Learn to eat for a healthy heart

Eating for heart health isn’t always easy, especially if part of the healthy eating prescription is to lose weight as well.

Often people start a diet only to give in to temptation and then start over again. This yo-yo cycle is not only demoralizing, but it’s not good for your heart health either.

Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center, 14502 W. Meeker Blvd., in Sun City West, is hosting a lecture from 1 to 2 p.m. Oct. 26 in the medical center’s Auditorium that will help attendees learn how to eat for heart health as well as how to stop dieting and start enjoying food.

Dr. Pranav Patel is a cardiologist on staff with nonprofit Banner Del E. Webb. He will explain heart disease, its treatment and prevention through lifestyle changes.

“There are the three pillars of heart health,” said Patel. “Even if an individual needs medication to help control blood pressure and cholesterol, eating well, keeping weight within normal range and regular exercise are still the mainstay of treatment. It is exciting to bring this message to the community through this event.”

With passion, energy and humor, renowned author Dr. Michelle May will illustrate how to break the “eat, repeat, repeat cycle” that make many diets fail and dieters, in turn, feel like failures. She will guide attendees out of the food-focused, diet-driven downward spiral and educate them about a powerful approach to ending the love-hate relationship with food once and for all.

“Try as we might, diets simply do not work long term,” said May. “Most diet plans lead to guilt-driven eating, followed by punishment-laden exercise. But we each have the ability to manage our weight effortlessly using our internal cues of hunger and fullness. You can eat what you love.”

May understands the pitfalls of dieting. She was a chronic dieter with a love-hate relationship with food until she stopped dieting and developed a fearless, mindful approach to eating. This, in turn, led to a passion for inspiring others to find lasting health through eating. Drs. Patel and May will answer your questions as well as offer inspiration to stay on your path to maintain a healthy heart.

This free lecture is part of Banner Health’s Put Your Heart in the Right Place series. To register, call 602-230-CARE. The first 20 people to arrive at the event will receive a free copy of May’s latest book: Love What You Eat, Eat What You Love. Also, Banner health nurses will be onsite giving free blood pressure checks after the presentation.

Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center is a 404-bed, acute-care nonprofit medical center in Sun City West offering heart care, emergency care, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, cancer care, obstetrics and gynecology, outpatient services, physical rehabilitation and behavioral services. Banner Del E. Webb is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 22 hospitals throughout the West.

To learn more, visit www.BannerHealth.com/Webb.