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TV’s Monk and Heart Disease: My Letter To Hollywood

By Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Have you ever seen those “Now You Know” TV commercials?  You know, where a celebrity tries to enlighten us into how to treat each other better.?  Now, there’s anything wrong with being nice to other people; and I'm all for it actually.  But, I always felt that celebrities could use their time and talents for bigger issues – world peace, beating cancer and stuff like that.

 

I think the suits in TV land may have started to come around to my way of thinking as I watched a episode of one of my favorite TV shows, Monk (the episode aired in February 2009. During one of the commercials, the cast of Monk talked about the untimely loss of one their former friend and costar, Stanley Kamel, who died from a heart attack last year. Staley Kamel, was a great character actor who even once appeared in my favorite TV show of all time – Star Trek (TNG).

In addition to talking about Stanley, the real message was to take care of your heart and combat heart disease.

WOW! Never before have I seen anything like this on TV! I didn’t even mind the little, Take Care of Your Heart pop-up ad that appeared during the episode of Monk.


Usually those pop-up ads are annoying and remind me of how TV is becoming more like the internet (you know it's just a matter of time before they start charging us a monthly fee to avoid seeing those in-episode pop-up ads. But I digress…).

In America, someone dies every 12 seconds. Most of those people die from heart disease.

This is ironic because, for the most part, heart disease is preventable.

The recipe to prevent heart disease is pretty simple:

  1. Don’t smoke
  2. Get some exercise (30-60 minutes a day)
  3. Eat more fruits and veggies
  4. Cut back on saturated fat and trans fats
  5. Watch the bad stress in your life

Just deciding not to smoke would save thousands of lives each year!

I write this recipe because most people don’t know these facts. They think heart disease is something that just happens – and it's not!

Bottom Line: It's easy to tell people be nice to others. It’s a lot harder to take a firm stand on an issue and say things like “Save yourselves! Don't have a heart attack!

Save your friends and your family the feelings of utter impotence that go hand in hand with watching a loved one pass away far before their time. Trust me. I know. That’s not a good place to be.

Hollywood. If you are reading this, I am hoping to see more of these types of TV ads. Not only on TV, but in radio and print media  – and even billboards! I know billboard space is expensive but it's not as expensive as a the crushing health care costs that we currently have – or will have in the near future.

Hollywood, you have a power to enact real change that can save many thousands of lives. I'm hoping you use it.

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About

I'm Joe Cannon. I hold an MS in exercise science and a BS in chemistry and biology.

I've been quoted in the New York Times and Daily Beast to name a few. I've even lectured to the NASA community.

I'm the author of the first book on rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) & exercise. I've conducted over 1,000 fitness certification classes.

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Joe Cannon, MS has written for several publications including The Journal of Strength and Conditioning, Today's Dietitian, and Prevention. He's been quoted in the New York Times, lectured to NASA and has been a content consultant for Dateline NBC. He's the author of the first book ever published on rhabdomyolysis and exercise. Joe Cannon, has a BS in Chemistry and Biology and a MS in Exercise Science. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a personal trainer certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).
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