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When my husband had his heart attack 13 months ago, we were at first just happy he survived.

Our doctor told us it was not really possible to fix his heart — that is to say, his heart would never be “brand new.”

The steps he did take, however, prevented him from further damaging his heart. While this is not exactly a “cure” he was able to function pretty well and it relieved us from worrying about his condition worsening.

Our doctor referred to this as as “reversing his heart disease.”

Where do you begin if you want to reverse your heart disease before you have a heart attack?

Well, the obvious place is to quit smoking, quit drinking excessively or abusing any substances. In my husbands case it was no more cigars! Not even on the golf course! This was particularly true for him because our doctor said he had an obesity heart problem (he has since lost 75 pounds!) The next step was a change of diet.

His old diet consisted of fast food breakfasts and lunches and was loaded with foods high in trans fats, empty carbohydrates, foods made with refined flour and sugars, and salty processed foods.

Changes had to be made if he wanted to reverse his heart disease.

He now avoids all of the above poor food choices. We are both particularly watchful of trans fats. You find this devil in everything: in fast foods and processed foods, in fried foods and desserts like packaged cookies and cakes and other packaged snack foods. Trans fats are loaded with empty calories that do nothing to nourish the body. In my husband’s case they caused him to gain weight and become sluggish. He was always complaining of being tired. Overweight and sluggish — both conditions that lead to obesity and an obese heart problem.

These habits had to be changed.

It is important to remember that our bodies actually require some fats in order to work like they should. A good example of these healthy fats are the fats found in nuts and olive oil. These fats actually help in reversing heart disease.

In our house we now follow the Mediterranean diet plan which is rich in these oils and also in Omega-3 fatty acids which are often said to be absolutely essential in reversing heart disease.

You find Omega-3 fatty acids in a variety of delicious foods and food products. For example, fatty fish like salmon has a high level of Omega-3 fatty acids. Oils like fish oil and flaxseed oil are good sources and can also be taken as supplements. We both now have diets rich in these healthy fats.

My husband started exercising regularly! We know this definitely helped him reverse his heart disease, especially since he was classified with an obese heart problem. He now does regular aerobic exercises that increase his heart beat (examples include walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, dancing and other activities). He doesn’t go crazy with exercise, but we were told they should get him breathing hard and perspiring.

Naturally, before he began his new exercise routine he had it ok’d by our doctor. In his case the doctor actually prescribed it. What do we do for exercise? We now play volleyball once a week at the community center. And we take regular walks. And my husband actually peddles our son’s old bicycle around the neighborhood!

He also started working moderately with weights. This has really built up his muscles which in turn increased his metabolism. Hence the 75 pound weight loss!

We found that losing weight through diet and exercise was the #1 important step in reversing his heart disease symptoms. I’m sure you’ll find this true, too, especially if you have a heart problem due to obesity.

Article Source: Ezine Article
URL: How My Husband Reversed His Heart Disease and How You Can Too!

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