Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Some Old and Some New Advice
- Come in to Women’s Health Practice to discuss your personal health and diet, and decide how to get help each step of the way, but here are steps that are important.
- Stop use of all tobacco, and all smoking products. Heat is bad for our lungs even if it contains vapor without tobacco.
- Blood sugar control should be as close to perfect as possible, with the Hba1c in the low 6s for a diabetic, or lower
- Have a normal blood pressure, ideally with lifestyle changed, but through medication if necessary
- Normalize food intake, and thus maintain a normal weight
- Exercise regularly, at least 30 minutes a day, and too strenuous as you get older is not advised
- Maintain some healthy relationships, including intimacy
- Have some time to relax
- Eat as much plant based diet with fruit, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and minimize meat, especially red meat.
- Some meat consumption is very healthy! The evidence connecting meat consumption to cardiovascular disease and cancer is very weak and the Annals of Internal Medicine reviews are suggesting that people should not be told to eat less meat!
- Modest alcohol, guidelines still say no more than two glasses of wine or beer a day, but some guidelines say less. Current studies say you cannot prolong life with alcohol consumption.
- Aspirin use and medication for cholesterol may be necessary.
- Supplements and hormone management may be necessary.
