Use Red to Improve Well-being

Photo Credit/Go Red for Women

In honor of American Heart Month (February) and National Wear Red Day on Friday Feb. 3, 2023 I’ve selected red as my featured color for February. 

This post has been updated 1/17/2023

February is a fabulous month to celebrate red, the color of heart health, passion, excitement, enthusiasm, love, fire, and Valentine's Day.

Heart Month officially started in the 1960’s when our president at the time, Lyndon Baines Johnson, designated February in this special way. 

The Centers for Disease Control advises that high blood pressure is a major contributor to heart attacks. Read Facts about High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease and Ways to Reduce Sodium Intake.

Red is a symbol of a healthy heart. “As the heart beats, it pumps blood through a system of blood vessels, called the circulatory system. The vessels are elastic, muscular tubes that carry blood to every part of the body. 

In addition to carrying fresh oxygen from the lungs and nutrients to the body's tissues, it also takes the body's waste products, including carbon dioxide away from the tissues. This is necessary to sustain life and promote the health of all parts of the body.” See more from WebMD.

Red is a lively color for exercise attire and is a perfect accent color in your exercise room. Red can speed up metabolism and energize you. Participate in some form of aerobic exercise a minimum of 30 minutes on most days for good heart health. Red can also increase appetite. 

Unless you need to gain weight, don't get an industrial stove in red or display red accent pieces in the kitchen or dining room, as seeing red in these areas can stimulate overeating.

Red reminds you to amp-up healthful eating practices. Read books, blogs, and surf the Web for info about heart health.

One example of that comes from Michael Greger M.D. His website documents research to show why a plant based diet, free of cholesterol and saturated animal fats is helpful in preventing and treating Heart Disease. 

Talk to your health care providers to learn new ways to reduce or eliminate saturated and trans-fats. Take a nutrition course to investigate why it's so important to eat more fruits, veggies, and unprocessed plant based food. 

Meal planning that includes portion control, yet includes a variety of colorful organic fruits and vegetables is important on any eating plan. When you eat organic products and those labeled Non GMO Project Verified you avoid eating genetically modified food that can cause food allergies, digestion problems, weight gain, and other serious conditions.

Experts suggest a possible link between long term stress and heart health. Get career, psychological, or financial counseling, when you are troubled by these or any other lifestyle issues.

Meditation, prayer, and other self-care practices including yoga, journal writing, and reaching out for emotional support from others helps counteract the negative effects of stress. Read How Stress can Wreak Havoc on Your Body.

The color red can signal danger, so use it to help you envision that salt shaker wrapped in a warning sign cloak of red. Reduce salt intake to manage high blood pressure. Reduce red meat consumption, because it usually contains high levels of LDL Cholesterol, and low levels of HDL. 

It makes good health sense and saves money too, when you prevent health issues from becoming serious ones. Nonetheless, it's never too late to improve health by quitting smoking or drug use, curtailing alcohol consumption, and seeking professional help when the efforts you have used to stop aren't effective. 

Now down to basics. Here's the American Heart Association Warning Signs of a Heart Attack. 

Red is a call to action color. Discover how many ways red can motivate and support you as you leap forward with passion and heart-felt enthusiasm to take care of your health and heart by thinking RED.

Before you go, take a moment to post a comment below to express your thoughts or feelings about colors and/or heart health. Please don't put links in your comment as it can't be published that way.

Join in the fun by spreading the word about my new blog. 

Get support and encouragement about living healthier by visiting www.colors4health.com often It's the place where colors and a healthy lifestyle intersect. 

This post was offered for educational and entertainment purposes only, and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your health care provider before making and lifestyle changes. 

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Envision a Healthy, Colorful 2016

Welcome to my new blog, Colors 4 Heath, where colors and a healthy lifestyle intersect. It’s New Years' Day 2016, a fine time to launch this blog! 

I invite you to join me as we recall the steps we've taken to be more fully the person we want to be, and release those 2015 emotions or thoughts that no longer serve us well. Try to picture them flying away like butterflies. This New Year's Day we'll take a few moments to envision things we'd like to draw into our life in the coming months.

Colors can help us do this. Imagine a brown, open field that's just been freshly planted with grass seed. No sprouts of grass show above ground. With proper nurturing that includes enriching the soil and giving the seeds the right amount of water, sunlight, and time, the green grass pops its head above ground. Weeding and careful tending throughout the growing season makes the grass grow plush and flourish.

Color Imagery like what we tried with the butterflies, the field, and grass has the power to change perceptions. 

See the Color Green in Your Mind's Eye. It encourages us to focus on self-improvement, weed out old messages, and sprout new growth this year. How would you feel and act if you were able to turn over a new green leaf? Are there facets of your life that require attention? If you want to bloom profusely, pay attention to your wants, needs, values, and aspirations. Tending your own garden can help you blossom more fully emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually. 

Use Green energy to help you override negative thinking. Green will be there for you as you ask yourself these questions. Do I feel good about myself just as I am or does my attitude need adjusting? Am I willing to learn new things and feel excitement about expanding my horizons? What would my day look like, if I were living my dreams? Do I need to organize or reduce clutter in my work environment, my home, or social life to create space for goodness to flow? Green energy encourages health, facilitates new beginnings, and is the symbol of freedom and wealth. 

I know from personal experience, observation, and investigation as a Health and Lifestyle Writer and Wellness Blogger, that it's possible to replace self-defeating attitudes and behaviors with effective ones. Here's why. 

I used to tell myself I wasn't good enough or poised enough to speak in public. My old insecure self thought I wasn't smart enough to write a book, and it was impossible for me to develop a loving relationship with a partner that respects and cherishes me. Another old story I believed about myself was that I didn't know how to use my ingenuity and sound reasoning to improve my health and vitality. These old ideas are outmoded and  untrue.

Do you yearn to explore new career opportunities or improve your relationship with yourself and others? Perhaps you'd like to enhance your overall well-being by establishing a fitness plan, managing finances better, or developing more of a social life. Maybe this is the year you reserve more time for fun and relaxation.

Whatever your secret longings may be, color imagery and positive wellness practices I intend to write about on the blog can help you understand yourself better and enable you to learn effective ways to enrich daily living.

Journal. Writing things down has helped me admit my concerns or fears and transform daydreams into possibilities, goals, and realities. For more on journal writing, please click on this link to my other blog to learn  4 powerful reasons why journal writing is good for the soul.

Keep whatever shade of green invigorates you in the forefront of your mind, as you journal about your aspirations for the coming year. Return to a green image that pleases and fortifies you, any time you feel self-doubt, stress, or anxiety about making changes. Set an intention to tend your garden of mind, body, and spirit and you're sure to soar this year. 

Check back here often for fresh ideas, color tips, and healthy lifestyle information that promotes abundance and joy.

Before you go, take a moment to comment, ask a question, or express your thoughts or feelings about colors (click below on the link that shows how many comments there are). Sharing is caring. Join in the fun by spreading the word about my new blog. Follow my blog and you'll get notified each time I post. Your support and encouragement is appreciated. 

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Here's what a friend from New Mexico wrote about this post:

Dear Nan,
Yesterday, January 1st I wore a hot pink shirt. Throughout the day my husband kept telling me how wonderful I looked. At night we went to a friend's house for dinner and my husband asked that I keep it on rather than put on the more sedate, elegant black and white outfit I had chosen.
Then, upon arrival I was offered a gold and black sequined popover top to wear with a giant butterfly pattern. Between the hot pink and the golden shimmer I was dancing in circles around the room. Yes, color has a huge, sometimes subliminal effect on mood.
Thank you for reminding us to be conscious of connecting to color. L.S.