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Look: Lifestyle: Fit for Life: Women's Heart Attack Warning

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 12:01 CDT

By JANE WOODHEAD

THE idea that the classic heart attack victim is an overweight, stressed-out middle aged man, who drinks and smokes to excess, is a myth.

Women are now almost as likely to develop heart disease and the death rates are dropping far faster in men than in women.

Women are more likely to develop heart disease today, compared to 10 years ago. A total of 2,000 women die in this country every week as a result of heart disease.

Something which shocked me and really brought the message home as to how heart disease really can impact on a woman's life is when I discovered pop star Lulu had been diagnosed with raised cholesterol. And this was despite her eating healthily - mainly organic foods - and exercising.

But she admitted she loved butter and cream and has now completely cut butter out of her diet and reduced her dairy intake, replacing these products with herbs, garlic and spices.

So looking after your heart really is something which every single one of us needs to think about - w e cannot just sit back and think it "won't happen to me".

And a few simplesteps which will help you to look after your heart, are: Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and whole grains Take up exercise - and even consider buying a dog which will ensure you get out of the house to take it for walks, providing you exercise at the same time Use olive oil as this is better for your heart than saturated fats Cut down on salt Quit smoking Eat plenty of oily fish So when it comes to fats, how do we know which ones to eliminate?

Women should aim for no more than 70g a day and men should have no more than 95g.

While we need some 'good' fats in our diets, including nuts, seeds and oily fish, too much can lead to weight problems.

If a food or drink has more than 20g of fat per 100g, this is considered a lot of fat and is best avoided. If it has 3g or less, this is considered to be a little.

It is the saturated fats which you need to look out for as these are the 'bad' fats.

If a product has more than 5g of saturated fats per 100g, this is considered too much but if it has less than 1g, this is OK

Food of the Week

LIQUORICE: This contains the therapeu

tic compound glycyrrhizin which helps to prevent the breakdown of the stressfighting hormone cortisol, so you feel more resilient and energised

Healthy Hint

AT long last - the news we have been waiting for - scientists have finally confirmed that chocolate is good for us.

But this has to be the dark variety which is beneficial for cardiovascular health.

Cocoa is rich in antioxidants which help to prevent blood clots but these decrease by 50% when consumed with dairy products such as milk chocolate or dark chocolate being eaten with a glass of milk

Source: Liverpool Echo

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