Love your heart: National Wear Red Day

You may have noticed that I have a Go Red For Women link on the sidebar. Women and heart disease is an issue that's...well...close to my heart. In spite of my relatively young age and healthy eating habits, my awful family history of heart disease and recent bloodwork indicate that I'm at high risk. I've been given a few months to see if I can change my risk factor through diet and excercise. If not, I'll have to start taking a prescription med. In the meantime, I'm a baby aspirin-a-day gal.

But that's not all. I've personally known young, seemingly healthy women who have died from heart attacks. One of them was one of the physical education instructors at my highschool, and she was in her thirties. An avid jogger at that. Another was a neighbor. A mother the same age as myself. Talk about a wake-up call.

Tomorrow is National Wear Red Day. Visit the Go Red For Women site and explore the information and informative links provided, including one to the American Heart Association's Heart Attack Risk Calculator. Pick up a copy of Prevention Magazine's latest issue (February 2011) dedicated to women and heart disease, and read up on the latest screening tests your doctor may not have mentioned. Hear stories of young heart attack/stroke survivors and how their conditons were missed. (I subscribe to Prevention Magazine, but  you can find it in your grocery store aisle). The latest RWR (Romance Writer's Report for RWA members) has numerous articles on staying healty, as well as Go Red For Women heart disease facts.

You are your best advocate. Be a well informed patient. Ask for those tests. If you think that your doctor is brushing off your concern, find another doctor if at all possible. Heart disease kills 1 out of 3 women a year. It's the number one killer of women over age 20.

Be your own proactive heroine.

Stay healthy. Be aware. Spread the word.

Wear red on February 4th! I'll be sporting my Go Red For Women red dress pin as well :)

Therapeutic Thursdays

In my opinion, writer wellness is directly proportional to writer productivity and product quality. Workshops devoted to a writer's mental and physical health are increasing in numbers. Lately, I've come across many chapter meetings devoted to a writer's mental and physical health. My initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. I understood the link between stretching my body and stretching my mind, but the thought of stretching or meditating in a room of writers didn't appeal to me.

Let me explain that I'm not a gym person in general. The thought of lying down spread eagle in front of muscular, sweaty men is...well...embarrassing. Intimidating. Hey, I'm an introverted writer. And yes, that's pretty much the position required at one of those thigh-weight-pressing machines. Okay, maybe the fantasy of a personal trainer hero walking up - wait. Let's not get sidetracked.

My point is that a writer's physical and mental health is important. Imagine what we'd look like if we did nothing but sit and type all day (internet browsing included). Picture a bunch of hunchbacked dames with rears the size of Texas. We've all experienced fried brains. Everyone needs a chance to decompress and fuel their muse.

On Therapeutic Thursdays, I'll post anything that has to do with a writer's personal well-being. It could be anything from healthy recipes (I'm gluten free so there'll be some of those), at-home excercise equipment or DVDs that I love, ideas on how to relax the mind or refresh the muse, great writer escapes and more. You get the idea. The best part is that the ideas can be shared and tried out in the privacy of your home. I'll be looking for all your ideas too, so don't be shy!

For today, I'll keep it short (LOL, too late for that). My health bible is Prevention Magazine. I love it. It has everything from the latest on nutrition to great yoga/pilates moves. It's a must have in my world. What are some of your favorite wellness magazines or books that you feel are writer-must-reads? Are you a Prevention Magazine addict too?