Sitting Too Long Is Bad for You. These Foods May Help

We’re often told to move more—by exercising, stretchin, or simply standing up—to combat the effects of prolonged sitting. But what we eat may also play a key role in offsetting the negative impacts of a sedentary lifestyle.

This is the conlcusion of a team of researchers from the University of Birmingham in England, who discovered that eating flavanol-rich foods—such as tea, berries, apples and cocoa—can help protect vascular health in men from the harmful effects of prolonged sitting.

The average American spends about 9.5 hours a day sitting , a habit linked to a higher risk of heart disease and the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Prolonged sitting can also disrupt blood flow and trigger subtle changes in how blood vessels function and how key molecules in the body are balanced.

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