Most of us are used to the age-old saying “Live and learn,” but when you’re providing care to people with preventable chronic disease, you realize very quickly that we don’t have that luxury indefinitely. So, that saying changes to “Learn and live.”
In the next 20 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projects that heart disease deaths will increase sharply.1
In that same time, the AHA estimates that the percentage of the US population living with heart disease will reach over 40%.
According to a recent estimate by the AHA, the cost of treating this preventable disease will skyrocket from $171 billion to $275 billion. These figures make it clear that if we want to keep living, and living well, we need to start learning how to protect our health.
Thankfully, it’s possible to live well while pursuing heart health. Studies by Dr. Dean Ornish, a leading researcher in the field, found that many patients can avoid major surgery and lessen their medication by making changes to their diet and lifestyle.
A low-fat, plant-based diet, regular exercise and stress-reducing activities like meditation have all been found to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Many people may see adopting a new diet and exercise regimen as something they have to force themselves to do. However, the most effective changes are those that are done step-by-step and gradually integrated into a person’s regular routine until they become a habit.
These changes can benefit everyone, at every stage of life, no matter your age or health status.
Coronary heart disease is not an inevitable consequence of aging, as was once thought. Sixty years ago, scientists began to discover that arterial damage may begin in childhood and progress throughout a person’s life. Still, many people think of heart disease as an old person’s illness.
In “Prevent a Second Heart Attack,” author Janet Brill, PhD, confirms that heart disease is largely caused by lifestyle factors that begin in childhood. She goes on to explain that “A toxic mix of calorie overload, especially of processed foods high in damaging fats, sugars, and salt, coupled with inactivity instigates the long, slow process of arterial damage that results in a heart attack.”
Experts are increasingly beginning to understand the importance of teaching heart-healthy behaviors to children.
While attempts to make school lunches healthier may have an impact, ultimately the most significant way to positively affect your child’s health is by making changes at home.
The most important step you can take to protect the health of your heart and your family’s hearts is to adopt a low-fat, plant-based diet.
A flesh-based diet contains an overabundance of saturated fats and cholesterol that contribute to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, that leads to a heart attack.
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains on the other hand are naturally low-fat, low-calorie foods that are rich in phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Because your body gets the nutrients it needs and keeps you feeling full longer due to the fiber, plant foods may help control weight and blood pressure, both risk factors for heart disease.7
The fiber in plant foods also helps to carry cholesterol out of your body, instead of into your bloodstream.
Numerous studies have compared life-long vegetarians in the Seventh Day Adventist community to control groups eating the SAD.
Overwhelmingly, the results have indicated that diets containing more fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains decrease the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, which are all risk factors for heart disease.
A study by the Loma Linda School of Public Health found that vegetarians are 36% less likely to develop heart problems, diabetes or stroke compared to meat eaters.
The study included participants across the dietary spectrum, from people who ate meat frequently, to people who ate meat occasionally, and people who abstained from meat completely. They found that the closer a person was to being vegetarian, the lower their health risk became.
The more you experiment with healthy, whole food recipes the more you’ll experience how tasty a plant-based diet can be.
The more you engage in preparing and eating healthy meals with your loved ones, the more you’ll appreciate their health and well being.
The more you involve yourself with outdoor activities, the more you’ll discover the joy of being surrounded by life on all sides.
“Learn and live” begins to take on another, deeper meaning. As we learn new strategies for health, we not only increase our longevity, but we also increase the fullness and richness of our life experience.
We may be motivated at first by the desire to learn and survive, but as our habits change and we broaden our experience, we may find that, by learning, we have begun to truly live.
Source:
Earth News January 2012
About Hesh:
I have been doing a radio show in Honolulu since 1981 called “Health Talk”. To listen to the show please tune into 1080 or 108 am or go to www.kwai1080am.com on your computer at 8am Hawaii time. FYI, 8 am Hawaii time is 10 am on the West coast and 2 pm on the East coast. To call in, the number is (808) 524-1080.
Now, American Voice Radio will be picking up my streamed show and playing it all week until the next one takes place. To listen, go to americanvoiceradio.com and click on my link at AVR 2. Starting in December I will be doing another radio show on AVR at 9:00 am Hawaii time on Thursday mornings. Just go to the website, click on AVR 1, and listen live or tune in later and listen via the archive to Health Talk with Hesh.
See you on the radio!
In 2007, I was “forced” to get a masters degree in Nutrition to stop all the doctors from calling in asking what my credentials were. Besides that, they never liked it when I asked them what their credentials were that would enable them to treat an illness without drugs or surgery.
If you go to www.healthtalkhawaii.com and click on Podcasts and Articles, there are years of shows there as well as hundreds of health related articles that are completely free to listen to and read.
I am an activist. I am vehemently opposed to GMOs, vaccines, processed foods, MSG, aspartame, fluoridation, and everything else that the “pimps” (big pHarma, Monsanto, and the large food companies), and the “hookers” (the doctors, the government agencies, the Public Health officials, and the mainstream media) thrust upon us, the “tricks”.
At 76, I am in 3 softball leagues, racewalk, do stand-up paddling, hike, swim, do weights and cardio, and teach women’s self-defense classes based upon 20 years of Wing Chun training. I have been a vegetarian since 1975 and a vegan since 1990, have no illnesses and take no meds.
After being vaccinated with the DTP vaccine as a child, I developed asthma, which plagued me until 2008 when I learned about and started taking the organic sulfur crystals. My asthma was reversed in 3 days and has not come back.
So far, 26 cases of autism that we know about have been reversed, as has cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, asthma, osteoarthritis, joint pain, gingivitis, and erectile dysfunction. The sulfur has increased sexual activity, eliminated toxins, heavy metals, radiation, and parasites. It speeds up athletic recovery time, increases blood circulation, reduces inflammation, increases resistance to the “flu”, reduces wrinkles, allergies, PMS, monthly period pain, migraines, nausea, lowering high blood pressure, raising low blood pressure and way more, because the oxygen that the sulfur releases floods and heals the cells in the body.
The sulfur, as proven by the University of Southampton in England, enables the body to produce vitamin B12 and the essential amino acids.
You can find out more about this on my website under Products.
My book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”, which has been published, can be viewed and purchased at www.asanediet.com. The book clearly explains why what you eat, for the most part, is designed to keep you in a state of declining health.
I have recently discovered two amazing super foods – Zeal and Shakeology – Zeal contains 30 amazing probiotics, anti-oxidents and more, all designed to build and strengthen the immune system and Shakeology contains 42. What’s great about Shakeology is that it is filling, replaces one meal and keeps you full for hours and helps with weight control and loss.
For more info about Shakeology please email me or go to www.beachbodycoach.com/heshgoldstein. The good news about Shakeology is if you are not satisfied after 30 days the company will refund you.
And now I have come across an amazing bee pollen that is so soft it melts in your mouth and has so many benefits. It is rich in vitamin B12 and all B vitamins, proteins, minerals, beneficial fatty acids, carotenoids, bioflavenoids, antioxidants, antihistamines, enzymes, antibiotics, and natural phenylalanine, which acts as an appetite suppressant, and more.
My daily regimen consists of one teaspoon of the crystals twice a day, one scoop of the Zeal in cold water, one packet of Shakeology either in 8 to 12 ounces of water or added to my smoothie and a heaping tablespoon of bee pollen. For more about Shakeology please go to www.beachbodycoach.com/heshgoldstein.
Hesh Goldstein, MSNutri
“Health Talk” Moderator, K-108 Radio
POB 240783, Honolulu, Hi 96824
(808) 258-1177
www.healthtalkhawaii.com
www.asanediet.com
[email protected]