Posts Tagged ‘heart’

Some people have to try to make your life miserable, if you let them. It was obvious to everyone that I looked and felt better, but some people just have to try to spoil it. I was told: lots of people have died of kidney or liver failure after being on Atkins I read it in the newspaper; you will have a heart attack, it’s not natural; your cholesterol will climb sky high and you will need your toes amputated or you will have a stroke; it will affect your eyesight. All sorts of rubbish. So, I went to see my GP, who admitted that he did not know anything about the Atkins diet, but he also added that he had heard nothing bad about it either. He sent me for a series of tests at the hospital and the results were all satisfactory. He was happy that I’d lost 18 lbs and so was I. Six weeks later, I went for another cholesterol check-up, because of the high fat levels in the diet and, although my cholesterol level was up very slightly, the doctor said there was no cause for concern at all.

The Atkins diet book warns that you might develop bad breath (halitosis). I don’t know whether I did or not – no-one said anything, but I started brushing my teeth four-five times a day just in case. I guess that’s another benefit of following the Atkins diet: increased oral hygiene. It also warns of constipation. I didn’t get that either, although I didn’t give up black coffee, which has always had a laxative effect on me. But surely you can’t suffer from constipation if you’re allowed to eat well over 1lb of greens a day? I hadn’t been eating that well before the diet! So my two main concerns were nebulous.

After a couple of weeks I was getting bored not going out so much. Not with the diet, but because I’m single and am used to going to the pub (and drinking beer). So, I decided to treat this scientifically. One day, after work, I had three pints of Guinness and felt merry. Before the diet, I would have drunk five or six pints to feel the same. To my delight, the next morning the ketone stick told me that I was still ‘on the diet’. Over the following weeks, I really enjoyed finding out what would ‘work’ and what would not. I discovered that cider had to be avoided at all costs; some beers and some lagers were all right; red and white wine were OK. Consuming alcohol does not knock you off the diet, but it slows down your rate of progress. However, even slow progress is progress, I say. Better than giving up the diet or giving up going out.

Don’t let people encourage you to ‘just have a little bit’. They don’t understand or don’t want to understand the trouble they’re causing you. One’s body can hold two days worth of carbohydrates: one square of chocolate, one slice of bread, a bowl of cornflakes or one sugar in your coffee will cost you TWO days to clear out of your system. Don’t let people do it to you. This is not a diet that you can stop and start when you like, in fact I think that it probably could be dangerous to keep allowing your ketone and other levels to fluctuate wildly. There are also the high fat levels in the content of the Atkins diet, which is not dangerous if you keep to it, because you body devours fat and cholesterol in the absence of carbohydrates.

That is the story so far, with me having got down to under 16 stone and keeping it there until very recently when I moved to the Far East to live. The food is so different here, but once I get used to the food and have my own house and own kitchen, I will get down to 15 stone, I’m sure I will ” without any real effort.

Well, there you have it … My grateful thanks to you, Mr. Blackwell, wherever you are these days, you changed my life and my understanding of food and drink with that book and thank you, Mr. Atkins too.

Have you ever had a panic attack? People who suffer them describe them as overwhelming and marked by extreme nervousness and fear. A person having a stress induced attack of anxiety finds it difficult to function normally.

Since fear is an overwhelming symptom of an attack of anxiety, the brain tells the body that it is in danger. It tells the body, in a sense, that it must be put on full alert. Be ready to fight or flight!

The body organs get the message from the brain to prepare for an emergency. The heart starts pumping blood faster to supply the organs extra energy. Muscles start tensing, eyes dilate and are on alert, hearing is keener.

When the brain signals the body is in danger the heart races providing emergency blood to the other organs: The eyes are on alert, the muscles tighten and tense, hearing is keener — literally every part of your body is called on for greater energy.

When does the body reach its breaking point? Half the brain is saying: whoa! Slow down. We can’t keep this up. The other half is reading the anxiety and continues to scream: Danger! The heart races, slows down, races, slows down. Eventually it becomes too much. And it stops.

Stress induced anxiety, leading to panic, can have dangerous results:

* Rising and falling blood pressure * Accelerated heart beat * It becomes hard to breathe normally * The body feels cold * Nervousness and shaking

Stress induced anxiety plays dangerously with the body. It is no wonder that common heart problems very often are referred to as stress heart problems. Now you can see why!

No wonder stress can cause you heart problems. You have to find a way to reduce anxiety or it will eventually cause your brain to give constant mixed signals to all of your organs — taxing them to the limit.