Chippies told to hold the salt in drive to beat heart disease (UK)

UK Government Ministers want to reduce the amount of salt in popular dishes, such as chips and sandwiches, to help prevent thousands of early deaths each year from heart disease and stroke. Food manufacturers and caterers will be set targets to help cut by a quarter the amount of salt consumed every day. Research suggests that more than half of shoppers "rarely or never" consider the amount of salt in food, despite 86 per cent knowing that too much is unhealthy. The Department of Health is aiming to help consumers reduce their salt intake from an average of 8.1g a day to 6g. Catering and takeaway companies will be set "maximum targets" for the salt content of their most popular dishes. Companies will also be urged to promote low-salt options

English-style diet 'could save 4,000' in rest of UK

Eating like the English could save 4,000 lives a year in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a study claims. People in England eat more fruit and vegetables and less salt and fat, reducing heart disease and some cancers, say Oxford University experts. A tax on fatty and salty foods and subsidies on fruit and vegetables could help close the diet divide, they add. The British Heart Foundation says the study shows inequalities in the nations that must be addressed by authorities. Death rates for heart disease and cancer are higher in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland than in England, according to official figures. Diet is known to be an important factor. Last year researchers estimated that more than 30,000 lives a year would be saved if everyone in the UK followed dietary guidelines on fat, salt, fibre, and fruit and vegetables. Now, the same experts - from the Department of Public Health at the University of Oxford - have turned their attention to differences within the UK - BBC

Food Chat with Rochelle Anthony

Do have a question for Rochelle Anthony, Dietitian for the Cardiac Rehab Program? Dates:

Field House:
Wednesday October 5 @ 9am - 11am
Thursday November 24 @ 9am - 10:30am
Wednesday December 7 @ 9am - 11am

Shaw Centre:
Wednesday November 30 @ 9am - 11am
(Please note that Jackie Boschman, Cardiac Rehab Nurse, will be present on this day)

Craving Change(TM) - changing your relationship with food

Craving Change(TM) - changing your relationship with food - presented free of charge by LiveWell Dietitians

Understand why you eat the way you do:
Comfort yourself without food - Change your thinking - Change your eating

2 programs available:

Field House:
Thursday October 6 @ 10am - 12pm
Thursday October 20 @ 10am - 12pm
Thursday November 3 @ 10am - 12pm

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Tuesday October 18 @ 2pm - 4pm
Tuesday October 25 @ 2pm - 4pm
Tuesday November 8 @ 2pm - 4pm
Please call 655-LIVE or 655-5483 to register

Apple a day does keep the doctor away

An apple a day really can keep the doctor away, a study suggests. It found that women on an 'apple diet' saw their cholesterol drop by almost a quarter in six months, while they also lost weight. Dr Bahram Arjmandi, of the department of nutrition, food and exercise sciences at Florida University, described the results as "incredible." In the study, 80 women aged 45 to 65 were asked to eat 75 grams of dried prunes a day for a year, and the other 80 were asked to eat the same amount of dried apple, in addition to their normal diets. Blood samples were taken at the start of the study and at three, six and 12 months. Dr Arjmandi said that "incredible changes in the apple-eating women happened by 6 months- they experienced a 23 per cent decrease in LDL cholesterol, which is known as the 'bad cholesterol'." They also had lower levels of bio-markers linked to heart disease, such as C-reactive protein. They also shed on average 3.3lbs (1.5kg). Dr Arjamandi, who presented the research at the Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, concluded that there was some truth in the old adage "An apple a day keeps the doctor away". Apples have long been known to be a good source of fibre, but the study, funded by the US Department of Agriculture, added to evidence that they had additional health benefits which made them a "miracle fruit". Dr Arjamandi said: "Everyone can benefit from consuming apples." Previous studies have shown that apple pectin and compounds called polyphenols - also present in substances including blueberries, tea and dark chocolate - stimulate the breakdown of fats in the blood and reduce inflammation of vessel walls, which both reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

A big breakfast doesn't reduce calorie intake

"It's a myth that eating a large breakfast means consuming fewer calories during the day, according to researchers in Germany. The study, published in Nutrition Journal, showed that people still eat the same amount at lunch and dinner. The scientists suggest reducing breakfast calories could help people lose weight. The British Dietetic Association said eating breakfast was important for a balanced diet. Starting the day with a hearty breakfast has often been linked with weight loss"

Food Chat with Rochelle Anthony

Do have a question for Rochelle Anthony, Dietitian for the Cardiac Rehab and First Step Programs? Dates:

Tuesday, January 18: 9:00am to 11:00am
Thursday, February 10: 9:00 to 10:30am
Monday, April 4: 9:00am to 11:00am

Field House track area

Older people who eat healthy diets 'lead longer lives'

"Older people who follow healthy diets may live longer, a study suggests. Research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found those who ate a low-fat diet that contained lots of fruit and vegetables lowered their risk of dying over 10 years. The study compared the diets of 2,500 US adults aged 70 to 79. Those who ate a high fat diet rich in ice cream, cheese, and whole milk, had the highest risk of death. The study showed that 12 extra people in every hundred survived over the ten years, if they ate healthily. Participants were split into six different groups, according to how often they ate certain foods. The groups were: healthy foods; high-fat diary products; meat, fried foods and alcohol; breakfast cereal; refined grains and sweets and desserts. Those who had a "healthy foods" diet ate more low-fat dairy products, fruit, whole grains, poultry, fish, and vegetables" - BBC

Eating vegetables, fruits as children linked to healthier arteries as adults

"Children who consistently eat lots of fruits and vegetables lower their risk of having stiff arteries in young adulthood, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Arterial stiffness is associated with atherosclerosis, which underlies heart disease. When arteries are stiff, the heart works harder to pump blood. Researchers compared childhood and adulthood lifestyle factors - including consumption levels of vegetables, fruit, butter and alcohol, as well as smoking and physical activity status - with pulse wave velocity in young adulthood. Pulse wave velocity assesses arterial stiffness. 'When the heart beats, the blood's ejection causes a pulse wave, which travels along the wall of the arterial tree,' said Mika Kähönen, M.D., Ph.D., senior study author and professor and chief physician for the Department of Clinical Physiology at Tampere University Hospital in Tampere, Finland. 'The velocity of this pulse wave is dependent on the stiffness of the arterial wall; the stiffer the wall, the higher velocity. It is well known that the arterial stiffening process has a major role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. 'To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study looking at the associations between childhood lifestyle risk factors and pulse wave velocity in young adulthood.' The researchers examined lifestyle factors and measured arterial pulse wave velocity of 1,622 participants in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, which followed children ages 3 to 18 for 27 years"

Skipping breakfast might put your heart at risk - Australian study

"A new Australian study found that people who skipped breakfast had a greater risk of heart diseases. The study noticed that those skipping breakfast at an early age often did have larger waist circumferences and had higher levels of cholesterol and insulin in their blood. Overall, they had less healthy lifestyles and may have detrimental effects on cardio-metabolic health. Researchers at University of Tasmania and other places in Australia assessed the cardiovascular and metabolic risks. Breakfast habits of the adults, followed up from childhood, were assessed at the same time as their cardiovascular risk; however researchers say the link between the two is still uncertain. Therefore, it is still a bit unclear whether people who skip breakfast as a child are in fact at greater risk of heart-related illness. The team followed a sample of Australian children aged 9 to 15 years old in 1985, and revisited them between 2004 and 2006, when they were aged up to 36 years old"

Video: Consequences from PCRM (USA)

"Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's provocative new fast-food commercial draws attention to the link between heart disease deaths and fast food. Studies show that people who consume fast food are at a higher risk for obesity, a factor contributing to heart disease. High-fat, high-sodium offerings at fast-food restaurants include products such as KFC's Double Down Combo Meal, which has 45 grams of fat and 2,120 milligrams of sodium, and McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal, which has 61 grams of fat and 1,650 milligrams of sodium"

Craziest Food Creations 2010 (USA)

"There's an arms race going on, and it could mean disaster for your waistline. But this terrifying competition to build the biggest, scariest weapons of mass destruction isn't happening between the United States and Russia, or on the Korean peninsula, or among angry rivals somewhere in the Middle East. It's happening between America's restaurants - every one of them, it seems, is eager to show it has the biggest, scariest, most destructive new food in the marketplace. And the unsuspecting victims of this Strangelovian contest? You and me"

Food binge may cause long-term body fat increase (Sweden)

"A moment on the lips can actually mean a lifetime on the hips, according to Swedish researchers, who found that binging on food seems to have a long term effect on body weight. People who gorged on fast food for four weeks and did little exercise put on an average of 6.4kg of weight. Two years later, signs of increased body fat were still apparent, says the Linkoping University study. The Swedish researchers studied a group of 18 adults with an average age of 26. During the study, the details of which were published in the journal Nutrition & Metabolism, the 18 participants had their physical activity limited to 5,000 steps per day, considered to be tantamount to a sedentary lifestyle"

Most Americans still not eating enough fruits, veggies

"In 2000, the U.S. government set modest goals for the amount of fruit and vegetables people should eat, but a decade later the majority of Americans are not even close to reaching those thresholds, health officials said Thursday. In fact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009, 67.5 percent of adults ate fruit less than two times daily and 73.7 percent ate vegetables less than three times per day. The goals of Healthy People 2010 were for 75 percent of people to eat at least two servings of fruit and 50 percent to eat at least three servings of vegetables every day" - The report is published in the September 10 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

'Give out statins with junk food' (UK)

Fast food outlets should consider handing out cholesterol-lowering drugs to combat the effects of fatty food, say UK researchers. Taking a statin pill every day would offset the harm caused by a daily cheeseburger and milkshake, the Imperial College London team said. It would only cost 5p a customer - similar to a sachet of ketchup. But the British Heart Foundation warned an unhealthy diet does more harm than just raising cholesterol. Writing in the American Journal of Cardiology, Dr Darrel Francis and colleagues said it was about reducing harm in the same way that people who smoke are encouraged to use filters and those who drive are told to wear seatbelts. They took data from trials of almost 43,000 people to calculate whether the statins could override the effects of eating a junk food diet - BBC

The not-so-great British bangers that are a third fat: new study identifies the worst value sausage

"There's nothing quite so British as a plate of bangers and mash. Unfortunately, there's nothing quite so unhealthy - with some supermarket brands containing up to a third fat. And if that doesn't put you off, then consider the fact that some sausages are only 32 per cent meat. The rest is ground wheat rusk - a bulking agent to cut costs and improve texture - starch, salt, sugar and spices. A study of 36 brands included the country's biggest sellers, as well as basic, luxury and 'healthy' buys. It is the first large-scale examination of what goes in our pork sausages for 20 years - despite the average family eating more than a stone of them every year. Researchers for the journal Meat Science looked at packaging for information on meat, fat and salt content. But when they compared the labelling to the content of sausages, they found many consumers are unlikely to realise what they are eating. On average, the sausages contained 62 per cent meat but four had less than 50 per cent with the worst offender made up of less than a third pork" - MailOnline

ACHIEVE New London (USA)

"ACHIEVE New London, an initiative of Ledge Light Health District, Groton, CT, USA, is asking for the public's help in selecting community projects that will increase access to healthy food, increase opportunities for physical activity, improve chronic disease management and reduce tobacco use"

Weight maintenance linked to how the brain sees food

"A recent study found that how people's brains respond to images of food may determine if they can successfully maintain their weight. A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at how three groups - successful weight-loss maintainers, and obese and control (normal weight) participants - to see how images of high-calorie and low-calorie foods affected their brains. After fasting to ensure they were hungry, participants were given an MRI while looking at photos of different foods, including low-calorie (salads, vegetables, fruit and whole grains), high-calorie (cheeseburgers, French fries, cookies, ice cream), and non-food objects. The maintainers had more activity in the areas of the brain associated with attention to food types and better restraint in response to the images, compared to obese and control subjects. The ability to better monitor their foods and restrain their cravings may be what helps the maintainers control their food intake and their overall weight" - Heart and Stroke Foundation

How greens may protect the heart (UK)

"Researchers have discovered a possible reason why green vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are good for the heart. Their work suggests a chemical found in the vegetables can boost a natural defence mechanism to protect arteries from disease. The Imperial College London team hope their work could lead to new dietary treatments to prevent heart problems. Details appear in Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology" - BBC

Americans skimp on healthy activities in bad economy

Yet another negative result of the bad economy: Americans are cutting back on healthy activities such as eating fresh foods and exercising regularly. In a national omnibus survey of 1,000 people conducted in March 2009 by the American Heart Association:

* 57 percent said the economy has affected their ability to take care of their health
* 32 percent have made a change in the last six months to save money, such as delaying preventive care appointments, not taking medications or skipping the dentist
* 25 percent of those with gym memberships have cancelled in the previous six months
* 42 percent plan to make changes in the next six months that may impact their health, such as buying fewer fruits and vegetables

Results of the study spell trouble for Americans' overall well-being and heart health in particular, said Timothy Gardner, M.D., President of the American Heart Association