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Which Healthy Lifestyle Change Can Reduce Disease Risk?

What aspects of a healthy lifestyle are important for reducing disease risk? If you had to choose which things you changed to improve your life and which ones you didn’t change, which would you choose?

A study in Germany looked at four lifestyle factors and 4 diseases in 23,513 Germans, aged 35 to 65.

The four factors were never smoking, having a body mass index lower than 30; doing 3.5 hours, or more, per week exercise; and adhering to healthy dietary principles (high intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain bread and low meat consumption). The 4 factors (ranked healthy, 1 point; unhealthy, 0 points) were summed to form an index that ranged from 0 to 4.

The diseases were heart attack, stroke and new diagnoses of diabetes, and cancer

Less than 4% of participants had zero healthy factors, most had 1 to 3 healthy factors, and approximately 9% had 4 factors.

During an average follow-up of 7.8 years, the percentages of participants that developed diabetes was 3.7%, myocardial infarction was 0.9%, stroke was 0.8%, and cancer was 3.8%.

Participants with all 4 factors had a 78% reduced risk of developing a chronic disease overall. The reduced risk for diabetes was 93%; heart attack was 81%; stroke was 50%; and cancer was 36%, compared to participants without a healthy factor.

The hazard ratio for developing a chronic disease decreased progres, the less likely you are to get a chronic disease of aging.

So which factors had the most impact on having a lower risk for common chronic diseases?

The largest reduction in risk was associated with having a BMI lower than 30, followed by never smoking, followed by at least 3.5 hours of exercise and last adhering to good dietary principles.

So, unfortunately this study suggests that the thing that you could do to have the greatest impact on long term health is to keep below a BMI of 30 (a BMI of 30 and greater is considered obese). For most of us this is probably the hardest of the four factors to control.

photo credit: dichohecho

Technorati Tags: disease risk, healthy lifestyle, BMI, smoking, healthy diet, exercise

Cardiovascular Roundup: Healing Heart Attacks and Protection Against Dementia

Today, two studies that may show ways to improve quality of life for those with cardiovascular problems. Research suggests that some blood pressure drugs may protect against dementia, and injection of a growth factor may improve the repair of a heart after a heart attack.

Many people are taking blood pressure drugs for lowering blood pressure. Now there is a evidence that some members of the class of drugs known as ACE inhibitors may help protect against dementia.

The type of ACE inhibitors that seem to be effective are those that enter the brain. The brain is protected by a barrier called the blood-brain barrier, which stops many things entering the brain. This is a mechanism to protect the brain. The ACE inhibitors that can get into the brain are called “centrally-acing”.
Centrally-acting ACE inhibitors include captropril (Capoten®), fosinopril (Monopril®), lisinopril (Prinivil® or Zestri®), perindopril (Aceon®), ramipril (Altace®) and trandolapril (Mavik®). The other ACE inhibitors are not centrally acting.

The study found that those taking centrally-acting ACE inhibitors had less mental decline and dementia, than those taking other blood pressure medications. The other medications studied, including non centrally-acting ACE inhibitors had no effect on the rate of mental decline or dementia. Patients were taking other blood pressure medications were no different from those not taking blood pressure medication.

This study seems to suggest that if you have to take blood pressure medicine you might as well slow your potential mental decline and risk of dementia as the same time. Before we all rush out to change our blood pressure medicine; this is only one study and different blood pressure drugs have different effectiveness in different people.

When a heart attack occurs there is damage to the heart. The heart seems to have only a limited capacity to repair itself. This is one of the promises of stem cells. The idea is that you would bank your own stem cells at birth, and then they could be used later in life for problems such as a heart attack. (In the media stem cells seems to equal embryonic stem cells. In reality, most research is done on stem cells that did not come from embryos.)

Now researchers have shown that injecting a growth factor called neuregulin 1 may help with repairing the heart. Neuregulin 1 is a growth factor that is important for the growth and development of the heart in the fetus. In the experiments mice that had had heart attacks showed more repair if they had been injected daily with neuregulin 1, than those that had no received the growth factor. The neuregulin 1 treated mice regained much better heart function than the other mice.

Getting more heart function back after a heart attack would make a huge difference in quality of life for a large number of people. It would save money too. Lets hope that a treatment like neuregulin 1 is found to be safe and effective and become widely available soon.

photo credit: ♪ Sleeping Sun ♪

Technorati Tags: ACE inhibitors, centrally-acting ACE inhibitors, blood-brain barrier, mental decline, dementia, heart attack, neuregulin 1, growth factor, heart function

High Carb Foods Reduce Artery Function

We all have heard that high carb foods may be bad for us. There have been a number of studies linking high carb foods to big bellies, diabetes and a number of other not-so-good health effects. Now there is evidence that eating high carb foods reduce artery function for several hours.

Well before the Adkins diet became popular, some research had suggested that eating a lot of high carb foods increased the risk of cardiac events.

New research suggests that this increased risk may in part be due to meals with high simple carbohydrate levels causing arteries to have reduced function for at least several hours after the meal.

The arteries in our blood system can get wider and narrower as required by the body. For instance, to lower blood pressure, the body can make arteries wider, increasing the volume,which then lowers the pressure. Think of water coming out of the hose. If you squeeze the end to make it a bit narrower the water would squirt out with a higher pressure.

If your arteries become less elastic, or become less able to contract the body cannot control things like blood pressure as well. Studies comparing people with normal body fat and obesity have shown that arteries are less elastic.

In the new study expansion of the brachial artery, the major blood vessel of the upper arm, was compared in study subjects who ate either one of two different types of a high carb meal, a low carb meal or got water. The three meals and water were rotated, so all subjects were analyzed after consuming all three meals and water. The artery function was reduced after eating, but not when just drinking water. The effect on arteries was much greater for the both the high meals, than for the high fiber meal.

This research is another piece of evidence that eating a high carb diet may not be the best for your health.

photo credit: saragoldsmith – Walkers potato chips (crisps) – even cajun squirrel flavour are high carb

Technorati Tags: high carb, artery, elastic, reduced function

Healthy Lifestyle? What Me?

What is a healthy lifestyle? This is not a trick question.

My answer would be something like the following. A healthy lifestyle is eating a good diet that has lots of servings of vegetables and fruits and is not too high in “bad” fats or simple carbs. It is not smoking, not drinking too much alcohol, exercising and maintaining a BMI (body mass index) appropriate for height and muscle mass.

Why did I even ask? We are bombarded with news items, articles, etc., about diet, exercise and lifestyle habits. Nearly everybody already knows all this.

However, comparison of NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) data from 1988-1994 and 2001-2006 shows that though we might know this, we are not following through.

In the 10+ years between the surveys, in adults who were 40-74 years, the percentage with a BMI greater than 30 (considered obese) has increased from 28% to 36%, and eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables has decreased from 42% to 26%. Looking at five categories, physical activity, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, moderate alcohol use and not smoking the percentages of people who were in all five categories had dropped from 15% to 8%.

Is this a big surprise? No.

Education and knowledge is not where it is at. It is what is available, makes our lives easier and more pleasurable. Plus unhealthy lifestyles are usually cheaper.

How do we reverse this change? Short of transporting us all back 50, or more, years to a different era, I don’t think we can. We are in a different era, busy, stressed and short of time. Preparing healthy tasty meals takes personal interest and time. Not something that is that common.

The current economic crisis has to be making this worse, since cheap and frugal means more fast food. Plus major stress does not usually lead to good lifestyle choices.

Hell, now that I have decided that it is hopeless, I might as well have to have a drink to forget about my unhealthy lifestyle.

photo credit: ripplestone garden

Technorati Tags: healthy lifestyle, unhealthy lifestyles

We Are Not Active Enough

No big surprise. A Canadian study has found that people are not active enough.

The study collected information for 22 years. The activity levels of study participants were followed over this time. The activity levels at the beginning of the study and the end were compared.

The study found that higher education and higher income level individuals were more likely to be active. No surprise there either, this is both having more time to exercise, a better understanding of the need to exercise and more social acceptance of exercising.

What did surprise me was that women were less likely to exercise than men. Additionally women were less likely than men to take up exercise. Unless the age group being studied is mainly in late teens and twenties, I would not have predicted this. Of the people I know, who are past 30 or so, there are many more women who regularly exercise then men. When I walk the dog in the morning, I see lots more women.

The bottom line for this study is that the majority of people do not do enough exercise. The findings were that 56% of the study participants were inactive in every survey. Only 12% were active in every survey. This is pretty pathetic.

The study also showed being active in your youth does not mean that you are going to be an active adult. I think most people assume that often exercising patterns are set for life. Guess not.

Here just a few things that being active can help with, as you age.

Exercisers have better blood flow in the brain. This will help your brain function as you age and perhaps decrease the risk of dementia. Those that exercise have a lower risk of disability in old age. A lower risk of heart disease. A lower risk of diabetes.

We should all get out there and get moving.

photo credit: greg westfall.

Technorati Tags: active, exercise

Should You Consume Less Fish And Fish Oil?

Many nutritional guidelines suggest eating fatty fish several times a week or taking fish oil capsules. Do we really need to eat this much fish, and if so, how long before the world is fished out? This is discussed in an article in an upcoming article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Jenkins et al.).

In the news, at least once a month, there are stories about topics such as crashes of different populations of fish, dead zones, and reductions in fishing quotas. The numbers of fish were declining rapidly even before this recent push for eating fish or fish products. As more and more people increase the amount of fish or fish oil that they consume, the decline in fish stocks worldwide will be even more rapid.

At what point are there so few of some types of fish that they become extinct? What does this selective removal of parts of food chains do to the oceans and lakes? Algal blooms? Jellyfish swarms? Upsurge in inedible species? Changes in the climate? We can guess, but nobody really knows.

From a health point of view, do we really need to eat fish? I might say no, since I hated fish as a kid. We lived inland and the only fish we could buy was a bit old. I refused to eat it, and did not like to be around anybody eating it. I had to be in my thirties the first time I ate fish, and now probably eat it about 4 times per year. I seem to be healthy enough.

The health evidence for eating fish or fish oil is probably slightly on the positive. There are many reports of lowered triglycerides (a type of blood fat, that is increased in poorly-controlled diabetes, obesity, liver disease etc.), lowered risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack. However, there are also quite a few reports where consumption of fish or fish products made no difference.

The main component in fish that are thought to have benefits are the omega-3 fatty acids. It is now thought that it not the amount of omega-3 fatty acids that are consumed, but the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. The modern diet has increased amounts of omega-6 fatty acids particularly from oils such as corn and soybean, and decreased the amount omega-3 fatty acids from nuts and a range of plants, that we eat.

Walnuts are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, and flax meal is now widely available, and a number of fruits, such as kiwifruit, and plants, such as broccoli, have reasonable levels of the omega-3 fatty acids. Apparently, omega-3 fatty acids from a brown alga (kelp) are used in infant formula, and yeast are being engineered to make high levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Perhaps non-fish omega-3 fatty acid supplements and capsules will soon be widely available.

Should we start to again eat more plant and less fish omega-3 fatty acids, as well as less omega-6 fatty acids?

photo credit: Donna S Rutherford

Technorati Tags: fish, fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, omega-6 fatty acids

Eggs Are Healthy In Moderation?

After years of being shunned and considered a bad food, eggs are making a comeback. Many researchers have suggested that though they are high in cholesterol that eggs are healthy in moderation. There are a number of suggested health benefits, including the idea eggs may lower blood pressure.

Several years ago, a number of researchers suggested that lecithin, which is found in high levels in egg yolk, could reduce cholesterol uptake in the gut. Though egg yolk is high in cholesterol, the research findings suggested that the lecithin inhibited the uptake of the cholesterol into the blood. This is consistent with many studies that have shown that moderate consumption of eggs generally does not increase cholesterol levels in the blood.

It is has been demonstrated that there is an increase in the amount of lutein in the body after eating eggs. Lutein is a yellow pigment that is thought to be a necessary nutrient of our diet. Low levels of lutein have been suggested to increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration, which results in loss of eyesight. Some researchers have suggested that an adequate intake of lutein in the elderly may reduce the risk of macular degeneration. In addition, to eggs, leafy green vegetables including spinach, broccoli and corn are high in lutein.

Over the years there have been indications that eggs have blood pressure lowering effects. The most researched effect seems to be inhibition of angiotensin 1 converting enzyme (ACE). There is already a widely prescribed class of drugs, developed for treatment of high blood pressure, that inhibit this enzyme. These are the ACE inhibitors.

In a recent study, both boiled and fried eggs were digested with pepsin. The stomach releases pepsin to digest food. By using pepsin with conditions similar to that found in the digestive tract, the aim was to mimic what happens when we eat cooked egg.

Interestingly, analysis of eggs digested by pepsin, showed that there was more ACE inhibitory activity in the whole fried egg, than the boiled egg.

So fried eggs are a health food?

photo credit: House Of Sims

Technorati Tags: eggs, lower blood pressure, ace inhibitor, angiotensin, pepsin, fried egg, lecithin, lutein

Less Sleep, Higher Risk Of Heart Disease

Do you get enough sleep? Do you get your eight hours per night? A new study suggests that shortage of sleep can lead to a higher risk of heart disease.

The new study looked a study population that has been followed for many years. The participants were analyzed in 200-2001 and again in 2005-2006. In 2000-2001 the study participants’ ages ranged from 35 to 47 years old.

The researchers measured sleep metrics (this name made me laugh). Included in sleep metrics were sleep duration and fragmentation, daytime sleepiness, overall quality of sleep and self reported sleep. The duration and fragmentation of sleep were measured by a wrist actigraphy. A wrist actigraph is small unit that looks like a wrist watch, usually worn on the non-dominant wrist, which measures and records movement.

The other measurement was of coronary artery calcification. As plaque in the arteries develops calcium is deposited. This deposit of calcium is part of “hardening of arteries”. The amount of calcium in an artery can by measured by CT scan (computed (axial) tomography, CAT). The amount of calcification is an indicator of the amount of plaque. The presence of calcium indicates the presence of plaque, and more calcium means more mature plaque and an increasing risk of heart attack.

The participants chosen for the study had no detectable calcification at the first time point in 2000-2001. At the 2005-2006 time point those who had the longest sleep times were least likely to have any calcification. Those participants who got the least sleep were most likely to have calcification.

The levels of calcification ranged from 6% in those who got at least 7 hours of sleep, to 27% for those who got less than 5 hours sleep. This is quite a large difference in just 5 years. The length of sleep was the only parameter that was directly related to calcification. The other sleep metrics and factors such as blood pressure did not directly relate to the presence of calcification.

Another reason to make sure that you get a good amount of shut eye.

photo credit: broma

Technorati Tags: sleep, heart disease, calcification

Do You Know The Symptoms Of a Stroke?

More research confirms that most people do not know the symptoms of stroke (brain attack). Even when they have stroke symptoms, many people do not realize that they are having a stroke.

Getting treatment quickly is important for stroke. A faster start of treatment will reduce the amount of damage, and result in less health problems after the stroke.

What are the symptoms of a stroke? One or more of the following;

• Sudden numbness, weakness, or paralysis of face, arm or leg — often on one side
• Sudden dizziness, or loss of balance or loss of coordination
• Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden blurred, double or reduced vision
• Confusion or problems with memory, orientation or perception
• A very sudden, severe headache or unusual headache, which may be accompanied by a stiff neck, facial pain, pain between your eyes, vomiting or altered consciousness

Symptoms can be long lasting or may go away after a few minutes. If they go away after a few minutes, this is called a Transient Ischemic Attack or TIA. Do not assume if the symptoms go away that everything is fine. A TIA is often a precursor for a more serious stroke event.

If you or anybody else gets any of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately, even if the symptoms go way. Get treatment!

photo credit: shoes_on_wires

Technorati Tags: stroke symptoms, TIA, treatment, brain attack

A Potential New Way To Fight Diabetes

Diabetes is one of the major health problems of the world. There are currently several ways to fight diabetes, but the disease still is poorly controlled in many people.

Abdominal obesity increases the risk of diabetes, since it increases insulin resistance.

Generally, when obesity is discussed there is a focus on fat and exercise. What is not often mentioned is that obesity is an inflammatory state.

Abdominal fat is considered an endocrine organ. The endocrine system is the hormone system. An endocrine organ is an organ that secretes hormones into the body. Some of these signaling compounds and proteins are secreted by the fat cells, others come from other cells that are found located in between the fat cells. A type of macrophage (cells that are part of the immune system) are found within abdominal fat.

Some of the compounds that are released by abdominal fat stimulate an inflammatory response. Recently it has shown that obesity results in chronic subclinical inflammation. Which in plain English means, having continual inflammation at a level that does not give obvious symptoms to the person.

What does this have to do with diabetes?

A recent study in obese mice has shown that if the type of macrophage that is found in abdominal fat, is “knocked out”, that the insulin resistance is reversed very quickly. Within 24 hours of killing the macrophages the insulin resistance was reversed though, of course, the mice were still obese.

As well as furthering the understanding of pathology of type 2 diabetes, this research suggests a new target for drugs for treating diabetes.

photo credit: gotplaid?

Technorati Tags: diabetes, macrophages, endocrine

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