The latest study in Archives of Internal Medicine shows that women who eat loads of veggies, fruit, whole grains, fish and legumes, exercise; maintain a healthy weight; and don't smoke have a whopping 92 per cent DECREASE risk of having a heart attack compared wih women with less healthy diets and habits.
KNOW YOUR HEART HEALTH NUMBERS
Establish a baseline to help plan every preventive step for the rest of the year. "You need to know if you are at risk before you can take action to lower your risk," says Lori Mosca, MD, PhD, director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and author of Heart to Heart: A personal Plan for Creating a Heart-Healthy Family. Know your HDL or "good" cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressue, weight, and body mass index (BMI) numbers.
TARGET YOUR TRIGLYCERIDES
Shoot for a level of 150 or lower, says Peter H Jones, MD, an associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Doctors usually talk about good and bad cholesterol and most folks will have that down, but triglyceries are a better marker for for high risk of diabetes and heart disease," says Jones. Triglycerides are also much more responsive to lifestyle changes than other types of blood fats. "Your triglycerides can drop 30% to 50% just by reducing saturated fats and reducing your weight," Jones says.
GO FOR NUTS AND PLANT STEROLS
Your heart will love you if you eat six walnuts before lunch and dinner, according to Michael Roizen, MD, the chief wellness officer for Cleveland Clinic and chairman of the clinic's Wellness Institute. Why? Because "walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help to decrease inflammation in the arteries surrounding your heart, so they keep your heart functioning longer and better," promises Roizen, co-author of the best-selling You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending your Warranty. "Walnuts will also make you feel fuller faster so you are less likely to overeat at meals." Other nuts such as peanuts, macadamia nuts, and almonds are a rich source of plant sterols, which block chelesterol absorption in the intestines. Studies have shown that eating foods enriched with plant sterols lowers LDL cholesterol. Eating 2-3 grams a day lowers LDL cholesterol by 6-15 %, without affecting HDL cholesterol or triglycerides. Sterols are found in all plant foods, but the highest concentrations are found in unrefined oils, such as vegetable, nut and olive oil. Some foods have also been fortified with plant sterols, including milk, juices and spreads.
DE-STRESS YOUR HEART
Stress raises blood pressure, heart rate, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Learn ways to relax and take it easy during the day
VOLUNTEER TO FIGHT HEART DIEASE
People who volunteer tend to live longer than people who don't. It's that simple, Mosca says. "We think this is because volunteering reduces isolation and increses social connectivity." Find a charity that means something to you and donate your time
DO NOT SMOKE
Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disese. Secondhand smoke counts too. A recent study found that people who are exposed to other people's smoke increased their risk of heart attacks by 69%, strokes by 56% and peripheral artery disease (PAD)by 67%.
STRENGTHEN YOUR HEART WITH WEIGHT TRAINING
"Strength training reduces your percentage of body fat, keeps your weight down, and increase your muscle mass and endurance for aerobic exercise." says Goldberg. "Do some weight training with free weights twice a week, making sure to focus on both your upper and lower body," she says. "As your aerobic capacity improves through strength training, your HDL cholesterol levels will increase."
MEASURE YOUR WAIST SIZE TO GAUGE YOUR HEART HEALTH
"Take a tape measure and measure your middle," Goldberg says. "If your waist size is more than 35 inches in women or more than 40 inches in men, this tells you that you are at increased risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes." The best way to reduce your waist size is to get active and reduce the amount of sugars and carbs in your diet.
REDUCE YOU BLOOD PRESSUE BY RDUCING YOUR SALT
High blood pressue is a major risk factor for heart disease, and reducing salt intake can help lower blood pressue. Cook with herbs in place of salt, and make sure you read food labels to see just how much salt is in prepared foods. Aim for less than 2.3 grams (about a teaspoon) of salt per day.
SLEEP TO YOUR HEART'S CONTENT
People who sleep fewer than seven hours a night have higher blood pressure and higher levels of the stress harmone cortisol, making the arteries more vulnerable to plaque buildup. In fact, the latest research shows that people who do not get enough sleep are more than twice as likely as others to die of hear disease
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Coconut Oil reduces Diabetes
A diet including coconut oil, a medium chain fatty acid (MCFA), helps combat insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the inability of cells to respond to insulin and take in glucose for energy. The pancreas tries to compensate for insulin resistance by producing even more insulin, but eventually glucose accomulates in the bloodstream. Over time, insulin resistance and obesity can lead to pre-diabetes or full-blown type 2 diabetes.
Dr Nigel Turner and colleagues at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, Australia, compared fat metabolism and insulin resistance in mice and rats fed diets rich in coconut oil (a medium chain fatty acid) or lard (a long chain fatty acid). (The lard-based diet was similar to the diet eaten by people in the Western world.)The findings were published in the journal Diabetes.
MCFAs, like coconut oil, were found to reduce fat accumulation while maintaining insulin action in muscle and fat tissue. "Dietary supplementation with MCFAs may therefore be beneficial for preventing obesity and peripheral insulin resistance', said Dr Turner in the study conclusions.
American farmers several years ago tried to put fat on their beef cattle by feeding them coconut oil, but to their dismay the cattle did not gain weight and in many cases lost weight.
The saturated fats present in coconut oil also have antimicrobial properties that help combat various bacteria, fungi, and parasites that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in the absorption of other nutrients such a vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
The MCFAs in coconut oil are more like carbohydrates than other fats. They are more water soluble and are broken down more quickly. THEY ENTER THE BLOODSTREAM FASTER AND ARE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO THE LIVER, WHERE THEY ARE USED AS AN IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ENERGY.Medium chain fatty acids, unlike long chain fatty acids, are small enough to enter the cells' energy powerhouses, the mitochondria, directly, where they can be conveted to energy. Be warned, however, that medium chain fatty acids can also lead to fat build-up in the liver.
Fat storage is balanced by how much fat is taken in by cells and how much is burned for energy,. When people eat a high fat diet, their bodies attempt to compensate by increasing their capacity to oxidize fat. THE MEDIUM CHAIN FATTY ACID (COCONUT OIL) DIET WAS MORE EFFECTIVE AT INCREASING THE OXIDATIVE CAPACITY OF MUSCLE THAN THE LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS, LEADING TO LESS FAT STORAGE IN MUSCLE AND BETTER INSULIN ACTION.
Keeping in mind the potential for excess fat accumulation in the liver, substituting oils containing medium chain fatty acids for other oils in the diet may be beneficial. But make sure to include other fats as well. The fatty acids in fish oil, for example, are thought to improve fat oxidation in the liver.
Dr Nigel Turner and colleagues at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Darlinghurst, Australia, compared fat metabolism and insulin resistance in mice and rats fed diets rich in coconut oil (a medium chain fatty acid) or lard (a long chain fatty acid). (The lard-based diet was similar to the diet eaten by people in the Western world.)The findings were published in the journal Diabetes.
MCFAs, like coconut oil, were found to reduce fat accumulation while maintaining insulin action in muscle and fat tissue. "Dietary supplementation with MCFAs may therefore be beneficial for preventing obesity and peripheral insulin resistance', said Dr Turner in the study conclusions.
American farmers several years ago tried to put fat on their beef cattle by feeding them coconut oil, but to their dismay the cattle did not gain weight and in many cases lost weight.
The saturated fats present in coconut oil also have antimicrobial properties that help combat various bacteria, fungi, and parasites that cause indigestion. Coconut oil also helps in the absorption of other nutrients such a vitamins, minerals and amino acids.
The MCFAs in coconut oil are more like carbohydrates than other fats. They are more water soluble and are broken down more quickly. THEY ENTER THE BLOODSTREAM FASTER AND ARE TAKEN DIRECTLY TO THE LIVER, WHERE THEY ARE USED AS AN IMMEDIATE SOURCE OF ENERGY.Medium chain fatty acids, unlike long chain fatty acids, are small enough to enter the cells' energy powerhouses, the mitochondria, directly, where they can be conveted to energy. Be warned, however, that medium chain fatty acids can also lead to fat build-up in the liver.
Fat storage is balanced by how much fat is taken in by cells and how much is burned for energy,. When people eat a high fat diet, their bodies attempt to compensate by increasing their capacity to oxidize fat. THE MEDIUM CHAIN FATTY ACID (COCONUT OIL) DIET WAS MORE EFFECTIVE AT INCREASING THE OXIDATIVE CAPACITY OF MUSCLE THAN THE LONG CHAIN FATTY ACIDS, LEADING TO LESS FAT STORAGE IN MUSCLE AND BETTER INSULIN ACTION.
Keeping in mind the potential for excess fat accumulation in the liver, substituting oils containing medium chain fatty acids for other oils in the diet may be beneficial. But make sure to include other fats as well. The fatty acids in fish oil, for example, are thought to improve fat oxidation in the liver.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Diabetes Doubles the Risk of Heart Disease
Diabetes doubles the risk of developing serious blood vessel diseases and life threatening events such as strokes and heart attacks, a new study show.
The findings emphasize the need to increase efforts to prevent diabetes, researchers report in a study published in The Lancet.
The results of the study are also being presented at the American Diabetes Association's 70th annual scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla.
British scientists analyzed data on nearly 700,000 people, each of whom had been monitored for about 10 years in 102 surveys in 25 countries.
One suprising finding: Only a small part of the effects of diabetes on heart disease and stroke can be explained by blood fats, blood pressure, and obesity.
Other findings include:
Blood glucose levels alone should not be used to help indentify people at increased risk of heart disease or stroke.
Diabetes may cause damage through additional routes than obesity, blood fats, and blood pressure.
Higher than average fasting blood glucose levels are only weakly related to later development of hear attacks or storkes.
"Our findings highlight the need for better prevetion of diabetes coupled with greater investigation of the mechanisms by which diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular disease," Nadeem Sarwar, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, says in a news release.
"Information on age, sex, smoking habits, blood pressue and blood fats is routinely collected to assess risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Our findings indicate that adding information on fasting blood glucose levels in people without diabetes does not provide significant extra help in assessing cardiovascular risk."
The study also shows that:
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for some 17 million deaths annually, worldwide
Coronary heart disease risks were higher in women than in men 40-49 than at age 70 and older.
The researchers write that the findings were consistent across all groups of people in the 25 countries for which data was analyzed.
The findings emphasize the need to increase efforts to prevent diabetes, researchers report in a study published in The Lancet.
The results of the study are also being presented at the American Diabetes Association's 70th annual scientific sessions in Orlando, Fla.
British scientists analyzed data on nearly 700,000 people, each of whom had been monitored for about 10 years in 102 surveys in 25 countries.
One suprising finding: Only a small part of the effects of diabetes on heart disease and stroke can be explained by blood fats, blood pressure, and obesity.
Other findings include:
Blood glucose levels alone should not be used to help indentify people at increased risk of heart disease or stroke.
Diabetes may cause damage through additional routes than obesity, blood fats, and blood pressure.
Higher than average fasting blood glucose levels are only weakly related to later development of hear attacks or storkes.
"Our findings highlight the need for better prevetion of diabetes coupled with greater investigation of the mechanisms by which diabetes increases the risk of cardiovascular disease," Nadeem Sarwar, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, says in a news release.
"Information on age, sex, smoking habits, blood pressue and blood fats is routinely collected to assess risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Our findings indicate that adding information on fasting blood glucose levels in people without diabetes does not provide significant extra help in assessing cardiovascular risk."
The study also shows that:
Cardiovascular disease is responsible for some 17 million deaths annually, worldwide
Coronary heart disease risks were higher in women than in men 40-49 than at age 70 and older.
The researchers write that the findings were consistent across all groups of people in the 25 countries for which data was analyzed.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Heart Health
As everyone knows the best way to have good heart health is to maintain the proper weight, get plenty of exercise and eat healthy food. Are there any shortcuts to this? In a word, no.
There are some additional things that will help your heart health. From the well known studies on the Eskimos who ate a very high meat diet, we learn that they had little or no heart problems. The reason was the very high level of omega-3 oil in the fish and seals that they ate. You can buy omega-3 fish oil pills at a very low cost. Another low cost supplement that really helps your heart is one of the B vitamins, vitamin B3, also called niacin. Niacin will help clean out the buildup in the arteries.
The key to good heart health is prevention. Most people get lazy, fat and avoid exercise and that increases the risk of getting heart disease. If you want to go that route then read how doctors deal with heart disease for their overweight, non exercising patients with bad eating habits.
Thirty years ago, Eugene Braunwald, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Harvard Medical School, stated in the New England Journal of Medicine, "An industry is being built around this operation (bypass)...(It) is developing a momentum of its own, and as time passses it will be progressively more difficult and costly to curtail it..."
He was right. Between 1979 and 1998, the number of cardiovascular procedures grew by 38%! Yet study after study shows that surgery yields no better benefit than alternative treatments. NONE. But with cardiac procedures making up roughly 45% of the total revenue generated by most hospitals, and bypass surgery starting at $85,000 a pop, it's no wonder doctors and hospitals continue to push patients down this unnecessary, often ineffective, and sometimes very dangerous road.
1998: VEterans Affairs Non-Q-Wave Infarction Strategies in Hostital (VANQWISH) study published. This was designed to determine the best treatment for patients who have had non-Qwave mycardial infarctions (the msot common type of heart attack). It was found that patients who underwent surgery fared more poorly and had increased death rates.
2001: Study related to the VANQWISH study published similar findings, "routine invasive management may be associated with an increased risk of death."
2006: Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that angioplasty done 3 to 28 days after a heart attack did not reduce the rates of death, heart attack, or heart failure, compared to conservative treatment with medications. Worse, during 4 years of follow-up, these PATIENTS HAD AN INCREASE IN REPEAT HEART ATTACKS!
There are some additional things that will help your heart health. From the well known studies on the Eskimos who ate a very high meat diet, we learn that they had little or no heart problems. The reason was the very high level of omega-3 oil in the fish and seals that they ate. You can buy omega-3 fish oil pills at a very low cost. Another low cost supplement that really helps your heart is one of the B vitamins, vitamin B3, also called niacin. Niacin will help clean out the buildup in the arteries.
The key to good heart health is prevention. Most people get lazy, fat and avoid exercise and that increases the risk of getting heart disease. If you want to go that route then read how doctors deal with heart disease for their overweight, non exercising patients with bad eating habits.
Thirty years ago, Eugene Braunwald, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Harvard Medical School, stated in the New England Journal of Medicine, "An industry is being built around this operation (bypass)...(It) is developing a momentum of its own, and as time passses it will be progressively more difficult and costly to curtail it..."
He was right. Between 1979 and 1998, the number of cardiovascular procedures grew by 38%! Yet study after study shows that surgery yields no better benefit than alternative treatments. NONE. But with cardiac procedures making up roughly 45% of the total revenue generated by most hospitals, and bypass surgery starting at $85,000 a pop, it's no wonder doctors and hospitals continue to push patients down this unnecessary, often ineffective, and sometimes very dangerous road.
1998: VEterans Affairs Non-Q-Wave Infarction Strategies in Hostital (VANQWISH) study published. This was designed to determine the best treatment for patients who have had non-Qwave mycardial infarctions (the msot common type of heart attack). It was found that patients who underwent surgery fared more poorly and had increased death rates.
2001: Study related to the VANQWISH study published similar findings, "routine invasive management may be associated with an increased risk of death."
2006: Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that angioplasty done 3 to 28 days after a heart attack did not reduce the rates of death, heart attack, or heart failure, compared to conservative treatment with medications. Worse, during 4 years of follow-up, these PATIENTS HAD AN INCREASE IN REPEAT HEART ATTACKS!
Monday, May 31, 2010
99,000 DIE YEARLY FROM PREVENTABLE HOSPITAL INFECTIONS
As many as 99,000 Ameicans die yearly from hospital-acquired infections, state laws are finally forcing hospitals to report the infections.
Early data released by CDC today suggest this is cutting infection rates. But the data paint a bigger picture. Despite the huge size of the problem, most hospitals in most states still haven't come to grips with it.
That's going to change, says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
"All 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico recently published state action plans to reduce hospital-acquired infections," Sebelius says in a news release.
Its a good start. But it's been a struggle just to get the starting line, says Lisa McGiffert, who as campaign manager for Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project, lobbies states to pass laws requiring public reporting of in-hospital infections.
"When we started, we thought hospitals knew their infection rates and were keeping them secret," McGiffert tell WebMD. "But they were not tracking them at all. If you are not aware of somethig you can't stop it. Where hospitals have been forced to face this and count it, it has created a sea change. The main thing this means is that the CDC has finally embraced public reporting as a component of prevention Strategies."
Early data released by CDC today suggest this is cutting infection rates. But the data paint a bigger picture. Despite the huge size of the problem, most hospitals in most states still haven't come to grips with it.
That's going to change, says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
"All 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico recently published state action plans to reduce hospital-acquired infections," Sebelius says in a news release.
Its a good start. But it's been a struggle just to get the starting line, says Lisa McGiffert, who as campaign manager for Consumers Union's Safe Patient Project, lobbies states to pass laws requiring public reporting of in-hospital infections.
"When we started, we thought hospitals knew their infection rates and were keeping them secret," McGiffert tell WebMD. "But they were not tracking them at all. If you are not aware of somethig you can't stop it. Where hospitals have been forced to face this and count it, it has created a sea change. The main thing this means is that the CDC has finally embraced public reporting as a component of prevention Strategies."
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Carbs Against Cardio
More evidence that refined carbohydrates, not fats, threaten the heart. Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take home message from the U S government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country's biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggest a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culpit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does-a finding that has serious implication for new dietary guidelines expected this year.
In March the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a meta-analysis-which combines data from several studies-that compared the reported daily food intake of nearly 350,000 people against their risk of developing cardiovascular disease over a period of five to 23 years. The analysis, overseen by Ronald M Krauss, director of atherosclerosis research at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Insitute, found NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF SATURATED FAT CONSUMED AND THE RISK OF HEAR DISEASE.
The findings joins other conclusions of the past few years that run counter to the conventional wisdom that saturated fat is bad for the heart because it increases total cholesterol levels. That idea is "based in large measure on extrapolations, which are not supported by the data," Krauss says.
One problem with the old ligic is that "total cholesterol is not a great predictor of risk," says Meir Stampfer, a professor of nutrition and epidermiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Although saturated fat boosts blood levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, it also increases "good" HDL cholesterol. In 2008 Stampfer co-authored a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed 322 moderastely obese individuals for two years as they adopted one of three diets: a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean, restricted-calorie diet rich in vegetables and low in red meat: and a low carbohydrate, nonrestricted-calorie diet. ALTHOUGTH THE SUBJECTS ON THE LOW-CARB DIET ATE THE MOST SATURATED FAT, THEY ENDED UP WITH THE HEALTHIEST RATIO OF HDL TO LDS CHOLESTEROL AND LOST TWICE AS MUCH WEIGHT AS THEIR LOW FAT EATING COUNTERPARTS.
In March the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a meta-analysis-which combines data from several studies-that compared the reported daily food intake of nearly 350,000 people against their risk of developing cardiovascular disease over a period of five to 23 years. The analysis, overseen by Ronald M Krauss, director of atherosclerosis research at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Insitute, found NO ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF SATURATED FAT CONSUMED AND THE RISK OF HEAR DISEASE.
The findings joins other conclusions of the past few years that run counter to the conventional wisdom that saturated fat is bad for the heart because it increases total cholesterol levels. That idea is "based in large measure on extrapolations, which are not supported by the data," Krauss says.
One problem with the old ligic is that "total cholesterol is not a great predictor of risk," says Meir Stampfer, a professor of nutrition and epidermiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Although saturated fat boosts blood levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, it also increases "good" HDL cholesterol. In 2008 Stampfer co-authored a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed 322 moderastely obese individuals for two years as they adopted one of three diets: a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean, restricted-calorie diet rich in vegetables and low in red meat: and a low carbohydrate, nonrestricted-calorie diet. ALTHOUGTH THE SUBJECTS ON THE LOW-CARB DIET ATE THE MOST SATURATED FAT, THEY ENDED UP WITH THE HEALTHIEST RATIO OF HDL TO LDS CHOLESTEROL AND LOST TWICE AS MUCH WEIGHT AS THEIR LOW FAT EATING COUNTERPARTS.
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Cancer Fighting Potential of Flaxseed
Flaxseed lignans might offer protection against breast, prostate, colon, and skin cancers while the soluble fiber they contain could help maintain steady blood sugar levels, found a review of research into the seed.
An article, published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, evaluated current research on flaxseed and any poential benefits it may have against diabetes and certain cancers.
Flaxseed has been the focus of increased interest in the field of diet and disease research due to the potential health benefits associated with some of its biologically active components: oil containing approximately 59 per cent a-linolenic acid (ALA) and the presence of plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG).
SDG once ingested, is conveted in the colon into active mammalian lignans, entreodiol (END) and enterolactone (ENL)which have show promise in reducing gtrowth of cancerous tumors, especially hormone sensitive one such as those of the breast, endometrium, and prostate.
The best way to take flaxseed is to grind it up with a coffee grinder such as one that can be purchased at Walmart.
An article, published in Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, evaluated current research on flaxseed and any poential benefits it may have against diabetes and certain cancers.
Flaxseed has been the focus of increased interest in the field of diet and disease research due to the potential health benefits associated with some of its biologically active components: oil containing approximately 59 per cent a-linolenic acid (ALA) and the presence of plant lignan secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG).
SDG once ingested, is conveted in the colon into active mammalian lignans, entreodiol (END) and enterolactone (ENL)which have show promise in reducing gtrowth of cancerous tumors, especially hormone sensitive one such as those of the breast, endometrium, and prostate.
The best way to take flaxseed is to grind it up with a coffee grinder such as one that can be purchased at Walmart.
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