It's been almost 6 months since I had my heart attack. I would love to report that life is better than it was, however, I am still struggling with the smoking and losing weight. Confession time: I got off my diet and gained 5 pounds.
Part of that, I believe, is due to the fact that my treadmill is buried behind a pile of sheet rock. Not to say I haven't been active. I have been out in my yard working, planting my flowers and a few veggies, pulling weeds and all that fun stuff.
In life, we are going to have set backs. We are going to have bad days, weeks even. We are going to have things go wrong, break down and just quit on us. It's called living. It's what life is all about. We must look at it as it is; Life. We can choose to cry or we can choose to laugh. I think I like laughing better.
I decided to share my journey of better living with you for a couple of reasons. 1. It keeps me held accountable, and 2. Something I may say, may help YOU live a better life. Some people feel I should keep this journey to myself. I feel that I should share it with you. If what I say helps just one person, then I feel my job is done.
Now on with the show. Heart disease can be prevented. Heart disease begins the moment we are born. Everything we eat, drink, breath in affects our heart, veins and arteries. How active we are, how we manage stress and our weight all affect our hearts. I am going to focus on what we eat. Fast food, sweet treats, and drinks, fats/oils, will determine how our hearts work.
Let's do a little anatomy background. Your heart sits in the center of your chest. Your heart beats, allowing the blood to be pumped throughout your body and circulates up to the heart, through the heart and out into the body again. Your blood is full of oxygen. Without it, your heart suffers, you kidneys will suffer, your brain will suffer, in short, your entire system will suffer.
So, how does the food we eat affect our hearts? It's very simple. If you eat unhealthy foods; fat, sugar, dyes, processed foods, red meats and dairy products which all contain "Cholesterol", you end up with too much cholesterol in the arteries. Our bodies produce all the cholesterol we need. Eating these foods causes our bodies to have an over abundance of cholesterol, which in turns, clogs up our arteries, and in general, makes us all feel sluggish, causes us to be bloated, unable to sleep, and just makes us miserable. When you have too much cholesterol, it begins to build up within the arteries. When it fills up the artery, blood is unable to flow properly, and you have a shortage of oxygen to the entire body, and you have what is known as a heart attack.
What can we do to help prevent heart disease?
1. Control your portion size. We eat way more than what is recommended. I remember when I was working in daycare as the cook, the recommended amount of fries for a 2 year old was 1 oz. That's about 5 fries, 3 green beans, 1 1/2 of a chicken nugget. Compare that to what is usually consumed and you can see we eat way too much. One box of mac and cheese can feed a family of four. Most of us, will eat, on average, 2-3 boxes at one meal. For pasta, the serving size is 1/2 cups, for an adult. I think it is fair to assume, most eat more than 1/2 cups of pasta.
2. Eat your fruits and veggies. These are the best source of vitamins and minerals, fiber and they are lower in calories. However, you still must watch how much you eat of them.
3. Choose whole grains. Anything 'white' should never touch your lips. White rice, white bread, white potatoes. The better choice is wheat bread, brown rice and sweet potatoes. These foods are high in fiber, which can help improve the hearts ability to pump.
4. Limit unhealthy fats and cholesterol. Limit the amount of saturated and trans fat you consume. These foods raises your cholesterol, which we already have enough of, so limit these foods, if not, just cut them out altogether.
5. Read the label. Foods with "reduced fat" on the box or package, may not be reduced if it contains 'bad' fats.
We can all have a healthier heart and live a long life. We have one heart, we should be taking care of it. With just a few life style changes, eating a healthier diet and getting exercise everyday, we can live a life full of energy and happiness.
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