Get yourself some green by keeping track of all the money you spend on bad food and bad habits.
You know what we’re talking about – the candy bar you pick up at the checkout counter, the drive-through fast food stop that just “happens” to be on your way, the cigarettes you smoke when you’re out with friends, the way you hit “snooze” instead of going to the gym.
Figure out the cost of your gym membership per visit (aiming for three times a week is reasonable). How much does it cost you to skip a day? We know you want to say, “Fine, I just won’t renew my membership, and that will save me money.” Well, yes, but it will also cost you unless you are dedicated to your own non-gym workout. Sometimes the money is the motivator.
Look at your grocery bill and figure out what doesn’t need to be there. How much did you spend on junk food? It could really add up in a year.
Now think green, and start saving that money. You might have enough for some really great incentives – like jewelry or vacations or hey, there might be enough to cover that gym membership (which you’ll be using) after all!
We learned a great way to help improve our children’s school lunches yesterday – while we were in chat with Dr. Neal Barnard and Marilu. Here’s what Dr. Barnard said.
The most amazing thing is that Congress is now considering vegetarian and vegan options for children in school. It would make kids so much healthier.
Please call Congress at 202-224-3121, and tell them your city, and they’ll put you through to your representative’s office. Ask your representative to support the new bill calling for more vegetarian options in schools.
Thirty-five percent of all heart attacks occur in people with a total cholesterol between 150 and 199 mg/dl.
Your doctor may be happy with anything under 200 mg/dl – but you should be striving to get below 150. That’s the “heart-attack proof” number. You also want your LDL number (the bad ones – think “lousy” or “loser”) to be under 80.
The best way to get these numbers is to eat a plant-based diet.
Take a class in CPR through your local Red Cross or American Heart Association chapter. Look in your community education course offerings, or check with a local college. Some employers offer CPR classes, too.
One day from your life can save someone else’s whole life.
Many women see their gynecologist as their primary care physician, and never have their hearts checked by internists or cardiologists. (It’s a good idea to have a complete physical by an internist or general practitioner – someone who is familiar with your whole body!)
Get a stress test, an echocardiogram, an EKG, a C-reactive protein test, and whatever else your doctor recommends. Get all your bloodwork done, too, so you can see your cholesterol and triglyceride numbers.
If you or someone you love has heart disease, this is the book to read. Dr Esselstyn has been able to reverse heart disease (in general terms, that’s when an artery is blocked by plaque) in his patients by changing their diet.
The Western diet of animal foods, lots of fat, and lots of processed food contributes to – or maybe even causes – heart disease. To reverse heart disease, Dr. Esselstyn recommends a plant-based (vegan) diet that is very low in fat.
If you already follow the 10 steps of Marilu’s Total Health Makeover®, this program will not seem so extreme. If you’re new to THM® then this may seem restrictive at first. But it has plenty of variety (hello, look at all the vegetables and grains out there!). And it’s certainly easy enough if it’s going to save your life, or keep you from living on medication in fear of a heart attack, or keep you from quadruple bypass surgery. (hmmm, maybe we should suggest this program to Bill Clinton?)
The book is in two main parts. The first part describes heart disease for the average reader. It’s a thorough discussion with big words, but they come with explanations and diagrams, so we were able to follow it and learn something. Dr Esselstyn provides a lot of patient case studies, so we see that the dietary change has helped people with a variety of contributing factors in their heart disease.
The second part of the book contains lots of recipes from Ann Esselstyn, Dr Esselstyn’s wife (he admits the kitchen is her domain). The recipes look great, and even if you’re not interested in the total program, you can use the book for these recipes.
Here’s a summary of Dr Esselstyn’s rules for eating to prevent and reverse heart disease. There’s nothing here that contradicts THM®, and so we fully support this program if your health calls for a stricter interpretation of healthy eating.
Do not eat meat.
Do not eat chicken; not even white meat.
Do not eat fish.
DO not eat any dairy products. That means no skim milk, no nonfat yogurt, no sherbet, and no cheese at all.
Do not eat eggs. That includes egg whites and even egg substitutes that contain egg whites.
Do not use any oil at all. Not even extra virgin olive oil or canola oil.
Use only whole-grain products. That means no white flour products. Be sure the list of ingredients uses a phrase like “whole wheat” or “whole grain.” Avoid semolina and wheat flour, which are actually white. Use brown rice.
Do not drink fruit juice. (It is fine to eat fruit, or to use small amounts of fruit juice in recipes or to flavor beverages.)
Do not eat any nuts (although if you have no heart disease, you can occasionally eat walnuts).
Do not eat avocados. That includes guacamole.
Do not eat coconut.
Eat soy products cautiously. Many are highly processed and high in fat. Use “light” tofu. Avoid soy cheese, which almost always contains oil and casein (dairy).
Read The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell with Thomas M. Campbell II (BenBella Books).
Studies have shown that almost no one with a total cholesterol of 150 mg/dl or lower gets heart disease.
How do you get that number so low?
Surprisingly, drugs are not the best answer. You just have to eat a low-fat, plant-based diet. It’s a bit more extreme than Marilu’s Total Health Makeover® but that’s what some people need. Others will be able to get those results following THM®.
Be sure to get your cholesterol checked at your next physical (you have that scheduled, right?). Ask for the lab results to be mailed to you. Check out the LDL, HDL, and triglyceride numbers. And look at that total number – are you under 150? It’s worth your life to get it there.
We’re glad to see Michele Obama joining the fight for children’s health. Check out Let’s Move, Mrs. Obama’s initiative for healthier eating and more moving for families and children. Some of the information does not align with Marilu’s Total Health Makeover® – that dairy lobby has a strong foothold in all the government recommendations. So read critically, as always.
One idea we like – become an activist for getting kids to move more. That’s your own children and all the children in your community. (It does take a village.)
Children 8-18 spend 7.5 hours a day (on average) as passive recipients of entertainment. That includes televsion, music, video games, cell phones, and movies. We need to work harder at giving our kids safe, supervised places to play, and then we need to make sure they use them.
Questions to ask yourself…
Is your child’s after-school/childcare program activity-based? Or do the kids watch videos?
Does your child’s school have recess? Physical education classes more than 30 minutes a week?
Does your community have children’s sports programs? Is financial assistance available so every child can participate?
Does the community have safe parks and playgrounds?
Are there safe walking and biking routes to all schools? Are kids encouraged to walk or bike to school?
Is your family time focused on the screen, or do you make the effort to get up and move as a family?
Smoking is “the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Smoking…
Is 2 to 6 times more likely to suffer a heart attack than non-smoking women (risk varies by number of cigarettes smoked per day)
Shortens your lifespan – smokers get heart disease at a younger age than non-smokers, and that affects the total lifespan
Increases risk of stroke
Increases risk of lung cancer – death rate from lung cancer for women is now higher than the death rate for breast cancer
Increases risk of other types of cancer – mouth, urinary tract, kidney, and cervix
Causes most cases of chronic obstructive lung disease – includes bronchitis and emphysema
Endangers people around you for all the same things through secondhand smoke – a risk if you smoke indoors or in your car
Harms infants and children – causes breathing problems, ear infections, asthma attacks, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – that’s from secondhand smoke
Interferes with lung growth, causes respiratory illness, increases risk of heart disease and cancer in young smokers
If the health concerns don’t scare you, maybe the vanity concerns will stop you.
Bad breath
Bad taste – it’s true – kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray
Yellow teeth
Smelly clothes
Smelly house and furniture
Greasy windows in your car
There is simply no safe way to smoke. Low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes do not lessen the risks of heart disease or other smoking-related diseases. The only safe and healthful course is not to smoke at all.
Wear Red is a campaign to raise awareness about the number one killer of women – heart disease. They’re working hard to change the perception that heart disease is a “man’s disease.” And it’s working! By teaching more and more women how to talk to their doctors about heart disease, thousands of lives can be saved every year. Because the good news is that heart disease is often preventable!
Help make an impact on Friday, February 5. Bring attention to the issue of women’s heart health. Start by wearing red.
