She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not
by Kathleen Daelemans

February is one of my favorite months because Valentine's Day is a perfectly legitimate excuse to eat fine imported dark chocolates throughout the season which begins the minute Target stocks conversation candy hearts and doesn't end until they've marked them down for clearance. Okay, more than the chocolate, I look forward to the handmade Valentine's cards my nieces send me every year. Professionally, I look forward to February because it's National Heart Health Month, a perfectly good excuse to talk about one of my favorite subjects; heart disease. It's not my favorite because I love it. But I love my mom and she has it which means I'm a candidate too.

Heart disease takes the lives of more sisters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers and girlfriends than the next seven leading causes of death, including all cancers. More women than men die of heart disease each year and right this very minute, one in five women has some form of cardiovascular disease.

Knowledge is Power
Less than half of women know that heart disease is their number one killer. In fact, 60% of women named breast cancer as their number one health concern yet heart disease claims 18 times more women worldwide. Heart disease can be prevented, controlled and or treated with diet, exercise and in some cases, medications. In a recent American Heart Association survey, "93% of women surveyed say they would feel comfortable talking to their doctor about preventive and treatment options regarding their health, yet only 38% ask their doctors to talk to them about heart disease when discussing their health."

True Love: Risk Factors You Can Control

Cholesterol
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, "More than 90 million American adults have elevated blood cholesterol levels, one of the key risk factors for heart disease." If you haven't had yours checked within the last 365 days, make an appointment to do so. It's a simple blood test.

Your doctor might decide to put you on medication to lower your cholesterol but it can also be lowered by you. My father lowered his cholesterol 38 points just by eating a bowl of oatmeal every day. He doesn't always have it for breakfast but he's religious about his oatmeal and doesn't miss a day, "I'd rather eat a creamy bowl of oatmeal than pop a mouthful of ghastly pills any day".

If you want to lower your cholesterol, follow these simple guidelines:

• Limit your intake of saturated fats. How do you know if a fat is saturated? It remains solid at room temperature. Think tub of Crisco. Other examples; animal fats such as the marbled fat in steaks, crispy fried chicken skin, and the fat in dairy products. Fast food and processed foods like cookies, cakes and pies contain a lot of saturated fats. Coconut, palm kernel and coconut oils are examples of saturated vegetable oils. Hydrogenated oils are made more saturated in processing and should be avoided or strictly limited.
  
  
• Gradually adapt and make every effort to follow the New Dietary Guidelines
  
  
• Maintain a healthy weight
  
  
• Exercise 30-60 minutes a day

High Blood Pressure
A recent Federal Government analysis revealed that the number of Americans with high blood pressure has increased dramatically, from 50 million between 1988 to 1994 to at least 65 million in the period from 1999 to 2000. The American Heart Association reports, "Nearly one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people don't know they have it... Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to stroke, heart attack, heart failure or kidney failure." There's only one way to find out if you're at risk and that's to have your blood pressure checked.

Blood Glucose and Diabetes
Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes. Diabetes can lead to heart disease. To learn more, click here: http://www.s2mw.com/heartofdiabetes/index.html

Body Mass Index
"Your body is made up of water, fat, protein, carbohydrate and various vitamins and minerals. If you have too much fat—especially if a lot of it's located at your waist—you're at higher risk for health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and consequently, heart disease and stroke." To calculate your BMI, click here: http://www.s2mw.com/simplesolutions/bodymass.html

Exercise
When you're overweight, your heart has to work harder. Even a small reduction in weight can lead to significant health improvements and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases. The New Dietary Guidelines for Americans state, "To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above the usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week." And it goes on to recommend, "To help manage body weight and prevent gradual unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity activity on most days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements".

Nutrition
Food is your first line of defense. If you want to be healthy, eat healthy. No one says you have to figure this all out on your own. Utilize the resources available to you. Start with your doctor. Make an appointment with a dietician. Research diets to find out which one might be right for you. If you're not a fan of diets, and I'm not, eat less and move more. Read healthy cookbooks, pick up the latest copy of Cooking Light. Log on to the forum and swap recipes with the very best of them.

Smoking
"Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases exercise tolerance and increases the tendency for blood to clot...", according to the American Heart Association. But you can do something about it.

The damage isn't done. A year after quitting and your risk of heart disease is cut in half. Within 5 to 15 years your risk of having a stroke is equal to that of a nonsmoker. First heart attacks in women are likely to be fatal and women who smoke risk having a heart attack 19 years sooner than nonsmoking women.

Girl Power
Save your life. Know your numbers. If you don't like them, change them. It's as easy to maintain an unhealthy lifestyle as it is to maintain an unhealthy one and it's a whole lot more gratifying. Nothing feels better than a mind and heart free of guilt. If you can't figure out how to get started, drop me a line: kd@chefkathleen.com, I'm always around.