Let’s talk about love & your relationship … with FOOD!
February 14th is known the world over as the day when people express their love on Valentine’s Day. Those displays of affection often get communicated with greeting cards, roses and heart shaped boxes of chocolates and other symbols of love and caring.
Many people think that Valentine’s day is a “Hallmark” Holiday, a day conjured up by the greeting card company to sell more cards – not true. Valentine’s Day, or Saint Valentine’s Day or The Feast of Saint Valentine dates back to the 14th Century. Yes, the wonderful marketing people at the greeting card companies and the flower shops have certainly figured out how to maximize the opportunities for profit on the February 14, but that is not the point.
The concept of sharing one’s feelings and expressing one’s love for another is still a beautiful thing to do and strongly encouraged and it doesn’t cost anything to tell someone how much you love them and makes people feel loved, wanted and appreciated.
With all these heart shaped symbols flying around it makes sense that Canada & America also use the month of February to promote Heart Health. February is the “official” Heart Health month. It is good to focus on heart health as heart disease is the number one cause of death in the world.
While the term “Heart Disease” covers a myriad of heart issues, I don’t want to bore you with all the medical data, statistics and facts out there; you can Google that information. I do want to take this opportunity to express my concerns around heart disease and share some simple steps we can all do to help avoid adding to the statistics.
I’m sure many of you reading this have lost family members, friends and loved ones to heart disease. Some from a stroke, others from a heart attack and others from a long struggle with blood pressure and diabetes related issues. Sure, it saddens me to think about the loss of those loved ones.
Why does this concern me so greatly? Because we do this to ourselves. Not intentionally of course and not suddenly. But every time someone orders that big burger and supersized fries at the drive thru window, every time someone lights that next cigarette, pours that “one too many” drink, every time someone adds the little bit of extra butter and syrup to those pancakes or stops by the donut shop for a treat. Little by little, every single day of their lives, they unwittingly contribute to and add to their heart health problem until ultimately their heart is broken to the point it can no longer function.
Of course, I’m sad to have lost loved ones and I feel sympathy and empathy for those of you who have lost loved ones to heart disease also or perhaps are suffering from heart issues yourselves. But as a Naturopathic Doctor, knowing what I know now after many years in the health industry, having been to hundreds of educational seminars, having helped thousands of patients, we are breaking our own hearts every day and I for one want to help you change.
Not only can we stop doing damage, the great news is we can actually reverse some of the damage we’ve already done.
How? Simple version: eat better and move more!
It really is that simple. Note, I didn’t say easy, I said simple.
By starting to change your diet from processed poison to real, natural, nutritious, delicious, healthy food and by adding at least 30 minutes of exercise a day to your routine, you can and will feel unbelievably better with more energy and zest for life. You may also reduce your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, clear your arteries, strengthen your heart and maybe just maybe, enjoy a long happy, healthy life surrounded by people who love you and whom you want to express your love for every Valentine’s Day for years to come.
As your doctor and friend, I ask you to please stop breaking your heart and have a very happy, healthy heart month and a wonderful love filled, Valentine’s Day!
There are many natural options to help with your heart health, and if this is an area you need assistance with, by all means, give us a call, as we would love to have a relationship with you to get you on your way to a healthier life. 970-963-6500. You can also set up a discovery call here if you would like to speak with us first to see if we can help you.