News Taffy

Have you thought about your heart health lately? Maybe I should ask if you have given any thought at all about your health? Have you had a regular checkup or a dentist appointment in the last year? Back to heart health, let’s see how you measure up.

The American Heart Association defines ideal heart health with seven key components, four being ideal health behaviors and three being ideal health factors. They are as follows (the first four are the behaviors):
*Being a non smoker.
*Having a body mass index of less than 25.
*Being very active physically.
*Eating at least three or more servings each day of fruits and vegetables.
*Having a total untreated cholesterol of less than 200.
*Having a blood pressure of 120 over 80 or lower.
*Having an untreated, fasting blood sugar rate of less than 100.

You may not know your blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar levels, but you should have had these checked within the last year. Hopefully, you are a non smoker so you can check that off. Do you exercise, really exercise, at least three to four times a week? Do you garden or mow your lawn? Take the stairs often or walk the dog? Check off being physically active then. Do you eat at least three servings a day of fruits and vegetables? Check! You can find a body mass index calculator by googling it so do that now. Less than 25? Check!

If you did not do very well, you are not alone, but that doesn’t mean you are in good company. In the March 2011 issue of Circulation, Dr. Claudia Bambs’ study reveals that only one person out of the nearly 2,000 studied met all seven criteria for good heart health. The average age of the participants was 59 with 66 percnt being women. Only 39 people met all four of the behavior components and only 27 had all three of the health factors.

This study is alarming in that it graphically points out just how poor Americans‘ health really is. Worse, we don’t seem to care because all of those factors are within our control. We all know smoking harms the body in many ways. We all know that being overweight also causes many health problems so we need to eat less food overall and certainly less sugar laden foods. If we eat right, don’t smoke and exercise, then our cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index and blood pressure should be in the normal range. A few people will have other reasons for high blood pressure or blood sugar but the previous statement is true for most of us.

So, if your game plan is to live a miserable existence feeling bad, unable to do the things you want, spending all your available funds on medical bills, then keep on plodding down the same road. You’ll get there, believe me. If you’d rather be having fun and living life to the fullest, then get busy. You know what to do.

In case you are wondering, I meet all seven.

Until next week,
Lisa