It’s not uncommon for healthcare products and even health websites to make outrageous claims—in fact, we’ve grown somewhat jaundiced to those big promises which amount to little more than marketing.

But today, I'm making you a promise—one with the most amazing health claim ever— and you can believe every single word of it as gospel truth, Girl Scout’s honor.

I'm going to show you how to absolutely double your chances of living a long life by cutting your risk of dying early by half! Here’s all you have to do: Follow the prevailing expert-authored advice we publish on Health4Women.org and Health4Mom.org, including:

• Never smoke


• Maintain a healthy weight


• Exercise for 30-plus minutes each day


• Eat a healthy diet high in veggies and fruits and low in red meat and trans fats


• Manage your stress

This incredible insight, which mirrors prevailing health advice, is just one of the many amazing outcomes of the landmark Nurses’ Health Study, conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Some 80,000 women—nurses ages 34 to 59—were recruited 24 years ago for an ongoing health study, resulting in data to date of more than 1.5 million person-years.

Writing in a recent edition of the British Medical Journal, Harvard researchers commented on their simple, yet profound finding. “Even modest differences in lifestyle can have a substantial impact on reducing mortality rates,” says researcher Rob van Dam, PhD, assistant professor of medicine.

Nowhere is this more true for women than in preventing the #1 killer of women—heart disease. Lack of awareness about a woman’s true heart health risks creates disparities among how women versus men experience and suffer from heart disease. For example, among all people who have a heart attack this year, 38% of the women will die from the event within one year as compared with only 25% of the men.

Did you know that women can play a huge role in keeping their family heart healthy? Have you ever been told you have an irregular heartbeat? This dramatically increases your risk for heart attack or stroke.

And from the country that invented amore we bring you important news of great joy regarding new research validating the cardio-protective effects of eating dark chocolate.

Every February is heart health awareness month. Start taking steps today to lower your risk of dying early. Use the expert-authored advice on this website regarding heart health, diabetes, healthy eating and active living to keep you your healthy best for years to come. I promise!