Monthly Archives: November 2014

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and you know what that means… The season for over-eating has officially arrived!

Do you approach Thanksgiving with good intentions? Do you tell yourself that you will not overeat at this year’s feast? You might tell yourself that you will enjoy only one small helping of mashed potatoes and one slice of pie instead of two or three. But when the day actually arrives, it becomes very difficult to resist overindulging and eating as much as possible. The food at a Thanksgiving dinner is very hard to resist. And the day comes only once a year!

There is not necessarily anything wrong with overeating once a year on Thanksgiving. The problem is that you might not limit your overeating to just Thanksgiving. It may be that you will overeat on Thanksgiving and you won’t stop overeating eating until after the New Year. That’s equates to many weeks of eating way too much. And eating in that manner for many weeks in a row, can result in massive weight gain.

It’s not uncommon for Americans to gain several pounds between November and January each year. Unfortunately, if you gain weight during the holiday season you may never lose all of it before the next round of holidays start. Over the course of many years, this can lead to a slow but steady weight gain that can ultimately affect your cholesterol levels blood pressure, and the chance of developing other serious health ailments.

The most important thing to do this holiday season is to be happy and enjoy – but it’s also important to limit your food intake. This does not mean that you have to suffer. It simply means that you should be aware of what (and how much) you are eating.

Following are tips on how eat with your heart in mind this Thanksgiving (and throughout the entire holiday season):

Stick to a regular exercise routine. You may want to put off exercising during the holiday season because it’s a very busy time of year. But if you maintain a regular exercise schedule all year round you will be less likely to gain weight between Thanksgiving and the New Year.

Don’t skip meals. Skipping meals (such as breakfast) usually results in unhealthy and binge eating later in the day. If you stick to eating 3 regular meals a day, with supplemental snacks that are healthy, you will be less likely to crave unhealthy foods that are usually readily available during the holiday season.

Try not to make excuses to eat as much as possible. The phrase, “I can it this because it’s only Thanksgiving once a year” should not be in your vocabulary! Remember that you may want two plates of food, but you can still be satisfied with just one.

Drink a large glass of water prior to your Thanksgiving meal. When you drink a full glass of water prior to eating, it can cause you to feel full – which will result in less eating.

Walk it off. Many people feel like taking a walk after a large Thanksgiving dinner. This is an excellent idea. A long walk can help boost your metabolism and will help your body with its digestion process.

Remember to eat with your heart in mind this Thanksgiving. Your body will appreciate it later!

The post How to Eat With Your Heart in Mind this Thanksgiving appeared first on Boone Heart Institute | Preventive Cardiology | Denver, Colorado.

The deadline to submit comments through a campaign administered by the American Heart Association and to be delivered to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding a proposed plan to regulate all tobacco products, including cigars, electronic cigarettes, hookah tobacco and nicotine gels expired on August 4, 2014. But even though the deadline passed, the topic is still important to highlight in more detail.

The American Heart Association published an article on its website on July 30, 2014 which encouraged individuals and groups who would like to see the FDA adopt its proposed regulation and go even further (banning candy and fruit flavorings that attract children and to restrict marketing to youth), to submit their supporting comments to the FDA. The American Heart Association’s campaign collected letters and comments until August 4th, and planned to deliver all of the compiled letters to the FDA on August 8, 2014.

According to the American Heart Association’s article, the FDA has a commitment to read all of the comments it receives (from the tobacco industry and its supporters as well as from individuals on the other side of the debate – those who are concerned with public health). After considering all of the comments, the FDA will decide if they will make any changes to the proposed regulation.

The FDA takes submitted comments very seriously – in regard to this specific regulation as well as others. And while the FDA is under no obligation to make changes to proposed regulations based on the popularity of comments either in support of or against proposed regulations, it does weigh those comments before making a final decision.

In regard to the issue of regulating tobacco products, the American Heart Association stated in its article that the FDA had received approximately 58,000 comments – a majority of which were authored by the tobacco industry and tobacco users. Susan K. Bishop, an American Heart Association Lobbyist, is quoted in the article with the following statement, “The tobacco industry has mobilized their customers. They have a massive number of people contacting the FDA.”

It was the goal of the American Heart Association to garner interest from the public on this specific topic and encourage the health-concerned public to take a few minutes to draft a supportive comment and submit it to the American Heart Association’s campaign.

One of the major concerns in regard to tobacco is that a large percentage of middle and high school aged teenagers are now smoking cigars and e-cigarettes because they are being marketed with flavorings.

A decision on the new rule should be finalized by April 2015, and we will follow up with more information when it becomes available.

The post Health Advocates from the American Heart Association Support Tobacco Regulation appeared first on Boone Heart Institute | Preventive Cardiology | Denver, Colorado.