06/02/2023
Grateful to have the health to run the Dungarvan 10 mile road race this weekend, a special weekend marking Mam's 10 year anniversary 💔. Taken so young at 53 to a heart attack it makes me so appreciative of my own health and what I can do to keep my heart healthy.
In Ireland 6000 people die from heart disease every day !
Irish women are 7x more likely to die from a heart condition than from breast cancer.
Research shows that 80% of heart disease can be prevented by 4 main behaviour changes
* Not smoking
*Getting enough exercise over 3.5 hrs a week
* Eating a healthy diet
* Being a healthy weight ( midline belly fat in particular raises your risk )
Exercise does not have to be fancy, it can be cardio or strength based as long as your heart rate is rising and strength based has the added bonus of reducing the belly fat
Get your blood sugars checked and Cholesterol checked annually. In particular triglycerides and LDL cholesterol - both increase the risk and can be reduced by
* Cutting back on sugars ( raises triglycerides) if not used by exercise and movement you will store it as fat
* Cut back on stress, stress raises your body's production of LDL - breathing exercises, yoga, saying NO, avoiding toxic relationship/ friendships
* Cutting back on inflammatory fats - fried foods, baked foods, sunflower oil
* Add more good fats to increase HDL cholesterol ( the healthy stuff that reduces inflammation)- oily fish, olive oil, walnuts, flaxseed and avocado
Thanks Martin Reidy for the great coaching and Cobh Tri club for all the support !
