Love Your HEART
February is Heart Health and Cancer Prevention Months
• “The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
By Thomas A Edison

Did you Wear RED on Friday Feb 2nd for National Heart Disease Prevention Awareness Day our Nations #1 Killer of both Women and Men??

Do you know that……

• Almost 170 million Americans don’t get enough healthy physical activity.
• That’s enough people—joined hand-to-hand—to circle the earth almost 8 times!
• At least 900,000 deaths annually are due to Unhealthy Lifestyle Choices such as; Tobacco use, Poor nutrition choices, and living a Sedentary lifestyle.
• Unhealthy lifestyle CHOICES is the primary contributor to the six leading causes of death in the USA Today; Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, respiratory diseases, and accidents which account for collectively 70% of all deaths.

• Not being active damages your heart and other major organs—cutting your life short.
• More than 2,600 Americans die each day of heart disease—1 death every 33 seconds!
• Heart disease is America’s #1 Killer of both Men and Women

• People with healthier lifestyles live an average of 6-9 years longer and postpone disability by 9 yrs and compress disability into fewer years at the end of life.

This month will be to give you, your workplace, family, and community tips from the latest research on making WISE daily lifestyle choices to prevent or to better manage your heart disease and/ or cancer risks for LIFE!!

Tips 4 Heart Health and Cancer Prevention:

1) Physical Activity/ Exercise--30 or more minutes on 5 to 7 days each week--Attend Pump and Praise at Sunnybrook Community Church 3x/ week, Walking, Taking the stairs at work, Strength Training, Cardiovascular exercises, Flexibility and Balance, Housework, ETC...
--Regular Moderate Physical Activity (at least 30 min/ day) Reduces your risks of heart disease and cancer by 40 to 50%.
2) Eat a Healthy Breakfast Everyday (As Your Momma Said!)--Eat a high fiber cereal with fresh fruit and skim/ soy milk, yogurt, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, eggs (hard boiled or scrambled), oatmeal (with cinnamon and fresh fruit—I like blueberries and raspberries), french toast with fresh berries instead of syrup, fresh fruit, cottage cheese are some of my favorites, enjoy your favorite cup of coffee (joe) and drink water
3) Eat 1-2 servings (a palmful) of Nuts each day (5 or more servings each week)---some of the best are Walnuts, Almonds and Cashews
--Those who ate nuts (5 or more times each week) reduced their risks of heart disease by 39 to 60 % documented in various studies. Nuts have also been shown to lower blood pressure and LDL/ Triglycerides while improving your good cholesterol HDL.
4) Eat 5 to 9 servings of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables --Cut these up and have them available each day for an easy snack at work or at home
-- Research has shown that eating 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables each day can lower your risks of most types of cancer and heart disease by 50%!!
5) Sleep 7 to 9 hrs each night.....Don't forget to REST each day
-- Not getting between 7 to 9 hrs of sleep on the average increases your risks for obesity (increased BMI), heart disease, diabetes, and elevated risk of mortality (death).
6) Balance your LIFE and Build/ Maintain strong Relationships (Community at Workplace/ LIFE Groups at Sunnybrook Community Church or Your Local Church/ Family) for your Emotional Health and Stress level.
--In a recent large international heart study, persons with high stress levels at work or home had higher rates of heart disease.
7) Take time for Spiritual Reflection each day such as Prayer, Reading the Bible, Meditation, Read another Spiritual Book
--Reduces your risks of heart disease and cancer while significantly improving your management of these diseases.
8) Give and Share LOVE with your Family, Friends, Co-Workers, and those you come into contact with each day!! Be Optimistic and have a positive outlook on life!---Random Acts of Kindness, Hugs, Handshake, Smile, I Love YOU, and Words of Encouragement
--Research indicates that being optimistic and serving others results in reduced cardiovascular disease risks by 55% and allows those with this disease to cope and manage the disease better.
9) Drink 6 to 8 (8 oz glasses--1 serving) glasses of water each day!! Your body, heart, mind, soul, and energy level with ALL Thank YOU!!
--You lose weight, burn body fat, improve your immune system, receive more energy, and have reduced joint and musculoskeletal pain.
10) Work to Reduce the Saturated Fat and Trans Fat (Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable oils) that you eat....Limit Fried Foods and Sweets that you eat each week
--This is KEY to Prevent and Reduce your risks of Heart Disease and CancerYOUR Body is Worth the Effort!!


Sources:
1) Building Heart Health by Carol Ann Marlow, MPH, MS and Don Hall DrPH, CHES Wellsource Inc, 2006. From Website www.wellsource.com
2) American Cancer Society (ACS) Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention Table 1, Feb 2, 2007.
3) Year of Good Health, Healthy Resolutions 2007 Calendar, Feb 2007 by Personal Best Publications and Oakstone Publishing, 2006.
4) Causes of Cancer in the World by Danaei G, Vaner Hoom SK, Lopez A, et al. in Lancet 2005;366:1784-1793, Nov 19, 2005.
5) The 30 Minutes Fitness Solution by JoAnn Manson and Patricia Amend.
6) A Few Facts About Nuts by Don Hall DrPH, CHES, Wellsource, Inc.
7) Sleep duration and Health in Making Healthy Choices Newsletter Feb, 2007 at www.wellsource.com
8) Optimism promotes Health Wellsource Newsletter based on the research from Archives of Internal Medicine Feb 27, 2006.