Want to live longer?

Want to live longer?

By

Higino Alindogan Ables Jr.

Do you know that cardiovascular diseases were the top killer of Sorsoganons in 2010)?

One out of six deaths that year was due to heart attack or stroke, according to data compiled by the Technical Services Division of the Sorsogon Provincial Hospital. 

Heart attack is often caused by blockage of an artery in the region of the heart, while stroke by blood clot in the brain.

LIFESTYLE

This data, which lists cancer and diabetes among the top ten killer diseases in the province,  tells us that we, Sorsoganons, better  change our lifestyle if we want to live longer.

What is alarming is that more and more deaths from these causes have been observed among younger persons.

Lifestyle factors  would consist of the food we eat, exercise, and stress.

Before a person suffers a heart attack or a stroke, he/she first would experience hypertension. 

One has hypertension when the blood pressure is much higher than the normal reading of 120/80.

Physicians declare hypertension when the blood pressure is persistently at or above 140/90.

Now, what causes hypertension?

 STRESS

The most common answer you hear is stress: emotional disturbance in the family or  relationships,  or pressure at work (e.g., beating a deadline).

In technical terms, it is failure to rationalize a problem situation, or inability to attain closure to a disturbing issue, and one is only left with dissonance that eludes (in the person’s mind) harmonious resolution or psychological balance.

Applying the correct defense mechanism (a function of intelligence) may correct the situation, but not many persons are so gifted.

There may also be physical stimuli that cause stress.

Loud noise that shutters our eardrums is stressful especially to senior citizens who are used to living in quiet, peaceful and sane environments.

Bad odors that assail our sense of smell can also cause stress, particularly among women, as this can negate their fragrance.

Watching television programs, like the impeachment trial or a suspenseful movie, can elevate blood pressure. 

Riding the rollercoaster or a zip-line, and playing a sport involving speed and competition can cause one’s BP to rise.

A healthy lifestyle would avoid all of these. (Read Desiderata.)

Listening to selected classical music and old familiar tunes can relieve stress as these have a calming effect.

But the best way to avoid stress is to live a simple, uncomplicated life.

Now, we turn to the other aspects of lifestyle: the food and drink we take into our body.

                                                           

SALT

Salt damages our blood vessels by hardening or thickening them, thus causing blood pressure to go up. 

Generally, the Filipino diet is salty or high in sodium.

Ask any restaurant cook and they would admit to shaking salt (or MSG) into every dish to make it taste better.

Salt comes from patis,  bagoong, dried fish,  soy sauce, potato chips, canned nuts, corniks, etc.

Pepper in its various forms is okay, but not salt, to add flavor to what you are eating.

        

 FATS

Most people already believe that eating fatty foods causes heart disease.

Yet, non-muslims as most of us are, we still  take to lechon and other animal products  known to be rich in fats.

Nutritionists would tell you that lean meat is safe, which is true as far as pork and chicken are concerned.

Beef, however, is different, because its fat is found in the interstices of each layer of the meat.

So, the more fat you have in your blood, the greater the chance for you to be a victim of heart attack or stroke.

The technical terms for fa is cholesterol.

When you get your blood chemistry done in the laboratory, you will find that cholesterol has several components. 

It is made up of total cholesterol, good (HDL) and bad (LDL) cholesterol, and triglycerides, all of which should fall within the normal range. 

Read the labels of canned goods and look for those that have the least saturated fats.

When an abnormal reading appears in your lab exam results, your physician would advise you on the foods to avoid and the foods to eat, as well as cooking methods, to remedy it.

The prescribed diet is a balanced diet, usually including fish, sea foods and poultry for protein, whole-grain cereals and root crops for carbohydrates, green leafy vegetables for fiber, and fruits for the needed vitamins and minerals.

To avoid using oil,  roasting or broiling, boiling, steaming are the suggested cooking methods.

Should one take food supplements? 

The latest research questions the taking of food supplements, calling these as “too much of a good thing.”

Natural sources are preferable.

SMOKING AND SUGAR

Smoking and drinking can also have bad effect on the heart.  

Nicotine from tobacco that gets into the bloodstream makes the heart work faster and harder.

Alcohol in whatever form and amount brings sugar into the blood and this too can stimulate the heart.

Too much sugar can cause diabetes which can lead to heart disease.

One can also become overweight (or obese) by excessive intake of sugar (from soft drinks, for example), and obesity puts the heart on overdrive.  

A  healthy  lifestyle avoids or minimizes all these.

SEDENTARY LIFE

Another factor leading to heart disease is the lack of physical exercise.

At the very least, a brisk walk three times a week lasting for thirty minutes each and resulting in sweating is generally prescribed by health workers.

Work that already entails physical exertion and sweating would be exempt from this.

People who always ride to work or to shop, and office workers who have no exercise would be prone to heart disease.

The best forms of exercise are those that engage all the parts of the body, like walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, and calisthenics.

GENETICS

There you have it: a layman’s formula for a heart-friendly lifestyle by avoiding stress, minimizing salt, sugar and fats in the diet, and being physically active.

Did anyone in your family have heart disease?  If so, then you are a candidate. 

And the only way to avoid heart disease is to work on your lifestyle and accept your genes as given.

If you started early on this healthy lifestyle, you may yet succeed in nullifying your genetics and thus live a healthy life, free of maintenance medication.

It’s all a matter of knowing and doing what is best for your self.

  (Dr. Ables gratefully acknowledges the assistance provided by Dr. Maricel Casals-Fajardo, head of the Technical Services Division, Sorsogon Provincial Hospital.)