Nutrition and Weight Loss Ideas

How’s Your Heart Doing?

When was the last time anyone asked you that question? That’s not a question you hear very often. However, it certainly IS a question you should be asking yourself as part of your wellness, fitness and weight loss program.

When you go to your doctor for a routine physical exam (you ARE doing this at least once a year, aren’t you?) it is the usual procedure to take some blood samples. They do this for a “lipoprotein” profile. This profile measures your cholesterol and your triglycerides (that’s a kind of fat that circulates in your blood).

If you’re a young person your doctor probably won’t check for this once a year. If, however, you have a family history of heart disease, you should definitely have this done every year. If you are overweight this test is also vital. My own personal feeling is that everyone should have this done every year, especially with the diet habits in the USA.

February is National Heart Health Month, so it’s the perfect time to gain an understanding of this profile and learn whether you’re at high risk for heart disease.

In order to get an accurate reading, your doctor will ask you to fast for nine to 12 hours before your blood is drawn. Most doctors will schedule for this test in the morning so you won’t have to avoid eating at regular meal times. They do that so your blood chemistry won’t be compromised by the foods you eat.

Here’s what you will learn from this lipoprotein profile:

* Total cholesterol
* HDL (the “good”) cholesterol
* LDL (the “bad”) cholesterol
* Triglycerides (blood fats)

Government and health organizations recommend the following cholesterol and triglyceride levels for the general public:

* Total cholesterol less than 200 mg/dL
* LDL cholesterol less than 100 mg/dL;
* HDL cholesterol greater than 40 mg/dL
* Triglycerides less than 150 mg/dL

Cholesterol and triglyceride levels that fall outside of this range are considered risk factors for heart disease. For individuals who have a higher risk for heart disease, such as those who have sustained a heart attack, the recommended ranges are set even lower than the levels above.

As we’ve talked about at length in these articles, one of the best ways to keep yourself “heart-healthy” is to modify your lifestyle. Reduce the amount of saturated fat and dietary cholesterol you eat — and get on a regular, daily exercise program.

If you smoke — QUIT! Believe it or not, quitting smoking will raise your HDL (that’s the good stuff).

If you have a family history of heart disease that’s even more reason to really get motivated and start eating properly and exercising regularly. If your levels are not in the safe range, talk to your doctor and see what lifestyle changes you can undertake. Sometimes, if your levels are too far out of line, medication may be recommended.

Do whatever it takes — but just make sure you do it.

In addition to being careful with what I eat and staying with my regular exercise, I do add some nutritional supplements to my wellness, fitness and weight loss program. Here is some further information about this:

Have a great day. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more wellness, fitness and weight loss thoughts for you. Remember, get that blood test done so you know what you need to do to keep your hearth healthy.

Shanti,

Ron
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