Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Heart Healthy Tips for the Holiday Season

By Christian Goodman

In recent days for most people in America thanksgiving is more of a feast rather than a time for giving thanks. Thanksgiving is the starting point of holiday season in United States. One can always say apart from starting the holiday season thanksgiving also kicks in the season for heart attack. Unfortunately, that's what is happening.

Normally deaths due to heart attack starts to increase from Thanksgiving, continues to increase through Christmas, hits the maximum on New Year's day and starts to decrease from there. This was found by Dr. Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD, of the Heart Institute at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles in 1999. "Merry Christmas Coronary" and "Happy New Year Heart Attack" phenomenon was mainly dubbed by Dr. Kloner based on the concluded result of the researches.Over eating and emotional stress is behind all this.

There is no way you can deny those sweet candies and eggnog but what you can do is you can limit what you eat. Gives yourself the best health this holiday season and remember to remind this healthy heart tips now and then. Without over eating you can have happy and healthy holiday season.

1. To avoid over eating you can have a light food like an apple or a salad before you go to a holiday party or family gatherings.

2. Wear tight-fitting pants to holiday meals. This may sound silly, but people who wear tight pants tend to be more aware of how much food they're eating. Give it a try.

3. If you're expected to bring food to a gathering, bring a healthy dish such as a vegetable platter with hummus dip.

4. To reduce the size of the portion you eat you can use small plates. This will help you to eat less with satisfaction. When you use a small plate you are suppose to walk each and every time to fetch food. And this happens to be an exercise.

5. Try to eat more vegetables and avoid high-fat foods and processed foods. It's okay to have a small slice of pie on special occasions. But eat your veggies first!

6. Apple cider and eggnog the special holiday drinks are very much special with high calories too. Moreover, it's nothing wrong to treat yourselves on holiday but remember your limit of one glass.

7. Watch your alcohol intake, too. Dr. Kloner believers that changes in alcohol consumption patterns contribute to "Merry Christmas Coronaries." Set reasonable limits for yourself before you start drinking, and stick to those limits. And if you've been drinking, do not drive! You don't want to spend Christmas behind bars.

8. You can park your car far away from the entrance of the store to indulge in some walking. You can try to have walk with your friends and family after a holiday meal. The best thing to do is to play with the kids. And that will burn some calories off.

* Don't let the stress get to you! The holiday season can be extremely stressful. But it doesn't have to be. This year, get your shopping done early to avoid stressful situations in stores, and plan plenty of time for relaxation. After all, that's what holidays are for!

You carry a risk of getting sudden heart attack if you already have high blood pressure and you should be very careful this holiday season. You should avoid stress, workout regularly and not to over eat. See these simple high blood pressure exercises to learn how to lower your stress and lower yours blood pressure naturally.

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