Heart Health Part I: Know Your Numbers

As January comes to a close I remind people to review the goals they set earlier this month and remember them as we roll into February, and the sweets begin to make a come-back: heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.

Since 1963 congress has required the president to proclaim February as “American Heart Month.”

On both this and my other blog NewMexicoRD.blogspot.com, I will be dedicating the rest of January and all of February to heart disease issues.

From the Wellness perspective, there are modifiable risk factors for heart disease and non-modifiable risk factors. The non-modifiable risk factors, genetic, gender, and age you are just stuck with and as much as you may want to deny them, change them, and/or lie about them you can’t. So let’s discuss the ones you can change or modify.

The first one is your blood. Not your blood type, but the things about you and your risk for heart disease your blood can tell us.

Here is the first thing you need to do to lower you risk for heart disease: Know your numbers – and do something about those numbers.

1. Blood pressure – two numbers – the systolic and diastolic – current recommendations say that you want it to be less than 120/80 mm Hg.
2. Cholesterol numbers (aka lipid panel) taken after a 12 hour fast and you want ALL four numbers – and don’t accept any less than the four! You want to know the values of your:
   a. Total cholesterol – currently less than 200 mg/dl is desirable
   b. LDL (low density lipoprotein) – currently less than 100 mg/dl is optimal
   c. HDL (high density lipoprotein) – less than 40 mg/dl is not good, greater than 60 mg/dl is protective
   d. Triglycerides – less than 150 mg/dl is normal
3. Fasting blood glucose (FBG) taken after a 12 hour fast and you get – one number which should be anywhere between 70 – 100 mg/dl.

Each of these numbers being high, except HDL, is a risk factor for heart disease. A low HDL is a risk. The more numbers that are high, the more you are at risk. High blood glucose is also a risk for diabetes.

When you go to your health care provider for a check up, you should always have your blood pressure checked. When they do that, ask them to tell you or write down the numbers for you!

During your check-up each year or two you should be getting blood work done and it should include the lipid panel/profile and the glucose. About a week to ten days after the test is done, you should get a call from your provider with the results. Ask for the numbers, the results. Or better yet, ask them to mail or fax you a copy of the results or offer to go by and pick them up. These are your results and your records, so there is no reason why you shouldn't have a copy. This way you don’t have to worry about writing the numbers down wrong.

Keep track of these numbers and see how they are changing each year or two. You don’t want them to get worse/higher. You want them to get better (or stay the same if they are already good).

What to do to improve those numbers? Just keep checking in all through February…

What Is Skinny?

It is still the same week of the now historical inauguration of President Obama. Since I was working, I did not see the non-stop coverage on every news channel of the drive to the church a block away, the parade, the crowds, the views of every little this and that to kill time waiting for something to happen, and then the coverage of the drive to the ten inaugural balls that evening. I heard my favorite network had 15 hours of coverage of the whole thing!

Of course this was a fantastic event and not to undermine the day, but the media does like to take a good-great thing and just wring the heck out of it…

One of my co-workers mentioned that one news commentator brought up, again, that President Obama was “too skinny.”

A terrible, and insulting word in my opinion, however, luckily for the President, he is NOT considered “skinny.”

If the reports are to be believed, he is a 6’2” and approximately 190 pounds. With only that to go on, that gives him a body mass index (BMI) of 24.4, placing him in the “normal” weight category.

If our dear president gains a mere five pounds and becomes 195, giving him with a BMI of 25.0 and in the overweight category America! One does not go from skinny to overweight with a five-pound weight gain.

What is wrong with someone that states a man of 6’2” and 190 pounds is “skinny.”

He may be “lean” – with a low body fat percentage for sure, emphasizing one reason that BMI is not the best way to measure a persons “health” or “weight.” However it still indicates that he is in a healthy weight range for now – and should not be concerned about gaining weight.

He does need to keep in mind his smoking habit…and how it affects his health

Stress Part: IV Alcohol and Stress

Many people love to hear when a supposed “vice” has research that supports a benefit to ones health. Alcohol is one of those things that has health benefits, in that it may help reduce your risk of developing heart disease, reduce risk of sudden heart attack, reduce risk of gallstones and perhaps reduce risk of diabetes – IF consumed in moderation.

That is the big one – if consumed in moderation!

Moderation defined: one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men, and NO carry over from one day to the next.

But what is the ONE drink – that is the key!

• 12 fluid ounces of beer (not 16 or 20 or 24 ounces)
• 5 fluid ounces of wine, any color (not 8 fluid ounces, or half a bottle)
• 1½ ounces spirits (one shot)

While this amount of alcohol can provide health benefits, it can also help relax and relieve some stress in some people as well.

However, it can increase stress among some individuals and to those that surround us when consumed in excess.

Excessive alcohol consumption can increase stress from the social consequences of bad or embarrassing behavior. But there are also the potential health consequences that accompany over-consumption of alcohol, best defined as chronically consuming MORE THAN moderate amounts of alcohol for several weeks, months, or years.

• Increase risk of stroke
• Increase risk of high blood pressure
• Increase risk of cancers of the pancreas, mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus and liver
• Increase risk of breast cancer
• Increase risk of heart damage

Of course if you are pregnant, there is no know safe amount. It is suggested/recommended that you not consume alcohol during your pregnancy.

If you have a family history of alcoholism, it is also suggested that you use caution when consuming alcohol and know your risk regarding your family history and alcoholism.

Bottom line: Alcohol can relieve stress in small-moderate amounts, but it can increase stress in greater amounts.

Be Well - and have only that one (or two) drink(s)...

Stress Part III: Time, Time, Time...

People often think the answer to their problems, or at least their stressors, would be more time. If I had more time, I would exercise more, plan healthier meals, read more, etc.

The funny thing is that already nine years into the 21st century and we have more things today that help us save time than our parents did when they were our age.

I the 1970s and 80s we had two phones in the house (and had no idea who was calling). No phone went with us to the store. My mother hand wrote letters, birthday cards, and invitations and my brother and I had to write thank you cards. They generally took a week to get there. We took turns having to open the garage door for the one family car. We didn’t go out to dinner more than once every month or two. And most startling of all: we had one television and NO cable and NO computer. How on earth did we survive without cell phones, email, garage door openers, programs to balance our checkbook and pay our bills?

Now if my mother had time to do all those things, feed us dinner, correspond regularly with family by hand and snail mail, and be present at my school on a unnerving regular basis, and work, then how come she had time to do it all and without the "time savers" we seem to have today.

Unfortunately the “time savers” have increased the stress in our lives, in addition to all those things we “have” to do.

I often tell people, as long as “American Idol” or “Dancing With the Stars” is the number one show on television, trust me, you definitely have time to ______ .

I have suggestions for people to help lower stress levels. First you have to step back a bit and really determine what is important to YOU. For example, I do really like TV, but have decided that I am "allowed" one 60-minute TV show a night in addition to the 60 minutes of local and national news. For example, I used to be a fan of CSI: NY, but when Pushing Daisies came along on the same night I had to choose. Now ABC is moving Life on Mars to Wednesdays, but it looks like Pushing Daisies may be gone. I have to choose a show on Wednesday and I don’t get two hours.

I have other priorities, including maintaining a healthy happy home. It is tough, but I have found by limiting things like television shows that do not enrich my life, have cut down on me being stressed on other things because I have TIME for other things.

Another thing I do around maintaining my home: instead of tackling the cleaning on a Saturday or Sunday in a massive 2-3 hour block, I have split it up into 30 minute bits Monday through Thursday. Usually it comes down to two chores each night that are scheduled for 15 minutes each – such as cleaning the bathroom and dust bedroom. Generally they don’t take 15 minutes anymore, but I can usually to it during the TV show I’m watching (the dusting) or during the commercials (the bathroom). Come the weekend the only thing left is the laundry and that’s a family chore. Since it is the family’s laundry, all three of us are there when it comes out of the dryer to sort, fold and put away.

Major points on time management to ease stress:

1. Prioritize and eliminate the unnecessary – how much reali-tv to you need?
2. Spread it out – it is less tiring to do 20 – 30 minutes of cleaning than 2 – 3 hours!
3. Make sure the whole family helps – especially when it is their stuff.

Think about it - even if you don't act on all of it.
Maybe stop watching that TV show you really aren't interested in anymore?
Or clean dust the living room while you do watch it?
It will be one less thing you have to do later!