Addiction Commonality

Alcohol, Opiates, Fat and Sugar are all Addictive Substances: this blog is about that "addiction sameness".

Butter Pig Family

* A butter sculpture of a sow and her piglets

Sunday, July 18, 2010

American Heart Association

A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease. However, there are a lot of mixed messages and myths out there regarding healthy eating. It’s not surprising that a lot of us are confused about the different types of fats. We have lots of questions regarding sodium and meat and dairy. With all the differing opinions, it’s best to get informed from credible sources, so you can make smart choices in your diet for long-term benefits to your heart and health. It's the overall pattern of your choices that counts most.
What’s Most Important?

You may be eating plenty of food, but your body may not be getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy. Nutrient-rich foods have vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients, but are lower in calories. To get the nutrients you need, choose foods like vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products most often. The American Heart Association recommends that you eat a wide variety of nutritious foods daily from each of the basic food groups.
Recommended Food Choice Guidelines

Vegetables and fruits are high in vitamins, minerals and fiber — and they’re low in calories. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables may help you control your weight and your blood pressure.

Unrefined whole-grain foods contain fiber that can help lower your blood cholesterol and help you feel full, which may help you manage your weight.

Eat fish at least twice a week. Recent research shows that eating oily fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, trout, and herring) may help lower your risk of death from coronary artery disease. Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat. Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products.

Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet. Aim to eat less than 300 milligrams of cholesterol each day. Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Aim to eat less than 1500 milligrams of sodium per day.

Life's Simple Seven: 

  1. Get Active
  2. Control Cholesterol
  3. Eat Better
  4. Manage Blood pressure
  5. Lose weight
  6. Reduce blood sugar
  7. Quit smoking
You can go one step further and follow Dean Ornish and his "Reverse Heart Disease" diet advice which requires discipline but is backed by a great deal of research confirming the science behind his advice.  



Saturday, July 17, 2010

Smoking is a leading cause of Heart Disease.


Tobacco Related Heart Disease

Cigarette smoking is directly linked to 30% of all heart disease deaths in the United States each year. It plays a part in coronary heart disease, and causes damage by decreasing oxygen to the heart. Smoking increases blood pressure and heart rate, both of which are hard on the heart.e U.S., and the leading cause of death caused by smoking. Smoking is hard on the heart, and the toxins in cigarette smoke cause plaques to form in the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis, otherwise known as hardening of the arteries.

Coronary heart disease and stroke - the primary types of cardiovascular disease caused by smoking - are the first and third leading causes of death in the United States. More than 61 million Americans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, and other conditions. More than 2,600 Americans die every day because of cardiovascular diseases, about 1 death every 33 seconds.

Toxins in the blood from smoking cigarettes contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a progressive hardening of the arteries caused by the deposit of fatty plaques and the scarring and thickening of the artery wall. Inflammation of the artery wall and the development of blood clots can obstruct blood flow and cause heart attacks or strokes.

Smoking causes coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. Coronary heart disease results from atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries.

In 2003, an estimated 1.1 million Americans had a new or recurrent coronary attack.
Cigarette smoking has been associated with sudden cardiac death of all types in both men and women.
Smoking-related coronary heart disease may contribute to congestive heart failure. An estimated 4.6 million Americans have congestive heart failure and 43,000 die from it every year.
Strokes are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of strokes.

Pig Family Butter Sculpture

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Breaking up is hard to do!


Study: Breaking up is like quitting cocaine addiction

Posted: 12:00 PM ET
John Roberts - Anchor, CNN's American Morning
Filed under: Living

(CNN) – They say breaking up is hard to do, but how does the brain react to getting dumped? A new study looks at what's going on in our brains after breakups. Helen Fisher is a biological anthropologist and research professor at Rutgers University. She led the study and she joined us on Wednesday's American Morning to explain the findings. Watch Video