Posts Tagged ‘Florida’

• How 40,000 People Reversed Heart Disease

  Date: 2008.07.24 | Category: Heart Tips | Response: 0

  It is well known that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that approximately 75% of Western diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, gout, arthritis, excess weight gain, hypertension, diabetes, some cancers, impotence, biventricular disease, constipation, heartburn, and gallbladder disease, are lifestyle-related. They are directly correlated with our high fat diet, inadequate amounts of exercise, smoking, high intake of caffeine, and high amounts of stress coupled with insufficient support.

  Hoping to address this alarming situation, more than 20 years ago, cardiovascular epidemiologist Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, created the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). Since then, this 40-hour community-based lifestyle intervention program has helped more than 40,000 people rediscover their health by preventing, arresting and reversing their diseases. It has been conducted in more than 150 North American cities as well as in Bangalore, India, Australia and Switzerland. Depending upon the needs of the group, the meetings are held either live with Dr. Diehl delivering the program personally (usually meeting four times per week for four weeks) or as a video-based program with certified CHIP facilitators (normally two times per week for eight weeks). In addition, Dr. Diehl is a best-selling author To Your Health, Dynamic Living, and Health Power (co-authored with Aileen Ludington, M.D.) — as well as the executive editor of a 24-page quarterly Lifeline Health Letter; he has produced scores of health videos. CHIP empowers people through its scientifically-documented, educational and inspirational program that addresses common western diseases — those that used to be seen primarily later in life. Today, these diseases increasingly appear at far younger ages. CHIP may make all the difference in ones life — even the difference between life and death.

  In 1999, CHIP launched a community health transformation template in Rockford, Illinois, a city with a population of 130,000. The intention was to transform Rockford into the healthiest city in American, thereby enabling it to serve as a model and template for cultural transformation on a community-wide level. Recently, CHIP was recognized as just such a model by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and was approved under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a STEPS to a HealthierUS applicant. In addition to live CHIP, a series of CHIP videos are offered through schools, churches, corporations, and hospitals. In Rockford, CHIP is sponsored by the Swedish American Health Systems Center for Complementary Medicine.

  Who is the typical CHIP participant? Generally, CHIP participants are over the age of 40. Most are between the ages of 50 and 59. There are twice as many women as men, and almost 90% are married. Clinical research, published in peer review journals, has found that they have the following lifestyle diseases:

  10% report having heart disease

  27% have elevated blood sugar

  42% are overweight

  49% show evidence of hypertension

  60% are obese

  89% are cholesterol above 160mg%

  Over the course of the program, strict adherents are likely to experience significant clinical improvements such as the following:

  Serum cholesterol reduction average 15 20%

  Average weight loss of six pounds

  In about half of the participants with type 11 diabetes, a dramatic reduction in need for insulin and hypoglycemic agents

  Lowering of high blood pressure levels

  Diminishing of angina

  Reduced levels of depression and increase in self-esteem

  Class & Video Lecture Schedule

  Week 1

  Modern Medicine: Miracles, Medicines, & Mirages
  The limitations of high-tech medical approaches in dealing with lifestyle related diseases
  Portrait of a Killer: Onslaught from Within
  Atherosclerosis, the culprit in many lifestyle diseases
  Stalking the Killer
  Reviewing the risk factors for coronary heart disease
  Eat More and Weigh Less
  Basic guidelines for healthy, sustained weight loss

  Week 2

  Going Up in Smoke
  Smoking the most controllable risk factor for coronary heart disease
  The Magic of Fiber
  The role of fiber in preventing and reversing lifestyle diseases
  Reversing Hypertension
  Changing the major risk factors for high blood pressure
  Disarming Diabetes
  Lifestyle factors that can arrest or reverse diabetes
  Effective Cholesterol Control
  Dietary factors that prominently affect blood levels of cholesterol
  Fats in the Fire
  The role of excessive fat intake in lifestyle diseases

  Week 3

  Fit at Any Age
  Benefits of regular exercise in preventing and arresting disease
  Boning Up on Osteoporosis
  Cause and prevention of this so-called disease of aging
  Lifestyle and Health
  Clinical studies that demonstrate how lifestyle choices are related to health
  The Optimal Diet
  Positive dietary guidelines for the prevention and reversal of Western diseases

  Week 4

  Diet and Cancer
  Dietary factors in the development and prevention of common cancers
  Atherosclerosis of the Mind
  The importance of adaptability in achieving and maintaining optimal health
  The Gift of Forgiveness
  How a spirit of forgiveness enhances emotional and overall health
  Building Self-Worth
  The development, preservation and role of self worth in a healthy person

  Connie Thebarges Story

  At the age of 59, Connie Thebarge, a patient at the Ottawa Heart Institute in British Columbia, Canada, was told that her doctors could no longer help her. After all, in addition to suffering from hypertension, she had diabetes and painful diabetic neuropathy. She had two heart attacks followed by a triple coronary bypass surgery and an unsuccessful angioplasty. Every day, she had to take 27 pills. Not surprisingly, she was also depressed.

  Yet, today, more than a decade later, Thebarge walks three miles a day, swims twice a week, dances, and travels to Florida and Europe. No longer depressed, she also requires far fewer pills. How was this accomplished? Thebarge participated in CHIP and transformed her life.

  Written by the Editors at Weight Loss Buddy Press in collaboration with Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, FACN, CNS

  Copyright © 2004, by Weight Loss Buddy Press

  May be reproduced and distributed as is.

  Joey Dweck- your Weight Loss Buddy

  http://weightlossbuddy.com

  PO Box 488 Tenafly NJ 07670

  Tel. 877-BuddyUp

  Written By: Joey Dweck

• Exercise for a Healthy Heart

  Date: 2007.08.16 | Category: Heart Tips | Response: 0

  Do you exercise every day? If you want to live a long, healthy life, maybe you should.

  A recent study by Timothy Wessel, a physician at the University of Florida, indicates one of the strongest risk factors for developing heart disease is inactivity even more so than being overweight. During the four-year study of 906 women, Dr. Wessel documented those who were moderately active were less likely to develop heart disease than sedentary women, no matter how much they weighed. The study concluded: These results suggest that fitness may be more
  important than overweight or obesity for cardiovascular risk in women.

  In January, the updated U.S. Dietary Guidelines strongly urged that everyone should take part in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days, above whatever activities they do at home or work. To loose weight or to avoid gaining weight as we age, 60 minutes of daily moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended. And those who have already lost weight and are attempting to keep weight off need 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise.

  A study of 9,611 adults by the University of Michigan Health System, found that people in their 50s and 60s who participated in daily exercise were 35 percent less likely to die within the next eight years than their inactive couch potato counter parts.

  Convinced that its time to add exercise to your day?

  The Basics — Make Exercise a Life Priority:

  - If youre not use to exercising, check with your doctor before beginning any strenuous fitness routine.

  - Start slow. If 30 minutes of exercise is too much, start with 15 minutes and add a few minutes each day.

  - If you dont have time for 60 minutes of exercise, break it up into two 30-minute sessions throughout the day.

  - Schedule a specific time to exercise everyday then keep to your schedule!

  - Take part in more intense activities that can improve your heart health, such as: running, dancing, swimming, cycling, and climbing stairs.

  - Find exercise that you enjoy. You will be more likely to continue and improve your daily performance if you look forward to a favorite activity.

  - Wear proper clothing and footwear. This has two functions. Clothing and shoes that are suited to your activity will enhance performance and offer the right kind of support for your body and feet. They will also place you in a better frame of mind for exercise. When you wear your favorite running outfit and slide into your special running shoes, your mind says its time to get out the door and put my feet in motion!

  - Add everyday activities to increase your overall fitness level, such as gardening, housework, walking to the store, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and raking leaves.

  - Always drink lots of water.

  - If you feel discomfort or pain after an activity, use ice therapy immediately to reduce swelling and numb pain. Always have a cold pack in your freezer, ready and waiting. Most aches and pains attributed to exercise respond well to icing and will melt away within 24 hours after applying ice for several 20-minute sessions. Using cold therapy reduces down time, getting you back on schedule fast. (If the pain does not lessen within 48 hours after using ice therapy, is intense or becomes worse, see your doctor.)

  Exercise every daytake care of your heartlive long!

  Disclaimer: This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or consultation. Always consult with your physician in the event of a serious injury

  About the Author

  About the Author: Louise Roach: health and fitness editor,
  marketing specialist, product development consultant. Helps others find pain relief through the use of SnowPack Cold Therapy products. Learn more about the benefits of cold therapy at http://www.snowpackusa.com/ Sign up for *free* health/fitness e-newsletter at: http://home.netcom.com/~newsflash/

  Written By: Louise Roach