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