May Your Heart Sing

              It’s easy to take care of our hearts, but equally as easy to break them. Without singing Achy-Breaky Heart, your heart can be vulnerable to damage in age-old ways.  A lover can be insensitive, a child can be ungrateful, the stress of a work situation can take up unwelcome residence. Or you could over-indulge and give no deference to a more “heart-healthy” life-style.
              Taking care of your heart means assuring that your heart glows, smiles, sings, and soars. The old “more you give, more you get” strategy works here. And that includes giving kindness, generously. Maybe giving and receiving chocolate is old-fashioned, but I’m tuning up for “all of a sudden, My Heart Sings.”
              The box of chocolates this year may be reduced to a few specialty truffles or a few strawberries dipped in dark chocolate! Dark Chocolate provides many health benefits such as lowering cholesterol and blood pressure; even Hershey’s chocolate has expanded to include more Dark Chocolate items.  I can forego milk chocolate, as long as I don’t subject my sensitivities to “fake chocolate.”  Dark chocolate confesses high calories, so beware!  Just take your chocolate medicinally, the way my grandmother took her wine!
             To curb our “overboard” tendencies, I have modified our diet to include the “low and no” choices for ingredients that are used to whip up delicious dishes, including desserts.  If I can’t taste any real difference, I’ll go with “low and no” every time, except for No/Low Ranch Dressing, which I think is “yucky.”
          Adding a good brisk walk sometime during the day is also a good thing to help the heart. Several ladies asked me to join them in walking, but when they mentioned a time that was BEFORE 8:00 AM and BEFORE my coffee and newspaper, I had to issue a kind “wimp” regret. The walk has gone into hibernation, lately, with the very cold weather, but I’m looking forward to early Spring.
                Another option to help our hearts is cooking with whole wheat products. Wheat pasta and brown rice do not make any difference in the taste of the recipe, but can make much improvement in bad cholesterol readings.  My bad cholesterol number had risen and in helping Marvin, I helped myself.  Just by being aware and modifying our diet, and by walking, I reduced by bad cholesterol number by 22 points in 6 months and Marvin’s numbers were reduced also.

As we approach February, which is American Heart Month, be kind to yourself, kind to your love, take care of your family, and take care of your Heart.  Wear red, click your heels, and enjoy your friends.  Nurture each other and plan ways to make your heart sing.