Smoking

Is this the right time? You promised yourself if you really wanted to quit smoking, you would. You know all the reasons why you should quit, but you have to be ready to do it – for you.

How do I quit?

Once you make the decision, it probably won’t be easy. But with commitment, the right attitude and the methods listed below, you can be off to a good start.

Tips from the pros

The first thing to remember is you are not alone. More than one million people each year make the decision to successfully quit smoking. Here are some of their tips that can help you:
• Set a quit date and stick to it.
• Get the support and understanding of your family, friends, and co-workers.
• Get rid of all tobacco products and ashtrays.

Use nicotine replacement therapy

This means the nicotine patch, gum, or nasal spray. Any one of these can help cut back on the urge to smoke. Studies show that almost everyone can benefit from nicotine replacement therapy. It’s best to talk with your health care professional about your choices. You can buy the nicotine patch and gum at any pharmacy. The nicotine nasal spray is only available by prescription.

Get support and encouragement

Smoking cessation programs can help you learn how to deal with stress and other things that make you want to smoke. You may want to join a quit-smoking program or start your own informal group of smokers trying to quit. Studies show that the more support you have, the greater your chance for success. Check with your health care professional, local hospitals, the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, or
American Heart Association for a schedule of classes.

Learn how to handle the urge to smoke

Be aware of things that may cause you to want to smoke:
• Being around other smokers
• Drinking alcoholic beverages
• Being under stress
• Getting into an argument
• Feeling depressed

Reward yourself

Here are some benefits you’ll enjoy as a nonsmoker:
• You’ll take a giant step toward improving your health.
• You’ll feel less winded and have more energy.
• Food will taste better.
• Your sense of smell will improve.
• The money spent on tobacco products can now be spent on other enjoyable things.
• You’ll control your own schedule, instead of your habit controlling you.

What are some of the benefits you look forward to? I recommend my “three list technique” to all my patients trying to break negative habit patterns, particularly with smoking.

Make 3 lists. In the first list you write down everything that you get from smoking. These include the benefits of smoking. These are things like temporary stress reduction, something to do with your hands, weight loss, etc. most of my patients can come up with a list of usually 2-4 things that they get from smoking.

The second is a list of all of the things that smoking will take away from you. These are the things that are negative about smoking or what smoking will eventually cost you. These include things like the ability to breathe, contracting lung cancer or emphysema, expense, smell of clothing, won't be able to play in the park with grandchildren, won’t wake up to my spouse in the morning, etc. Most of my patients will usually come up with anywhere from 100- 500 items on this list. You can even get very detailed by listing specific activities that you'll be missing with specific people.

The third is a list of all the things that you will get from stopping smoking. These are the positive benefits you'll receive from quitting. Most of the items on this list are usually the opposite of all the items on the second list. For example, "I will have the ability to breathe, my lungs will be healthy, I'll have more money, my clothes will smell better, I will be able to play in the park with my grandchildren, I will wake up next to my spouse in the morning." Again, this list will usually include 100-500 items. It can be in the thousands.

What lists 1 and 2 allow you to do is to compare the minimal benefits of smoking to the detrimental effects of smoking. Lists 2 and 3 allow you to compare the detrimental effects of smoking to the benefits you'll get from quitting.

Look at these three lists for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening. By the end of one-month of consistently reviewing these lists, without missing a day, you'll look at smoking in a different light. You'll wonder how a small, insignificant plant wrapped up in a little piece of paper could have controlled you for so long.

It can be tough “unlearning” something that is so much a part of what you do everyday. There is no magic solution – but it can be done. Over one million people prove it every year – you can, too!

High Blood Pressure/Hypertension

The important thing is to take some simple steps to keep your blood pressure under control. These steps can reduce your risk of heart disease — and help you live a healthier life.

What do the numbers mean in a blood pressure reading?

If you have hypertension, your blood pressure is likely to be 140/90 or higher, which is read as 140 “over” 90. (The average blood pressure for a healthy adult is about 120/80). The first number is called the systolic pressure. This number represents the pressure in your arteries when blood is pumped into them each time your heart beats. The second number – the diastolic pressure – shows the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats.

What causes high blood pressure?

When the specific cause of high blood pressure is unknown, a person is said to have primary hypertension. However, it is known that stress, negativity, and anxious thoughts will raise blood pressure. The word hypertension comes from “hyper”, meaning “too much”, and tension, resulting in “too much tension”. While there are medical and genetic factors that raise blood pressure, in most cases, it is “of unknown cause”. To feel tension is a choice, and you can just as easily decide not to feel tension as you can to feel it.

Occasionally, hypertension is related to another condition — a disorder of the kidneys or the central nervous system, for example. This is called secondary hypertension. But regardless of the cause, it’s important to get high blood pressure under control.

What happens if hypertension isn’t controlled?

Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to heart disease, which can result in a heart attacks or heart failure. Hypertension can also lead to a stroke or kidney failure.

What can be done to lower high blood pressure?

Many of the steps that will help control your hypertension are also good ideas for improving your overall health. Here’s how to keep your blood pressure down:
• Reduce your stress. The single most important cause of high blood pressure, especially in younger and middle-aged adults, is stress. Relax, be positive, and enjoy life.
• Quit smoking. In addition to reducing other health risks, quitting will make you much less likely to have a stroke, even if you have hypertension.
• Trim down if you’re overweight. Extra pounds put an extra burden on your heart.
• Eat a healthy diet. Avoid salty foods. There’s a clear relationship between high salt intake and hypertension.
• Reduce your alcohol consumption. Alcohol increases pressure in your arteries.
• Choose an exercise program that you can stick to – and stick to it! It might be something as simple as walking 30 minutes a day.
• If prescribed, take your medication exactly as it’s prescribed, but don’t use it as a crutch. Many people just take medication and think that they don’t need to do anything else. The other factors mentioned are just as important as taking medication alone. Don’t miss any doses — even if you’re feeling great. If you think your medication dose should be changed for any reason, be sure to consult your medical physician.

Cholesterol

Everyone “has cholesterol.” Cholesterol is a basic building block of cell membranes and of hormones. Although everyone has some cholesterol in their blood, some people have such a high amount that their risk of heart disease is increased.

Because cholesterol is a fatty substance, it doesn’t mix in well with blood (like oil and water don’t mix). So cholesterol is carried in the bloodstream in particles that are mixtures of protein and varying amounts of fatty materials. We now know that just measuring the
total concentration of cholesterol in the blood is not enough. It is also important to know how much cholesterol is carried on what kind of particle! The particles that we measure most commonly are high-density lipoproteins (or HDL) and low density lipoproteins (or LDL). High HDL cholesterol levels seem to be associated with a lower risk of heart disease while high LDL cholesterol levels promote heart disease.

Several factors play a role in determining our cholesterol – heredity, cholesterol content of your diet, the percentage of your diet made up of fats, the amount of saturated fat in your diet, whether or not you are overweight, exercise habits, smoking, alcohol and some medications. Some medical problems can cause your cholesterol to rise – diabetes, underactive thyroid gland and sometimes kidney disease.

If you are told your cholesterol is high, you must be sure you don’t have any of the illnesses that cause high cholesterol. If not, then make sure your HDL and LDL cholesterol levels have been checked, as well as your overall cholesterol. As many as 15% of those with elevated cholesterol have a high HDL level and therefore may not need any treatment.

Assuming that all this has been done and you know that your cholesterol needs to be lowered, what should you do next? Fortunately, many people will be able to make a substantial improvement by changing eating habits and exercise habits. A smaller number will need to be treated with medications.

A variety of dietary changes will lower cholesterol. Sixty to eighty percent of plasma cholesterol for the average person on a Western diet is manufactured in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. The rest is “imported” from the food you eat. All cholesterol from the diet comes from animal source; plants do not make cholesterol. The richest sources of cholesterol are eggs and organ meats such as liver, kidney and brain. Shrimp and lobster are high in cholesterol, but low in saturated fat. In meat, both the muscle and fat contain cholesterol about equally on a weight basis.

But since your body makes the majority of the cholesterol found in your bloodstream, you can have high cholesterol without eating a single milligram of it. If the number of calories in your diet supplied from fat is high or your diet is high in saturated fats, then your body manufactures more cholesterol. Coconut oil is the most potent cholesterol-raising fat. This is followed by butterfat and palm oil. The meat fats – beef, pork and chicken – have about the same quantities of cholesterol-raising fatty acids. Fortunately, saturated fat content is listed more often on labeling and hopefully there will be more mandatory labeling requirements in the future. This will help you figure out what you are eating!

Even if you avoid eating foods high in saturated fat, there may be foods in your diet that are high in fats and cause you to make more cholesterol. For example, canola oil which is among the lowest in saturated fats, gets 100 percent of its calories from fat and any food that has lots of oil in it is high in fat – even though the label may proclaim that it contains no cholesterol and is low in saturated fat.

All of this makes it sound like you can’t eat anything. That’s just not so. As a matter of fact, the average American diet is so high in fat that most of us can make significant changes in cholesterol and still eat a varied diet. However, this may require developing new food preferences or learning to modify those foods that you already prefer. Try keeping a food diary – a list of everything you eat – for seven to 10 days. Make sure this includes a weekend since most of us eat differently on those days. Don’t try and be “good”; just eat the foods you normally eat. You may discover for yourself that your diet is higher in fat than you thought. If you don’t recognize any problem areas, bring in your food diary to review with your physician. Or if you prefer schedule an appointment with a dietitian.

Many insurance companies cover dietitian services, if recommended by your doctor.
In summary, reduce your serum cholesterol by:

• Losing excess weight.
• Reducing the amount of cholesterol in your diet.
• Reducing the total amount of fat in your diet.
• Limiting the amount of saturated fats in your diet to 30 percent of the fats consumed.
• Do regular exercise like walking, biking, running, skiing or swimming.

Lack of Exercise

Swimming, cycling, jogging, skiing, aerobic dancing, walking or dozens of other activities can help our heart. They all cause you to feel warm, perspire and breathe heavily without being out of breath and without feeling any burning sensation in your muscles. Whether it is a structured exercise program or just part of your daily routine, all exercise adds up to a healthier heart.

Here are some tips for exercising success:

• If you have been sedentary for a long time, are overweight, have a high risk of coronary heart disease or some other chronic health problem, see your doctor for a medical evaluation before beginning a physical activity program.

• Choose activities that are fun – not exhausting.

• Add variety. Try not to rely too much on one activity, but develop a repertoire of several that you can enjoy. That way, exercise will never seem boring or routine.

• Wear comfortable, properly fitted footwear and comfortable, loose-fitting clothing that is appropriate for the weather and the activity.

• Find a convenient time and place to do activities. Try to make it a habit, but be flexible. If you miss an exercise opportunity, work physical activity into your day another way.

• Use music to keep entertained and energized.

• Surround yourself with supportive people. Decide what kind of support you need. Do you want them to remind you to exercise? Ask about your progress? Participate with you regularly or occasionally? Allow you time to exercise by yourself? Go with you to a special event, such as a 10K walk/run? Be understanding when you get up early to exercise? Spend time with the children while you exercise? Try not to ask you to change your exercise routine?

• Share your activity time with others. Make a date with a family member, friend or co-worker. Be an active role model for your children.

• Don’t overdo it. Do low to moderate level activities, especially at first. You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your activities as you become more fit. Over time, work up to exercising three or four times per week for 30-60 minutes.

• Keep a record of your activities. Reward yourself at special milestones. Nothing motivates like success!