It's about a Healthy Lifestyle

by djsblack | November 28, 2007 at 07:59 pm | 247 views | add comment

More good health advice from the people at Iowa Avenue:

According to recent study, eating plans rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables may help your heart.

In the study that took place in Sweden, 24,000 postmenopausal women supplied information on how often they ate 96 common foods. The food was then grouped into four major dietary patterns: healthy (vegetables, fruits and legumes); Western/Swedish (red meat, processed meat, poultry, rice, pasta, eggs, fried potatoes, fish; alcohol (wine, liquor, beer and some snacks); and sweets (sweet baked goods, candy, chocolate, jam and ice cream).

In a 6 year follow-up period, 308 of the women had heart attacks. However, two dietary patterns, healthy and alcohol, were associated with lower risk of heart attack.

Researchers concluded a low-risk eating plan consisted of high intake of whole grains, fish, vegetables, fruit, and legumes, moderate alcohol consumption, along with not smoking and being physically active and relatively thin. “This combination of healthy behaviors – present in 5% [of those studied] – may prevent 77% of heart attacks in the study population,” the study team wrote.

“This study clearly demonstrates that it is within an individual’s control to change destiny and the ability to control his of her health,” said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. “It demonstrated that people have control over their health and can take control, eat properly and exercise and prevent onset of disease.”

The issue is confusing with the myriad of books urging different diets, she acknowledged. But the real road to long-term health “is not so much going on a diet as adopting a healthy lifestyle,” Steinbaum said.

It is amazing that a reduction of 77% of heart attacks is in the total control of each individual. Each of us can take active steps to improve our own lifestyles.

It should be encouraging for our community to know and to understand that eating right is beneficial in a myriad of ways. These are not clichés but real life.

Are you ready to “Get Real?”

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!!