Send comments to the editor: well@wellsource.com The Two- Minute Task to Keep Your Brain Healthy Check your you have to do: New research 1 lower your loss as But most heart problems can be prevented with: • Healthy lifestyle habits • Regular exercise, and • Smart food choices, like eating more vegetables and fruits, including blueberries In the study, researchers followed 138 overweight or obese adults at risk for heart disease for six months. One group ate a cup of freeze‑dried blueberries with food every day. One group ate a half cup of blueberries a day. And a third group ate placebo blueberries. In the study, a cup of blueberries a day helped improve circulation and reduce artery stiffness. It didn’t matter if they were fresh, frozen, or even freeze dried. If you want to lower your risk for heart disease, eat more blueberries. They’re easy to add to cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, salads, and smoothies. And they taste just as good by the handful. Blueberries Boost Heart Health A daily serving of blueberries lowers risk for heart disease by 15 percent INFORMATION FOR KEEPING HEALTHY JULY 2019 What Happens When You Hang Out with Healthy People Network of health-minded friends improve diet, exercise, lifestyle habits Remember Violet Beauregarde in the classic story Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? She grabbed a piece of gum made to taste like a three‑course dinner… even though she wasn’t supposed to. First came tomato soup. Then roast beef and baked potato. Finally, blueberry pie with a bit of a juicy twist. And maybe that’s what she was after. Blueberries help prevent heart disease New research shows that eating about a cup of blueberries a day may cut your risk for heart disease by 15 percent.2 That’s big. Almost as big as Violet when she’s carted off by Oompa Loompa’s to get squeezed for blueberry juice. Why? Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. It claims the lives of about 610,000 people a year. “You’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.” Ever heard that before? It’s advice Jim Rohn encouraged people to think about. And it worked. His books and speeches motivated people to try new ideas and build successful businesses like Rohn had done. But it’s not just business advice. New research shows that the company you keep has an impact on your health and happiness, too. 3 A fitness tracker + friends study Researchers wanted to see how much sway a person’s friends has CO M M EN T S? 10 surprising facts about blueberries tinyurl.com/ yxfvh6v5 M O R E You might use a fitness tracker to be more active. But you’re a lot more likely to adopt and keep healthy habits when your friends have similar goals, share updates, and hold each other accountable. Want to improve your health? Create a healthier social network online and offline. Here’s how: • Share fitness tracker info with friends. Compare data like steps, sleep, and calories. Use mobile apps or social media to motivate and encourage each other. • Take a walk with friends at work or in your neighborhood. Or workout together. on diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits. So they collected nine months of fitness tracker data for about 700 students. The study also counted the number of times the students called or sent texts to each other. Then researchers combined the two bits of data. The answer? Friends have a strong influence.