Is it Really Possible to Prevent, Manage or Reverse Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease

They are the biggest killers in America : Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. The most common causes of these deadly conditions are: Physical inactivity, obesity, stress, smoking, poor food, snack and beverage choices. The shocking news is that these diseases are so easily preventable.

A frequent cause of blame is the unhealthy food choices people make on a regular basis. Its okay to splurge once in a while, but it is the habits you follow daily that will determine your overall health. Constantly consuming chips, bacon, cakes, sugary soft drinks, other sugary beverages and juices, candy, sausage, and cigarettes will get you nothing but poor health, deadly diseases and a ticket straight to heaven way prematurely.

According to CDC over 63% (that's over 180 million) of the US population is overweight or obese. Additionally, obesity has tripled in men and women in the last two decades. As if this weren't a strong enough indicator of the seriousness of the problem, the American Heart Association states that over 110 million Americans have partially blocked arteries. Worse yet, over 160 million have high blood pressure and pre-blood pressure and over 76 million have diabetes and pre-diabetes. There are also currently over 50 million smokers. The majority of people have a combination of several of these factors contributing to the astronomical number of deaths by the hundreds of thousands every year from heart attacks and strokes that are totally preventable. Recently the CDC reported the devastating statistic that over 70% (Over 1.7 million) of all causes of death in America are caused by only three preventable factors: obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and smoking . The very fact that these factors are easily preventable is heartbreaking.

One of the major contributors to poor health is the excessive consumption of cholesterol. In actuality, cholesterol is a very important substance that is essential for our survival. Over 85% of cholesterol is produced in our liver; however, we only need to get 15% from outside sources. The problem is that we consume much more cholesterol than our bodies need. The only source of dietary cholesterol is from animal products such as bacon, sausage, hotdogs, pepperoni, butter and other dairy products, heavy creams, sour cream, cheese, fatty cuts of meat, and lard with the exception of two vegetarian cholesterol sources which are coconut oil and palm oil.

Another major contributor to deadly diseases, poor health and premature aging and death is physical inactivity. Most of us sit throughout an entire workday then go home and sit in front of the TV for another 5 to 6 hours while consuming large fatty meals, snacks, and sugary or alcoholic beverages that are rich in saturated fats, salt, and sugar, all of which contribute to increased belly fat. Shockingly, belly fat is the most dangerous kind because it causes inflammation in the arteries contributing to plaque build up in the arteries and insulin resistance leading to heart attacks and diabetes.

Yet another common issue is that people are unaware of how unhealthy the foods they consume are. When people don't read nutrition labels they tend to consume very dense food and sugary beverages that are nutrient deficient. These foods are readily available in fast food restaurants and vending machines and contain loads of sugar, fat, and unwanted calories. A major mistake people make is incorrectly thinking that beverages are generally safe from significant amounts of fat and sugar. Among the most popular drinks that people reach for are sugary sodas (which alone contribute to over 33% of all US obesity), sugary lemonade, sweetened iced tea, smoothies, lattes, and frappucinos, which contain loads of sugar and fat that further contribute to the accumulation of belly fat and make you more of a magnet to all sorts of deadly but preventable diseases. One of the worst mistakes people make as well is skipping one or two meals a day to lose weight but this only results in major precious muscle and water loss in turn causing your body to become more efficient at storing fat and consequently fat weight gain follows.

Fortunately there are important steps to help you make balanced food and activity choices and help you start a lifestyle makeover process which will be your shield against deadly diseases as you age gracefully:

If you have any chronic disease(s) take your medications as prescribed

Eat 3 main balanced meals, reduce your portion sizes and raise your fiber intake

Consume 2 fruit and nuts snacks between meals

Switch all sugary drinks to water, diet soft drinks and sweeten all other hot or cold beverages with sweeteners or sugar free flavoring powders. Limit all non water beverages to a couple a day

Increase your daily walking activity to over 10 thousand steps a day by making more frequent trips at home, the office, while shopping and anywhere else.

The good news is that diabetes, heart disease and all other chronic diseases can be prevented, managed, and reversed with your own choices and a lifestyle makeover. Now is the time to start putting these tips to good use and begin feeling better and living healthier right away!

For more detailed information on any of these topics log on to: www.LifestyleMakeoverEbook.com and check out these information packed lifesaving book and e-book volumes: LIFESTYLE MAKEOVER FOR DIABETICS AND PRE-DIABETICS and 4 other e-books: Lifestyle Makeover: Sex, Stress, and Alcohol , Lifestyle Makeover for All Couch Potatoes , Lifestyle Makeover: Defeat High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure , and Lifestyle Makeover for all Tobacco Users . The author of this article is also the author of these volumes

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Copyright © 2008 by George Tohme All rights reserved.