Sending LOVE from China :)


Hi Friends! Sorry I had been missing in action for more than a week! It's just that things happened so fast that I haven't had any opportunity to blog!

If you would like a broader picture of what happened to me in the past week, you may refer to my previous post entitled "Important Dates".

Firstly, my beloved baby came back from the States on 11th, after more than half a year. Yes, it was heavenly to see her again.

Secondly, we had our marriage registration on 12th, legally sealing the PART ONE of our marriage. PART TWO (church wedding) and PART THREE (dinners in Kuching and KL) coming up in July. Wow... means that legally, I am a husband, and she is my lovely beloved wife.

Thirdly, we collected our marriage certificate on 14th, spent almost the whole morning there at the event where 102 couples registered their marriage on Valentine's Day. And yes, if you read Chinese dailies, you will find me and mine wife photo (group photo) in the papers. I will upload a scanned copy of it as soon as I head back to my office on 23rd. Nothing much to see though, since it's a group photo of a big group.

Fourthly, we traveled to Guangzhou, China, on Sunday, 15th, and had our wedding photos taken on Monday. It was a tiring but exciting experience, and I shall put up those photos as soon as I get my hands on the digital versions. I'm very sure you'll be impressed, and it will silence the critics who wondered why one would go all the way to Guangzhou, China just to have their wedding photos taken. Stay tuned!

Fifthly, we shopped till our butts dropped! It was crazy - I had never spent so much in my life before on clothes. The total accumulated amount is more than what I spent on clothings for the past 10 years - NO KIDDING! I think these clothings will last me for the next 20 years. No more clothings for me! You will see me wearing most of these new clothings in my wedding in July. Stay tuned for this too!

Sixthly, we went on a gourmet spree! I'm not much of a food connoisseur, but I must say that some of the stuffs I ate here are astonishing! Some were lame, but most are very impressive. I guess those are the adjectives I know of to describe the good food I ate... LOL... yeah, I know, most food experts would be able to describe the food to the point you could actually taste it!

And seventhly and lastly, I have less than a week and a half to prepare for my TOEFL exam! YIKES! And I can't imagine the amount of work I have to clear once I head back to office after an 8-working-days break. I would have to juggle between heavy workload at the office and studying for my exam! And probably sleep too. Sigh... wish I could be on vacation forever, and still get paid, of course!

Alright, I shall be back (blogging) real soon, as soon as I have more time. And to visit your blogs too. I surely miss reading your blogs! And to complete my postings on Women's Heart. Till then, have a beautiful midweek!!!

Taking a break from posting about women's heart to wish my baby...

HAPPY 23RD ANNIVERSARY :)

I had always posted a love song from someone, like Chris Brown, or Westlife, but this time, I want to dedicate this beautiful worship song to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, because it is He who brought us together, joined us together, and kept us together.

Colossians 1:17 (NIV) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.






ABOVE ALL


Above all powers
Above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms
Above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all


Thank You Lord, for bringing us together, and giving us each other :) I love You Lord, and I love you baby :8

LADIES, PLEASE READ THIS!

(PART FOUR OF FIVE)


Hi Friends! Before I continue on my sharing on women's heart, I just want to thank and appreciate Mys Lyke Meeh for indirectly encouraging me on my postings about taking care of women's heart. You know, sometimes, when you have written a few long posts, and the posts are for the benefit of others, it is definitely EXTRA nice to get a comment or two, just to get the assurance that at least someone is reading all that effort :) Thank you again, Mys Lyke Meeh! I surely hope that all these information is of benefit to all you readers :)

Since this is the second last post, I shall not elaborate too much on the points I want to share with you all, but if you are interested in more details, you can always tell me that, and I'll be most willing to share with you as much as I can. Since this is Friday, this is me, sitting in my office cubicle this morning, all dressed up in RED :) I didn't think that wearing RED PANTS is such a good idea. That would probably draw too much attention... LOL!

Just to recap, here are the 6 Risk Factors of heart problems again:

I. High cholesterol,
II. Hypertension,
III. Poor diet and obesity,
IV. Smoking,
V. Diabetes and
VI. Lack of exercise.

And in my previous two posts, I wrote about how to minimise Risk Factor #1, by:

(i) Eating a heart-healthy diet,
(ii) Geting regular physical exercise, and
(iii) Avoiding tobacco smoke (first- & secondhand)


And, I shall complete writing about (i) Eating a heart-healthy diet. Remember the key words of a heart-healthy diet?

WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES. More of these.

And less of these: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.


I finished writing about CHOLESTEROL and SALT in food, so in this post, I WILL finish writing about SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.

To all those who have a SWEET TOOTH, I have bad news for you. Your habit of eating sweet things, if done regularly, is a risk factor of you getting DIABETES. That would be Risk Factor #5. Of course, some would argue that, they had been eating sweet things almost every day for many years, and they are ok. But the truth is, doing all that will one day lead to diabetes. There might be exceptions, but the chances are TOO HIGH that you will get it. Even if you don't, all that calories in sweet things will surely make you fat or obese, which is Risk Factor #3. I know it is hard. But what worse than getting diabetes? It is NOT my intention to create FEAR, or CONDEMN you, but I am just sharing medical findings and wisdom in living. Yes, God blesses, God protects, but then again, God gave us wisdom. God gave us all the medical knowledge. God warns us through His people - doctors, dietitians, nutritionists. It is best to take heed and CUT DOWN on all those sweet stuffs. So the next time you are thinking about indulging in ice cream fondue, chocolate fountain, desserts, candies, soft drink, please think twice. Why satisfy your taste buds for a few minutes, and risk suffering from diabetes for the later years of your life? And ultimately, heart problems, since diabetes is a risk factor of heart ailments. CHOOSE WISELY.

Next up:

SATURATED FAT & TRANS FAT.

I am grouping these two together, because both are quite similar in nature - they are both fats, and both causes an increase of cholesterol in the body. I'm not going to elaborate too much about these two, but just make sure you read FOOD LABELS carefully and watch out for these two fats. Examples of foods containing a high proportion of saturated fat:

- Dairy products (especially cream and cheese but also butter and ghee),
- Animal fats such as suet, tallow, lard and fatty meat,
- Coconut oil,
- Cottonseed oil,
- Palm kernel oil,
- Chocolate (there you go again... CHOCOLATE!), and
- Some prepared foods.

And foods containing a high proportion of trans fat:

- Commercial baked goods — such as crackers, cookies and cakes
- Many fried foods such as doughnuts and french fries
- Shortenings and some margarines also are high in trans fat

In some countries, trans fat that amounts to less than 0.5 grams per serving can be listed as 0 grams trans fat on the food label! Though that's a small amount of trans fat, if you eat multiple servings of foods with less than 0.5 grams of trans fat, you could exceed recommended limits! MOREOVER, please don't think that a trans fat-FREE food is automatically good for you. Food manufacturers have begun substituting other ingredients for trans fat, such as tropical oils like coconut, palm kernel and palm oils. These oils contain a lot of saturated fat (OUCH!!! WAKE UP!). So do you now see why I group these two BAD BOYS together? Don't just watch out for saturated fat or trans fat only. LOOK OUT FOR BOTH AT THE SAME TIME :)

THE TRUTH IS... monounsaturated fat (MUFA) — found in olive, peanut and canola oils — is a healthier option. Nuts, fish and other foods containing unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids are other good choices.

And now, for the ALCOHOL... How much is too much? How does this affect the heart? This can be very subjective, and depends a lot on case to case basis. But research indicates that MODERATE drinkers are less likely to suffer heart attacks than are ABSTAINERS or HEAVY drinkers.

The results indicated that MODERATE consumers (1 to 2 drinks/day) were at a lower risk of coronary heart disease than NONconsumers or HEAVY consumers. Is this a surprise to many of you? You must have thought that AVOIDING ALCOHOL is a good thing. Unfortunately, medical research has proven that theory (avoiding) to be WRONG. Moderate drinking is a good thing for your heart, because:

Firstly, alcohol improves blood lipid profile:
A. It increases HDL cholesterol.
B. It decreases LDL cholesterol.
C. It improves cholesterol (both HDL and LDL) particle size

Secondly, alcohol decreases thrombosis (blood clotting):
A. It reduces platelet aggregation.
B. It reduces fibrinogen (a blood clotter).
C. It increases fibrinolysis (the process by which clots dissolve).

And thirdly, alcohol acts through additional ways:
A. It reduces coronary artery spasm in response to stress.
B. It increases coronary blood flow.
C. It reduces blood pressure.
D. It reduces blood insulin level.
E. It increases estrogen levels


But please TAKE NOTE that, 1 - 2 drinks is the recommendation. Taking more can lead to alcoholism, or addiction, which will turn you into a HEAVY drinker.

The American Heart Association has reported that "More than a dozen prospective studies have demonstrated a consistent, strong, dose-response relation between increasing alcohol consumption and decreasing incidence of CHD (coronary heart disease). The data are similar in men and women in a number of different geographic and ethnic groups. Consumption of ONE OR TWO DRINKS PER DAY is associated with a reduction in risk of approximately 30% to 50%."

Again, please exercise CAUTION. You might want to consult your doctor before starting drinking, especially if you have pre-existing medical problems. Otherwise... CHEERS!

So there you go... I'm done with (i) Eating a heart-healthy diet. I shall finsh off with (ii) and (iii) in my last post, as well as share a little on Risk Factors #2 - #6.

Have a beautiful weekend Friends! And thank you for reading this long post. I sure hope that it is beneficial to you (especially ladies). Take care!

LADIES, PLEASE READ THIS!

(PART THREE OF FIVE)


Just to recap, here are the 6 Risk Factors of heart problems again:

I. High cholesterol,
II. Hypertension,
III. Poor diet and obesity,
IV. Smoking,
V. Diabetes and
VI. Lack of exercise.


In my previous post, I wrote about how to minimise Risk Factor #1, by:

(i) Eating a heart-healthy diet,
(ii) Geting regular physical exercise, and
(iii) Avoiding tobacco smoke (first- & secondhand)


And I did not finish writing about (i) Eating a heart-healthy diet. Remember the key words of a heart-healthy diet?

WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES. More of these.

And less of these: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.


I finished writing about CHOLESTEROL in food, so in this post, I hope to finish writing about SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.

The FACT is, cutting down on your salt intake will help to reduce Risk Factor #2, which is HYPERTENSION, and in turn, reduce the risk of getting heart disease. Of course, too much salt in your diet is not the only cause of hypertension. But we shall look at this later.

What kinds of food are high in salt (more than 400 mg per serving)?

- Onion soup
- Foods made with seasoned bread crumbs
- Sauerkraut
- Spaghetti sauce (ready to serve)
- Potato salad
- Cheese sauce
- Baked beans with franks
- Macaroni and cheese
- Pizza slice
- Cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, and many other fast foods
- Beef stew (from a can)
- Cottage cheese
- Minestrone soup
- Submarine sandwiches
- Tunafish salad
- Pretzels, potato chips, and other snacks
- Sliced ham, bologna, salami and other cold cuts
- Cream-style corn (from a can)
- Pickles
- Beef jerky snacks
- Egg bagels

This is not an exhaustive list, but reviewing it and then getting in the habit of reading food labels can help you spot other foods high in salt (normally listed as SODIUM). As you can now see, high-salt items are typically many CANNED FOODS (especially soups), COLD CUTS, SNACK FOODS a.k.a. JUNK FOODS, and FAST FOODS.

Again, the choice is yours. You might think that... what the hell does that guy know? Those food that he listed are yummy, tasty food, and surely, eating some of it is not going to give me a heart attack.

OF COURSE... one or two packets of instant noodles are not going to cause an immediate heart failure, but, the TRUTH is, did all those people who died from heart problems died just because they just had one or two packets of instant noodles? Nope... they, too, thought that one or two should be fine, and the problem is, one or two over a long period of time, becomes A LOT.

I'm not asking you to meticulously go and count your daily sodium intake to ensure that it does not exceed 2,300 mg per day, or 1,500 mg per day for individuals with hypertension, African Americans, middle-aged and older adults. But if you did, you'll be surprised that you easily do not meet the recommendation. So do many others.

And guess what? One packet of instant noodle contains AT LEAST 3,000 mg of sodium. I know you must be cursing me, that I'm crazy, simply writing things that are not true, etc. Fine, if you don't believe me, go read the labels of any packet of instant noodle. Or a canned food. Or one double cheeseburger. Don't be shocked at the TRUTH.

Of course, again, many people don't feel the urgency or the importance of keeping a low-salt diet, mainly because of the terrible side effects are NOT FELT after many years down the road. But PLEASE BELIEVE ME FOR ONCE. I'm not kidding. Cut down on your salt intake. And you'll avoid wasting money on expensive hypertension drugs, drugs for heart problems, hospitalisation, and ultimately, a fatal heart attack.

You might complain... food with little or no salt, no MSG is TASTELESS... Again, the choice is yours. Choose wisely.

You know what? I think my posts are getting too long, and I feel that I'll never be able to complete writing about how to keep your heart healthy, because there's just too many things I would like to share with you all. You might say, cut it short. Go straight to the point, but the truth is, do people follow "shortcuts"? Most of the time, they'll just ignore all the points and think that the author is mad. And then regret it 10, 20 years down the road. And oftentimes, they JUST DON'T GET IT. They know that too much salt is bad, but they don't give a damn about it, and go on as usual, eating like they had always been eating, all those high-cholesterol, high-salt food. WHY THEN, do you think that the statistics is always increasing, year after year? Because of population growth? Do you think that the people in India or Africa, which are currently the main contributors to population growth mostly die from cardiovascular problems? The truth is, the increase in the number of people dying from heart diseases comes from all those developed, high-income countries. Because people JUST DON'T GET IT. Am I the first to write about something like this? Of course not. Thousands of nutritionists and dietitians and doctors had spoken or written before me. Are these things I'm sharing NEW information? Nope... ancient wisdom passed down for generations. And still, few listened, and even fewer assimilated these information.

Take care, and I hope YOU get it.

Blessings come in pairs :)





Taking a break from Go Red For Women and Women's Heart, I just want to update on the torrents of blessings that I had been receiving over the past 7 days. Thank You Lord Jesus!





PAIR #1: Received my annual increment - 3% AND my annual 1 month bonus, which is credited into the 12 months' salary for this year.



PAIR #2: Received a RM100 (about US$27.67) shopping voucher for singing a song during my company's annual dinner AND my HR Director made 4 cookies for me.



PAIR #3: I only need to submit my monthly report on the 10th day of every month, as compared to the last day of the month previously, AND I only need to submit one page of report, as compared to more than 20 previously.



PAIR #4: I ran below 30 mins for the first time for the 3-mile run this morning - 29:51.74 AND I haven't fallen sick since the Melaka trip (Oct 27, 2008)!



PAIR #5: I was asked by 2 different colleagues on 2 separate occasions to work (different events) on Saturday, Feb 21, the next day after I return from my Guangzhou trip, but the events were eventually cancelled... WOOHOO!!! AND I'll be seeing my baby in less than a week's time! After more than half a year... WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!





Hope you are all having a great time too. Take care and God bless you abundantly!

LADIES, PLEASE READ THIS!



(PART TWO OF FIVE)


Hi Friends, this is a continuation of my previous post, as I work hand-in-hand with the American Heart Association to help create a greater awareness among women concerning heart disease and how to reduce the risk factors associated with it. Of course, this also applies to men, but we would like to focus more on the ladies, since they contribute more to the statistics, and they are less aware of this problem as compared to men.

In my previous post, I agreed to write more about the RISK FACTORS for heart disease: High cholesterol, hypertension, poor diet and obesity, smoking, diabetes and lack of exercise. We shall look at high cholesterol in this post. You will realise that the risk factors are all inter-related with one another. I have to bear this in mind, or else, I might just get lost writing everything in one single post! So let's go!

RISK FACTOR #1: High cholesterol

What contributes to a higher cholesterol level? Food high in cholesterol? And what does it really mean by "high cholesterol"? Do you know that there are GOOD cholesterols and BAD ones?

When you go and have your blood tested, you will normally get 4 kinds of readings related to your cholesterol or lipid levels.


- Total Blood (or Serum) Cholesterol Level (200-239 mg/dL: Borderline; 240 and above: High Risk)
- HDL (GOOD) Cholesterol Level (Less than 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women: High Risk)
- LDL (BAD) Cholesterol Level (130-159 mg/dL: Borderline; 160 and above: High Risk)
- Triglyceride Level (150-199 mg/dL: Borderline; 200 and above: High Risk)


Is it THAT difficult to LOWER all the levels above to DESIRABLE levels? Not at all. Do you have to take expensive medications? In some cases, yes, as per your physician's advice. But the truth is, there are ways to do it healthily, free-of-charge, and best of all, without the terrible side effects of taking drugs. These methods are nothing extraordinarily new, and I'm sure you know some, if not, most of them yourselves. And I sure hope that THIS TIME, this message or advice will really sink in. It's no point reading it again and again but you do nothing about it. I strongly implore you to put it to habit:

(i) Eat a heart-healthy diet,
(ii) Get regular physical exercise, and
(iii) Avoid tobacco smoke (first- & secondhand)
(iv) Get a blood test once every 5 years
(v) Change your genetic make-up (ok, this is not possible, but just to let you know that our genes can also determine how much cholesterol your body produces, something we can't control)

Now do you see why I said that the risk factors are inter-linked in one way or another? The 3 ways to reduce the first risk factor (high cholesterol), is actually also helping to reduce risk factors #2, #3, #4, #5, and #6.

So let's now zoom in to the first method:

(i) Eat a heart-healthy diet

Yes, I hear those GREEN words coming... Vegetarians, vegans, octo-vegans, etc... all of them have been consistently proven to have significantly reduced chances of having heart diseases, as compared to the hardcore carnivores. Whether you like it or not, fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains and legumes, are all heart-healthy food. These are the kind of food that are LOW IN or are absolutely FREE of the BAD BOYS: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL. I'm not saying you can't take any of those things, or meat. But the truth is, those ARE ultimately THE things that contribute to higher cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes, etc. In the end, you have to make the choice between continuing your current eating habits, and changing to a healthier and good-for-your-heart diet. All I can do is to present to you the facts and truths, and the decision is yours. You are responsible to make your own choice, sow whatever you want (good food or bad ones), and years later, reap the results. I can only pray hard that you will make the RIGHT choice.

Think about it... you WILL definitely save A LOT on healthcare and medication. What makes you think that healthcare costs are going to come down? And you'll be in great health, enjoy life as great as it can be, and avoid all the unnecessary disablements and discomforts of chronic diseases. Having pain all the time is not fun at all. And having to swallow all those expensive pills for your conditions is not fun too. There are a lot of nightmarish side effects in taking drugs. And I do not think that God intended for us to go through old age with all kinds of sicknesses and diseases and sufferings. Is it possible to die of old age free of common chronic diseases? Absolutely.

To be specific, what should you AVOID or CUT DOWN ON? Here are some lists that can help you make your choices:

TOP 75 HIGH CHOLESTEROL FOODS (Source: USDA)

I'm sharing the Top 30 here. If you would like to see all of the 75, go HERE.



For those in RED, PLEASE AVOID TAKING IT as much as you possibly can. Those are the major killers. HOWEVER, it should be noted that the same high cholesterol food stuffs are also good sources of other essential nutrients such as protein, fatty acids, macro- and micro-nutrients, and carbohydrates. But of course, these essential nutrients can be found in other healthier sources of food. Again, it's your choice. Choose wisely.



If you are currently consuming these high cholesterol food in every meal every day (for some, maybe more than one high cholesterol food in every meal every day), I suggest that you do a transition change, so that you won't feel the "withdrawal syndrome" that badly. From 3 meals a day (some four), you may reduce those high cholesterol food down to 2 meals with those kind of food, and the remaining one meal, you may convert the high cholesterol food that you regularly consume into something green, like veges, or fruits, or whole grain, or legumes, on the 1st day. Do this for the whole week. I'm very sure you'll notice a difference in how you feel. If that week is alright, then, you may convert another meal to be free of high cholesterol food for the second week, and so forth. For the hardcore carnivores, they may need a longer transition period, probably a month or two (don't be surprised), as compared to a week as per what I'd explained above.



You might ask, does this mean complete elimination of those food in red from the diet? Well, ultimately, yes, that would be the best, but you might also ask, would there be any exceptions? Special cases? Well, the answer is yes, there is. IF, and I must repeat... IF you are an active sportsman, active in physical activities, which is solution (ii) that we will look at in the next post, then you may safely consume more of these food as compared to a sedentary non-active individual. And also if you are a non-smoker, and not exposed to secondhand smoke, as well as if you are regularly consuming cholesterol-reducing food. We shall touch on this soon (cholesterol-reducing food).



Orange colored ones, still quite risky, so can consume in extreme moderation, probably once a week, and the yellow ones, in moderation, 3 times a week should be fine. And for the rest of those not listed here, in moderation, once a day should be alright. Of course, the best is to avoid all of these completely, but that would be quite impractical. Try turning a carnivore to a herbivore overnight. You'll get more roadkills than before. And ultimately, those things high in cholesterol also happen to be food that TASTE GOOD.



Even though I am an active sportsman, I don't smoke or stay near smokers, and I ADORE EGGS... BUT ultimately, I keep my eggs intake in check, because whether I like it or not, I need to take care of my heart! And of course, being a nutritionist, I need to walk the talk, not just talk big.



I shall be back to write about SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.

Remember the key words of a healthy diet: WHOLE GRAINS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, LEGUMES. More of these.

And less of these: CHOLESTEROL, SALT, SUGAR, SATURATED FAT, TRANS FAT, ALCOHOL.

LADIES, PLEASE READ THIS!

(AND WEAR SOMETHING RED THIS FRIDAY!)


Hi Friends! How's the start to your week? Great? I would like to share with you an article I read on Kentucky.com, which I feel strongly about sharing it with you all, especially ladies, or men with ladies, BUT not men who feel like they are ladies trapped in a man's bodies.

All full credits to Merlene Davis, Herald-Leader columnist for more than 20 years. You could visit her blog HERE. She's a real nice lady. If you loved her article, please send her a Thank You note, or a nice email to mdavis1@herald-leader.com.

It's about your HEART, ladies, and reading this might save your life, no kidding. Here's the great article:

For some reason, we women just don't get it.

We don't understand that cardiovascular disease is responsible for more deaths in women than breast cancer, 17 times more every year. And we don't seem to be aware that more women die of heart disease nationwide than men.

We've learned to examine our breasts monthly or suffer through mammograms annually to stay on top of breast cancer, all while our heart health is on the back burner — if cooking at all.

Part of the reason, said Ed Jutt, director of the Heart Institute at St. Joseph Hospital, is that women tend to be the caregivers, making sure spouses and children are cared for. Plus, in the early years of heart-disease studies, women were not the focus, sometimes leaving the impression that cardio vascular disease was a man thing.

"As the American Heart Association and people who deal with hearts regularly can tell you, that is not the case," Jutt said.

One problem is that the symptoms of a heart attack are different for women or we might not experience them the same way. While men get a more dramatic, chest-clutching, crushing blow as a signal, women don't seem to experience that, he said.

"They may get the twinge down the arm, but they don't think that is heart-related," Jutt said.

They don't connect sweats or lower back pain with a heart attack either. All of those symptoms are assigned a reason easily found in daily activities. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, light-headedness, nausea and discomfort in the upper body or chest.

The risk factors for heart disease are basically the same for men and women: high cholesterol, hypertension, poor diet and obesity, smoking, diabetes and lack of exercise. [John's comment: I will write more on this in my next post... stay tuned!]

To help bring awareness to women's risks of heart disease, the American Heart Association has set Friday as its fifth annual National Wear Red Day, part of the Go Red for Women heart-health awareness movement.

Women and men are encouraged to wear red clothing to help remind women to think of their heart health. [John's comment: Besides looking stunningly hot (lady in red), you can let people know about the real cause you are supporting!]

Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases are the No. 1 killers of women in Kentucky. An estimated 19 women die in the state from heart disease and stroke every day.

"It is important for women to talk with their doctors about this," said Mike Turner, special events director for the Lexington office of the American Heart Association.

On Friday, he said, St. Joseph Hospital nurses and technicians will be available at Macy's in Fayette Mall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., to conduct screenings, which will include blood pressure readings. They also can talk with women about their risk factors. "And they will get a free red dress pin," he said.

Women can go online to www.goredforwomen.org to learn of risk factors associated with heart disease and to read stories about women who had heart attacks. A free heart disease assessment also is available at www.knowmyheart.com, Jutt said.

"It takes about seven minutes," he said. "If it appears you are at risk, you will have the choice to have someone follow up with you. A nurse will call if you like to make an appointment for a free face-to-face assessment."

It is time to give combating heart disease a higher priority in our busy lives, ladies.

Don't discard the pink ribbons. Just pick up a little red dress to go with them.


Heart attack warning signs

Some heart attacks are sudden and there's no doubt about what's happening. But most heart attacks start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Often people affected aren't sure what's wrong and wait too long before getting help.

Here are signs that can mean a heart attack is happening:

■ Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.

■ Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.

■ Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.

■ Other signs might include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.

Source: American Heart Association

ELMO: I'm not wearing anything this Friday... weeeeeee......

Fantastic weekend in sports :)

Hi Friends! What a great weekend! I hope you had a great weekend too :)

Firstly, Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer yet again, to win the Australian Open, 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2. It was a historic victory for Nadal, as this is his first Australian Open title, first Grand Slam title on hard courts, and he became the first Spaniard in history that had ever claimed this Grand Slam Open trophy. It was a sweet victory, not just because he beat Federer yet again, but for all the hard work - this match was his second consecutive 5-sets epic battle, and in total, spent 9 and a half hours on court for the past 3 days! And I always like to say this... he's only 22. And he'd already claimed 6 Grand Slams. Federer, when he was 22, had only won his FIRST Grand Slam - the 2003 Wimbledon. I think Nadal will be the greatest ever, and the one to surpass Sampras' 14 Grand Slams record. Even if Federer exceeded Sampras' record, my prediction is Nadal will surpass 'em all. Congrats, Rafa!

Secondly, Manchester United beat Everton 1-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the English Premier League to 5 points. Yay!!! Looks like Liverpool has fizzled out, following the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal. And we thought that it would be a tight race... Kudos to Edwin van der Sar, for keeping the clean sheet for 12 consecutive matches, eclipsing the previous English Premier League record of 1,104 minutes without conceding a goal, set by Reading's Steve Death in 1979. Let's see if he will exceed the all-time British record of 1,196 minutes, set by Chris Woods of Rangers (Scottish Premier League).

Thirdly, I did 77 push-ups in 36 mins and 5.44 seconds, my best time ever, today. Things are progressing great. And I'm pretty sure that in no time, I will be able to do all that 77 push-ups in 2 mins.

Ok, it's back to work now. Yes, I think I am working through the night. And you are right if you guessed that I am rushing to complete my monthly report, not period (winks to Small Footprints).

Have a great week ahead, Friends!