Dr Mel Siff Blog

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Here are some extracts from an article aimed at teaching people about the
management and prevention of heart disease. As usual, any comments are
welcome.

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<http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?article_id=5592>

February is American Heart Month and the prevalence of heart disease in our
society is, at best, heartbreaking.

Heart disease is not just another “disease of the month” — it’s the number
one killer of Americans. The
American Heart Association estimates 60 million Americans suffer heart
disease. That’s 1 in 5! More Americans die of heart disease than of all
types of cancer combined…….

Are You At Risk?

There are two types of risk factors associated with heart disease: those you
can control and those you cannot. The good news: the list of those factors
you can control is much larger!

You cannot control your genetics. If you have a family history of heart
disease you’re at greater risk.

You cannot control your age (too bad!). If you’re over 55 you’re at greater
risk.

You cannot control your gender! If you’re a male, younger than 60, you have a
greater risk for a heart
attack. Women over 60 are equally at risk.

What You Can Control

You can control your smoking, your diet, your weight, your activity and your
stress level (to a certain extent). These major risk factors are what you
need to pay attention to, especially if you have one of the non-controllable
risk factors. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of
contracting heart disease.

If you smoke, stop now. Smoking is the number one risk factor for heart
disease. Smoking one pack a
day increases the risk by 70 percent. A two-pack habit hikes your risk by 200
percent!

Other risks (like high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high
triglycerides, and type 2 diabetes) have two controllable factors in common:
diet and exercise.

Obesity in itself is not necessarily a risk factor. But obesity is definitely
associated with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. Type 2
diabetes is closely associated with obesity. Ninety percent of type 2
diabetics are overweight or obese. Chronic high blood sugar levels increase
the risk for coronary artery disease and high blood pressure. High
cholesterol often accompanies diabetes and these risk actors increase the
incidence of heart disease. Heart disease causes more than 76 percent of
death for diabetics….

Americans, Unite!

Americans: unite against heart disease! Choose to change lifestyle factors
that will keep you healthy. Sixty percent of adult Americans are overweight
or obese, and only about 20 percent of men and women report eating the five
recommended servings of fruit and vegetables daily. More than half of adults
in the U.S. are not exercising the recommended 30 minutes 4 to 6 times weekly
and sedentary lifestyle doubles the risk for heart disease.

Use the Team Approach

When you think healthy, think diet and think exercise… together! Use the
team approach. Separately, diet and exercise each have their benefits.
Together, the benefits are astounding.

Diet counts. Your diet needs modification, not elimination. There are no
“bad” or “good” foods. Remember, portion size counts. A healthy food can
contribute to obesity if you eat too much of it. You need to eat healthy
foods in the portion size that’s right for you as an individual. Your daily
meal plan should include good sources of complex carbohydrates, lean animal
protein and/or good sources of plant-based proteins, such as soy nuts,
legumes and grains. Healthy fats are important sources of good nutrition….

10 Measures That Could Save Your Life

Susan L. Burke, MS, RD/LD, CDE

Here are some tips that will serve you well!

1. Choose healthy fat! A no-fat diet is not necessarily the healthiest diet.
Fat is important for transport of vitamins and minerals in your body, for
hormone function, and for taste. However, avoid saturated fat and
hydrogenated fat in favor of monounsaturated fat in olive oil and canola oil.
Omega-3 fatty acids, plentiful in flaxseed and fatty fish, are beneficial.
Other good sources include wheat germ, walnuts and soybeans.

2. Soy is a healthy food. The Food and Drug Administration now allows a
health claim linking consumption of soy protein to a decreased risk for heart
disease for including at least 25 grams of soy protein in your daily diet,
(the diet should also be low in saturated fat and cholesterol.) Soy is the
only complete plant protein, containing all essential amino acids. It’s a
good source of B vitamins, essential fatty acids, zinc and iron, and it
contains phytochemicals that research suggests are beneficial to women in
lessening the symptoms of PMS and menopause. It’s also very low in saturated
fat. Soy foods have great variety, including tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable
protein, and soy powder.

3. Think green. Dark green leafy vegetables are some of the best sources of
folic acid in food and they can help reduce the level of homocysteine, an
amino acid made in the body and normally found in low levels in the blood. An
elevated homocysteine level predicts heart disease. Research shows that
reducing saturated fat and cholesterol and increasing vegetables and fruit in
your diet reduces homocysteine levels. Dark green leafy vegetables like
collard greens, kale, broccoli and turnip and beet greens are great sources
of folic acid.

4. Think color. When you choose food for health, choose color. That’s because
foods that are colorful — deep green, yellow and orange, red and gold –
have the greatest amounts of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Berries are
ounce-for-ounce one of the best foods, full of antioxidant vitamins C, and
have lots of potassium and fiber. Strawberries contain 60 percent more
vitamin C than grapefruit and 8 percent more than whole oranges. Cranberries,
raspberries and strawberries contain ellagic acid, which researchers have
shown to prevent some cancers.

Berries are also low in calories (only 50 to 70 per cup). If you buy canned
fruit, buy water- or juice-packed. Canned cranberry sauce has three times the
calories of fresh cranberries and 86 percent less vitamin C. Buy “in season”
for the freshest fruit. Try some superfruits like guava, papaya, and mango –
all great sources of carotenoids, antioxidants and fiber. Remember other
orange fruits like cantaloupe, apricots and peaches. Any fruit will do. Whole
fruit is still the best source of vitamin C, fiber, and potassium for less
than 100 calories per serving.

5. Think whole. When choosing foods for health, think whole grains, whole
wheat, whole fruits and vegetables. That’s because unprocessed whole foods
have all their important nutrients intact. Whole foods are rich in fiber,
which is important for digestion and elimination. Research has shown that
people who eat high-fiber diets reduce their risk for heart disease and some
cancers.

6. Think food, not pills. Supplements in pills provide you only with the
antioxidant or vitamin on the label. Other micronutrients in food have not
been fully studied. The evidence for using antioxidant vitamins to reduce
your risk for disease is yet unproven in clinical trials, and the correct
dose and long-term risk when taking more than the recommended amount daily
has not been determined. Taking a multivitamin daily for insurance is fine,
but megadosing can be dangerous.

7. Eat your veggies. Studies have shown that people who eat vegetable-rich
diets reduce their risk of colon, lung and bladder cancer. Scientists think
that phytochemicals are responsible, not just the beta-carotene that colors
the veggies. Stroke is less common among people who eat their veggies, which
may be because of the nice amount of potassium. Those who enjoy lots of leafy
greens like spinach, kale and dandelion greens will get a double dose of
lutein, which helps prevent blindness due to macular degeneration.

Of course, the deep yellow- and orange-colored sweet potatoes and carrots
provide top amounts of vitamin C and carotenoids, and the rich green broccoli
and Brussels sprouts are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, folate and
fiber, as well has phytochemicals that may prevent cancer. Bright red
tomatoes in tomato sauce contain lycopene, which is a cancer fighter.

All vegetables are superfoods in that they can boast good nutrition and
fiber, and they contain a frugal
number of calories (40 to 60) per serving.

8. Garlic is good. While you’re at it, add some neutral colored garlic,
sautéed a bit to release its DATS, a
compound that cancer researchers say slows human lung-cancer cell growth in
test tubes.

9. Stay active. Reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity –
and decrease your stress levels — with regular exercise. Studies have shown
that just 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 4 to 6 times a week can help you
stay healthy. Take a walk. It’s not necessary to join a gym. Get out the door
and go quickly one way for 15 minutes, and then come back. It’s 30 minutes
before you know it. If you can’t get out, then stay in and dance! Put the
radio on and dance around your house or apartment and have some fun. Do what
you like. That way you’ll stay with it.

10. Small changes produce big results. Change what you can, and you can
change a lot! Choose healthy foods, prepared without deep-frying in
hydrogenated fat. Eat fruit and vegetables every day; watch your portion size
with a healthy meal plan as we offer here at eDiets. Stay online and get
support and motivation from your eDiets community and stay active. Do
something at least 4 to 6 times a week to get your heart rate up. Your heart
is a muscle. Make it strong. You can do it!

Did You Know?

One of the largest sources of hydrogenated fat found in most Americans’ diet
comes from crackers. We know that fast food French fries are about 40% trans
fat, while donuts are about 35-40% trans fat. But the typical cookies and
crackers in your grocery store are up to 50% trans fat!

It’s not easy to find out how much trans fat there is in food, because
manufacturers are not required to list it. If the food’s nutritional label
lists the total grams of fat, saturated fat and unsaturated fat, you can
calculate it. Add the grams of saturated and unsaturated fat, subtract from
the total fat, and the result is grams of trans fat. This only works if
saturated fat is listed, which is also not mandated. Read the label and try
to find products that say, “no trans fat added.” …

Dr Mel Siff
Denver, USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/

For more information on Facts and Fallacies of Fitness by Dr Mel Siff please click here

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