February is National Heart Disease Awareness Month. As a trusted advisor of Heart Health in New Jersey, Michael Rothman MD is posting a series of articles addressing targeted age groups.
Each day, heart disease, “the silent killer” destroys the lives of thousands of people in the United States. In fact, The Center for Disease Control estimates that 600,000 Americans die of heart disease each year, the cause of roughly 1 in every 4 deaths. Furthermore, every year almost 935,000 people suffer from a heart attack. This is indeed very disturbing news. The good news is that heart disease is almost completely preventable. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” definitely applies to heart disease. Do not wait, start protecting yourself today!
Prevention starts early.
Shockingly, studies have shown that a large number of young adults are suffering from buildup of plaque in their arteries. The single most important thing that you can do for yourself to reduce your chances of developing heart disease is to eat and exercise properly. Unfortunately, many of the so called “heart-healthy” mass promoted recommendations are actually not good for you or your heart. The earlier you begin to incorporate real healthy habits the better off you will be.
Excercise – Less is More
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to spend your entire day at the gym in order to improve your health. Scientific studies repeatedly show that while you do need to move your body every day, trendy exercises that emphasize slow, repetitive routines are time consuming, boring, and not very beneficial. Instead, opt for high intensity exercises like sprint interval training which targets cardiovascular health in a fraction of time compared to a mundane, time consuming workout on an elliptical or a treadmill.
Consider your car as an example of how to optimize longevity and performance. Certainly the best way to maintain a brand new vehicle would be to keep it safe in your garage, drive it sparingly, and schedule proper maintenance. You would need to drive your car a few times each week out on the highway, reaching fairly high speeds for a short distance and then return safely to your garage. Obviously if you never drove your car at all, its components would suffer and you would have difficulty starting it. Conversely, if you drove your car for hours each day, in stop and go traffic, you would evidently wear out all the parts: tires, brakes, engine, and transmission. Keep in mind that exercising to get your circulation moving and building muscle is benefit enough. Over training is much, much worse for your body then not training enough. Believe it or not, the average coach potato will outlive elite, high performance athletes. You should be able to achieve optimal health while training 90-120 minutes each week. When it comes to working out, opt for intensity not volume.
“Heart-Healthy” Diets Actually Cause Heart Disease
Many foods are being promoted as being “heart-healthy”, and these foods all have one thing in common. These supposedly healthy foods are very low in fat. The problem is that low fat diets are by definition high in carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates in your diet will promote weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure and eventually heart disease. These low fat diets have been popularly promoted for several decades, yet the incidence of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases continues to rise. Consider the first food you ever consumed – breast milk. Breast milk is 55% saturated fat (by caloric intake) and high in cholesterol, the perfect food for a growing infant. This formula for optimal growth also happens to represent a healthy proportion of foodstuff for you at any age. The notion that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol is dangerous was made up by major food corporations decades ago in an attempt to popularize the use of margarines and vegetable oils. This “Big Fat Lie” is perhaps the biggest contributor when it comes to heart disease development. You must avoid sugars, excess carbohydrates, fried foods, processed foods and vegetable oils if you want to promote true heart health.
The World is not Flat
Start practicing true “heart-healthy” habits while you are young, the sooner the better. Just because “everybody” says something is true does not make it so. At one point in time, most people believed the world was flat, and it was considered heresy to suggest otherwise. The world is not flat and a majority of commonly accepted “heart-healthy” recommendations are not healthy at all. Understanding the hidden dangers of seemingly healthy choices is one step closer to heart health. If you have a close relative who’s suffered from heart disease, your chances of also being genetically predisposed increases. Taking the time to talk with a professional Physician, Dr. Michael Rothman, will assist making scientifically validated decisions about your future well-being. Visit Dr.Rothman and Michael Rothman MD in Red Bank, NJ for guidance in sustaining a long and healthy life.
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