Shopping for a gift to warm the heart of someone special this Valentine’s Day? Why not consider giving something that will strengthen and protect it, too?

The kindest, most beneficial gift anyone can receive this month is one that encourages healthy lifestyle, proper diet and exercise, says cardiologist Paul Douglass. Specifically, that’s a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fats, and a routine of at least 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.

Combined, they help keep hearts healthy and strong and decrease the risk of heart disease.

Along with Valentine’s Day, February marks National Heart Health Month. It features several campaigns that aim to increase awareness about cardiovascular disease risk factors and how to minimize them — especially among women. Women are less likely to receive diagnosis and treatment for cardiovascular disease and more likely to die from it.

Unlike age, gender and heredity, risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity can be controlled, said Douglass, chief of cardiology at Atlanta Medical Center. And Heart Health Month is as good a time as any to start.

Here’s some recommendations:

Change eating habits. Replace processed foods with fruits and vegetables and add more oatmeal and whole grain cereals (such as Cheerios) to help reduce cholesterol levels.

Give heart-friendly food. Offer your valentine red wine, which provides antioxidants that protect the heart, or dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa), which helps lower blood pressure. Be aware of the extra calories of each.

Try aspirin therapy (after consulting with your doctor). About 80 mg of aspirin every day helps inhibit blood clots, thus reducing the risk of heart attacks and stroke. It also reduces heart damage when taken during a heart attack.

Increase physical activity. Start simply: Walk in place while watching television, take the stairs instead of elevators and park farther from your (more…)

I recently received an email stating that my favorite brand of lipstick caused cancer. It was startling. It said that the good folks over at Walter Reed Medical Center were the finders of this cause of cancer and to stop using it immediately. In fact here is a copy of the email:

“Lipstick Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!

If there is a female you care anything about, share this with her. I did!!!!!

I am also sharing this with the males on my email list, because they need to tell the females THEY care about as well!

Recently a brand called “Red Earth” decreased their prices from $67 to $9.90. It contained lead. Lead is a chemical which causes cancer.

The Brands which contain lead are:

1.. CHRISTIAN DIOR
2. LANCOME
3. CLINIQUE
4. Y.S.L
5. ESTEE LAUDER
6. SHISEIDO
7. RED EARTH (Lip Gloss)
8. CHANEL (Lip Conditioner)
9. MARKET AMERICA-MOTNES LIPSTICK.

The higher the lead content, the greater the chance of causing cancer.

After doing a test on lipsticks, it was found that the Y.S.L. lipstick contained the most amount of lead.

Watch out for those lipsticks which are supposed to stay longer. If your lipstick stays longer, it is because of the higher content of lead.

Here is the test you can do yourself: (more…)