitting Smoking and Limiting Alcohol
A positive attitude encourages you to quit smoking and reduce alcohol consumption—two major factors that increase the risk of heart disease.
Making Wiser Choices
Many decisions come with maintaining a healthy lifestyle—waking up early for exercise or sleeping in, choosing fried or steamed healthy chicken, and deciding what snack to enjoy during leisure time. YAVA can be an excellent alternative for a low-glycemic snack.
YAVA uses natural, nutrient-rich, and fiber-rich ingredients like brown rice, oats, nuts, and Gula Lontar (GulaRamah), a low-glycemic sugar that helps maintain stable blood sugar levels. Discover a variety of YAVA products, such as Granola with Cashew and Granola Bites in various flavors, available in offline and online stores. YAVA is committed to helping you stay healthy, keep your blood sugar in check, and protect your heart!
With an optimistic mindset, you’re more motivated to adopt a healthy lifestyle that directly benefits heart health. Let’s start now!
References :
Optimism is associated with exceptional longevity in 2 epidemiologic cohorts of men and women
Optimism and risk of incident hypertension: a target for primordial prevention
Prospective associations of happiness and optimism with lifestyle over up to two decades