Joys of Easter
Ahh....the post holiday weight gain. Our cardiac rehab patients are asked to weigh in once a week. We usually ask them on Monday. I would estimate that 90% of our patients gained a couple of pounds over the weekend. And I would wager that of those who gained weight, 90% of them had ham on Easter Sunday. I know we had ham. As a result, I didn't get on the scale Monday morning. (Why start the week on a downer?) So what's the relationship between ham and weight gain? Sodium. Sodium causes the body to retain fluid. Anyone with hypertension needs to reduce their sodium intake to less than 2000 mg. a day. As we age, our blood vessels become more stiff and our blood pressure tends to rise. I've always had low blood pressure and now it's creeping higher. So be sure to keep an eye on it and start reading food labels for sodium content. You'll be amazed at how much salt you're getting in your diet without even using the salt shaker.
Ahh....the post holiday weight gain. Our cardiac rehab patients are asked to weigh in once a week. We usually ask them on Monday. I would estimate that 90% of our patients gained a couple of pounds over the weekend. And I would wager that of those who gained weight, 90% of them had ham on Easter Sunday. I know we had ham. As a result, I didn't get on the scale Monday morning. (Why start the week on a downer?) So what's the relationship between ham and weight gain? Sodium. Sodium causes the body to retain fluid. Anyone with hypertension needs to reduce their sodium intake to less than 2000 mg. a day. As we age, our blood vessels become more stiff and our blood pressure tends to rise. I've always had low blood pressure and now it's creeping higher. So be sure to keep an eye on it and start reading food labels for sodium content. You'll be amazed at how much salt you're getting in your diet without even using the salt shaker.
Forget the ham! With Grandma's potatoes in the room, the ham was the least of our worries.
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