Alexis: We do not practice prevention, we respond to fear. That is basically how we take care of ourselves when it comes to disease. So, we will go out and work out really like to look good, but will we change our diet to prevent heart disease.
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Sarah: Hi! Everyone welcome to diet.com video, I am Sarah your host. Valentines Day is this week and protecting one’s heart should be a major concern among couples in love, as well as single still looking for that special someone. Many people are unaware that the major causes of heart disease can be controlled. Often, we look too late in life to make changes so that we can prevent this deadly disease that can start as early as seven years old.
Alexis: It is named number one killer of women in United States. So in terms of cholesterol, there are some obvious things we have all heard about what we have to do. Number one, eating five fruits and vegetables a day, five a day, most Americans do not eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Niacin is actually a nutrient that helps keep your cholesterol down and then there is oat brand.
But there is not much that beats keeping your weight down at exercising three to five times a week for at least 30 minutes. You know the thing is very cool about, dealing with heart disease, is we are in control. You know, there is a certain generic component, but in general, we can step in and we can actually prevent it and how many can some life are we really in control of, not many.
Sarah: Heart disease is the number one killer for American females each 25 and older, about 68% of those who die suddenly from heart disease do not ever even notice any symptoms. This is why it is important to be aware of your own health conditions and get regular check-ups. Another factor that Alexis told me about was a person’s homocysteine levels, which I personally never heard off.
Alexis: Believe it or not, there is amino acid naturally in your body that if those levels go to high, your at risk for damaging your own heart muscle. And what we have learned is, to try to keep that level down, you got to get your leafy greens in, your whole grains and your healthy proteins.
High blood pressure can happen as result of two things. It can happen naturally which is a problem or we can bring in it on ourselves by weighing too much, eating too much, and not exercising enough. That is really the bottom line. What you need to do is keep your weight down, keep your exercise up, that old three to five times a week for 30 minutes to keep your blood pressure at a good rate. Otherwise, the function of your heart is compromise by the pressure inside your arteries.
Antioxidants are like risk preventors, it sort of keeps what we call free radicals from damaging the cells of your body particularly as you age. So there are things like vitamin C and vitamin E that we have heard about that actually can prevent that. And you know, chocolate is Valentines Day, chocolate actually is an antioxidant food along with fruits and vegetables. And if you are eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you probably getting a descent amount of antioxidants.
Sarah: Heart disease kills about half a million American women every year, twice as many then all other forms of cancer combined including breast cancer. Many women will change their lifestyles to lose a few pounds or combat stress, it is equally important to modify your behaviors to ensure a long and healthy life.
Alexis: Weight loss is been amazing, magical, powerful thing. It changes your body chemistry, it absolutely does, it wipes it up particularly in the kid.
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