Chapters 4, 5 and 6 in Steven Aldana’s book provide a simple guide to reduce your overall risk for heart disease, cancer or prevent a premature heart attack.
Do you know where you are now in terms of your important health numbers (check out Chapter 4). What is your blood pressure? What is your body mass index (BMI) and what are your four cholesterol numbers (total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides)? He only refers to total cholesterol in the book but we know that each type of cholesterol is an independent risk factor. Remember that your low density cholesterol (LDL) should be low or less than 100 and your high density cholesterol (HDL) should be higher or over 40 because it is protective and reduces your heart risk. Again, he keeps the message and the math very simple: “for every 1% drop in total cholesterol you will decrease your risk of having a heart attack by 2-3% and for every point drop in diastolic blood pressure you decrease your heart attack risk by an additional 2-3%”. In his experience working with different employers, he has seen some companies decrease the heart attack risk of their staff by 50%.
Have you seen some of the television commercials where the parent is eating cereal for breakfast in an effort to decrease his or her cholesterol levels? If the cereal contains whole grains, your risk of heart disease can be cut by 35% based on a large study referenced in Chapter 5. Aldana goes on to give us a simple rule to get your daily intake of whole grains: three servings a day or one with each meal. What I like most about whole grains is their rich dietary fiber and overall protection against cancer, which is related to the role fiber plays in keeping our intestines healthy. In addition to protecting against colon cancer, many studies have show that whole grains can also reduce the incidence of breast, pancreatic, stomach, ovarian and other cancers.
In Chapter 6 we learn more about the important role of fruits and vegetables. Do you get more than five and up to seven daily servings? Some studies suggest five to seven servings to get the full protection from phytochemicals. Make sure you read this chapter to learn an easy way to measure servings of fruits and vegetables. A good rule to follow is to make sure that half of your plate contains multi-colored fruits, veggies or salad and the other half is evenly divided with a serving of whole grains and a meat or fish serving. A great motivator is to know that phytochemicals in fruits and veggies fight off the free radicals in our body and in turn slow down the aging process.
Next week we’ll be discussing Chapters 7 and 8. Please read on in The Culprit & The Cure to learn more.
Dr. Tony Linares
