Social Support for Heart Health

For years, I’ve been preaching about the importance of having social support for weight loss. If you want to lose weight, you need to hang around – and stay in contact with – other folks who have the same goals as you.

Now researchers from the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, including the venerable Dr. Dean Ornish, have completed a study showing that social support groups also help heart health.

The researchers studied 440 women with coronary artery disease for one year. Subjects participating in social support groups achieved significant improvements in blood pressure, as well as in behaviors that increase overall health.

If you are currently trying to make improvements in your health all by yourself, consider getting some social support. Here are three ways to do it:

1. Find a nutrition buddy at work who (like you) wants to eat better. Eat lunch with him, rather than the “pizza gang.”

2. Get a workout partner or personal trainer to keep you motivated and committed to exercise.

3. Spend time online or offline with a social support group. Share experiences and solutions to the daily trials and tribulations faced by all of us who are trying to stay healthy in this high-calorie world.

[Ed. Note: Online support can be very helpful when it comes to reaching your fitness goals. And now, as Craig just reported, it can also help make your heart healthier. Share your weight-loss struggles, diet and exercise techniques, and encouragement for free.

And if you want a topnotch fitness program that can help you burn fat and build muscle, check out Craig Ballantyne’s Turbulence Training program right here.]