Poor marriage = poor heart health for women
Did you know that men who are married – happily or not – are generally far healthier than their unmarried buddies? A man’s physical health apparently benefits simply from the state of being married, whether or not he rates it as a good marriage.
But a woman’s overall health can be significantly threatened by trouble at home, according to researchers at the University of Utah. Women respond to unhappy marriages by being three times more likely to develop metabolic syndrome - a cluster of serious cardiac risk factors that can lead to heart disease. click here to continue reading
Meet 2009 ‘Women’s Health Heroes’
Last month, I was thrilled to learn that the legendary women’s health collective ‘Our Bodies, Ourselves‘ in Boston had named me one of their 2009 ‘Women’s Health Heroes’ – one of 20 inductees honoured from seven countries, each of us involved in some form of community activism to promote women’s health.
My own efforts (helping to raise women’s awareness of heart disease – our #1 killer – through public presentations like our ’Pinot & Prevention’ events and through ‘Heart Sisters‘, the website you’re now visiting) seems to pale in comparison to the stellar accomplishments of the other 19 Women’s Health Heroes for 2009.
Let’s meet them here: click to continue reading
Women laugh their way to better heart health
Here’s one of my favourite riddles:
- Q: What do you call an agnostic, dyslexic insomniac?
- A: Somebody who lies awake all night long wondering if there is a dog.
If you smiled – or better yet, laughed a little! – you just did your heart a big favour, according to a study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting in Seattle recently. Researchers found that laughter not only reduces stress, which can damage the heart, it can lead to improved blood flow, which can help ward off high blood pressure.
click to continue reading this
Mediterranean Diet: it’s all Greek to me
The heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is not actually a diet – at least, not in the Celebrity-Endorsed, Bestseller-List, Miracle-Weight-Loss, Before-and-After-Photos, Fad Diet sense of the word ‘diet’.
In fact, according to The Journal of Nutrition, even the term ‘Mediterranean diet’ (implying that all Mediterranean people eat the same) may be misleading because the countries bordering the Mediterranean basin have different diets, traditions and cultures. The Mediterranean diet could more accurately be called the ‘Greek diet’. (more…)
Flossing, brushing and heart disease
Isn’t it enough that poor dental health can cause tooth loss, pain, bleeding gums and bad breath? Now Health Canada tells us that the state of our mouths is also linked with diabetes, respiratory disease, delivering premature or low-birth-weight babies, and, yes, even cardiovascular disease.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota agree. Their report in the journal Circulation suggests that chronic infections, including periodontal (gum) infections, may predispose us to cardiovascular disease.
How strong is this link? click to continue reading
