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The Healthy Heart Miracle
By Gabe Mirkin HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Copyright © 2006 Gabe Mirkin
All right reserved. ISBN: 0061240532
Chapter One
Week 1
What's Your Risk?
A healthy heart and a strong, lean body go together. If you gain weight over the years or become less fit, you increase your risk for a heart attack, stroke, and other heart-health problems. Heart disease is the number one killer in North America -- for both men and women. Your risk soars if you are obese, diabetic, or have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Your doctor may already have warned you that you have one or more risk factors for a heart attack or stroke. My 8-Week Plan will show you how to reduce your risk and increase your chances to live a long, healthful life. But first you need to understand your heart-health status and know what questions to ask your doctor. Call and ask your doctor to order the following tests (or ask for copies of the results, if you have had these tests done recently):
HDL and LDL cholesterol (Lipid Panel)
Triglycerides
C-Reactive Protein (CRP)
Lp(a)
Homocysteine
Hemoglobin A1C (HBA1C)
Blood pressure
If your health insurance doesn't cover some or all of these tests, I think it is worthwhile to cover the cost yourself. Many labs provide the service directly to consumers, but they recommend that you check with your doctor to help you interpret the results.
WHILE YOU'RE TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR, GET CLEARANCE TOSTART AN EXERCISE PROGRAM OR TO PICK UP THE PACE OF YOUR CURRENT PROGRAM. When you get your test results, enter them in the Before and After Progress Worksheet on page 250. I'll explain more about what these tests mean in Week 2.
Measure Yourself
If you are overweight, you probably know it already, and your doctor has probably warned you about the dangers. Before you start my 8-Week Plan, use these three simple measures to see whether you should be concerned about excess weight. You will use this information along with your blood test results to map out a personal heart-health plan.
- Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
- Your Waist/Hip Ratio -- to determine whether you're an "apple" or a "pear"
- The "Inch of Pinch" test
Muscle weighs more than fat, and some people have larger, heavier bones than others. You can be heavy and perfectly healthy if a large percentage of your weight is in bone and muscle. However, if a high percentage of your weight is fat, you are at increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some types of cancer, and other health problems.
What's Your BMI?
The BMI (Body Mass Index) is a standard calculation used by doctors and nutritionists to determine if your weight is appropriate for your height. To use the chart:
- Locate your height in the left column.
- Follow the row across until you find the weight closest to your weight.
- The number at the top of that column is your BMI.
If your BMI is 30 or higher, your risk of death from any cause is increased by 50 to 150 percent. If you are overweight, resolve right now to lose the extra pounds, which will help to reduce your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and many ther health problems. The 8-Week Plan will get you off to a good start.
Record your result on your Before and After Progress Worksheet in the Worksheet section. A healthy weight is an index of 19 to 25, moderately overweight is an index of 26 to 29, and severely overweight is an index higher than 30. Don't use this index if you are pregnant or nursing. If you are a serious athlete, have large muscles, or large bones, see the "Inch of Pinch" test below.
Are You An "Apple" or a "Pear"?
Some people store fat primarily in the belly area and are called apple shaped, while those who store fat primarily on their hips are called pear shaped. Storing fat primarily in your belly area rather than on your hips increases your chances of suffering heart attacks and diabetes. When you take in more calories than your body needs, your liver turns them into fat. Fat cells stored around your belly are different from those stored on your hips. The blood that flows from belly fat goes directly to your liver, whereas the blood that flows from your hips goes into your general circulation. The livers of people who store fat in their belly area are blocked from removing insulin by the extra fat and therefore don't remove insulin from the bloodstream as effectively as the livers of people who store fat on their hips. So "apples" tend to have higher levels of blood insulin and sugar. You need insulin to drive energy-giving sugar from your bloodstream into your cells. But insulin also lowers blood levels of HDL, the good cholesterol, which prevents heart attacks, and raises blood levels of harmful triglycerides, which cause heart attacks. I'll explain more about the risks of belly fat in Week 3.
Your Waist/Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing your waist size by your hip size. Use a measuring tape to measure your hips at the widest part of your buttocks. Then measure your waist where it is smallest, usually just above the belly button. Then divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. Record the result on your Before and After Progress Worksheet. Women should have a ratio of 0.8 or lower; men should have a ratio no higher than 1.0. If your ratio is higher than these ideals, you are an "apple" with excess fat stored around your abdomen.
Continues...
Excerpted from The Healthy Heart Miracle by Gabe Mirkin Copyright © 2006 by Gabe Mirkin. Excerpted by permission.
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