cardiovascular disease » Beyond Prescriptions

Heart Disease and and Cancer Linked to Processed Meats

antioxidants, Heart Disease, nitrates, Nutrition No Responses »

Mar 312013

I remember my father’s breakfast every morning ~ 3 strips of bacon and 2 eggs, over easy. He never deviated. And he died of a heart attack at 52. Could that bacon really have been part of his early death?

According to a multinational group of scientists tracking the health and eating habits of bacon-loving Brits, as well as residents of seven other European countries ~ almost a half-million people in all ~ they found that people who ate a lot of processed meats ~ more than 20 grams a day, the equivalent of one thin strip of bacon ~ were much more likely to die of heart attacks and stroke, and also had a higher cancer risk. The more processed meats they ate, the greater the risk. So, perhaps that bacon and egg breakfast every morning did play a part in my Dad’s early death.

So what is included in the list of processed foods? Bacon, hot dogs, sandwich meat, packaged ham, pepperoni, salami, and pretty much all of the red meat used in frozen prepared meals. And they are normally manufactured with an ingredient called sodium nitrate, considered to be a carcinogenic ingredient and put into the packaged meat to make it look fresher by turning it into a bright red color.

Reactions in the stomach then yield nitrosamines, also considered to be carcinogenic. This happens when these compounds are subjected to high heat, i.e. when bacon is cooked. Did you know that Vitamin C can block the formation of these carcinogenic compounds? People whose diets are rich in Vitamin C have been found to be less prone to stomach cancers. Pretty important information!

One of the leaders of the above study (which was just published in the journal BM Medicine), Sabine Rohrmann, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Zurich, attributed the risk of cancer in processed meats to the salt, smoke and nitrates used as preservatives as well as the amazingly high amounts of fat found in many of the salty, fatty meats, reminding us that some salamis contain as much as 50% fat!

And then there is that famous study involving lots of olive oil, nuts, fish, and veggies, and very little red meat ~ shown to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

So what is a consumer to do? Give up that all-American breakfast of bacon and eggs forever? The World Cancer Research Fund, after conducting a review of over 7,000 clinical studies covering links between diet and cancer, would have you do just that! Its conclusion? Processed meats are too dangerous for human consumption. Consumers should stop buying and eating all processed meat products for the rest of their lives.

My choice at this time would be to include vitamin C-rich foods and supplements in my diet and encourage family members to choose nitrate-free choices if they want to have that bacon with their eggs! What about you? Do these studies affect your eating habits?

A Lifestyle Choice That Can Make A Difference For Your Heart

Heart Disease, Nutrition, Pharaceuticals, Vegetarian Diet No Responses »

Feb 112013

We are celebrating “heart” month during February so let’s talk about some interesting information about how we can work on making our hearts healthier.

We all are aware that heart disease is the nation’s #1 killer. But is it irreversible? Is it possible that changes in lifestyle alone such as reducing stress as well as fat, can effectively reverse heart disease?

An interesting study, one the largest ever conducted in the UK, almost 45,000 volunteers which included 34% vegetarians, compared rates of heart disease between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and suggested that a vegetarian diet could significantly reduce people’s risk of heart disease. These new findings were just recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The risk of hospitalization or death from heart disease is 32% lower in vegetarians than people who eat meat and fish, according to this new study from the University of Oxford.

‘Most of the difference in risk is probably caused by effects on cholesterol and blood pressure, and shows the important role of diet in the prevention of heart disease,’ explains Dr Francesca Crowe, lead author of the study at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford.

Another risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure. Dr. Dean Ornish, in his book Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease states, epidemiological research studies conducted to date tell us that people who eat a low-fat, low-cholesterol vegetarian diet (in other countries or in subgroups in the United States) have low blood pressure and low blood cholesterol levels in childhood that remain low as they get older, and they have very low rates of coronary heart disease. People who eat a typical American diet have low blood pressure and low blood cholesterol levels in childhood that tend to increase as they get older, and they have high rates of coronary heart disease.

Ornish further states that two-thirds of the world eat a low-fat vegetarian or near-vegetarian diet. Many anthropologists believe that our ancestors were primarily vegetarians. Our teeth are designed primarily for plant-based foods, and our intestional tract is long to allow for the slow digestion of high-fiber plant foods, rather than the short digestive tract needed to process meat and dispose of the resulting toxic wastes quickly. Did you know that as early as 1900 two thirds of the protein in the typical American diet came from plant foods, whereas today two thirds of our protein comes from animal foods?

The video below is an interesting comment about this subject. Enjoy!

And We Thought Smoking Was Bad

obesity No Responses »

Jan 252013

Did you know that obesity affects more people than smoking, heavy drinking, or poverty? This is according to a recent study by two RAND researchers, health economist Roland Sturm and psychiatrist Dr. Kenneth Wells. And research just recently printed in the British Medical Journal found non-smoker teens who are obese are just as likely to die early as heavy smokers.

Drs. Sturm and Wells note that “Americans haven’t given obesity the same attention as other risks, like smoking, but it is clearly a top health problem and one that is on the rise in all segments of the population. More effective clinical and public health approaches are urgently needed.”

A survey done by this team had nearly 10,000 participants, asking them to self-report on 17 chronic health conditions (including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, heart disease, and cancer), height, weight, poverty, smoking status, problem drinking, health-related quality of life, and a variety of demographic factors. It revealed the link of obesity to very high rates of chronic illnesses, much higher than smoking or drinking.

In my own life I do not remember a time before 1980 that obesity even was in the news. Now we learn that what is considered “obese” (BMI over 30) grew by 60% between 1991 and 2000! Last year at my business convention, we were all asked to measure our BMI. That is when I learned that I fell into that “obese” range! I was just one point into it but nevertheless, it was a wake-up call for me. I came home determined to change that category and have managed to be just two points now away from normal (18.5 to 24.9). Overweight is considered to be 25 to 29.9. I am losing the weight slowly and keeping it off and feeling a lot more energy. The program I am using helps me lose the fat and keep the muscle and as I drop dress and pant sizes I can really see that happening. If you would like more information about the program I am using click here.

So what can be done to change these statistics? One in five Americans are obese and three in five are overweight or obese. I just heard on the news yesterday that two out of every three people in North Carolina fall into the obese category! Unfortunately our lifestyle of being sedentary (eg. watching tv, computer games, working non-stop at desks without moving) and exercising less is having a real impact. We are basically eating the same or more and moving less. The RAND study suggests increased education, access control (including smoking bans in many buildings nationwide), taxation, better enforcement of laws relating to minors, curbs on advertising, and increased clinical attention.

We all are aware of New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomburg’s ban on large sugary drinks in an effort to curb obesity, making it illegal for food service establishments such as restaurants, street vendors, sports venues and movie theaters to serve sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. According to Bloomberg, New York City spends $4 billion a year on health care for overweight residents, and sugary drinks are the most significant factor in the increasing number of obese or overweight New Yorkers.

One suggestion to help with weight loss from a study (published online December 10, 2012 in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine) involved the use of a “weight-loss app” with coaching. They found that because this “weight-loss app” provided immediate feed back – it showed users how many of their daily calories they had already consumed, and how close they were to reaching their physical activity goal plus the app sent information to a coach, giving people the sense that someone was “watching” even if the coach did not interact with the person very much (if they stopped uploading, they would contact you), on average, participants in the mobile app group had lost about 8.6 pounds more at every checkup (which took place at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months) than those in the control group. The findings resulted in the fact that a mobile app teamed with diet and exercise education can help people lose weight.

I was very happy to learn that the program I have been on just recently launched free access to an exclusive app which includes meal trackers, recipes, workouts, etc. as well as personalized support. They are even offering amazing rewards to motivate my success (as long as I track my daily meals, etc. on my app).

The recent HBO documentary that came out last May (The Weight of The Nation, To Win, We Have to Lose) suggests major actions/policies to make the big changes to the systems that govern the food we grow; the economies that drive the food we manufacture; the policies that regulate what we market and serve, particularly to kids; the values we place on the overall quality of schools to which we send our children; the design of our communities, parks and roads so they promote health; and the perspective of our health care system so that it is focused on preventing illness from happening, rather than just treating it once it develops. USA Today, Monday April 30, 2012

I am on a mission to eat healthy foods (avoiding such things as sodas of course), exercise daily, track everything on my “app” and use that personal support to reach my goals. What about you? Where do you fall in America’s “obesity” statistics? And if you are not in that normal range, what are your plans?

Can We Slow Down The Aging Process?

Aging, Dangers of Sugar, weight loss No Responses »

Dec 112012

As 2012 winds down, it is hard to believe another year has almost passed. They say time flies! And of course we are all another year older ~ let’s face it ~ we all age. Our cells are bombarded every day by stress, poor diet, and environmental conditions. Can we really slow down that clock?

In the Nutrition Report, Eating Well, June 2011, Karen Ansel, M.S. R.D. reported that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans every 5 years. Last January the results were released and the information they shared includes 6 easy rules that can help us all live a longer, healthier life. They include:

Stop Eating Too much ~ Losing just 5 to 10% of your body weight can lead to better blood pressure, a decreased risk of diabetes and improved lipid levels. (According to the International Food Information Council, only 12% of Americans know how many calories they need in a day). Ansel reminds us that by taking our current weight (in pounds) x 12 you will know how many calories you need to maintain your weight. If you subtract 500 calories per day from this number, you will shed about a pound a week; trim 1,000 calories and you will lose 2 pounds a week. Anything more than that will deprive you of important nutrients. One thing that has helped in our family is by using smaller plates. Smaller plates…..smaller portions! Another suggestion ~ when you eat out, order the appetizer and salad rather than an entree.

GO For More Fruits and Vegetables ~ Eating Well Advisor Rachel Johnson recommends following the Guidelines in making literally half of the plate fruits and vegetables. Since only 1 in 4 Americans are even getting the recommended servings of these per day, this is good advice. The most nutrient-rich ones are dark green,, red and orange. I love to pile my plate with salad. Adding red peppers, grape tomatoes, carrots, dried cherries, peaches, apples or red grapes add a lot of nutrients without a lot of calories.

STOP Eating Junk ~ The top source of calories (35%) are starchy desserts (cookies, cakes, pastries). These contain artery-clogging saturated fats contributing to heart disease (now affecting 37% of Americans). Added sugars include table sugar, honey, molasses, agave and high-fructose corn syrup. Eating naturally sweet foods (fresh and dried fruit) will give you less calories, and vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber. There are also plant-based fats found in nuts, nut butters, seeds, and avocados. Did you know Americans on average take in 3,400 millgrams of sodium each day? (a third more than the recommended daily limit which is only 1 teaspoon salt) High salt intake leads to high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Our family avoids processed foods (which are loaded with salt) and stick with fresh foods. Also, when we purchase canned beans, we make sure to rinse them first to get all of the salt out.

MAKE WAY for leaner meats and poultry and vegetable protein ~ The usual staples in Americans” diets include cheese, whole milk, butter, and certain cuts of meat and poultry. These make our diets 1 and one half times as much saturated fat as we should be having. Ansel cited a study done in a 2009 Journal of Nutrition with 350,000 American men and women. They were following their diets and found that the death rate was 20% lower in the 10 years of the study of those who consumed lean meat, low-fat dairy and a few added solid fats. I found it interesting that vegetable protein is mentioned as a great “lean choice.” I gave up all meat except fish 2 years ago and concentrate on beans, peas and nuts and some soy.

GO for more whole grains ~ Unfortunately we consume a lot of refined grains rather than choose brown rice, oats and 100% of whole-grain cereal, bread and pasta. (Half of Americans are eating less than half an ounce of whole grains a day). The Archives of Internal Medicine Study attributes a reduced risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases because of the fiber from whole grains and as result state that upping your whole-grains intake could lengthen your life.

GO fish ~ Fish is low in calories and packed with protein and a source of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA (shown to improve heart health and reduce risk of dying from a heart attack according to Dariush Mozaffarian, Dr.P.H.M.D. at Harvard School of Public Health). Ansel reports that a 2009 Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Disease study found that people who ate a 5-ounce serving of seafood 5 times a week for 8 weeks lost nearly 4 pounds more than people who ate the same number of calories but no seafood. Worried about mercury? Avoid swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark and limit albacore tuna to 6 ounces a week. My husband and I love to put our wild salmon into a “light” alfredo sauce mixed with steamed broccoli, and red and yellow peppers.

An additional thing my husband and I do each day is take a liquid dietary supplement that contains the power of both resveratrol and a proprietary phytonutrient blend, clinically shown to slow aging at the cellular level by improving cell defense, increasing cell energy, promoting cell repair, and optimizing cell performance. Ask me about it.

Going back to the first rule of eating recommended, Eating Less, I have found a plan that has really helped me to satisfy my cravings and get the nutrients and protein I need without adding extra calories. If you are close to Chapel Hill, I am having a tasting party at my home on January 5th from 10 am until Noon and would love to share these products with you. If you can’t make it, contact me and I will send you a sample.

Meanwhile, enjoy the holidays! Perhaps by following some of the guidelines here, you will not fall into the usual weight gain that this season often brings.

Trick or Treat ~ Obesity is Definitely the Trick

Dangers of Sugar, obesity No Responses »

Oct 242012

With another Halloween just around the corner, I am always amazed at the rows and rows of candy piled up in the local grocery stores. I cannot imagine these bags filled with sweet goodies could all possibly disappear, but sure enough, by the end of that last day of October they are usually all gone, ready to go into the mouths of those little trick or treaters.

How often have I seen a child come by, not with a little container ready to receive the goodies, but with a pillow sack that will hold mounds and mounds of mouthwatering candy. Looking back at my own experience with this, my favorite spot to go in our neighborhood was the house that gave away pomegranates from his tree! I loved that fruit and spent hours eating it. Of course I loved all the candy as well. Did you know that Halloween is America’s second favorite holiday ~ the first being Christmas?

Ordinarily an indulgent holiday can be overlooked; however, according to the CDC (Center for Disease Control) childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. creating risk factors such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure. Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults, thus creating adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.

A recent study published in the journal Neurology, reported that, among the study participants, (6,401 in all with an average age of 50) people who are obese and have hypertension, low “good” cholesterol levels, high triglycerides or high blood sugar are more likely to experience cognitive decline at a faster rate than people without any of these conditions.

So basically, obesity is bad for the brain. We already knew dementia was linked to obesity but now memory and cognitive skills are diminished because of our expanding waistlines.

Shirley Cramer of the Alzheimer’s Research UK said, “We do not know why obesity and metabolic abnormality are linked to poorer brain performance. With obesity levels on the rise, it will be important to delve a little deeper into this association. Clive Ballard of the UK Alzheimer’s Society told BBC News, “Although we don’t know whether the people in this study went on to develop dementia, these findings add to the evidence that excess body fat could impact on brain function.”

So what’s a parent to do? We all know that one day to indulge will not make a difference overall. However, there perhaps are some healthier alternatives. I appreciated these suggestions made by Kim Kramer of the Chicago Tribute:

1. Choose healthier treats: pretzels, fun-shaped crackers, “100-calorie packs” of popular snacks, or mini granola bars.
2. Give out something other than a food item: unsharpened pencils, stickers, temporary tattoos, mini puzzles, or little toys. Make sure to have some toys that are safe for those trick-or-treaters under 3 years of age.
3. When children arrive home, offer a “trade-in” program for some of their candy for money or other prizes.
4. Have the children pick their favorite types of candy to save and share the rest.
5. With the candy that they want to keep, set rules with how much they can have each day for a treat, and when they can have it.

I particularly liked her suggestion #3. My daughter has done that for the past 4 years and it has worked beautifully with her little ones. Wish there were more pomegranate trees around! What about you? What are your treats for those pirates, princesses and goblins?

Sugar Blues

Dangers of Sugar, Nutrition No Responses »

Jul 192012

What is it about summertime and ice cream? They seem to go together like bread and butter. Even though I am aware of the calories, the fat, the lack of nutrition ~ I still am drawn to it.

We all know that sugar is well hidden in packaged foods, even our pasta sauces. Eating on the run, consuming sweets when we are stressed or sad, driving to the store late at night to satisfy a craving. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, chronic sugar indulgence can lead to serious health complications as we all know.

Watching the video below, CNN: Is Sugar Toxic?, really made me think about my own relationship with sugar. It definitely made me want to break the sugar habit.

One fact which has greatly influenced my decision to eat less sugar is the fact that to burn off the average number of sugar-related calories consumed in a month, I would have to walk 52 miles! Hmmmm ~ just realizing that is NOT a possibility for me is spurring me on to stop the madness! A past post I wrote about the health problems (including AGING!!) created by too much sugar also reinforced this.

I have found that by beginning my day with a shake that has at least 24 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber is a great way for me to keep me from getting those “sugar blues” and “blahs”! In the afternoon when I am feeling less energetic, I drink an energy tea made from white, red and Matcha green tea sweetened with pomegrante. It really satisfies my sweet tooth as well, without added sugar. I have also found fruit to be extremely more satisfying when I have not consumed sugary foods. Instead of the added sugars overwhelming my taste buds, the naturally sweet flavor of the fruit comes alive.

I do hope you take the time to watch the video. It really does make one sit up and think more about the dangers and pitfalls of too much sugar in our lives today.

Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, claims that what’s at stake in our eating choices is not only our own and our children’s health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth. He calls the things disguised as food in our supermarkets and fast-food restaurants as “edible food-like substances (EFLS for short) and warns us:

not to eat anything our great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food
not to eat anything with more than five ingredients or better yet, with ingredients you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce, and
not to eat anything containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS ).

Following those 3 rules will certainly keep me away from sugar and maybe even that ice cream!

March is National Nutrition Month ~ What’s On Your Plate?

Nutrition 1 Response »

Mar 202012

Yesterday I had my first bite of Quinoa~ a staple food that has been around for thousands of years in the Andes region of South America ~ I don’t know why it took me 69 years to try it but I loved it!

What is quinoa? Perfect for vegetarians and vegans. Quinoa provides all 9 essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. Quinoa is a gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain. 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa has 160 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of protein.

Interesting that I would try out a “new” food in the same month designated to be National Nutrition Month®~ a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

I just picked up an excellent book by Hyla Cass, M.D., called Supplement Your Prescription ~ What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutrition. In it she describes one of our nation’s biggest problems ~ the Standard American Diet (SAD) and the fact that it is a pro-inflammatory diet.

We all know that saturated fats and trans fats are two of the things that accelerate and magnify the inflammatory process ~think chili-drenched hot dog ~ a food that doesn’t just add to your LDL cholesterol but also stimulates your genes to produce more inflammatory proteins to make the tissue irritation a whole lot worse.

This week in the journal Circulation a study out of Harvard University linked processed meat to higher heart disease risk. Processed meat was defined as meat preserved by salting, smoking, curing, or adding chemical preservatives. which encompass that chili hot dog, bacon, salami, sausages and processed deli meat. They found that for each 50-gram (1.8 ounces) daily serving of processed meat (such as 1-2 slices of deli meat or 1 hot dog), there was a 42% higher risk of developing heart disease and a 19% increased risk of developing diabetes.

In another study just released this week, 37,698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and 83,644 women from the Nurses’ Health Study, all free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the baseline of the study, were followed from as early as 1980 to 2008. Food questionnaires were used and updated every 4 years. The results? It was found that eating more red meat appears to be associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Dr. Cass states that evidence strongly suggests that high cholesterol is a result of excess inflammation in the body and that excess inflammation seems to be a more likely root cause of dangerous changes in the cardiovascular system. Her answer to preventing heart disease? Think: reduce inflammation, not lower cholesterol. She describes inflammation in the body as the immune system’s response to injury, sending a “repair crew” to the point of injury, breaking down injured and dead tissue, killing bacteria and making way for the healing response. This process happens anywhere in the body and of course has a great impact on the health of the blood vessels that feed the heart muscle (these are the vessels that cause a heart attack when blocked by plaques).

“When I spot someone with obvious signs of metabolic syndrome ~ usually a middle-aged person with a big stomach ~ I know that a lot of inflammation is going on in the person’s body, and that he or she is at high risk of heart disease and high blood pressure,” states Dr. Cass. She goes on to describe visceral fat, which are fat cells in the belly and create a lot of inflammation, which, in turn, creates plaques in the twists and turns of the blood vessels that feed the muscular walls of the heart, thus increasing one’s risk of having a heart attack.

Since we are celebrating “National Nutrition Month” and focusing on the importance of making good food choices, I would like to suggest some of Dr. Cass’s ideas for eliminating these inflammatory foods. Knowing that the fats that we eat are directly transformed into chemicals in our body and some of those chemicals promote inflammation; others calm it – it is important to be educated about which ones help us and which ones are hurting us.

Eating refined flour and sugar pushes more of the omega-6 fats into the making of those inflammatory chemicals. Also, if you are eating lots of margarine and food fried in corn oil, you are increasing the inflammation in your body. We want Omega-3 oils, found plentifully in fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts. Vegetables and algae also contain some Omega-3s. The factory-farmed cattle eat grain, which causes the fats in their meat and milk to accumulate more inflammatory omega-6 fats. Choose real, unprocessed, wild-caught or grass-grazed food from nature.

Dr. Oz, in his book, YOU: Staying Young, recommends the following to help minimize the inflammatory process:

Fruits and vegetables, specifically red grapes, cranberries, tomatoes, onions, and tomato juice
Garlic ~ a clove a day that help to thin the blood and lower your blood pressure (if you have trouble eating garlic try this natural supplement)
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish or the plants fish eat, like certain algae ~ aim for 3 portions of fish per week and the best choices are wild, line-caught salmon, mahi-mahi, catfish, flounder, tilapia, and whitefish. (Although I try for adding this amount of fish to my diet each week, I also add an ultra-pure, pharmaceutical-grade omega-3 fatty acids supplement to make sure to cover this)
Olive Oil ~ the extra virgin kind which contains lots of healthy phytonutrients as well as monounsaturated fats, which help raise your good HDL cholesterol
Alcohol (if you do not have a problem with it but only one 4 oz serving a night and preferably red wine, because it also contains antioxidants). Personally, I do not drink but I do take a liquid dietary supplement, a phytonutrient blend which harnesses the powerful antioxidant properties of rare muscadine grapes and has been shown to be 10X more powerful than resveratrol alone in slowing a key mechanism of cellular aging.
Food with Magnesium ~ Includes 100% whole-grain breads and cereals, soybeans, lima beans, avocado, beets, and raisins which all help to lower blood pressure and reduce arrhythmias by dilating (expanding) the arteries. Dr. Oz recommends 400 milligrams per day ~ 1/2 cup spinach contains 80 milligrams, 12 cashews = 50 milligrams, etc. 4 caplets of my calcium supplement provides the 400 milligrams Dr. Oz. recommends
Foods with Soy Protein ~ Getting 25 grams a day of soy protein in foods like tofu and other soybean products decreases your bad LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels. I take a shake each morning that provides me with 24 grams of non-GMO soy protein per serving as well as 6 gr. of fiber
Stanols and sterols ~ good plant cholesterol in foods like the spread Benecol and Take Control helps your arterial health by displacing the lousy cholesterol in your arteries. Rather than taking a statin drug, my husband chose to take a natural supplement made with a powerful blend of sterols and stanols, which are found naturally in plants, fruits, vegetables, and grains.
Dark chocolate ~ Loved this one! Recent studies show that eating dark chocolate may lower blood pressure as effectively as the most common antihypertensive medications and may increase HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol.

We cannot leave this discussion without mentioning exercise ~ Dr. Oz tells us that cardiovascular activity lowers both the top systolic (the pressure being exerted when your heart contracts) and the bottom diastolic (the pressure in the arteries when the heart is at rest) numbers of your blood pressure, and is helpful because it makes your blood vessels more elastic by forcing them to dilate. He suggests 30 minutes of daily walking and a minimum of 60 minutes a week of cardiovascular or sweating activity (ideally in 3 20-minute sessions) ~ in which you raise your heart rate to 80% or more of its age-adjusted maximum (220 minus your age) for an extended period of time.

So there you have it! This discussion pretty much described the mission statement of the National Nutrition Month ~ Bon appetit and keep moving! (And I highly recommend you try Quinoa!)

THE HEALTHY DRUG…….EXERCISE

Uncategorized No Responses »

Feb 092010

Does 150 minutes a week of aerobic activity sound daunting? It certainly did for me so I began by breaking it down into 10 minute intervals twice a day. This really helped.

Since 1963 the American Heart Association has proclaimed February as American Heart Month. Cardiovascular diseases, including stroke, are our nation’s number one killer. Their goal is to raise funds for research and education and pass along information about heart disease and stroke. In a 70 year lifetime an average human heart beats more than 2.5 billion times! This little fact amazed me, particularly since my husband, Ray, just turned 70.

Although heart disease is often thought of as a problem for men, more women than men die of heart disease each year. Women are six times as likely to die of heart disease as of breast cancer. Heart disease kills more women over 65 than do all cancers combined.

Barbara Schmidt, MS.Rd, lifestyle specialist at Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut states, “Exercise is medicine, and you have to incorporate it into your life. The number 1 way to raise HDL, the ‘good’ cholesterol, is through exercise….I describe HDL as the Roto-Rooter of the arteries.”

Lowering blood pressure as well as stress levels, both risk factors for heart disease, is another added benefit of exercise. My own experience with exercise, particularly since I started on my weight loss program, has been challenging as well as uplifting. I first discovered that in order to keep going I have to stay hydrated. As long as I drink water throughout my workout I have a lot more stamina.

At first I was discouraged because I just could not last. I started with 1/2 mile on the treadmill and would get so tired. This went on for about a week until I began to hydrate as I walked. As I built up my stamina I moved to a mile, then a mile and a half. Today I was able to go a whole 2 miles! My goal is walk 3 miles minimum each day to reach 10,000 steps! Would love to hear your exercise challenges and triumphs.

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