FEBRUARY IS HEART HEALTH MONTH
Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women. It takes the life of one American every minute. In 2019, 3/4 of a million people in the United will have a heart attack of die from coronary heart disease caused by build- up and thickening of plaque in the arteries.
Nearly half of all Americans have some form of heart disease, but less than half of all Americans recognize the symptoms. The most recognizable symptom is the “feeling of an elephant sitting on your chest.” Other less obvious symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain, arm and shoulder pain, especially down the left arm. This is the symptom my husband had while he was experiencing an aortic aneurysm – pain from his chest, traveling down his left arm.
In addition to these symptoms, women experience less obvious symptoms related to heart disease. These include pain in the upper abdomen, extreme fatigue, nausea and vomiting. Not only is heart disease a leading cause of death in women, but it is becoming more common in younger people as well.
Risk Factors
Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity and excessive alcohol use. Stop smoking and drinking excessively are obvious solutions. But what about high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.
Little Helpers for a Healthier Heart
Testing
Diet
Exercise
Testing
There are four tests you should expect to take when seeing your doctor. They are:
Blood pressure – ideally no higher than 120/80
Cholesterol (blood sample) – HDL (good) cholesterol should be at least 50, while the LDL (bad) cholesterol should be no more than 100.
Blood sugar (blood sample) – 1 out of 3 Americans is pre-diabetic and 90% of them don’t know it. Ask your doctor for a simple blood sugar test. The optimal blood sugar level should be under 100 when fasting.
Cardiogram – is a simple, painless test in which a probe is rubbed over your chest and actually shows your heart beating (it’s amazing to watch)!
Diet
The following recipe is from the Henry Ford/Detroit Free Press Heart Smart Cookbook Third Edition.
Chicken Breasts with Dijon Cream Sauce
Cream sauces can add plenty of fat and calories to recipes. In this recipe, the fat and calories are reduced by using fat-free half and half in place of heavy cream. Just a small amount of Dijon mustard adds texture and a slight tangy edge.
Makes 4 meals in 30 minutes
Ingredients
4 (ounce each) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup fat free, less sodium chicken broth
½ cup dry white wine
1/3 cup fat free half and half
1 ½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
Directions
Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with black pepper and salt.
Add canola oil to a large nonstick skillet, and place it over medium-high heat until it’s hot.
Add chicken breasts to the skillet; cook 7 to 10 minutes on each side or until the chicken is tender and no longer pink (165 degrees). Remove chicken from the skillet and keep it warm.
Reduce heat to medium – low. Add broth and wine to the skillet, stirring to loosen browned bits.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the half and half and Dijon mustard; add mixture to the skillet. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly.
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water, stirring until the cornstarch is dissolved. Gradually add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce, heating to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.
Serve the chicken with sauce over rice.
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories……. 244 Sodium ……..480 mg.
From fat …… 36% Cholesterol……64 mg.
Fat……………..9g Calcium ……….32 mg.
Saturated ……1g Fiber ……………0g
Trans …………0g Food exchanges
Carbohydrates ….3g 3 lean meat, 1 fat
Protein …………26g
Exercise
According to health and fitness expert Stephanie Mansour, we need to treat the heart like any other muscle. Take 220 and minus your age to get what your maximum heartrate should be. You want to be between 50% and 85% of that rate if you are taking your pulse or monitoring with tracking monitor. Three types of exercise should take place; cardio, stretching and strength training. Click here to see her demonstrate on the Today Show.
www.today.com/health/american-heart-health-month-6-exercises-work%20-your-heart-t148147
References:
Center for Disease Control www.cdc.gov
American Heart Association www.heart.org
Dr. Memet Oz www.doctoroz.com
Henry Ford Health System www.henryford.com/services/heart-and-vascular-institute
Stephanie Mansour www.stepitupwithsteph.com
Exercise
According to health and fitness expert Stephanie Mansour, we need to treat the heart like any other muscle. Take 220 and minus your age to get what your maximum heartrate should be. You want to be between 50% and 85% of that rate if you are taking your pulse or monitoring with tracking monitor. Three types of exercise should take place; cardio, stretching and strength training. Click here to see her demonstrate on the Today Show.
www.today.com/health/american-heart-health-month-6-exercises-work%20-your-heart-t148147
References:
Center for Disease Control www.cdc.gov
American Heart Association www.heart.org
Dr. Memet Oz www.doctoroz.com
Henry Ford Health System www.henryford.com/services/heart-and-vascular-institute
Stephanie Mansour www.stepitupwithsteph.com
LITTLE HELPERS FOR WINTER SKIN
Two-Minute Beauty Secret
Last year, this little secret came from Fox 2 Detroit’s own
(WJBK) – We’ve all had the wish that our skin would look a little younger and fresher. America’s Holistic Plastic Surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn tells us all we need is two minutes in the morning and in the evening to make a big difference.
The morning’s routine is all about protecting your skin.
Dr. Youn has three steps for the morning. First, cleanse your skin. Second, apply an antioxidant like Vitamin C to fight off all the grime and debris, like pollution or smoke that damages our skin throughout the day. Lastly, use sunscreen. Many makeups have sunscreen built right in. Dr. Youn says we need to be using at least SPF 30.
The nighttime routine is all about rejuvenating the skin.
First, Dr. Youn says to cleanse the skin again to get rid of the day’s worth of grime that’s built up. Then, apply your anti-aging cream.
Dr. Youn says retinol-cased creams are the most scientifically proven to fight aging. They’re not too expensive, but they are aggressive. So, if that irritates your skin, Dr. Youn recommends growth factors or peptide-based creams.
And wouldn’t you know, cleansing products, vitamin C, retinol and sunscreen products are available from – you guessed it – me – from my Avon E-Store: