Archive for January, 2007
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Childhood Obesity: Your Kids And Heart Disease!
Shockingly, it is estimated that 22 million of the world’s children under 5 are overweight or obese and approximately one in four American children are overweight. The problem this presents is that these children are more susceptible to pediatric hypertension, type II diabetes, greater risk of heart disease, the extra burden of weight on joints, not to mention, the social effects with peers. The medical community has already indicated a surge in childhood diabetes and of the children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese.
Childhood obesity can be caused by a combination of many factors, but certainly two of the biggest contributors are lack of exercise and poor dietary habits.
Today’s youth spend several hours a day in front of televisions and computers. These activities, along with the lack of physical exercise programs at school, are not providing the energy the body requires to burn off calorie intake. Plus, energy levels continue to decline as additional weight is gained, inhibiting the desire to spend the recommended 30 minutes of daily exercise (in addition to what the child may receive during school). The benefits to physical exercise are extremely important though as it will reduce the risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, along with reducing or maintaining body weight. Additional benefits include, building healthy muscles, bones and joints and improving depression and over all psychological well-being.
Dietary habits contribute to obesity as well and have changed greatly over time. Due to the busy lifestyles of two income households, the demand for quick and easy microwaveable food, fast food and snack foods have increased drastically. Also, many children are substituting soda and vending machine snacks for school lunches. Unfortunately, most of these types of foods are high in salt, sugar, fat or calories and have low nutrient content.
Bottom line, children look for role models. If they see the adults around them exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet, they will be more apt to do those things as well. Fun family activities could include a walk, a bike ride, playing at the playground and shooting hoops on the basketball court.
A final note, if your child is overweight, consult your doctor. Rare hormonal disorders and/or other medical conditions can be diagnosed with blood tests and medical exams.
About the author:
Ray Kelly is an Exercise Scientist with 15 years experience in the health and fitness industry. Find out more about symptoms of heart disease at Risk Factors for Heart Disease or http://www.free-online-health.com
Written By: Ray Kelly
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Foods And Exercises For A Healthy Heart
A healthy heart is necessary for a healthy life. If you get any heart disease then you will lose a lot in your life even though you have a lot of money. Eating healthy to maintain a healthy heart is an essential thing in life. You have to be careful in choosing your food so that you can avoid any heart disease. Your food should contain less of fat, sodium, calories and have more fiber content.
Meat, butter, cheese, and milk contain more fat and hence they should be taken in fewer quantities. If you take less sodium your blood pressure is reduced to some extent and this helps in avoiding the risks of a heart disease. Problems of the heart come to the persons who are obese. It is essential to reduce the weight to avoid a heart disease. To reduce weight you have to take fewer calories. Foods that contain more fiber content can be taken. Fruits, vegetables, and grains contain more fiber content.
One of the other factors that lead to a heart disease is a sedentary life style. People who have this style of life should do some exercise that aims at strengthening your heart. With the advent of technology based jobs more and more people are working in computers. These people who work in the computer often sit before the computer without doing any physical activity. The only thing that is active is their brain and their fingers! Such people should take frequent breaks to have a little walk which can refresh them to a greater extent. Some people try to relax by sitting before the television. Either you sit before your computer or in front of the TV. This is also a bad habit. If you want to relax try to take a walk outside. Walking is a good exercise for your heart. A brisk walk for about 40 minutes daily will change your life beyond your expectations. Try it.
Cardiovascular or aerobic exercise can also be done to strengthen your heart. Some of the aerobic exercises are bicycling, jogging, jumping rope and skating. These exercises can be done for at least 20 to 30 minutes, 3 or 4 times a week. It is better to have an exercise schedule every alternate day. This habit makes you do your exercises regularly and without getting tired. If you are overweight then it is time to a look at your work schedule and allot some time for exercises. This will help you in the long way to have a healthy heart.
About the Author:
John Totum writes many articles pertaining to his passion of maintaining a healthy heart. Please visit Healthy Heart Living for more information.
Written By: John Totum
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Know Your Heart Health
We all know that keeping up with our heart health is an important thing to do. We all know that there are a wide variety of factors that cause heart problems, and we should know by now that there are some basic ways to help protect the health of our hearts. What many people do not realize, however, is that keys to their heart health may be different than keys to the heart health of others.
There are almost as many strategies and tips for having good heart health as there are people with hearts in the world. It is important that each person takes the time to learn about his or her own heart health and to learn about the possible methods of ensuring heart health for years to come.
One of the best ways for anyone to become familiar with the needs of their heart is to see a physician. Schedule a visit to see your doctor and plan to discuss your heart health with him or her. If you can think of any questions or concerns you have regarding your heart health, write them down and bring them along. It will also be very helpful if you have a record of your extended family’s heart health history. It is likely that your physician will want to discuss more than just your own heart health. He or she will want to look for patterns or trends that have affected other people you’re related to.
A physician can help you determine not only the current health of your heart, but also give you a better understanding of specific things you can do to help prevent heart attack or heart disease. For some people, the most significant factor in achieving and maintaining heart health is to change their diet. The foods we choose to put into our bodies affect our heart health in more ways than we know. Eating large amounts of sugar, carbohydrates or processed foods will eventually take their toll on our heart health. Your physician can set you up with a dietician who specializes in creating unique diet plans that promote heart health.
For other people, it is their exercise and physical fitness habits that a physician will address. Heart health can be significantly altered based upon a person’s level of exercise. Your physician will be able to help you create a fitness plan that will be effective for you and your heart health needs.
It is never too late to take your heart health seriously. Make an appointment to see your physician today.
About the Author:
Denton Krypps has been consulting people to take their heart health seriously ever since battling back from a nearly fatal heart attack ten years ago. Check out www.hearthealthgroup.info for the sake of your heart.
Written By: Denton Krypps
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Oral Hygiene And Heart Disease
There are many obvious reasons to take good care of youre teeth and gums, for instance having white, attractive teeth, fresh breath, no cavities, less dental trips, gum disease, and gingivitis. However, researches have discovered recently that having good oral hygiene can also lead to a healthy heart.
Research has shown that people who have periodontal also have a much increased risk of having thicker carotid arteries which can lead to heart disease and stroke. This means that, the higher amount of plaque you have in your mouth is going to equal higher amounts of plaque in your heart and arteries. The connection between these two diseases is not entirely known, but scientists speculate that periodontal disease may start a surge of chemical reactions that can cause inflammation throughout the body.
In order to protect yourself from the scary proposition of heart disease you should not only be more active and eat a healthy diet, but you should also start taking better care of your teeth. Did you know that there are more bacteria in your mouth than there is on the surface of the earth? And the if that bacteria is not cleaned out regularly it will settle in your mouth and cause gum disease. Most people dont want to admit that they are at risk for having gum disease but in fact, about 90% of adults are in at least the beginning stages of gum disease, and those people (including children) who are diabetic are at an even higher risk for contracting the disease. But, not all the news is bad, there are many ways you can prevent gum disease, and consequently, also help prevent heart problems. The steps you should take are as follows: brush your teeth twice a day, floss your teeth once a day, visit your dentist twice a year, and learn about and look for the early stages of gum disease.
Maybe you are worried that you might already have gum disease. If that is the case, you should be looking for the following warning signs. Bleeding gums when brushing or flossing, red, swollen, and tender gums, gums that have pulled away from the tooth, exposing part of the root or making the teeth appear longer, bad breath, and permanently loose teeth. If you do have any of the above symptoms, please contact your doctor as soon as possible because if gum disease is left untreated in will only get worse.
About the Author:
Barney Garcia writes about many different topics. www.the-tooth-brush.info and top-cosmetic-dentistry.info and diseased-heart.info
Written By: Barney Garcia
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Mixed Signals – More on Heart Monitors
As I mentioned before, heart monitors are an excellent source of cardio data to help manage your workouts. This morning I was doing some cross training on a large stair stepping machine (you can get a great workout from these machines–use them for cross training once or twice a week and try not to hold onto the rails so you maximize your exertion level and core balancing) and I was, of course, wearing my heart monitor. Next to me on a similar machine was a younger and quite fit woman who had been working out there when I arrived. After about 10 minutes into my routine I glanced down at the monitor display on my wrist and noticed a steady read out of 155 beats per minute. This was really high for the level of exertion that I was putting out and I immediately wondered what was going on. Had I lost that much fitness level in one day? Impossible. But the heart monitors are very accurate. Occasionally, the monitors give out a brief inaccurate reading, but they almost always correct quickly and if you see a steady readout over time, it’s normally correct.
Then I glanced at the person next to me and noticed she was wearing a monitor as well. So I was obviously picking up the signal from her transponder on my receiver. I switched my wrist receiver to the other side and immediately started reading a more normal 138 beats per minute for that level of exertion. I’d experienced a similar phenomenon in spinning class sometime ago but had forgotten about it.
A rough guide to your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220 and some suggest that you should use a slightly higher figure than 220, say 225, if you are a man. This is only a rough guide and there are more sophisticated ways to gauge your estimated personal maximum heart rate. Once you have a feel for your max heart rate, a monitor is going to tell you how strenuous a workout you are getting at any one point in time. This is incredibly valuable information. The heart monitor is invaluable for circuit training and interval training. Generally speaking, getting your heart rate up is going to give you a more complete workout and burn more calories. As always, check with your doctor before starting a workout program and discuss your target heart rates with her.
So, if you are working out in close quarters with someone, make sure that signal you are reading on your heart monitor is really coming from your own heart.
About the Author
For information on fitness and health products,stability ball exercises and bosu ball,please visit http://www.getfitsource.com
Written By: Stella Parker
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Vitamins Keep Your Heart Fighting Fit
Vitamins are essential to keep your heart healthy. Of course, you need to eat the right foods with less fat and cholesterol, but you need to supplement your food with vitamins to keep your body in the best shape and your heart pumping for a long time.
Vitamin E is the first vitamin that pops into the mind of those that are looking to improve their overall heart health. Vitamin E seems to stop cholesterol in the body from oxidizing and harming the arteries surrounding the heart. When cholesterol oxidizes, it’s more able to stick to the sides of the arteries and cause buildup and possible blockage that can lead to heart attacks and other infarctions.
Doctors often recommend additional supplements of vitamin E. Or, they suggest you include more foods rich in vitamin E in your diet. Nuts, like almonds, for example, are a terrific way to get your daily dose of vitamin E.
Vitamin E also seems to be showing a lot of promise for those patients that have already suffered a heart attack. The vitamin seems to prevent additional heart attacks by encouraging the arteries to be more ‘open’ and less conducive to blockage.
Doctors are of the opinion that supplements of Vitamin C can help boost the effect of Vitamin E and make it work even better. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps to prevent the damaging effects of cholesterol, and at the same time it assists Vitamin E in its beneficial effects.
If you take vitamins E and C together, you are on your way to creating a healthier heart and better artery function. This is the easiest way to ensure the health of your heart, especially if you have a history of heart disease or you are concerned about the risk to your heart.
So how much should you take? Well, ideal doses may vary from patient to patient, but 400IU (international units) of vitamin E seems to work well for most people. Vitamin C is tolerable in higher doses without harmful effects. You can safely take 500miligram of vitamin C twice a day, mornings and evenings, to help keep your heart fighting fit.
And studies are backing up this additional step in your day. Talk with your doctor in case you are on any medications for there are some that will interact or need to be taken at different times to be more effective.
A good, nutritious eating plan is the ideal way to get your daily doses of vitamins. But taking additional supplements is sensible, and recommended and if you’re trying to boost your heart health.
About The Author
Perry Stamide runs the web site Fed Vitamins, which is a premier resource for vitamins on the Net. For more details please visit: http://www.fedvitamins.com.
Written By: Perry Stamide
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