Part 2: Put the Odds Ever in Your Favor

• Action No. 1: Eat like your life depends on it.

No one’s asking you to remove all the gastro-joy from your life, subsisting on tofu and tea. But we can all make improvements.

On that note, we are not afraid to take a controversial stance: We are pro-plant because we are pro-heart.

• Plants have lots of vitamins, minerals, fiber and, not surprisingly, are low in fat and calories.
• There are lots of choices at this level of your personal food pyramid:�� fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, beans, etc.
• Replacing some fats and sugars with plant-based options can reduce the risk of developing heart disease and things we would do well to avoid, if possible: high cholesterol, hypertension, obesity and diabetes; all of which seem intent on reducing our heart health.
• Honestly, we have yet to find a processed food snack that can compete with the simple joy of a red seedless grape. Just sayin’.

You want protein? There are a bunch of protein-rich parts of a plant-based diet. If you’re taking steps toward a heart-healthier diet, feel free to do so in baby steps:

• Snack on fruits or nuts (or go nuts on some red, seedless grapes).
• Use plant-based fats such as olive oil.
• Try a plant-based recipe or swap a plant-based ingredient into one you already use and see how that goes.

The bottom line is you may improve your heart health and find out there are some heretofore unknown delicious options out there.

• Action No. 2: Put your left foot out. Put your right foot in front of it.

Again, no one’s looking for you to go from zero to a Nike��ad. Just walk.

If you already walk some, walk more. If you already walk more, do a couple of calisthenics, followed by a few more. Before you know it, you’ll feel better, and so will your healthier heart. ’Nuff said.

• Action No. 3: Doctors get lonely, too. Go visit yours.

Every physician has somewhere between 12-12,000 stories of asymptomatic patients who came in for a routine physical and walked away diagnosed with a serious,��but treatable, medical condition. These stories inevitably conclude with a sigh of relief and the good news that the doctor is still treating that patient today.

The moral of those thousands of stories is that treating a condition earlier is usually easier and safer than treating it later.

Doctors don’t like to give bad news. Give them a break and go visit when your heart condition is easier to handle and much more likely to have a nice ending.