February, 2003

It's easy to forget, while you're buying all those heart-shaped cards and boxes of chocolate and heart-shaped anything, that the heart is not only the seat of all our passions, but the seat of our health.

The heart became associated with Valentine's Day because people, especially ancient doctors, believed that the heart governed all emotions. It's easy to forget that the fluffy round heart on candy boxes bears little resemblance to the four-chambered pump that keeps the blood flowing through your veins.

For those of you suffering through love troubles or loneliness on February 14th, it's tempting to self-medicate with alcohol and chocolate. However, no matter how awful you feel before your binge, you'll feel much worse in the long run if you clog your heart with LDL cholesterol, sugar, and alcohol. When your arteries become blocked, your heart can't eliminate waste as easily, nor can it pump oxygen through the body in the form of blood. You might say to yourself, "I wish I were dead," but you'll be fighting for your breath during a heart attack. There's nothing romantic about a hospital stay.

If you are passionately in love (it's said that people eat less during these times), you want to enjoy every moment with your loved one, and not risk a medical condition that can put a stop to your happiness. When your sweetie is feeding you champagne, caviar, chocolates and steak, it's easy to get carried away--sometimes straight to the ER. Make your heart-stopping moments those special ones between the two of you, rather than ones brought on by too much food and drink.

Relax, we're not telling you to eat a heart-shaped chunk of oat bran or tofu. A little indulgence sometimes improves our overall physical, emotional and mental well-being. But when you indulge, do so in moderation.

If you've overdone it on the Pasta Primvera and chocolate cake, remember that vigorous exercise helps the heart and burns calories. Dancing, skating, or a romantic walk can restore good circulation and get your heart pounding faster in a good way.

Also, remember that kissing burns 6.4 calories per minute. So when you're indulging in a romantic interlude, you're doing your heart, and your sweetie's heart, a world of good.