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How to Your Heart Family Features
I
t beats about 100,000 times a day, 35 million times a year. It pumps blood through the body three times every minute, taking that blood on the equivalent of a 12,000 mile trek every 24 hours. Even at rest, it works twice as hard as the leg muscles of a person running. The heart is a remarkable, vital muscle that warrants great care and maintenance. Yet 1 in every 4 deaths is due to heart disease. While there are some inherent risk factors such as aging or family history, poor lifestyle choices are often to blame for the onset of heart disease. The good news is that making better lifestyle choices reduces your risk of heart disease — and it’s not as hard as you might think.
Heart-Healthy Living Works A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who most closely followed the diet and lifestyle recommendations of the American Heart
Association (AHA) had a 76 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease, and a 51 percent lower risk of all-cause deaths than those who didn’t follow recommendations as closely. The study also found that only a small number of people follow all or most of the AHA guidelines for heart health. So it’s not surprising that heart disease is still the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can start making changes today that will help make your heart healthier in the long run.
3 Changes You Can Make 1 Eat Better One of your best weapons
against cardiovascular disease is a healthy diet. Eating a wide variety of foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt, but rich in nutrients can help protect your heart. Instead of thinking about a healthy diet in terms of what you can’t eat, think about it in terms
of what you can eat. Add more: n Fruits and vegetables — about 4 1/2 cups a day n Whole grain foods — at least three 1-ounce servings a day n Fish — at least two 3 1/2ounce servings a week
n Nuts,
legumes and seeds — at least four servings a week
About 25 percent of the cholesterol in your blood comes from the foods you eat. Eating healthy
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Leading Organizations Predict
Tech Trends for 2013
How to Choose a Resolution You Can Keep dated at a gym where the majority of your fellow members are already in great shape. But this doesn't mean you should shy away from your resolution. Instead, look for ways to make your resolution enjoyable so you're more likely to stick with it. If you have resolved to lose weight but a gym isn't for you, sign up for a dance class or join a cycling group. There's more than one way to commit to a given resolution, and finding the most enjoyable way to tackle your resolution is often the easiest way to make it a success.
METRO GRAPHICS
Mobile phones are poised to overtake PCs as the most common Web access devices worldwide. METRO GRAPHICS
Many once seemingly far-fetched concepts have become the technology of today. Scientists and engineers are continually developing technology that may make a place for itself in our daily lives. Here are some of the technologies and trends people might see in the coming year. Mobile Devices In 2013, mobile phones are poised to overtake PCs as the most common Web access devices worldwide. By 2015, more than 80 percent of the handsets sold in mature markets will be smartphones. However, only 20 percent of those handsets are likely to be Windows phones. Estimates suggest that media tablet shipments will reach around 50 percent of laptop shipments by 2015, and Windows 8 will likely be in third place behind Google's Android and Apple iOS operating systems. Because operating systems and platforms will expand beyond the monopoly once held by Windows, enterprises will need to support a greater variety. The implications for IT is that the era of PC dominance will be replaced with a new era where Windows is just one of a variety of environments IT will need to support. Personal Cloud The personal cloud will gradually
replace the PC as the location where individuals keep their personal content, access their services and personal preferences and center their digital lives. In essence, personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need for every aspect of your life at your fingertips and ready for use. Data must be mobile, transferable and instantly accessible. It also needs to be in sync to provide real-time access to files, photos and whatever else is being stored. Users will see the cloud as a portable, alwaysavailable place where they go for all of their digital needs. In this world no one platform, technology or vendor will dominate and diversity and mobile device management will be imperative. The personal cloud shifts the focus from the client device to cloud-based services delivered across multiple devices. The Internet of Things The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a concept that describes how the Internet will expand to physical items, such as consumer devices. That means elements of IoT will be included in other items besides handheld devices, such as mobile phones and tablets. Cellular technology and ability to access the Internet will appear in everything from wristwatches to smartposters to home entertainment systems. The IoT will enable a wide range of new applications and services while raising many new challenges.
The public has already seen inklings of this technology in gaming systems and television sets that enable Internet connectivity. Expect these trends to expand. Rather than boasting even-bigger screen sizes and Ultra-HD capabilities, newer TVs are expected to all come with builtin broadband connections and smart, streaming media features. Integrated Systems Consumers will be looking for a more cohesive system that is integrated rather than a bunch of dissimilar parts having to work together somehow. Driving this trend is the consumer's desire for lower cost, simplicity and greater security. The trend could be played out in different ways. Appliances may combine hardware and software with services. Cloud-based marketplaces will be key, and there will be brokerage companies set up to help facilitate purchases and use of capabilities from multiple vendors. In the mobile world, vendors including Apple, Google and Microsoft will enable control between devices through different apps. Consumers and IT professionals can expect to see a few key trends emerging this year and expanding in the months to come. Leading the way are integration and a move away from devicecentered usage. Consumers can expect electronics firms to be focused on making gadgets smarter and easier to use.
New Year's resolutions may have varying degrees of success, but even those people who find it difficult to keep their resolutions year after year still tend to make a new resolution once the hour of midnight chimes. Though it may seem as though resolutions are made to be broken, resolutions can be the first step many people take toward a happier and healthier life, making them more than just a silly annual exercise in empty promises. A common hurdle many people must clear when making a New Year's resolution is choosing the resolution itself. Resolving to become a millionaire in the next 12 months is likely unrealistic, as is taking on the same resolution you made last year that proved unsuccessful. Before making a New Year's resolution this year, consider the following tips aimed at helping you choose a resolution that has a chance to be successful. ■
Make it something you're likely to enjoy. Resolving to lose weight is perhaps the most popular New Year's resolution every year. Though there's no way to measure how many people make this resolution and stick with it, it's safe to assume many people fall short of their weight-loss goal. That's because the steps people must take to lose weight are not always easy to embrace. Many people join a gym in January so they can fully commit to their resolutions to lose weight. But joining a gym isn't always the answer, as it's easy to become intimi-
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Make it a realistic goal. Your resolution should be realistic. If not, the chances of being successful are slim. For example, resolving to move overseas by the end of the coming calendar year may be a great goal, but if you have no job prospects overseas or too many commitments at home, then this goal is not very realistic and you probably won't make it a successful resolution. However, this doesn't mean you have to abandon your dream of moving overseas. Instead, resolve to make changes that make your desire to live overseas more realistic. Learn the language of a favorite country or learn about that country's job market and work toward making yourself more attractive to potential overseas employers. This is a more realistic goal than deciding to move overseas in the very near future, and it sets
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