age is really just a number

Healthy Habits Really Can Often Prevent Heart Disease

My father is the youngest of nineteen children. No, that isn’t a typo. His mother really had 19 children, which didn’t sound completely crazy in the 1920’s as it does now. Dad was born in 1936, and many of his siblings did not survive to see him born. Several others were young adults and already off the farm.

What’s my point? Dad wasn’t super close to many of his siblings; but by 2017, he was the sole surviving child of the Crane family. Why? Predominantly heart disease. If you were a Crane and survived infancy, you probably died of some kind of heart related incident. His closest brother died a sudden death in his late forties, when I was a teenager. I remember it well, because he had daughters close to my age and their Dad just dropped dead in his spaghetti dinner one evening. Very tragic! Dad started to get a little more serious about taking care of his health after that, and my mother made sure that all of her kids were active and eating healthy. My parents realized what science has backed up, healthy habits can stop heart disease before it starts!

Heart disease will affect 1 in 2 adults in the US and most of the time, healthy habits can prevent it. The American College of Cardiology recommends 7 healthy habits to keep your heart optimally functioning.

1. Eat Heart Healthy
2. Move More
3. Maintain a Healthy Weight
4. Avoid Tobacco
5. Manage Cholesterol
6. Monitor Blood Pressure
7. Control Diabetes

Most people feel like 1, 2, and 3 go together and are the hardest part of getting older. Personally, I find them to be the easiest after you get into the habit. For more info on how to get started follow this link to the guidelines from the American College of Cardiology! Lots of helpful tips as well as worksheets to help get you started! 

My Dad is 83 years old, and my mother is predominantly the reason he is still with us. She monitors his diet and has cooked for him healthy meals for the last 50+ years. It is thru her efforts that his blood pressure and cholesterol are under control and his heart is healthy. Your entire family and generations to come can benefit from a change in your habits! Start today! It’s worth it!!