Heart = mind, judgement and spirit

Dr Marius J Swart

50 Ways to a Healthy Heart
Prof Christiaan Barnard
Jonathan Ball Publishers
2001

The lay media daily confronts one with advice on healthy living and how to prolong life. Questionnaires can be completed for a quick assessment and according to the score treatment is advised. The medical fraternity is often somewhat sceptical about these quick-fix solutions. Unfortunately the man (and the woman of any profession and background) in the street does not have access to reputed medical journals. The problem is further complicated by the fact that what is right and what is wrong, like in politics and economics, change with time. For the individual who is serious about his or her health there is now an answer. Professor Christiaan Barnard, a respected medical doctor with a background in super-specialised medicine, investigated all the basic popular aspects concerning health. His resources are well-established scientific journals and institutions. The result is Fifty ways to a healthy heart.

The Latin word for ‘heart’ refers to more than the muscular pump, which is almost the only function of this organ, the heart. It also means ‘mind’, ‘judgement’, and ‘spirit’. Barnard’s ways to a healthy heart are actually ways to a healthy lifestyle in general. True to his profession as a heart surgeon, Professor Christiaan Barnard organised the book very well. The five parts almost correlate with man’s basic needs according to Maslow. Each part consists of ten different ways to a healthy lifestyle. Both five and ten are figures symbolic of completeness or the whole. Fifty different ways fit nicely into a short chapter per week for one year. This is, in any case, the kind of book that one should reread again and again.

Barnard never preaches but leaves it to the responsible reader to make his or her own decisions. He addresses the futility of short-term diets. He emphasises the proper management of stress. He addresses the hazards of too much noise and passive smoking together with the lack of sunshine in our office environment. He is very concerned about our daily activities, from blood donating to surprisingly (?) a healthy sex life. In the fifth part it becomes clear that a positive attitude can make a very real difference to one’s physical health. In each chapter important statements are highlighted. Most chapters conclude with a section titled Barnard Tips for a Healthy Heart. This breakdown of the almost overwhelming number of facts quoted from acknowledged studies makes it easier for the reader to absorb everything and is convenient for future reference.

I appreciated Barnard’s way of dealing with statistics. The statement is made that churchgoers tend to live longer. A second study has confirmed that it is an absolute factor after other risk factors have been excluded, but Barnard agrees that people with religion generally have a more positive outlook on life. No statement is made without the necessary scientific backup. I was surprised to realise that there is even scientific proof for the concept that people with a positive outlook on life are healthier. One can demonstrate a variance in particular cells of the immune system in two groups with different attitudes towards life. Among all the hard facts, the frequent references to Barnard’s own background and personal life further adds to joyful reading. At his age and with his zest for life he is living proof of a healthy heart.

A few things did bother, however. The statement: ‘… the world’s most respected doctor’ made by the publisher on the cover page is in direct contrast to Barnard’s own approach in the text where every statement is verifiable with scientifically proven facts. The same with the phrase on the back cover that Barnard saved more than 150 lives through heart surgery. This is the number of heart operations one surgeon does per year in South Africa. All state employed heart surgeons (in fact all doctors) give their services free of charge. This remark on p xv is therefore unnecessary. A few editorial errors slipped through, e.g. on pp 28, 58, 75, 140, and 238. The author switches between the metric and the British unit system. In his effort to be politically correct the use of he and she is inconsistent.

The book 50 Ways to a Healthy Heart by Professor Christiaan Barnard, first published by Thorsons and distributed in South Africa by Jonathan Ball Publishers, is in paperback. This is a much-needed publication to bring a balanced perspective in the exploding health industry. It is to the benefit of the health-conscious teenager and the medical practitioner who would prefer not to quote sound advice from pop-medical articles in family magazines. The beauty of Barnard’s advice is that one still can (and should) enjoy life. After all, what is bad about walking your dog or having a glass of wine and listening to good music?

Barnard starts off with a simple recommendation from his mother: "Stop eating when you’re still hungry". After reading his book, I could add my own mother’s words of wisdom: "Health is about balance". Christiaan Barnard endorses this.

to the top

© Kopiereg in die ontwerp en inhoud van hierdie webruimte behoort aan LitNet, uitgesluit die kopiereg in bydraes wat berus by die outeurs wat sodanige bydraes verskaf. LitNet streef na die plasing van oorspronklike materiaal en na die oop en onbeperkte uitruil van idees en menings. Die menings van bydraers tot hierdie werftuiste is dus hul eie en weerspieël nie noodwendig die mening van die redaksie en bestuur van LitNet nie. LitNet kan ongelukkig ook nie waarborg dat hierdie diens ononderbroke of foutloos sal wees nie en gebruikers wat steun op inligting wat hier verskaf word, doen dit op hul eie risiko. Media24, M-Web, Ligitprops 3042 BK en die bestuur en redaksie van LitNet aanvaar derhalwe geen aanspreeklikheid vir enige regstreekse of onregstreekse verlies of skade wat uit sodanige bydraes of die verskaffing van hierdie diens spruit nie. LitNet is ’n onafhanklike joernaal op die Internet, en word as gesamentlike onderneming deur Ligitprops 3042 BK en Media24 bedryf.