Anger Management

It's no secret that anger doesn't help anyone. Anger has been shown to lead to a higher incidence of heart disease and other health problems. Part of the problem is that we're misinformed about the best way to handle our anger. While you may feel that lashing out or hitting a punching bag helps you release the tension, the opposite is true. It teaches you to develop a behavior pattern. Get mad, punch. Get mad, get even. Get mad, harbor stress until it eats away at you. Instead use behavior and mental techniques that have been shown to reduce anger and anxiety, as well as the chronic heart problems associated with them. If you're one of the sixteen million Americans who have anger issues, try these techniques to make a change that we'll all be thankful for:
Do the opposite. Research has found that "letting it rip" with anger actually escalates anger and aggression and does nothing to help you resolve the situation. In general, to cope with an emotion, you have to do the opposite. This means to have empathy. Instead of swearing at the person who cute you off, think that maybe there's a reason they did, like they just got a call that there has been a family emergency and need to get to the hospital. It helps to remind yourself that few people are jerks on purpose.
Find your pattern. Keep thought records with no censorship of all the emotions you feel during the day. This helps you identify and find a pattern in the core beliefs that are associated with your anger. Do you get angry at a lack of respect, or wasted time, or insults?
Do push -ups. Somehow, you do have to acknowledge that you are experiencing a physiological response to your anger. Telling yourself to "stay calm" is one of the worst things you can do, because were supposed to act out when we feel threatened and are angry. So act out in a way that doesn't burn bridges, by doing push-ups or stretching or deep breathing. This dissipates the physiological burden of anger.
Choose smart words. Be careful of words like never or always when talking about yourself or someone else. These words are not only inaccurate, they serve to make you feel that your anger is justified and that theres no way to solve the problem. They also alienate and humiliate people who might otherwise be willing to work with you on a solution.

The Last Heart Attack

Happy Sunday all! There's nothing better than relaxing to a video on our lazy Sundays. Below I'm posting a documentary by CNN, entitled The Last Heart Attack. It documents former President Bill Clinton's old lifestyle habits, to his current habits. It's loaded with information from leading Cardiologists in the country. It also informs you of new tests that are in place to help YOU know what your risk factors are. It's key focus is to show America that we have the potentially to have virtually no more heart attacks, if we eat differently and get the check ups we should. Take a look!

http://www.skinnybliss.com/bill-clintons-vegan-diet-cnn-last-heart-attack-sanjay-gupta-m-d-video.html

Yoga!

A recent study done by researchers at the University of Kansas Hospital took a look at 49 people with an average age of 61, who had atrial fibrillation  a condition that increases the risk of stroke and heart failure. During the first three months patients participated in any type of physical activity they chose; in the next three months they joined a supervised yoga program consisting of breathing exercises, yoga postures, meditation, and relaxation 45 minutes a day three days a week.
The participants experienced about half as many episodes of atrial fibrillation when they were practicing yoga than when they weren’t. They also reported improved quality of life and reduced depression.

Women and Heart disease: quick facts

Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," it is the leading cause of death for both women and men in the United States, and women account for nearly 50% of heart disease deaths.
In 2007, heart disease was the cause of death in 306,246 females.

Heart disease is often perceived as an "older woman's disease," and it is the leading cause of death among women aged 65 years and older. However, heart disease is the third leading cause of death among women aged 25–44 years and the second leading cause of death among women aged 45–64 years. Remember that many cases of heart disease can be prevented!

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. In 2006, 315,930 women died from it.
• Heart disease killed 26% of the women who died in 2006—more than one in every four.
• Although heart disease is sometimes thought of as a "man's disease," around the same number of women and men die each year of heart disease in the United States. Unfortunately, 36% of women did not perceive themselves to be at risk for heart disease in a 2005 survey.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women of most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Hispanics, and whites. For Asian American women, heart disease is second only to cancer.
• In 2006, about 6.9% of all white women, 8.8% of black women, and 6.6% of Mexican American women were living with coronary heart disease.
• Almost two-thirds of the women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease have no previous symptoms. Even if you have no symptoms, you may still be at risk for heart disease.

5 Medication Free Strategies

I can't speak for everyone; but I know for myself I would rather prevent heart disease, then try and fix it after the damage has been done. Why get ourselves to place where we need a toolbox of medications and a counter filled with bottles to the point of not knowing what were taking and why we're taking it. Here are five things we can all do to help prevent heart disease:
1. Don't smoke OR use tobacco. (Smoking or using tobacco is one of the most significant risk factors for developing heart disease. Chemicals in tobacco can damage your heart and blood vessels, leading to narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis can ultimately lead to a heart attack.
2. Exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week.
Physical activity helps you control your weight and can reduce your chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on your heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. It also reduces stress, which may be a factor in heart disease.
Try getting at least 30 to 60 minutes of moderately intense physical activity most days of the week. However, even shorter amounts of exercise offer heart benefits, so if you can't meet those guidelines, don't give up. You can even break up your workout time into 10-minute sessions.
3. Eat a heart-healthy diet.
Eating a special diet called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan can help protect your heart. Following the DASH diet means eating foods that are low in fat, cholesterol and salt. The diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, which can help protect your heart. Beans, other low-fat sources of protein and certain types of fish also can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Limiting certain fats you eat also is important. Of the types of fat — saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and trans fat — saturated fat and trans fat increase the risk of coronary artery disease by raising blood cholesterol levels.
Major sources of saturated fat include:

• Red meat
• Dairy products
• Coconut and palm oils

Sources of trans fat include:

• Deep-fried fast foods
• Bakery products
• Packaged snack foods
• Margarines
• Crackers

Look at the label for the term "partially hydrogenated" to avoid trans fat.
Heart-healthy eating isn't all about cutting back, though. Most people need to add more fruits and vegetables to their diet — with a goal of five to 10 servings a day. Eating that many fruits and vegetables can not only help prevent heart disease, but also may help prevent cancer.
4. Maintain a healthy weight. As you put on weight in adulthood, your weight gain is mostly fat rather than muscle. This excess weight can lead to conditions that increase your chances of heart disease — high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
5.Get regular health check-ups.
High blood pressure and high cholesterol can damage your heart and blood vessels. But without testing for them, you probably won't know whether you have these conditions. Regular screening can tell you what your numbers are and whether you need to take action.

Feed Your Heart

The following foods are good not only because of the heart-healthy nutrients they deliver but because they have strong anti-inflammatory effects.

Fruits and vegetables. Many fruits and vegies-specifically red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, onions, and tomato juice-contain powerful antioxidants called flavonoids and carotenoids.  Found in colorful foods, flavonoids and carotenoids are vitamin-like nonessential substances that seem to decrease inflammation by handcuffing those damaging oxygen free radicals and stimulating your body to take them out of your system through urine.
Garlic. While it is still being debated, most doctors believe a clove a day can help thin your blood and lower you blood pressure. If you don't like the taste, you may also take 400 milligrams a day in pill form.
Foods with magnesium. Foods like 100 percent whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets, and raisins help lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmia's by dilating the arteries. Get 400 milligrams a day.
Foods with soy protein. Getting 25 grams a day of soy protein in foods like tofu and other soybean products decreases your bad LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Stanols and sterols. Good plant cholesterol in foods like the spread Benecol or Take Control helps your arterial health by displacing the lousy cholesterol in your arteries.
Dark chocolate. Recent studies show that eating dark chocolate may lower blood pressure as effectively as the most common antihypertensive medications and may increase HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. Interesting fact: The Kuna Indials, who live on islands near Panama, have little age-related hypertension. They drink More than five cups of flavonoid-rich cocoa a day.

You CAN undo what's been done.

Don't like surgery? Well if you are not in an emergency situation where you need a bypass or stent put it, you don't need it.

If you just eliminate the behaviors that contributed to your heart disease and replace it with new healthy behaviors, you can reverse your heart disease.

You will need to make exceptional changes to your diet, exercise routines, and ways you manage stress. Dr. Dean Ornish is the man behind this method, writing a book titled "the spectrum."
For more information on ways to reverse heart disease you can follow the link below. This link will also show you where you may purchase Dr. Dean Ornish book.

http://dailyhealthweb.blogspot.com/2010/04/dr-oz-reverse-heart-disease-without.html

Facts and Statistics

Heart Disease is the Number One Cause of Death
About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack. In 2010, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack. About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.
The chance of developing coronary heart disease can be reduced by taking steps to prevent and control factors that put people at greater risk. Additionally, knowing the signs and symptoms of heart attack are crucial to the most positive outcomes after having a heart attack. People who have survived a heart attack can also work to reduce their risk of another heart attack or a stroke in the future.
Race of ethnic group                     % of deaths
African-Americans                                      25.8
American Indians or Alaska Natives             19.8
Asians or Pacific Islanders                           24.6
Hispanics                                                   22.7
Whites                                                       27.5

Oatmeal...just do it.

Cholesterol. The difference between the good and the bad; how can we manage?
Knowing your numbers and what they mean is a good start to managing a healthy heart. Too much of the bad when your body doesn't produce enough of the good is where we find trouble. Your liver and other cells in your body create about 75% of cholesterol. The other 25% comes from the food you eat. Cholesterol is only found in animal products(which is why more doctors are pushing for heart patients to eat plant based diets).

Lets get down to numbers. You want your LDL's(low-density lipoprotien) is the "bad" cholesterol. You really want this number to remain below 100, especially for those of us who are at an increased risk of heart disease. 100-129 is near optimal, but anything over that 129 and you will want to consider things you can do differently to lower that number. I recommend starting with diet and exercise modifications before starting on any medications. Getting healthy by our own doings is always more beneficial. The next number we want to look at is our HDL's(high-density lipoprotein) also known as the "good" cholesterol. The reason we like this cholesterol is because it behaves as a cholesterol scavenger, picking up the excess cholesterol in your blood and carrying it back to your liver where it can be broken down. So, the higher your HDL level the lower your LDL level will be, which is what we want! For men and women, the desirable level of HDL's are to be above 60mg.

Two years ago when my levels came back with less than desirable results, I started to modify my diet only slightly. By my next appointment my numbers were right where I wanted them to be. For me, I cut back on the cheese. I was eating a pretty large amount on daily basis so I cut that out completely. Then I just added one thing...oatmeal! No, not the instant oatmeal that is loaded with sugar. Real oatmeal! I thought, ok, if I'm going to eat this stuff, I'm going to do it right. I tried it a few times plain jane and I couldn't handle it; so I started thinking of ways I could sweeten it up. What I came up with? fresh fruit! My favorite way to prepare oatmeal is to add some blueberries and bananas to the mix. This sweetened my bland little breakfast up in a natural and healthy way. If you don't care for those fruit choices try replacing them with fruit of your choice. Give it try!

Just try it!

I think the most important key to eating healthy is to try everything at least once. For three years I have been enjoying this drink that has caused my roommates to cringe while I sip on my tasty treat. Well, all I have to say is...don't knock it 'til you try it! It looks much worse than it is. The best word to describe its taste would be...fresh. If you're a texture eater, well, you may need to get over that. The pulp in this drink is what keeps it boosted with nutrients. Give it a try! The link to the recipe is over to the side.

What is Cardiovascular Disease?

Cardiovascular disease — includes numerous problems, many of which are related to a process called atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a condition that develops when a substance called plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries. This buildup narrows the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through. If a blood clot forms, it can stop the blood flow. This can cause a heart attack or stroke. A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart is blocked by a blood clot. If this clot cuts off the blood flow completely, the part of the heart muscle supplied by that artery begins to die. Most people survive their first heart attack and return to their normal lives to enjoy many more years of productive activity. But having a heart attack does mean you have to make some changes. The doctor will advise you of medications and lifestyle changes according to how badly the heart was damaged and what degree of heart disease caused the heart attack.
An ischemic stroke (the most common type) happens when a blood vessel that feeds the brain gets blocked, usually from a blood clot. When the blood supply to a part of the brain is shut off, brain cells will die. The result will be the inability to carry out some of the previous functions as before like walking or talking. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a blood vessel within the brain bursts. The most likely cause is uncontrolled hypertension.
Some effects of stroke are permanent if too many brain cells die after a stroke due to lack of blood and oxygen to the brain. These cells are never replaced. The good news is that some brain cells don't die — they're only temporarily out of order. Injured cells can repair themselves. Over time, as the repair takes place, some body functioning improves. Also, other brain cells may take control of those areas that were injured. In this way, strength may improve, speech may get better and memory may improve. This recovery process is what rehabilitation is all about.

Other Types of Cardiovascular Disease

Heart failure: This doesn't mean that the heart stops beating. Heart failure, sometimes called congestive heart failure, means the heart isn't pumping blood as well as it should. The heart keeps working, but the body's need for blood and oxygen isn't being met. Heart failure can get worse if it's not treated. If your loved one has heart failure, it's very important to follow the doctor's orders.
Arrhythmia: This is an abnormal rhythm of the heart. There are various types of arrhythmia's. The heart can beat too slow, too fast or irregularly. Bradycardia is when the heart rate is less than 60 beats per minute. Tachycardia is when the heart rate is more than 100 beats per minute. An arrhythmia can affect how well the heart works. The heart may not be able to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs.
Heart valve problems: When heart valves don't open enough to allow the blood to flow through as it should, it's called stenosis. When the heart valves don't close properly and allow blood to leak through, it's called regurgitation. When the valve leaflets bulge or prolapse back into the upper chamber, it’s a condition called mitral valve prolapse. When this happens, they may not close properly. This allows blood to flow backward through them.

Greetings!

Greetings all  =)  What Young at Heart is all about? I'm constantly meeting people who struggle with weight issues, poor dieting habits, and overall unhealthy lifestyles. "I don't know how to be healthy," or "I'm too old to do anything about it now," are the two most common remarks I hear from those who want to take control of their health, but are unsure where to start. I think this speaks for a majority. The second comment is the most upsetting, it's also the most untrue. What is true, is that we live in a society that has taught us to eat by convenience. We need to slow down, tune out the garbage, and eat for our health.

I started changing my own eating habits about five years ago when I became a vegetarian (don't worry, this blog is not intended to turn you into a vegan, tree hugging, hippie...). When I started my path to a healthier lifestyle I had no clue what I was doing. I researched for hours and spent much of my time and money in book stores scoping out the latest cook books. With that said, I know how time consuming it can be and I want you to use this page as your one stop shop. I will make my best effort to post a few times a week, updating you with the latest research, information, and food tips. I want this blog to be a fun/stress free place to visit. So, feel free to post comments, correct me when I'm wrong, and add your own personal tips. This is all about learning, growing and reaching our own personal health goals  =)
I'll be back soon
Jess

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors.  ~Chinese Proverb
http://www.heart.org/