Poor marriage = poor heart health for women

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 6 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas    ♥  @HeartSisters

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.(1)  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’

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥   @HeartSisters

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 and through Heart Sisters, the website you’re now visiting) seem 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

Mediterranean Diet: it’s all Greek to me

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

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, Dr. Oz-Featured, 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.  The countries bordering the Mediterranean basin have different diets, traditions and cultures. The Mediterranean diet could more accurately be called the ‘Greek diet’, or – even more accurate – the Greek diet before 1960. Continue reading “Mediterranean Diet: it’s all Greek to me” →

Flossing, brushing and heart disease

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 3 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

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