New Referral Rewards Program!

Plus, your weekly heart-health news

Author

Yasmine S. Ali, MD
September 20, 2023

Hello again!

And in this issue, I have an exciting announcement: a new referral rewards program from Speak for the Heart!!

Here’s how it works: refer others to my newsletter, and you can receive rewards based on the number of referrals (see below).

Now, this next part is VERY important: the person you’ve referred must opt-in and confirm their email subscription. They do this by clicking on the confirmation message that will arrive in their inbox. So be sure you let them know to check their Spam or Promotions folder (especially for Gmail users) after they subscribe, so they can find that message and click the “confirm” button. Once they do so, it will be counted as a verified referral for you, and you’ll be on your way to earning more rewards!

So now for the good part: the rewards! Here are the tiers and referrals required to earn:

2 referrals:

Get a Facebook shout-out (and an Instagram shout-out if you are a Premium subscriber).

3 referrals:

Get the “5 Easy Tips for Healthy Grocery Shopping” tips sheet. (Premium subscribers will get 10 Tips.)

5 referrals:

Get 1 free month of Premium Membership in the Speak for the Heart Club.

10 referrals:

Receive a free Speak for the Heart mug.

12 referrals:

Receive the “5 Tips for Stress Reduction” sheet. (Premium Subscribers get 10 Tips.)

15 referrals:

Receive access to Q&A with Dr. Ali (Premium subscribers will receive AM & PM downloadable Gratitudes Sheets for establishing or maintaining a daily gratitude practice).

20 referrals:

Get a Speak for the Heart eco tote bag.

25 referrals:

Receive a free cookbook (from 3 choices).

40 referrals:

Share Your Wellness Journey—you can be part of a newsletter spotlight feature!

50 referrals:

Earn a free, 30-minute, 1:1 health coaching session with Dr. Ali!

You can get started right now! Here is the referral program “card” that you will see in every newsletter, and it is unique to you. To get credit for your referrals, you must make them using either the button or the link below. It makes it easy to share this newsletter’s subscribe page with others (just click the button below), and easy to keep up with your referrals:

I’m so excited to be able to bring you this program, and I’ve worked hard to create rewards that will make it worth your while, too.

So now, let’s get on to this week’s heart-health news …

(For new subscribers): This weekly update goes out every Wednesday, except for the final Wednesday of the month, when the long magazine-style version of Speak for the Heart will be delivered to your inbox. As always, premium subscribers get bonus content in every issue!

To your health,

Yasmine S. Ali, MD

Weekly Heart-Health News: The Highlights

Young women can 'bank' exercise for better heart health

Researchers from The University of Queensland have found women can retain the benefits of exercise during their 20s, going on to have better heart health later in life.

medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-young-women-bank-heart-health.html

My Take:

This is great news, because this study shows that physical activity earlier in life (in women ages 22 - 45) pays off later in life! A key finding: “Women in their 40s who'd been the most active in young adulthood had a resting heart rate, on average, of around 72 beats per minute (bpm). That's compared to around 78 bpm for the women who'd been the least active from their 20s to 40s.

Dr. Mielke said while the difference may seem small, previous studies suggested an increase in resting heart rate of even 1 bpm was associated with increased mortality.”

This shows a positive, direct, and lasting effect on the health of the heart muscle itself. And it confirms that regular physical activity is important at all stages of life, not just in mid-life and beyond.

Diabetes: Pediatricians caution against low-carb diets for children

Experts say children with diabetes or prediabetes shouldn't be put on low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diets to help manage their condition

www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/children-with-diabetes-or-prediabetes-should-not-be-placed-on-low-carb-diets-pediatricians-say

My Take:

Children should never be placed on fad diets, and shouldn’t be following special diets unless recommended by a pediatrician (and done under medical guidance). That’s because the right balance of nutrients from a healthy, whole-foods diet is so important for proper growth and development.

Also, all of us, of all ages, need carbohydrates in our diet for normal body functioning. Where we get into trouble (and can get our children into trouble) is when we eat highly refined, processed carbs with empty calories (and often excess added sugar), like donuts, Wonder Bread (and similar highly refined white bread), croissants, sugared cereals, and the like.

Whole, healthy carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, whole grains, and oats are not the cause of childhood obesity. One of the main causes of obesity in children is exactly the same as it is in adults: the regular consumption of processed foods and high-sugar foods and beverages. Think: candy bars, ice cream, cookies, Twinkies, potato chips, French fries, soda, huge plates of white pasta … you get the picture. Our children are eating far too much of these sorts of foods, and many are getting too little exercise, also.

Am I saying you should never give a child an ice cream or a cupcake? Of course not. You know by now that I believe in moderation. But these treats should be just that: treats. Occasional items. Maybe you have one special day per week that is “ice cream day,” and your child has 1 scoop of ice cream on a cone. (Do they really need 2 or 3 scoops or an entire banana split all to themselves??) Maybe cupcakes are reserved only for birthday parties. Again, you get the idea.

I really believe we need to reset our expectations. Until the last 3 to 4 decades, desserts were special items to celebrate special occasions, like the holidays or birthdays. Now many of us have gotten used to having them all the time, maybe even every day. Check in with yourself and with your kids or grandkids to see if this may have become the case, and reflect on how you might be able to hit “reset.”

The Cause of 3X More Heart Disease Deaths

One entirely preventable condition is responsible for tripling heart disease deaths in the US over the past 20 years …

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