I will never have a heart attack..

[y_p_w]

I saw the first paragraph without seeing the rest and figured that a mention of Jim Fixx would be forthcoming one way or another.

One of the places I'd spend a good deal of time with as a kid was a department store within walking distance of where I lived as a kid. I mean - an old fashioned one that had a book section about the size of a typical mall book store at the time. They also had home electronics and video game machines, but in the book section I distinctly remember a prominent display for The Complete Book of Running. From what I heard, Fixx's diet wasn't that bad, but he apparently didn't get regular medical checkups that might have uncovered his arterial blockage.

I guess one of the problems I see is that a lot of people who are "athletic" aren't necessarily that healthy. I've met a few college athletes, and they often talked about eating massive amounts of fast food on the road because they got per diem and could pocket what they didn't spend. One guy said he burned so many calories and didn't gain weight, but had massive quantities of McDonald's. I mean - I like it, but everything in moderation. And runners often have knee, ankle, hip problems.

 

[billt460]

From what I heard, Fixx's diet wasn't that bad, but he apparently didn't get regular medical checkups that might have uncovered his arterial blockage.

I guess one of the problems I see is that a lot of people who are "athletic" aren't necessarily that healthy. I've met a few college athletes, and they often talked about eating massive amounts of fast food on the road because they got per diem and could pocket what they didn't spend. One guy said he burned so many calories and didn't gain weight, but had massive quantities of McDonald's. I mean - I like it, but everything in moderation. And runners often have knee, ankle, hip problems.

This is indeed a BIG problem. How many college basketball and football players, (and a few pros as well), have dropped dead on the court and field, or else collapsed and died later in the ICU from coronary related issues? The NCAA should make it mandatory for any college athlete to get a complete cardiovascular examination BEFORE being allowed to compete. It would help to eliminate a lot of this from happening.

Fixx was the perfect storm for something like this. And with one trip to a cardiologist, he would have had bypass surgery, and been on his way to better health, instead of ultimately killing himself with good intentions. Just before we moved I had a routine visit to my cardio guy, and had a complete exam. He told me I was good to go. 2 months later we bought a home and moved 200 miles..... Mostly all by ourselves.

When we closed on the house I was 237 pounds. 2 months later when we were all completely moved in and finished, I was 198. It was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done in my life... Especially at 66 years old. If I had blockage I most likely would have keeled over at some point. Instead all I required was half a bottle of Tylenol over a 2 month period.

 

[alarmguy]

Family History Lifestyle Habits which includes Food You Eat in that order and then someplace in there "fate"

Can't do anything about family history/genetics but addressing the other two things cant GREATLY alter a negative outcome. Im living proof so far and at least 15 maybe 20 years ahead of the men in my family as far as delaying significant heart disease and avoiding diabetes, crap I hate saying that *LOL* but I guess not being able to wouldnt be a good thing either.

 

[zray1]

Guess who a cardiologist just told probably had a silent heart attack several weeks ago. Testing is scheduled very soon.

Jim Fixx had heart disease in his family, IIRC.

I’m in the same boat. My annual physical w/ ECG revealed I’d had a series of heart attacks sometime in the past year since the previous physical with resulting dead and scarring tissue of the septum.

No family history of heart disease, no risk factors, no diet or body weight contributing factors. None of that, just dumb luck.

I’m in the middle of testing to determine how bad is bad. Best of luck to you.


Z

 

[DwightFrye]

I was in the home video industry when Jim Fixx died. It was during the height of the exercise video craze, with the Jane Fonda workouts, Jazzercise, Buns of Steel, etc. selling like hotcakes.
When Fixx died, we couldn't give away his Jim Fixx On Running videos.

 

[y_p_w]

This is indeed a BIG problem. How many college basketball and football players, (and a few pros as well), have dropped dead on the court and field, or else collapsed and died later in the ICU from coronary related issues? The NCAA should make it mandatory for any college athlete to get a complete cardiovascular examination BEFORE being allowed to compete. It would help to eliminate a lot of this from happening.

Fixx was the perfect storm for something like this. And with one trip to a cardiologist, he would have had bypass surgery, and been on his way to better health, instead of ultimately killing himself with good intentions. Just before we moved I had a routine visit to my cardio guy, and had a complete exam. He told me I was good to go. 2 months later we bought a home and moved 200 miles..... Mostly all by ourselves.

When we closed on the house I was 237 pounds. 2 months later when we were all completely moved in and finished, I was 198. It was the most physically demanding thing I've ever done in my life... Especially at 66 years old. If I had blockage I most likely would have keeled over at some point. Instead all I required was half a bottle of Tylenol over a 2 month period.

I specifically remember Hank Gathers. I was in college at the time. The thing with him is that he was already diagnosed with a irregular heartbeat and was on medications. But he didn't like how if felt and got it cut back. Rumors were that he didn't take his meds on game days. I read about how someone saw him running around the track outside the basketball arena the day he died. He was willing to risk his life for basketball and ended up paying with his life.

 

[henni]

Not eating meat at all, including fish, will reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes significantly.

If "including fish.." means eating fish--how about 'dem plastic particles you are ingesting?

Covid-19 also has a significant probability to induce early diabetes in otherwise healthy individuals. No matter if vaccinated or not vaccinated.

 

[PimTac]

If you're diabetic you dam near can't eat anything. No meat, no fish, no sweets, no fruit, no carbs. What the hell is left? Go chew the bark off a tree.

I am type 2 diabetic. I eat meat and fish, vegetable and some grains. Moderation is the key and definitely no sugar. A big problem for Americans is portion size.

 

[ZZman]

We all gotta go sometime. I enjoy food and let the miracle of pharmaceuticals keep me going....

 

[Al]

Watch your sugar/carbs, take a statin, and if necessary BP med.

 

[JC1]

Had dinner with an old gf. I hadn't seen in years. While absorbing huge chunks of mystery meat like @AutoMechanic.
And she engorged herself on all things food as she gazed into my bloodshot eyes and proclaimed...

"I will never have a heart attack because I jog ..."

I then recited the story of Jim Fixx..
She is about 10 years younger than I so she googled it...

Gulp

If she's that good at predicting the future, ask her for the winning Powerball Numbers! Honestly, she has no idea how her genetics will factor into future health issues.

I once overheard a conversation in a lunch room back in 2003. Some guy that was as fit as a fiddle, exercised religiously, ran marathons and dropped dead of a heart attack in his 40s.

Helen Keller Quote: “Life is short and unpredictable. Eat the dessert first!”

 

[Dennywires]

Had dinner with an old gf. I hadn't seen in years. While absorbing huge chunks of mystery meat like @AutoMechanic.
And she engorged herself on all things food as she gazed into my bloodshot eyes and proclaimed...

"I will never have a heart attack because I jog ..."

I then recited the story of Jim Fixx..
She is about 10 years younger than I so she googled it...

Gulp

Old Jewish proverb, he who makes plans.. God silently listens and laughs.

 

[Malo83]

I am type 2 diabetic. I eat meat and fish, vegetable and some grains. Moderation is the key and definitely no sugar. A big problem for Americans is portion size.

I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic 2 yrs ago at 66. Was sent to emergency and was in the ICU for three days, PimTac tells it like it is, drink lots of water and no more Coke, my favorite and very very limited alcohol, if and when I do have a drink it's always Tangueray gin and tonic water, when I went into the hospital I weighed 225 now i'm down to 190. Take a daily insulin shot and a Metformin tablet, feel great.

 

[javacontour]

Wow 590 is a death sentence in itself. Crazy 1200....

I get panicked if my fasting BG is 150+

I can't imagine numbers like that unless something else is going on.

Mom's was 466 a few weeks ago, but that was because she was on steroids in conjunction with her chemo.

I try to stay at less than 60g carbs/meal and am on a 40% Carbs and 30% each fat and protein per the Jostlin's diabetes dietician I saw a few years back when my A1C was 7.3. Still down in the 5's during my last Dr visit a week ago, so I'm doing something right.

 

[PimTac]

I was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic 2 yrs ago at 66. Was sent to emergency and was in the ICU for three days, PimTac tells it like it is, drink lots of water and no more Coke, my favorite and very very limited alcohol, if and when I do have a drink it's always Tangueray gin and tonic water, when I went into the hospital I weighed 225 now i'm down to 190. Take a daily insulin shot and a Metformin tablet, feel great.

Sounds like you have it in control. Soft drinks are a huge problem. Even the diet ones with fake sugars are no good for diabetics. I drink flavored seltzer water with no sugar. No insulin here but I take Metformin daily.

Water and exercise are key too.

 

[mark pruett]

Anyone here remember the food pyramid of the 70s? Wasn't breads/cereals at the very top, or near the top of the pyramid (meaning the most important food group)?

It was the "four food groups" when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, and the four were meat, breads/cereals, dairy and vegetables/fruit. The idea was that you ate equal quantities of each for a balanced diet.

Then in the late 80s/early 90s, it was the "food pyramid" which had four equal height bands- the idea was that as you went up the pyramid, the serving size went down. So breads/cereals were at the bottom, then vegetables and fruits were in the next band, then meat & dairy, and finally fats/oils at the very tip of the pyramid and smallest serving size.

Nowadays, it's the "My Plate" pictogram, which is a stylized dinner plate with rough pie slices out of it (and a cup) according to the recommended serving size/amount of plate real-estate it should take up each meal.

 

[aquariuscsm]

It was the "four food groups" when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s, and the four were meat, breads/cereals, dairy and vegetables/fruit. The idea was that you ate equal quantities of each for a balanced diet.

Then in the late 80s/early 90s, it was the "food pyramid" which had four equal height bands- the idea was that as you went up the pyramid, the serving size went down. So breads/cereals were at the bottom, then vegetables and fruits were in the next band, then meat & dairy, and finally fats/oils at the very tip of the pyramid and smallest serving size.

Nowadays, it's the "My Plate" pictogram, which is a stylized dinner plate with rough pie slices out of it (and a cup) according to the recommended serving size/amount of plate real-estate it should take up each meal.

Oh yeah! I’d forgotten about the Four Food Groups. I think that was definitely the one from the mid 70s when I was in grade school.

 

[Gokhan]

If "including fish.." means eating fish--how about 'dem plastic particles you are ingesting?

Covid-19 also has a significant probability to induce early diabetes in otherwise healthy individuals. No matter if vaccinated or not vaccinated.

I said eating meats of all kinds, including chicken and fish, increases the risk of diabetes. Also, even eating meat in moderation seems to raise the risk in studies.

The best way to protect yourself against COVID is to get the best vaccine out there—also known as Moderna. I agree that COVID is nothing to mess with—chances are that it will be worse than any flu you ever had if you get it. The vaccines have some side effects, severe in only rare cases, but the only reason for that is that they simulate the COVID virus, and the actual virus will do a lot more harm than these side effects.

 

[Cujet]

Please know diet and exercise are not cure-alls, and will not reverse most diseases, despite popular culture that thinks they will. A great number of Egyptian mummies that were not "gutted" had clear evidence of "modern style and levels of" heart disease (Atherosclerosis). The kicker was, they had healthy diets, heathy weights and worked hard.

I have some severe health problems, so imagine my (and my doctors) surprise when my heart calcium score came up with 0 arterial calcium at age 55. Especially considering my poor physical condition. Now that I'm older, there is probably some calcium/plaque buildup. Probably some aspect of my disease results in stripping calcium from arteries. But nobody seems to know.

This much was carefully explained: There are plaques that are not calcified and they can cause heart attacks just like any other.

 

[y_p_w]

—chances are that it will be worse than any flu you ever had if you get it. The vaccines have some side effects, severe in only rare cases, but the only reason for that is that they simulate......

I'm trying to strip this of the magic words, so bear with me if the quote was severely clipped. I'm just going over some basics, which are that many people who are clinically "infected" with a viral disease are asymptomatic. I've even heard that 25% or more of people infected with common cold viruses have no symptoms. And the really weird thing about the common cold is that the viruses that cause it aren't particularly damaging to infected cells. Being asymptomatic with the common cold doesn't really affect how long infections last. Also the stuff about bed rest and drinking lots of water may just be more about comfort than anything else.

But vaccines don't necessarily simulate an infection. By design they shouldn't. But the body sees whatever little pieces are presented and reacts to them in ways that produce antibodies that find those parts of viruses, like blowing out a car tire. That may create a milder form of the inflammation that the immune system puts out. And that's the really nutty thing about a lot of generally mild diseases, which are that you're feeling bad because the body is hitting itself with friendly fire even if a particular virus is next to harmless.