I had a physical yesterday. I’m 31 now so I’m not a kid anymore and i’ve recently been thinking about family health issues. I wonder how much my genes will play a role in things like blood pressure, cholesterol, heart problems, cancer, diabetes, strokes. Because my family has all of the above. I eat very well, lots of fruit, veggies, whole grains and water with some meat as well. I get my share of exercise considering that I’m a stay-at-home mom. I’m 5’1" and 95lbs. So I think I’m generally healthy.
But I can’t help fearing that even despite living a healthy lifestyle i am doomed because of my genes. I think that because I know about my family history I should do more than most people do in order to prevent health issues from occurring. Are there any special precautions you guppies are taking because of your family history?
i think ur effort to keep a healthy lifestyle is gud enuff.... if its genes then no supplement can prevent it. it wud hav been gud if our parents had turn to cloning or genes alterations :D
Because you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you shouldn't have too many problems with heart disease and cholestrol anytime soon. Genes do play a role in these diseases, so you might have some issues when you're old but again, not too many.
My dad's side of the family has a history of heart disease. My grandfather had by-pass surgery when he was in his 60's. My Dad's older brother had two heartattacks while he was in his 50's and my Dad had by-pass surgery when was 44. My Dad could've avoided it but he used to smoke like a chimney and he eats whatever, whenever. My Dad's younger brother though, maintained as much of a healthy lifestyle as he could and Mashallah hasnt had any problems with eart disease yet, even though he's at high risk.
healthy lifestyle?? you said nothing about pollution around you and in your food???? or your house???
genes play a MAJOR role in our health, there are lots of people with so called healthy lifestyle who live short lives, and lots of people with unhealthy lifestyles who live long lives...
stop woorying about the future and enjoy your present life!
well yeah there is a lot of genetic diseases that a healthy lifestyle would do nothing for but heart disease and cholestrol, a healthy lifestyle can play a major role in. How do you think people with no history of heart disease in their family get it?
About pollution, how does that effect cholestrol and heart disease?
I think my major concern is cholesterol and blocked arteries. My dads side of the family has this problem. He had a heart attack himself as well as several of his brothers and sisters. A few were smokers. Then my second issue is cancer which could be caused by environmental issues. But as some of you said, I should keep getting physicals and living healthy rather than stress about it. I'm still waiting for the results of my bloodwork.
The doctor called me today with the results. It doesn't look good. My total cholesterol is 201. Pretty high. LDL is 126, HDL is 51. So my genetics are working against me. I plan to go vegetarian and eat only hay and carrots. This sucks.
carbs are the worst enemies of the heart! not fat!
do you know more than 70% of the cholesterol in our arteries are made by our liver, not by tha food we eat!
so if your genes are making you having high cholesterol, being vegetarian, won’t make you back to normal!
please take the tablets given by your gp to lower your cholesterol, it will do you more good, and don’t skip meat and fish! they are very important source of protein, and you need them to have strong muscles, and avoid diabete, and heart failure!
i can see that mass media are doing a good job at putting ideas in the head of people
food is NOT the only culprit in heart desease!! smoking leads to more heart failure than food, especially among women who takes contraceptives!
pollution tends to make the arteries go stiffer, and lead to clots…pollution makes the body aging and more vulnerable to infection…all that leads to heart and artery deseases…
in france (population 60 millions) at least 5000 people die each year of heart problems caused by pollution…
so here are the most important thing to do to maintain healthy arteries:
never smoke
don’t stay in places with smokers
don’t live in big polluted cities
eat lots of fruits and vegetables
avoid sugars and grains, cereals
exercise everyday…at least 30 minutes walking
oops, i forgot, don’t drink alcohol…(for us muslim it is haraam anyway…)
Saima, I also worry about that. Both families have so many health problems that I worry about my health, hubs' health and the health of my future kids (Inshallah). Have you considered taking naturopathic or homeopathic meds? My mom is doing that and Alhamdulilah it's working for her.
Well Parissenoor, unfortunately my doctor didn't prescribe any medication. He also didn't offer any advice about whether I should be trying to lower my cholesterol with diet. He just said it's an inherited thing and that I should have it checked every 2 years. Thanks for the tips guys.
first of all, :Salute: to you for being a mom, 31, fruit, veggies, whole grains, water AND exercise..
now.. yes, genetics determine EVERYTHING in health ..when you change YOURself, you're changing the 3-4 generations AFTER you as well...
sugar, heart problems run in my family.. and i am doing EVERYTHING mentioned above.. only difference is, i am keeping my physical activity VERY high .. i am making sure my body is moving/doing something constantly unless i am sleeping ..
it keeps liver clean, and activity consumes fat desposits in blood, artery blockage, increases HDL
ps, stop ANY desserts after meals.. dont drink water within 1st hour of any meals... eat an apple after every meal ...
fighting genetics is not impossible, but it takes a LOT OF determination and focus..
Well Saima NYC
IST of all stop worrying
then U HAVE MENTIONED ABT B.P ,CHOLESTROL ,HEART PROBLEMS DIABETES AND STROKE I **MUST TELL U THAT THESE ALL ARE INTERLINKED AND GENETICS HAS TO PALY A ROLE IN THESE
**ABT BP
HAVE REGULAR CHECKUPS.
DO REGULAR EXCERCISE
DONT SMOKE AND DRINK
NO STRESS BEING MUSLIM PRAYERS HELP SO U CAN TAKE THAT HELP TOO
AVIOD HIGH SALT DIET. RELATIONSHIP OF BP TO HEART
INCREASE BP CAUSES INCREASE STRESS ON HEART AND OVER A TIME MAY LEAD THE HEART TO REACH A STAGE WHERE IT IS NOT ABLE TO TAKE ANY MORE STRESS AND GOES INTO FAILURE ABOUT CHOLESTEROL:
there are two types of cholestrol in body
good and bad
LDL is bad one
and HDL is gud one
u have mentioned values in mg/dl and not in mmol/l( here in uk we use mmol/l)
usually total cholestrol is recommended to be less than or around 5 mmol/l and LDL less than 3.4mmol/l and HDL(GOOD ONE higher the better) PREVENTIVE MEASURES FOR CHOLESTROL NO FATTY DIET
regular checkup
excercise (increaseS HDL)
ideal weight
alot of fruits and veg
fish is gud to eat RELATIONSHIP OF CHOLESTROL TO HEART
IF INCREASE CHOLESTROL THEN THERE ARE INCREASE CHANCES OF GETTING THESE DEPOSITED IN ARTERIES AND THEN THEY BLOCK CAUSING HEART ATTACK LASTLY GUD NEWS FOR U
women have one natural protection against heart disease and that is estrogen that is female harmone so males have more chance than females to have heart problem till female reaches menopause(a time when periods stop)bcz at that stage less or no estrogen so no protection
maybe he thinks your level is low enough not to be dangerous. as saro pointed out your protected by female hormones untill menopause, anyway, so no worry, but make sure you don't take contraceptive pills, they are very bad for arteries, and tend to inrease cholesterol.
My husband thinks the test was not accurrate because I didn't do the 10 hour fast previous to the test. I had eaten breakfast and that may have changed the cholesterol count by 30-40 points. But even then it was pretty high.
Saro, you're right that HDL is the good one. A reading of 40 is about the average. But mine was 51. So that's atleast a good sign.
The thing that worries me about cholesterol is that I feel like a ticking time bomb. I can imagine deposits building up in my arteries year after year. I'd like to have x-ray eyes to see what is going on in there. But I know it probably won't affect me for another 10-15 years. I'm just going to continue eating well and exercising.
Depends on also on the genetics. To what extent do your genes in your family predetermine you inheriting disorders from your family? Its hard to say without proper genetic tests, and I personally don't think genetic tests are that fine tuned to figure out this sort of a question for EVERY genetic disease out there. Plus, having your genes analyzed can be expensive. I am not sure if there are genetic tests for the problems you have in your family, and where they are available, but if you can afford it, it might be worth looking into.
The problems you have mentioned are not 100 percent genetically determined anyway. So as long as you are eating right and also exercising, then good. Hopefully, your definition of exercise is not like my mothers (i.e. "Well I walk around the house and go out and do errands which is tiring enough as it is). Get involved in a gym. The membership fees are worth it.
PCG, I was an avid runner for years, did aeorbics and lots of walking, treadmill. Right now with two kids in LA, I don't have a car. So I put one in the stroller, one in the baby bjorn carrier and walk about 2-3 miles up hills and down hills. I get a good workout on my arms and legs this way as well. I do this about 3 days a week.
Rather than going to a gym I'd rather just go running on my own. But I put myself last after my husband's schedule and my kids needs. Maya is still only 10 and a half months so she needs nursing and naps.
^^ actually, thats a LOT better exercise ..cuz its working ALL your muscles, rather than just few sets of muscles..
i'm actually waiting for weather to get better so i can go nature-running..i live in the area with heavy contruction happening so the grounds are uneven, moutains of sand/mud are there etc..
keep doing what u r doing, its VERY healthy routine . . also try not to think of these things as much . . right now real priority are the kids . . . make them fit in a healthy lifestyle too..
saimanyc, don’t do that to you!!!
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