Go Red! for Women Weekly Digest 0326

In this week's issue, I want to address the use of medicinal foods to combat health maladies such as heart disease. This use of food as medicine ought to be preventative as well as restorative. Nourishing and nutritious foods help the body to fight its way towards health. Using food to maintain and restore health is both right and good, and a good method of achiving the correct modification of lifestyle so necessary to achieving optimal health.

So, what are these so-called super foods?

*purple grapes and purple grape juice

*cinnamon

*black, green, oolong tea

*spinach

*salmon

*vitamin D

*olive leaf extract

*orange juice


Grapes prevent LDL buildup. Grape juice increases the immune system. Cinnamon increases good/HDL cholesterol while declining blood pressure. Teas contrel stress cortisols from circulating in the body. Spinach strengthens blood vessels. Olive leaf decreases blood pressure. Orange juice increases the production of collagen which keeps veins and capillaries strong. Vitamin D decreases inflammation and increases immunity. Fish oil and cod liver oils regulate cholesterol and have antiinflammatory properties.

With all the advances in science, sometimes it is the small and accessible changes that can do the most good. All of these foods are within reach, and within budget. As some of them do the same things, then concentrate on your diet and you may just be surprised at how your health improves!



GO RED! FOR WOMEN HEART HEALTH CHECKLIST FOR 0326:

1. Get your numbers www.goredforwomen.org

2. Make an appointment with your doctor to see what you can do to improve health.

3. Add healthful foods to your diet. You can do it! Try at least three things off of the list and add them to your daily meals.

4. Have a laugh! Give yourself a good chuckle to get your heart going!


Once again, from the bottom of my heart,

From my heart to yours,

Doula Angelita
Heart Health Ambassador
San Jose American Health Association

GO RED! For Women 2010!

Today is the day to pull out your red clothing, red shoes, red wig,your garnet and ruby jewellry, red power suit...it is time to GO RED! for women and to help save lives-including your own. Here in San Jose, the American Heart Association and its heart ambassadors, including San Jose's Community Doula, Doula Angelita, will be going red to spread the word about heart health and how to keep your heart happy and working well.

Your heart pumps blood ceaselessy throughout the body. All organs are nourished as well as the happy fact that the blood carries oxygen so that your lungs can fill with air. The heart is hard-working and uncomplaining, pumping, adjusting, finding a way to keep the flow going even when it suffers damages. One of the most important facts about the heart is that it takes a licking and keeps on ticking long after parts of it have died due to disease.

With the Go Red! initiative, the American Heart Association has a whole series of videos, on-line tools and outreach opportunities to keep your heart alive and well. Most of the advice is well-known: healthy diet, daily exercise, positive outlook, and getting adequate rest are all important ways to keep your heart healthy and happy. Additionally, there are recipes, opportunities to connect with others looking to improve their heart health, and ways to spread the word on heart health throughout the community.

To keep your heart healthy, the simplest point of reference is the ABC of Heart Health. This involves avoiding tobacco, become more active, and choose good nutrition. This message is simple, portable and fits in perfectly with the GO RED! philosophy. GO RED! is the slogan to signal the wake-up call to action for each one of us. GO RED! is not for one day only, it is a life-long committment. GO RED! for women is a way to women to think about taking good care of ourselves so that we can continue to care for the others who enrich our lives.

Doula Angelita, as a proud heart ambassador, will sponsor a series of Go Red! forums online every Friday in February. This Friday's forum will talk about the GO RED! system for maintaining heart health. She will also take questions from the general San Jose community regarding heart health. To connect with her or with the San Jose Heart Association, send an email to: sanjosecommunitydoula@gmail.com.