What did the following people have in common?
- Alex Haley (author of “Roots”)
- John Candy
- Louis Armstrong
- Davy Jones (Lead singer of the Monkees)
- Charles Darwin
- Rick James
- James Gandolfini (aka “Tony Soprano”)
- Elvis Presley
The answer: They all died from heart disease. According to data from the CDC, heart disease ranks number one as the cause of death in America with cancer, Covid and accidents being the other “Top 4” reasons why people die.
There are a number of risk factors for building up blockage in the coronary arteries including:
- Age over 60
- Male gender
- Family history of heart disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Cigarette smoking
- High cholesterol levels
When you take a step back and look at these risk factors 50% of them are linked to poor weight control (diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and obesity itself). Clearly, lowering weight will diminish the chances of developing blocked coronary arteries.
Unfortunately, we will all die eventually from something but hopefully, we will have lived a long, healthy life and not have a premature end. Stay focused on your efforts to shed that weight.
Enjoy the late Davy Jones singing one of the Monkee’s hits.
