每周阅读 第一周

舒彤

Many diseases and medical conditions are caused by things out of our control. Yet experts say you can control and even prevent many of the risk factors that increase your chances of dying.
Experts note that an unhealthy lifestyle can put you at great risk of heart disease and stroke. Poor diet, having too much body fat and a lack of physical exercise all increase your risk of heart disease -- so can using tobacco products and drinking too much alcohol.
So doctors urge us to eat healthy foods, get exercise, stop smoking and limit our alcohol intake.
But there is something else you can do. And it is free and easy. Smile!
Anand Chockalingam is a heart disease specialist at University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia, Missouri. He advises his patients to smile.
"When we smile, the brain wiring gets altered. The chemicals that are released are more positive."
He says smiling is a first step in fighting physical and emotional stress and its sometimes harmful effects on human health. This is not just New Age advice. Several studies support Dr. Chockaligam’s prescription to smile more.
When we talk about disorders of the heart and blood vessels, we are talking about cardiovascular diseases, such as coronary heart disease. And they are the number one cause of death around the world. That information comes from the World Health Organization.
The main cause of heart attacks and strokes are blockages in blood vessels. These prevent blood from flowing to the heart or the brain. The most common reason for these blockages is a build-up of fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries.
When you feel stressed or under pressure, your body releases many natural hormones including adrenaline and cortisol.
Adrenaline increases your heart rate and blood pressure. Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone. It increases sugar in the bloodstream. If you are truly in danger, these hormones can help you. They are part of what we call our fight-or-flight response.
However, when stressed for a long period, these stress hormones are ever-present in our bodies. And that, medical researchers warn, may lead to health problems.
Researchers with the American Heart Association say the connection between stress and heart disease is still unclear.
However, they claim that when people are stressed for long periods of time, they may not make the best decisions about what to eat. They may overeat, smoke or drink too much alcohol. They may not get enough exercise or sleep. And all of this can lead to health problems.
Dr. Chockalingam says a smile may be one way to help.He tells his patients to smile 20 times an hour. To some, that might seem like a lot of smiling. Or some might even feel foolish ... smiling for seemingly no reason. But a smile does not involve drugs. It is not invasive like a surgical operation. It is free and it has no bad side effects.
"Once people smile, they are relaxing. This relaxation directly lowers blood pressure, improves sugar levels in the blood. If we are smiling, we are breaking that link between stress and health."
And it just may provide a little extra protection to everyone's heart health. And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
I’m Anna Matteo.

阿南德·乔卡林甘是一位心脏疾病专家。他建议他的患者要微笑。这位专家指出：当我们微笑时，大脑的构造会发生改变。释放的化学物质更具有积极的一面。他表示微笑是对抗身体和情绪压力以及他们对人类健康产生的有害影响第一步。
当我们的焦虑情绪维持很长一段时间时，这些压力激素会经常存在在我们的体内。并且医学研究人员警告那可能引发健康问题。美国心脏协会的研究人员声称当人们焦虑持续很长一段时间时，他们可能不能对自己的饮食做出最佳决定。他们可能吃得太多、吸很多烟或者喝太多酒。他们可能没有足够的锻炼和睡眠。并且所有这些可能导致健康问题。
乔卡利甘博士表示微笑可能成为有帮助意义的一种方式。他告诉他的患者一个小时要微笑20次。对于某些人来说，似乎微笑过度了。或者一些人甚至可能感觉看起来毫无理由的微笑这种行为很愚蠢。但是一个微笑并没有害处，它是免费的并且没有副作用。
专家强调：一旦人们开始微笑，他们就放松下来。