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February is Heart Health Month!
7 Reasons Why We Die of Heart Disease
According to the US Surgeon General, heart attacks and strokes are highly preventable. In fact, seven of ten  Americans who die each year, die of a preventable chronic disease such as heart disease and diabetes [1]. A former US Surgeon General, David Satcher, said, “Currently, 95 percent of the health care dollars in the US are spent on treating disease, with relatively little attention paid to preventing disease, which should be a national priority [2]."
Here are seven things we’re doing wrong…
We Smoke
The risk of dying of a heart attack is four times higher in people who smoke than in those who don’t smoke. Many of us are under the impression that the major danger from smoking is cancer but that’s not quite true; smoking is the major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular disease. In fact, about 40 percent of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease are due to smoking.
We Don’t Walk
Over the past 50 years, health professionals have examined the association between physical activity and the risk for heart disease. The findings consistently reveal that people who are physically active have half the risk for heart attacks than people who are not active. Those studies show also that at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, on most days of the week, is sufficient to reduce the risk of heart attack [3].
We Eat Too Much Saturated Fat
There’s a reason why health authorities advice us to limit the consumption of saturated fat: |
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Saturated fat is the most rigid of all fats and is solid at room temperature. Solid fats are hard to dissolve and can easily get stuck in your arteries.
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When you eat too much saturated fat, your liver keeps producing cholesterol and you end up with much more cholesterol than you need.
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Limit saturated fat consumption to less than 10 percent of the total calories ingested per day.
We Ingest Too Many Foods Containing Hydrogenated Oils or Trans Fats
Hydrogenated oils or trans fats as they are usually called, are produced artificially by injecting molecules of hydrogen in vegetable oils, a process called hydrogenation. Through this process, the oil, which is liquid at room temperature, changes its original form and becomes solid. In other words, it becomes saturated fat. In addition, the unnatural shapes of trans fats cause our cells to become malformed and to malfunction. And that includes the cells of the heart and the arteries.
Read the food label and avoid products which contain trans fats or hydrogenated fats.
We Don’t Eat Enough Fruits and Vegetables
We know that people who consume plant foods regularly have a lower incidence of heart disease than those who don’t include them in their diet.
Fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, nonnutritive chemicals found in plant foods that protect their host plants from infections and microbial invasions. However, phytochemicals are also crucial in protecting humans against many diseases, including heart disease.
We Have Too Much Stress
Eighty percent of the population suffers from some kind of symptoms caused by stress which many times end up in illnesses such as high blood pressure—a risk factor for heart attack.
One of the reasons why you succumb to disease easily is because tension reduces your capacity to adapt to today’s changing environment.
We Drink too Much Alcohol
Avoid high alcohol consumption. 5 to 7 percent of the hypertension we see in people is due to high alcohol intake. The Health World Organization estimates that almost 2/3 of strokes and 50 percent of heart attacks are caused by high blood pressure.
References |
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10 Things Every Woman Should Know About Heart Disease
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Know Your Fats
Not all fats are equal. Becoming educated on the types of dietary fats can help lower your risk of heart disease.
Knowing which fats can lower or raise blood cholesterol is an important step in reducing the risk of heart disease. Saturated fat, trans-fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol, while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats don't. There are some studies that suggest monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats can even help lower LDL cholesterol slightly when consumed in your diet.
The Good Fats
Unsaturated Fats: Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the two unsaturated fats. |
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Polyunsaturated fats: These include safflower, sesame and sunflower seeds, corn and soybeans, many nuts and seeds and their oils.
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Monounsaturated fats: These include canola, olive and peanut oils, and avocados.
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Both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats may help lower your blood cholesterol level when you use them in place of saturated fats in your diet. But remember, fat should always be consumed in moderation, even unsaturated fats.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: There’s evidence that intake of recommended amounts of DHA and EPA in the form of dietary fish or fish oil supplements lowers triglycerides, reduces the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease; slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques (hardening of the arteries); and lowers blood pressure slightly.
The American Heart Association reports that supplementation with 2 – 4 grams of EPA and DHA each day can lower triglycerides by 20 – 40 percent and suggests that people with known coronary heart disease consume  approximately 1 gram of EPA and DHA (combined) each day.
Unicity offers OmegaLife-3, which provides beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.
OmegaLife-3 Profile | Science
In addition, Unicity offers EFA (short for Essential Fatty Acids), a daily blend of essential fatty acids which support the immune and cardiovascular system and nourishes the brain and nerves.
EFA Science |
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The Bad Fats |
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Saturated Fats: Saturated fats are the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your saturated fat intake to 7 – 10 percent of total calories (or less) each day. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. |
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Foods from animals: These include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole milk. These foods also contain dietary cholesterol.
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Foods from plants: These include coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.
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Hydrogenated Fats: Hydrogenated fats are notorious for raising blood cholesterol. These fats undergo a chemical process known as hydrogenation (bombarded with hydrogen atoms). Some examples are margarine and shortening.
Trans-fatty Acids: In clinical studies, Trans-fatty acids (TFA) or hydrogenated fats tend to raise total blood cholesterol levels. Some scientists believe they raise cholesterol levels more than saturated fats. TFA also tend to raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol when used instead of cis fatty acids or natural oils. These changes may increase the risk of heart disease.
Trans-fatty acids are found in small amounts in various animal products such as beef, pork, lamb, and the butterfat in butter and milk. TFA are also formed during the process of hydrogenation, making margarine, shortening, cooking oils, and the foods made from them a major source of TFA in the American diet. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils provide about three-fourths of the TFA in the US diet. |
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How to Decrease Your Intake of Bad Fats |
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Featured Product of the Month—
Shaken? Stirred? How do You Take Your Bios Life?
Bios Life Starter Pack Gives You Everything You Need to Start Taking Bios Life
The Bios Life Starter Pack has it all—not only does it give you a canister of Bios Life, it gives you all you need to make sure that you’re taking Bios Life throughout the day.
Shaker Cup—Want to offer Bios Life to your friend or prospect? This handy Bios Life branded shaker cup comes with its own lid to let you shake it up—no matter where you are.
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Mini Hand Mixer—Innovative mini mixer makes stirring with a spoon obsolete. Mixes up your Bios Life in just seconds flat.
Designer Tote—This sophisticated Bios Life branded tote keeps your Bios Life, shaker cup, funnel, and mini hand mixer all together in one revolutionary package for you or for the perfect Bios Life introductory gift set. |
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Watched Us Lately?
Unicity videos posted online in Business Tools section.
If you haven’t visited www.Unicity.net lately, you’ve been missing out.  One of the many upgrades has been the inclusion of many of Unicity’s latest video projects.
You’re able to see and share product videos for Reviv and Bios Life, business building videos such as the San Diego Convention Wrap-up, and see Stewart Hughes in action as he discusses Bios Life and teaches his Keys to Success.
What’s more, the video section shows why the 2008 Women’s Summit was such a success and has convention highlights from the exciting Unicity Thailand Convention.
All videos are available in QuickTime, Windows Media, and Flash formats and can be downloaded for viewing on your iPod.
Click here to see the entire selection of Unicity videos. Check back frequently for more videos! |
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