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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.

If you’ve been told that you have mitral valve prolapse (also commonly referred to as “MVP”), there is no need to panic. In most cases MVP is not a serious heart condition and does not require any type of medical intervention. In rare cases, MVP can result in mitral valve regurgitation – which may or may not require treatment. But if you have been told that you have MVP, there is no need to panic.

The mitral valve controls the flow of blood through your heart. When your heart beats, the mitral valve opens and closes – allowing blood to flow from the upper chamber of your heart to the lower chamber. The valve is designed to open only in one direction. However, when you have mitral valve prolapse, the valve does not close as smoothly as it does when there is no prolapse. Instead, the valve bulges a little bit every time it shuts.

MVP is not a serious heart condition in the majority of people who have it. If your doctor suspects anything abnormal about your MVP, he or she will likely monitor you for an extended period of time to determine if the condition is becoming problematic, or if it is causing your heart to work harder than normal, thus potentially causing damage.

Who Has this Condition?
Many people have MVP. In fact, it’s an extremely common problem associated with this specific heart valve. But there is very little reason to worry because most people with MVP lead a normal life and do not have to adjust their lifestyle, eating habits, or exercise routines whatsoever. MVP can be found in both men and women, and it is more prevalent in people whose family members also have the condition.

How Will I Know if I Have Mitral Valve Prolapse?
It’s entirely possible that you will not know if you have MVP unless a doctor happens to discover it while listening to your heart with a stethoscope during a regular check-up. In some cases, individuals with MVP have described their condition as feeling like their heart sometimes palpitates or pounds too hard or too fast.

I Have MVP – Now What?
In most circumstances, MVP does not require any type of treatment. If you have been told that you have MVP, it is important to remember that it rarely develops into a serious condition. Nonetheless, if you have been diagnosed with MVP and are concerned, you should schedule an appointment with a cardiologist so your MVP can be evaluated and so that you can rest assured that your condition is not life-threatening. In most cases, an electrocardiogram or an echocardiogram will be ordered and the results will indicate whether you require any type of treatment or further monitoring of your MVP.

The post What is Mitral Valve Prolapse, and Is it Dangerous? appeared first on Boone Heart Institute | Preventive Cardiology | Denver, Colorado.