5 Hair Metal songs to work out to!

It's a proven fact that exercise can lower your risk of heart disease. Even just regular walks can reduce your risk of coronary events by up to 50% (according to Healthline). 

So in order to help you exercise, Metalheart is doing a series of songs to workout to!

Here are 5 hair metal songs that are great to workout to!

1. Scorpions - Rock You Like A Hurricane

2. Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It

3. Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart

4. Survivor - Eye of The Tiger

5. Europe - The Final Countdown

Quick Bit: Fast Food culture shift?

Fast food company profit's are going down while Chipotle, a restaurant chain that focuses on fresh healthy food, is experiencing large growth in profits according to to Buzzfeed.

Many chains are making an effort to diversify their menus with fresher, healthier food. They cite a shift in demands of millennial tastes. Even Pizza Hut is adding new healthy options and 250 calorie pizzas.

With the risks of heart disease increasing with increased intake of healthy food, it's great to see fast food companies offering healthier options. It's even greater to see a culture shift in how Americans consumer food. Hopefully we can keep this up over the long run and see net reductions in heart disease risk.

I think the exciting thing is that there's a shift in how we see food, and a demand for healthier food is a great thing.

What is the Deadliest Thing in America?

5 Heavy Metal Songs to work out to!

It's a proven fact that exercise can lower your risk of heart disease. Even just regular walks can reduce your risk of coronary events by up to 50% (according to Healthline). 

So in order to help motivate you all exercise, Metalheart is doing a series of workout playlists!

These are 5 modern heavy metal songs to work out to!

1. Avenged Sevenfold - Welcome To The Family

2. Five Finger Death Punch - Back For More

3. Disturbed - Indestructible

4. Hail The Villain - My Reward

5. Halestorm - Love Bites (So Do I)

Sugar is in everything, and it can hurt you (feat. John Oliver)

Sugar can be a huge danger to your heart. People who get more than 18% of their calories from sugar can have up to a 38% increased risk of heart disease compared to those who get less of their calories from sugar (according to Heart.org).

Now keeping track of your sugar wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't for the large amounts of sugar added to everything from ketchup to cranberry juice. John Oliver breaks down the details in this video:

Because of the risks of sugar, and the sheer amount of added sugar in everything, Metalheart is in full support of John Oliver's #Showusyourpeanuts campaign.

So tweet your favorite company and ask them to #showusyourpeanuts, because only by showing their peanuts to the world, can we get a real view of what companies are putting in your mouth.

Knowledge and Possibly a Mediterranean Diet Can Help Prevent Heart Disease.

Heart Disease Prevention: Knowledge is Power!

Heart disease is the number 1 killer in America. According to the Center for Disease Control, over 600,000 people die of heart disease each year, that’s 1 in 4 deaths. But the real question is, how do we stop it?

It turns out that heart disease is wholly preventable and reversible. By working to minimize risk factors like elevated blood pressure, cigarette smoking, inactive lifestyle, or an unhealthy diet, the chances of contracting heart disease dramatically reduce. Now you may think the best way for people to change their habits is to educate them on the risks that come with them, but that may be harder than you would think.

In 1994, a study was published that detailed how well a five-year comprehensive Minnesota Heart Health Program reduced risk factors in the communities it was implemented. They took measurements to see how at-risk the residents of the community were before and after the program and compared the results.

What they found was rather disappointing, other than a few specific instances (like smoking among women) there were no statistically significant changes in heart disease risk factors among the whole community. This was really strange, as prevention measures they implemented (screenings, education, etc.) worked really well in past studies.

The researchers have said that this shouldn’t be taken as evidence that these programs don’t work at all, as they have worked very well with individuals, groups, and smaller communities. So if you’re looking to lower heart disease risks of those near to you, educating them on those risks is the best place to start. There might even be a cool blog you could send them to in order to learn more! (hint hint)

You can read the about the whole study here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1615184/pdf/amjph00460-0025.pdf

Help Your Heart: Eat Like the Greek

Diet is essential in preventing heart disease risk factors. One of the most repeated tenants of prevention from doctors is that patients must decrease the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol while increasing their intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. There is a constant search for different diet plans that are heart healthy and provide full nutrition. According to a statement by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee, the Mediterranean diet is one of them.

If you follow health news, you may have heard of the Mediterranean diet already. It involves eating mostly fruits, whole grains, vegetables, beans, fish, nuts and legumes while limiting sweets, and red meat. Red wine can also be drank fairly often with this diet, but it's not required.
The committee studied 423 people, one group on a normal diet, and the other on the Mediterranean Diet. They actually stopped the study early because they saw how many benefits those on the Mediterranean diet were having compared to those who weren't. People on the diet had a 50%-70% lowered chance of heart disease.

According to the paper, It isn't the 100% most optimal diet for preventing heart disease, but it's a great place to start. If  a large amount of the public picked it up, we'd all be in a healthier place.

You can read the whole study here: http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/103/13/1823.full and read a simplified explanation of the Mediterranean diet here:  http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/mediterranean-diet/art-20047801?pg=1

Small Choices and Your Health

What choices are you making?