Facts about women and
heart disease show that this disease is the leading cause of death for women
in the United States.
Yaa Amankwaah is one woman who has suffered as a result of
this disease—her only sister died after getting a heart disease some years ago.
That experience taught her a valuable lesson which she wants to share with her
sisters around the world.
“Before my sister developed heart disease, we ate anything
and lived anyhow—we partied often, ate a lot of fatty foods, consumed a lot of
salt, drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, did all sorts of bad things, you name
it. It was when she was diagnosed with the disease that we started learning
about the causes of women’s heart disease. And when I found out about the ways
she could have avoided getting the disease, I kicked myself. Just because of a
little lack of knowledge, she developed that disease that took her life. If
only we had known about the ways to…” Yaa started to cry at this point.
Taking women’s heart health issues seriously, making just a
few changes to your life, choosing to eat healthy foods instead of unhealthy
ones, and a few other changes, can help you to prevent getting this disease.
1.
Drink The Juice Of Natural Lemon Regularly
High
blood pressure can cause damage to the blood vessels which supply blood
to the heart. As a result, a person can get heart disease. Therefore,
controlling your blood pressure can reduce your risk of developing a
cardiovascular disease.
One way to do this is to drink natural lemon juice often. A study published
by the National Center for Biotechnological Information of the National
Institute of Health suggests that lemon can reduce the blood pressure of people
who drink it often.
Accordingly, do your best to drink natural lemon juice every
day. Some medical experts advise that one drinks a glass of warm water to which
lemon has been added first thing in the morning. Alternatively, choose to drink
about a teaspoonful of natural lemon juice after you eat your breakfast every
day, or add two or three drops to your normal drinking water before consuming
it.
2.
Reduce Your Consumption Of Red Meat
Research
conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health has found that eating
red meat often can increase your risk of developing heart disease. Furthermore,
the research found out that eating red meat regularly can also increase the
likelihood that you may die from cardiovascular disease.
On the other hand, when you replace red meat with other
sources of protein which are healthier, such as beans, poultry, fish, you can
reduce these risks significantly.
Therefore, instead of eating white rice with boiled or fried
beef, choose to broil or cook chicken, without the skin, or eat your rice with
mackerel or sardine stew. And instead of eating potatoes with minced beef meat,
sausages, hot dogs, or goat meat, choose to eat it with grilled salmon and
lemon, boiled or broiled rabbit meat, boiled duck meat, or roasted herrings.
Additionally, choose to prepare meals with beans, such as cowpea
pie, often. Below, I show you how you can prepare this meal:
- The ingredients you need are: about 340 grams of beans, about 150
grams of rice, ground smoke herrings, margarine, and wheat flour, and
ingredients you will use to prepare a gravy.
- To prepare this meal, cook
the beans and rice until the beans are very soft, and then mash the rice
and the beans together.
- Prepare gravy and then
add half of the gravy to the mashed rice and beans.
- Afterward, make the pastry
using about 120 grams of the wheat flour and about 60 grams of the
margarine.
- Then, line a greased pie
dish. Subsequently, pour the
mixture into the pie dish and bake it in a moderately hot oven for about
20 minutes.
- When the food is cooked,
spread the remaining gravy on it and serve. Approximate adult serving is
170 grams.
3.
Eat A Lot Of Fruits And Vegetables
A study conducted in Harvard found out that eating plenty of fruits and
vegetables can help to lower blood pressure, thereby helping to reduce the risk
of developing heart disease.
Therefore, instead of eating a breakfast such as tea with
added sugar, muffins, and eggs, or coffee
with added sugar, bread with a spread of marmalade, jam, or jelly, choose to
eat a breakfast of tea with no added sugar, bran bread, and slices of bananas
or slices of watermelon.
Additionally, instead of eating a lunch such as white rice
with ham, sausages, or hotdogs, choose to eat lunch such as white rice boiled
together with beans, cabbage or eggplant stew, and have a dessert of one
natural tangerine or one natural orange. Furthermore, bake fruit cakes or vegetable
cakes often for yourself and your family.
4.
Dance Often!
The Harvard Health Publication of the Harvard Medical School
reports that a study conducted in the United Kingdom, and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine,
has found that when one dances, it reduces his or her risk of developing heart
disease. And it seems women benefit more from this form of exercise than men.
So, enroll in a dance studio this week or go to a community
center to learn how to dance. On the other hand, if you already know how to
shake your body to the rhythm of music, regularly play your favorite songs and
dance to them for about 30 minutes in your room.
Alternatively, to make the exercise more engaging and more
exciting, have dance parties or dance competitions with your friends.
Additionally, dance during praises and worship time at
church. Give God glory for giving you your body which is so wonderfully created,
and also for taking care of you throughout the week. That will please God and
He may bless you with even better heart health.
5.
Pray for Your Heart Often
God tells us through the Bible in Psalms 127 v 1 that, “Unless
the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord
watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” In other words,
unless God protects your heart and gives it strength, all the human efforts you
make, all the health checks you do at the hospital, all the foods you eat in an the effort to have good heart health, and all the attempts you make to try to have
a good heart will be in vain if He does not bless your efforts.
Accordingly, acknowledge God’s influence over the health of
your heart by praying to Him to give you good heart health, often. You may
intone prayers such as this one every day, “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You
for Your mercies and grace. I thank You for giving me this wonderful body.
Lord, I want you to protect my heart. Let it continue to be strong, and please
make it even stronger so that I will have the strength to serve You. Give me the
grace to avoid habits and lifestyles that can adversely affect my heart. And please
give me the wisdom to live my life in such a way that I will avoid damaging my
heart. Amen.”
Conclusion
The statistics about women
and heart disease may frighten you, as a woman, but if you decide to drink
lemon juice every day, if you cut down on your consumption of red meat, and
when you decide to eat fruits and vegetables often, as well as dance frequently
and ask for God’s protection for your heart every day, you will enjoy good
heart health, which will help you to enjoy your stay here on Earth.
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