Drum – 08 August 2019

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Answerthese questionsto find outhow you

rate– physicallyandemotionally– and what

youcan do toimprove fromheadto toe

It s oneoftheleadingcausesof
deathglobally,butalsooneofthe

mostpreventablehealthconditio
Are you avoiding the high-riskfac

Doyouregularlyconsume

friedorsaltyfoods?
Yes:0 points
No:1 point
Newresearchsuggeststhatcuttingout

thesetwotypesoffoodswillaffectyour
bloodpressureandcholesterolenough
toreduceheartdiseaseriskby30%.

Hasyourmother,father,brotherorsister
hada heartattackbeforeage60?
Yes:0 points

No:1 point
Studiessuggesthavinga closefamily
memberwithheartdiseasedoubles

yourriskofa cardiovascularevent.If
youtickedyes,it’svitalyouknowyour
bloodpressureandcholesterollevels.
If youdon’t,makeanappointmentwith

yourGP.

Doyouhavea diagonalcreaseonyourear-
lobesorwhitecirclesaroundyourpupils?

Yes:0 points
No:1 point
Studieshavefounda linkbetweenboth

thesephysicalcharacteristicsandheart
disease,soif youhaveeitherit’sbestto
getcheckedout.Diagonalcreasessig-
nifypossiblecirculationissues,andthe

whitecirclesmightindicateraisedcho-
lesterollevels.

Isyourwaistmeasurementlessthan80cm
(women)or94cm(men)?
Yes:1 point
No:0 points

Newresearchshowsa largewaistdou-
blesyourriskofearlydeath– mainly
fromheartdisease.Exercise,a balanced
dietandreducingalcoholintakeare

thebestwaystotrimyourstomach.

Studiesshow77%ofwomenhavegynae-

cologicalissues.Areyoursnormalornot?

Areyourperiodsregularandsimilar?

Yes:1 point

No:0 points

Healthyperiodsarevirtuallythesame

monthin,monthout.If they’regetting

heavier,lighterormorepainful,it could

bea signofproblemssuchasfibroids.

Periodswillbecomeerraticaround

menopausethough.

Doyourperiodsinterferewithdailylife?

Yes:0 points

No:1 point

Upto46%ofwomensaytheirperiodhas

stoppedthemdoingsport.Thingsdon’t

havetostaythisway– contraceptives

andothermedicationcanlessenpainful

orheavyperiods,orevenpostponethem.

Doyoueverleakurinewhenyoucough,

sneeze,laughorexercise?

Yes:0 points

No:1 point

Strongpelvicfloormusclesholdinurine,

soif youansweredyesyoursareweak.

Themostcommonreasonischildbirth,

butit’salsobeenlinkedtosomeoralcon-

traceptives.ToneupwithKegelexercises.

Doyouknowwhenyourmomwent

throughmenopause?

Yes:1 point

No:0 points

Whenyou’llgothroughmenopause is

believedtobestronglyrelatedtoyour

mom’sgenes.Knowingwhenyourmom

experiencedmenopausecanhelpyou

bemoreawareofwhenit’slikelytostart.

YOURGYNAECOLOGICAL

HEALTH

It’s one of the leading causes of

HEART DISEASE

e

ons.

ctors?

TEST YOUR

HEALTH

36 | 8 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za