Oct 15, 2017 | Healthy Tips
LDL: THE ‘BAD’ CHOLESTEROL
Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, FACC
If you have heart disease or you just want to keep your ticker healthy, you’ve probably heard the saying already: “Watch your cholesterol!” The type that puts your heart at risk is LDL, the “bad” cholesterol.
It collects in the walls of your blood vessels, where it can cause blockages. Higher levels of LDL raise your chances of a heart attack. That’s because of a sudden blood clot that forms there
Get a simple blood test to check your LDL levels. If they’re high, healthy foods and medicine can help you get them down.
What Is LDL?
Cholesterol isn’t all bad. It’s an essential fat the cells in your body need.
Some cholesterol comes from the food you eat, and your liver makes some. It can’t dissolve in blood, so proteins carry it where it needs to go. These carriers are called “lipoproteins.”
LDL is a microscopic blob made up of an outer rim of lipoprotein and a cholesterol center. Its full name is “low-density lipoprotein.” It’s bad because it becomes part of plaque, the stuff that can clog arteries and make heart attacks and strokes more likely.
What LDL Cholesterol Test Results Mean
Heart attacks are unpredictable, but higher levels of LDL raise your odds of heart disease. Until recently, guidelines for cutting those odds put an emphasis on lowering this “bad” cholesterol to a specific number.
Nowadays, you and your doctor work together to develop a personal strategy to lower your LDL by a certain percentage. It’s based on your how likely it is you’ll have heart disease or a stroke. To figure it out, doctors use a calculator to estimate your chance of those problems in the next 10 years.
The calculator considers several things, including:
Your cholesterol level
Your age
Your blood pressure
Whether you smoke
If you take blood pressure medicine
All of these things affect your chance of having a heart problem. Other risks include:
Diabetes
A history of heart disease in your family
Your doctor will set up a plan of lifestyle changes or medication that can lower both your cholesterol and overall risk.
What You Can Do
Healthy foods and exercise can cut your LDL levels. Eat foods low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and simple carbs. (Simple carbs include foods like sugar, white bread, and white crackers.) You can lower your numbers even more if you add fibre and plant sterols (margarine or nuts) to your diet.
Regular exercise, the kind that gets your heart pumping, also lowers your levels.
If healthy foods and exercise aren’t enough, your doctor may suggest medications. Some drugs, like statins, help block your body from making cholesterol. Other medicines lower the amount of cholesterol your body gets from the food you eat.
There are also drugs that you take a shot rather than as a pill. These meds block a protein that interferes with the way your liver removes LDL from your blood. They’re recommended for people who can’t use statins or who have a severe form of high cholesterol.
Remember, many other things affect your chances of getting heart disease. Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and lack of exercise also raise the risk. It’s important to lower your LDL, but don’t ignore these other health issues.
Sources: WebMD Medical Reference. Check our website at www.rohsi.org and at www.facebook.com/rohsi3
Oct 15, 2017 | Healthy Tips
DO YOUR HEART A FAVOUR AND SAY GOODBYE TO TOBACCO
Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, FACC
Whether you’re a long time smoker or you just picked up the habit, do your heart a favour and say goodbye to tobacco. As far as your ticker’s concerned, it’s never too late to quit. Your body starts to heal as soon as you smoke your last cigarette.
There are many reasons your heart will thank you for not lighting up. Every time you inhale cigarette smoke, your heart rate and blood pressure go up temporarily. That puts extra stress on your ticker and forces it to work harder.
Over time, smoking damages you in other ways, too. It:
Clogs your arteries
Increases clotting
Fills your lungs with tar
Thickens your blood
Weakens your bones
Increases inflammation
Weakens your immune system
Quit smoking now and you’ll see fast results. Just 20 minutes after you stop, your blood pressure and heart rate go down. In 2 to 3 weeks, your blood flow starts to get better.
Your odds of heart disease will go down, too. After a year without cigarettes, you’re half as likely to get it as you were when you smoked. After 5 years, it’s about the same as someone who never lit up.
How Smoking Hurts Your Heart: The chemicals in cigarettes harm your heart in many ways.
There’s carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that enters your lungs and then your bloodstream. It steals oxygen from your red blood cells, so less of it gets to your organs and tissues. It also makes your artery walls hard and stiff, which can put you on the path to a heart attack.
Don’t forget nicotine, an addictive chemical in both tobacco and e-cigarettes. It makes your blood vessels narrow. It jacks up your blood pressure and heart rate, too. Your heart has to pump harder and faster than normal.
Smoking also causes chemical changes in your body. Cells in your bloodstream called platelets clump together when they react with toxic cigarette ingredients. This makes your blood thicker and stickier. It becomes harder for your heart to push it through your blood vessels.
Your cholesterol levels get out of whack, too. Cigarette smoke raises levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, and a blood fat called triglycerides. Those cause waxy plaque to build up in your arteries. At the same time, it lowers HDL, or “good” cholesterol — the kind that prevents plaque from forming.
When your blood pressure is high, like it is while you’re smoking, arteries get stretched and scarred. Their lining gets damaged, which lets plaque grow and combine with sticky blood cells. All of this raises your risk of blood clots, which can block blood flow to your heart or other organs. That can cause heart attacks or strokes.
Smoking damages your lungs and makes it harder to breathe, too. That can keep you from exercising as much as you should. You need to get about 150 minutes of physical activity each week to keep it fit and strong.
Reap the Benefits of a Smoke-Free Life
Luckily, most of the damage tobacco does to you is reversible. When you quit, your risk of blood clots gets lower. Your “bad” cholesterol will go down and your “good” cholesterol will go up. That’ll help slow the buildup of new plaque deposits.
Within 2 weeks, you may notice it’s easier to exercise without feeling short of breath. Over the next few months, you’ll be able to breathe deeply again. Your hacking cough should disappear, too.
Don’t worry if you put on a few pounds at first. Many people swap food for smoking when they first quit. After a little while, you and your body will get used to a smoke-free life. When you get more exercise and improve your diet, you’ll get your weight under control.
If you have heart disease, it’s not too late to make a difference. If you give up cigarettes after a heart attack, you can cut your risk of having a second one in half. Quitting after you’ve had bypass surgery can keep your arteries healthy and help prevent further clogs and disease.
When you quit, you’ll also protect your friends and family from the health risks of second hand smoke.
Talk to your doctor to get suggestions on how to end your tobacco habit. He can also put you in touch with programs that offer tips and support.
Source: WebMD Medical Reference check our organization website for more resources at www.rohsi.org ; www.facebook.com/rohsi3
Oct 15, 2017 | Healthy Tips
ARE YOU GETTING TOO MUCH SALT?
Most of us get more than we need. Recommendations from the American Heart Association and the range from 1,500 to 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day. If you want to cut back, you need to do more than ease up on the shaker on your table. Watch what you eat. You may be shocked by some of the foods that are high in salt.
Frozen Dinners
They’re quick. They’re easy. And they’re loaded with sodium. A 5-ounce frozen turkey and gravy dinner packs 1,255 milligrams.
Tip: A “lighter” version may have less salt, but it’s no guarantee. Read the labels to be sure. It’s possible that “lighter” refers to fat only.
Ready-to-Eat Cereals
Check out the nutrition facts label. Some brands of raisin bran have up to 210 milligrams of sodium in each cup.
Tip: Puffed rice and wheat don’t have salt. Mix half of your favourite cereal with half of a salt-free choice. Or look for companies that make low-sodium cereals.
Vegetable Juices
They help you get the 2 to 2.5 cups of veggies you need a day. But they can have a lot of sodium. One cup of vegetable juice cocktail has 615 milligrams.
Tip: Shop around. There are low-salt versions.
Canned Vegetables
They often have preservatives, sauces, or seasonings that add extra sodium.
Tips: Rinse canned veggies thoroughly, or look for labels that say “no salt added” or “low sodium.” Check the freezer section, where you may have more luck finding an unsalted choice.
Packaged Deli Meats
One look at the salt content in packaged meats should stop you in your tracks. Two slices of dry salami made of beef or pork can have 362 milligrams of sodium.
Soup
It’s a warm comfort food on a cold day, but watch out. It can be loaded with salt. A cup of canned chicken noodle soup can have 831 milligrams of sodium.
Tips: Look for reduced-sodium versions of your favourites. And always check the label carefully. You might find that one brand’s “Healthy” version actually has less sodium than the “25% Less Sodium” variety.
Marinades and Flavourings
Some of your favourites may be super salty. One tablespoon of teriyaki sauce can have 879 milligrams of sodium. The same amount of soy sauce may have up to 1,005 milligrams.
Tips: Even “lower-sodium” soy sauce can have a lot, so use it sparingly. Go for vinegar and lemon juice for flavour, since they naturally have less salt. Try orange or pineapple juice as a base for meat marinades.
Spaghetti Sauce
Half a cup may have 577 milligrams of sodium, and that’s barely enough to coat a helping of pasta.
Tip: Look for “no salt added” versions.
Spicing It Up
Adding spices to an entrée can be an easy way to forgo the salt shaker. Just make sure there’s no hidden sodium in your selection. For example, canned jalapeno peppers (1/4 cup, solids, and liquids) have about 434 milligrams of sodium.
Tips: Go for the pepper in its natural form to ditch the sodium used in processing. Or use herbs and salt-free spices instead.
Aw, Nuts!
Rethink those salty peanuts. An ounce of most dry-roasted brands has 116 milligrams of sodium.
Tips: For about the same amount of calories, an ounce of oil-roasted, salted peanuts has only 76 milligrams of sodium. Or better yet, buy the unsalted variety, which is practically sodium-free.
Salty Snacks
They’re hard to resist, but they may have a lot of sodium. Potato chips have 136 milligrams per ounce, cheese puffs 263 milligrams per ounce, and pretzels 352 milligrams per ounce.
Tip: Even “baked” or fat-free snacks can have the same amount of sodium or more, so check the label.
Pre-packaged Foods
Rice, potatoes, and pasta in their natural forms are low in salt. But if you get the convenient “all-in-one” box and add the flavour packet, you may end up eating more than half of your daily allowance of sodium in just one serving.
Tips: Choose a plain, fast-cooking rice and add your own seasonings. Or microwave potatoes to serve with your choice of fixings.
Condiments Count
If you think those little extras you add to your food aren’t a source of salt, think again.
Ketchup (1 tablespoon) = 154 milligrams
Sweet relish (1 tablespoon) = 122 milligrams
Capers (1 tablespoon) = 202 milligrams (drained)
Tip: Go for low- or sodium-free versions. Or get creative with substitutions: Try cranberry relish or apple butter for a naturally lower-salt choice.
Watch Serving Sizes
The amount of sodium you see on a nutrition label isn’t for the whole package. It’s for one serving. Check to see how many are in each container.
Food Label Claims
They can be confusing, but you can figure them out with this cheat sheet:
Sodium-free: Less than 5 milligrams a serving
Very low-sodium: 35 milligrams or less per serving
Low-sodium: Less than 140 milligrams per serving
Reduced sodium: 25% less sodium
Unsalted, no salt added, or without added salt: Made without the salt normally used, but still has the sodium that’s a natural part of the food itself.
What’s in a Name?
When you’re scanning a food label, don’t just look for the word “salt.” Watch out for various forms of sodium or other names for the same thing:
Sodium alginate
Sodium ascorbate
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
Sodium benzoate
Sodium caseinate
Sodium chloride
Sodium citrate
Sodium hydroxide
Sodium saccharin
Sodium stearoyl lactylate
Sodium sulfite
Disodium phosphate
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Trisodium phosphate
Na
Check Your Medicine Cabinet
Surprise! Some headache and heartburn medications have sodium carbonate or bicarbonate. Read the ingredient list and warning statement to be sure.
Restaurant Pitfalls
When you eat out, some menu choices can be a huge source of hidden salt. Soups, appetizers with cheese or meat, casseroles, and rice pilaf are some dishes to watch out for. If you ask, most restaurants will prepare your food without added salt.
Better Choices
Fish can be a lower-sodium option, as long as you pay attention to how it’s seasoned. Steamed veggies, prepared without salt, are another smart choice. Also, try a salad with dressing on the side. Low-sodium desserts include fruit, ice cream, sherbet, or angel food cake.
Dining Out ‘Dos’
Ask how the cook prepares your meal.
Choose a restaurant where dishes are made to order.
Ask the chef to make your dish without any type of sodium, then add a dash of salt-free seasoning from home or a squeeze of lemon or lime.
When You’re Eating Fast Food, try these helpful tips:
Get rid of the toppings except for veggies like lettuce and tomatoes.
Skip the cheese, go easy on condiments, and don’t add salt.
Don’t supersize. Order off the children’s menu for smaller portions.
Eat a low-sodium diet for the rest of the day.
Ask for a nutrition fact sheet at the restaurant, or find it online before you go, to help you make the best possible low-sodium choices.
Who Should Go Low-Sodium?
Guidelines call for about half of our citizens to limit sodium to 1,500 milligrams or less per day, including:
People ages 51 and older
African-Americans, Blacks
People with high blood pressure, diabetes, or long-term kidney disease
Cutting back on salt can cut blood pressure in some people. It can help lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage in those who have high blood pressure.
Track Your Salt
Don’t know how much you get every day? Keep a daily tally of what you eat and drink. Then look up how much sodium is in each item. You may be surprised at what you find. The average American takes in 3,592 milligrams of sodium each day, well above the limits recommended for good health.
Courtesy webmd.com like our page too at www.facebook.com/rohsi3
Oct 15, 2017 | Healthy Tips
HAVE HEART DISEASE? HOW TO PROTECT YOUR HEART NOW.
Reviewed by James Beckerman, MD, Courtesy:webmd.com
If you have heart disease or want to prevent it, your doctor may suggest drugs that help. They can:
Lower your blood pressure
Cut your cholesterol levels
Get rid of extra fluid in your body that puts a strain on the way your heart pumps
You and your doctor will work together to find the best choice for you. Whichever meds you use, some simple tips can help you take them safely and on schedule.
Stay on Track
First, learn about the medicine your doctor prescribes. Know the names, dosages, and side effects of the drugs, and what they’re used for. Always keep a list of the medications with you.
Don’t stop or change your medicines without talking to your doctor first. Continue it even if you feel better. If you stop suddenly, it can make your condition worse.
It’s important to take your medicines at the same time every day. To stay on top of things, get a pillbox marked with the days of the week. Fill it up at the start of each week.
If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. If it’s almost time for the next one, it’s OK to skip the missed dose and go back to your regular schedule. But don’t take two doses to make up for the one you forgot to take.
Make sure you refill your prescriptions on time. Don’t wait until you’re completely out before you go to the pharmacy.
Safety Tips
Don’t take less medication than your doctor prescribes in order to save money. You need to take the full amount to get the drug’s benefits. If you’re worried you may not be able to afford your meds, talk to your doctor about ways to lower the costs.
Also, check with him before you take any over-the-counter drugs or herbal treatments. They may have side effects, make the symptoms of your heart disease worse, or make your other meds less effective.
For example, some common drugs that don’t mix well with heart medications are:
Antacids
Salt substitutes
A cough, cold, or allergy drugs
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen and naproxen)
If you’re going to have surgery and will be put under with anaesthesia, make sure you tell your surgeon about the heart drugs you take.
Tips for Traveling
Keep your meds with you when you’re away from home. Don’t pack them in luggage that you don’t plan to keep with you at all times.
If you’re taking a long trip, pack an extra week’s supply. Make sure you have the phone number of your pharmacy and the refill numbers of your prescriptions, in case you run out.
Watch Out for Side Effects
Heart disease drugs that relax narrow blood vessels might make you dizzy. If that happens to you when you stand or get out of bed, sit or lie down for a few minutes. This helps raise your blood pressure. Then, get up more slowly.
ACE inhibitors may make you a cough. Let your doctor know if that keeps you up at night or gets in the way of your daily activities.
Diuretics (water pills) make you pee more. If you need a single dose each day, take it in the morning. Or if you take two doses a day, take the second one in the late afternoon. That way, you won’t need to pee so often during the night, so you can sleep better.
Diuretics can make you dehydrated. Watch out for signs like:
Dizziness
Extreme thirst
Dry mouth
Peeing less
Dark-coloured urine
Constipation
Call your doctor if you have any of these. Don’t just assume you need more fluids.
Bleeding is the most common side effect if you take blood thinners. Call your doctor right away if you have:
Heavy bleeding during your period
Red or brown pee
Tar-like stools
Bleeding from your gums or nose that doesn’t stop right away
Red things you cough up
A severe headache or stomach ache
Unusual bruising
Cuts that won’t stop bleeding
A bump on the head or serious fall
A daily aspirin routine could increase your risk of a bleeding stroke. It also ups your chances of a stomach ulcer. You also shouldn’t take aspirin if you’re allergic to it.
Talk to your doctor before starting an aspirin routinely.
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Sep 23, 2017 | News
HOW DOES TOO MUCH SUGAR AFFECT YOUR BODY?
By Locke Hughes
Chances are you already know that eating too much sugar isn’t good for you. Yet you’re probably still overdoing it: Americans average about 20 tablespoons of added sugars per day, compared to the recommended 6 tablespoons for women and 9 tablespoons for men. (That doesn’t include sugar found naturally in foods like fruits and milk.)
Sugary drinks, candy, baked goods, and sweetened dairy are the main sources of added sugar. But even savoury foods, like bread, tomato sauce, and protein bars, can have sugar, making it all too easy to end up with a surplus of the sweet stuff. To complicate it further, added sugars can be hard to spot on nutrition labels since they can be listed under a number of names, such as corn syrup, agave nectar, palm sugar, cane juice, or sucrose. (See more names for sugar on the graphic below.)
No matter what it’s called, sugar is sugar, and it can negatively affect your body in many ways. Here’s a closer look at how sugar can mess with your health, from head to toe.
Your Brain
Eating sugar gives your brain a huge surge of a feel-good chemical called dopamine, which explains why you’re more likely to crave a candy bar at 3 p.m. than an apple or a carrot. Because whole foods like fruits and veggies don’t cause the brain to release as much dopamine, your brain starts to need more and more sugar to get that same feeling of pleasure. This causes those “gotta-have-it” feelings for your after-dinner ice cream that are so hard to tame.
Your Mood
The occasional candy or cookie can give you a quick burst of energy (or “sugar high”) by raising your blood sugar levels fast. When your levels drop as your cells absorb the sugar, you may feel jittery and anxious (a.k.a. the dreaded “sugar crash”). But if you’re reaching into the candy jar too often, sugar starts to have an effect on your mood beyond that 3 p.m. slump: Studies have linked a high sugar intake to a greater risk of depression in adults.
Your Teeth
You probably rolled your eyes at age 12, but your mother was right: Candy can rot your teeth. Bacteria that cause cavities love to eat sugar lingering in your mouth after you eat something sweet.
Your Joints
If you have joint pain, here’s more reason to lay off the candy: Eating lots of sweets has been shown to worsen joint pain because of the inflammation they cause in the body. Plus, studies show that sugar consumption can increase your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
Your Skin
Another side effect of inflammation: It may make your skin age faster. Sugar attaches to proteins in your bloodstream and creates harmful molecules called “AGEs,” or advanced glycation end products. These molecules do exactly what they sound like they do: age your skin. They have been shown to damage collagen and elastin in your skin — protein fibres that keep your skin firm and youthful. The result? Wrinkles and saggy skin.
Your Liver
An abundance of added sugar may cause your liver to become resistant to insulin, an important hormone that helps turn sugar in your bloodstream into energy. This means your body isn’t able to control your blood sugar levels as well, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Your Heart
A trendy sugar detox diet promises to end your craving for sweets and help you lose weight. But does it work? Here’s the truth about sugar cravings and how to tame your sweet tooth.
When you eat excess sugar, the extra insulin in your bloodstream can affect your arteries, part of your body’s circulatory system. It causes their walls to grow faster than normal and get tense, which adds stress to your heart and damages it over time. This can lead to heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. Research also suggests that eating less sugar can help lower blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease. Plus, people who eat a lot of added sugar (where at least 25% of their calories comes from added sugar) are twice as likely to die of heart disease as those whose diets include less than 10% of total calories from added sugar.
Your Pancreas
When you eat, your pancreas pumps out insulin. But if you’re eating way too much sugar and your body stops responding properly to insulin, your pancreas starts pumping out even more insulin. Eventually, your overworked pancreas will break down and your blood sugar levels will rise, setting you up for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Your Kidneys
If you have diabetes, too much sugar can lead to kidney damage. The kidneys play an important role in filtering your blood sugar. Once blood sugar levels reach a certain amount, the kidneys start to let excess sugar into your urine. If left uncontrolled, diabetes can damage the kidneys, which prevents them from doing their job in filtering out waste in your blood. This can lead to kidney failure.
Your Body Weight
This probably isn’t news to you, but the more sugar you eat, the more you’ll weigh. Research shows that people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages tend to weigh more — and be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes — than those who don’t. One study even found that people who increased their sugar intake gained about 1.7 pounds in less than 2 months.
Your Sexual Health
You may want to skip the dessert on date night: Sugar may impact the chain of events needed for an erection. “One common side effect of chronically high levels of sugar in the bloodstream is that it can make men impotent,” explains Brunilda Nazario, MD, WebMD’s associate medical editor. This is because it affects your circulatory system, which controls the blood flow throughout your body and needs to be working properly to get and keep an erection.
