Your Heart, Your Health
Happy Valentines Day! It’s a day for indulging on the sweeter things in life, like romance and white sugar! It’s also a great day to talk about heart health, and why you maybe want a little more romance, and a little less sugar in your daily life.
Heart Disease
Dis-Ease. Don’t worry this is just a quick preface to the fun stuff, so stick through this paragraph! I just want to make the point that heart disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada, and is presenting in people as young as twenty years old. (Source: Government of Canada) We know it’s increasing and we know some of the “high risk” factors (read: High LDL, Obesity, etc). But there are a few simple things you can do every day to immediately reduce your risk, and they can be highlighted by this lovely day of love!
Stress Management
Love is in the Air
We have a ton of evidence showing us that psychological stress just isn’t good for our heart! People with stressful work or home-lives end up at higher risks. The point here is that social and emotional health are an incredibly powerful aspect of overall well-being, and if you don’t enjoy being at work or at home: you better believe it’s negatively impacting your health.
The problem is that stress is everywhere, you can’t really escape it – but there are a ton of things you can do to manage it, and change your relationship with it: Time-management, Regular Exercise, Adrenal Support, Relaxation Training, Counseling, Meditation, Martial Arts — the list goes on.
You can also focus on wholesome healthy relationships with friends and loved ones. Today is a day where we’re reminded to do it, but every day practice can lead to some added stress resilience. Having more resilience to stress can make all of the difference.
Why Does Chocolate Make Me Feel So Good?
Sweet Relief
Stressed? You need chocolate! – I’m just kidding, but it does give us comfort and make us feel a bit better, doesn’t it? Your stress hormones make you want sugar, salt, and fast calories, so giving your stress what it wants does make it feel a bit better, but it’s pretty clear that added sugar intake leads to dyslipidemia, which is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
“So, what the heck Dr. P!? It’s Valentines Day and you’re telling me I shouldn’t eat chocolate??!!”
Well, no, I’m saying it’s a great day to celebrate and eat chocolate! What Better day?! But it would be wise to not over-indulge if you’re worried about your heart, and it would certainly be a better idea to watch your overall intake of added sugar on a daily basis to help keep your body healthy. So enjoy today, relax and spend some time with a loved one and if life gets crazy over the next few months, keep the above in mind.
If you ever have difficulty managing stress, come and see us – all the docs at True Potential Health have training in stress management, and would be thrilled to share it!
Happy Valentines Day!
