February - A Great Time to Work on Healthy Heart!

How's the pitter-patter of your heart?  Do you or someone in your family have heart issues?  If you haven't checked with your doctor about your own heart, that's a good place to start.  Then ask other family members about the prevalence of heart problems in your family.  Charting what you learn helps you to understand it and to pass it on to others in the family.

I love genealogy, so tend to approach this subject from that direction.  If you haven't joined one of the family history organizations - Ancestry.com, 23 & Me, etc. - then that's worth looking into.  I have used 3 different ones, starting in 2004.  The third one, 23 & Me, was an early Christmas gift.  I am blown away by how much information they provide.

On your own, you could start with a list of those in your family who succumbed to heart disease.  You might also add a column for "Cancer" or other illnesses you know of in your family.

Person                                                             Birth/Death                          Illness       
Paternal Grandfather, Kellogg, Charles H.     1851-2/1913                         Heart
Maternal Grandfather, Meredith, James B.     1880-1944                            Stroke/heart attack
Father, Kellogg, John W.                                 1899-1987                            Stroke/heart attack

What surprises me is how little I know about the exact cause of death.  My mother and grandmother
both lived very long lives (89 and 97) but I'd need to go back into the records to see the actual cause of death.  My mother had dementia, which contributed to her death, and my grandmother had it too, but only in the last year of her life after a stroke.

Looks like the heart is very important in my family history - and perhaps in yours as well.  Here are some of the Shaklee products you might consider:  OmegaGuard, CoQHeart, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Reduction.  I'd also look at Vivix, Vitalizer and the Protein Life Shakes.  You can check your catalog or go on line to see a wealth of health information.