"Doctors have long said taking daily low-dose aspirin helps prevent a myocardial infarction, or heart attack. But a new study warns these patients that they shouldn't stop taking aspirin- or they could die.
Spanish researchers report that patients who stop taking daily low-dose aspirin are 60 percent more likely to have a heart attack within a year."
Image via WikipediaI feel bad I have not done the blog like I had hoped when I started it. I have only been linking to stories, I rarely give comments to or write my own articles, so I will try again:
"Fat is not the problem," says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases."
It's a confusing message. For years we've been fed the line that eating fat would make us fat and lead to chronic illnesses. "Dietary fat used to be public enemy No. 1," says Dr. Edward Saltzman, associate professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. "Now a growing and convincing body of science is pointing the finger at carbs, especially those containing refined flour and sugar.""
"In the research, published online by the journal Diabetes Care, a team of researchers led by Dr. David Jenkins (University of Toronto Department of Nutritional Sciences; St. Michael's Hospital Risk Factor Modification Centre) reports that consuming two ounces of nuts daily as a replacement for carbohydrates proved effective at glycemic and serum lipid control for people with Type 2 diabetes.
'Mixed, unsalted, raw, or dry-roasted nuts have benefits for both blood glucose control and blood lipids and may be used as part of a strategy to improve diabetes control without weight gain,' said Dr. Jenkins"
"A new study suggests that in addition to cutting the amount of sodium in their diets to improve heart health, Americans should also increase consumption of a key mineral found in many fruits and vegetables: potassium.Researchers then looked at what is called the sodium-potassium ratio. A high sodium-potassium ratio means a person consumes more sodium relative to potassium. Sodium-potassium ratios could be improved by either lowering sodium intake or raising potassium intake, or both.
The study found that people with the highest ratios were more than twice as likely to die from a heart attack compared with those with the lowest ratios. They also were 46% more likely to die from a heart-related death compared with those with the lowest ratios."
"Children exposed to secondhand smoke in the home are more likely than children in smoke-free homes to develop behavior and learning problems, according to new research. These include learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and behavior and conduct disorders.
Worse, the problems often come in twos or more.
'We found that children who are exposed to secondhand smoke in the home have a 50% increased odds of having two or three of these common neurobehavioral disorders,' says researcher Hillel Alpert, ScM, at the Harvard School of Public Health."
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeI am always impressed with the quality of information from BeachBody. This is no exception. The focus is on avocado, it also talks about olives and coconuts."The avocado. It's hard to believe, really, that something so rich and buttery-tasting is a fruit. To me, an avocado is one of nature's perfect foods, straight from the tree to you. It's simple, packs a lot of energy, and satisfies your hunger.
Ounce for ounce, an avocado has as many total grams of fat as a Big Mac®, something that led to its being vilified during the 'fat free' diet crazes of the past. Seventy-five percent of the calories in an avocado come from fat, whereas most fruits derive their calories from sugars. But ever since nutritionists sorted out the difference between bad and good monounsaturated fats, the avocado has been voted back onto the island.
Half a California avocado has an excellent overall nutrient profile: 114 calories, 2 grams of protein, 4.5 grams of fiber, and 11 grams of fat, most of which (8 grams) is monounsaturated fat.
The monounsaturated fat found in avocados is mostly oleic acid, which, according to a 1996 study by researchers at the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico, may help lower cholesterol. This study found that after seven days of a diet rich in avocados, subjects saw significant decreases in both total and LDL ('bad') cholesterol, as well as an 11 percent increase in HDL ('good') cholesterol."
Image via WikipediaNice to know that our top selling cereal is also the top selling cereal in America:"The company's waterfront plant in Buffalo has been firing them off since 1941, often cloaking the city with a distinctive toasty-with-a-sweet-finish aroma and inspiring T-shirts announcing "My city smells like Cheerios." ....Since then, the company's introduced several new flavors, starting with Honey Nut in 1979 and last year, chocolate."
"...focusing on calories alone would not keep you slim.Instead, the best way to stay a healthy weight is eat nutritious and filling foods of good quality, especially when it comes to carbohydrates.
'An average adult gains about 1lb per year. Because the weight gain is so gradual and occurs over many years, it has been difficult for scientists and for individuals themselves to understand the specific factors that may be responsible,' the Daily Express quoted study co-author Dr Dariush Mozaffaria as saying....
The findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine."
"The icon (www.choosemyplate.gov), called My Plate, is divided into four sections — fruits, vegetables, grains and protein. It replaces the familiar pyramid image, which was first introduced in 1992 and revised in 2005. Many nutritionists said the pyramid had become too complicated for people to understand easily.
"The plate is split into four sections, for fruit, vegetables, grains and protein. A smaller circle sits beside it for dairy products....This is a quick, simple reminder for all of us to be more mindful of the foods that we’re eating,” Mrs. Obama said. “We’re all bombarded with so many dietary messages that it’s hard to find time to sort through all this information, but we do have time to take a look at our kids’ plates.” "
"...the brains of subjects who scored higher on the food addiction scale exhibited neural activity similar to that seen in drug addicts, with greater activity in brain regions responsible for cravings and less activity in the regions that curb urges....
Gearhardt says the findings suggest that certain triggers, such as advertisements for food, have not just a psychological, but a physiological, effect on certain people.
'We found that the high food addiction group showed low inhibition....
That's especially significant, she said, when so many processed foods trigger strong reward responses in our brains."
"In a finding that contradicts earlier research, an international study suggests that being obese boosts the likelihood of a heart attack or stroke regardless of where the excess fat is stored in the body.
That challenges the widely adopted notion that not all obesity is alike, with so-called apple-shaped people, who carry fat mainly in their midsections, facing a bigger risk for heart problems than those whose excess fat is carried on the hips or elsewhere.
Not so, say the researchers behind the new study. When it comes to obesity and heart disease, no excess fat is good fat, regardless of where it ends up, their analysis has found."
"Those who consumed diets higher in fiber had a lower risk of death. The 20% of men and women who ate the most fiber (29.4 grams per day for men and 25.8 grams for women) had a 22% lower risk of dying compared with those who ate the least amount (12.6 grams per day for men and 10.8 for women).
Diets high in fiber were linked with a lower risk of death from all causes, as well as death from cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and respiratory diseases in men and women. Eating fiber was associated with a lower death risk from cancer for men, but the same was not seen in women."
"Now a large, impeccably designed and executed study of cranberry juice has found that the presumed active compound apparently has no effect. And yet the newest study closed no doors. It may simply mean that the juice works, but by an unknown mechanism.
How can one little berry be so difficult to pin down?
For one thing, the cranberry contains more than 200 active substances in addition to vitamin C, citric acid and an array of other acids.... More to the point, urine from both mice and people who drank modest amounts of cranberry juice also prevented bacterial adherence."
"Why we crave sugar. According to AskDrSears.com, 'Sweets trigger an increase in the hormone serotonin—a mood-elevating hormone. The body and brain get used to this higher level of serotonin and even depend on it for a sense of well-being. So when our serotonin level dips, (we dip) into the (sweets) to 'correct' the situation.' According to the Web site, sweets also 'trigger the release of endorphins . . . the brain's natural narcotics, helping you to relax when stressed.'
You've probably noticed that although sugar gives you an initial high (a rapid spike in your blood sugar), you crash several hours later, leaving you wanting more."
"Cartons of 24 went for $22.56 to $24.50 on Jan. 18, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The week before, it was $12.45 to $13.47. Year-ago prices were in the $7 range..."Yikes. Higher lettuce prices for a while.
"Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in U.S. preschool-aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don't watch TV on weekdays.
We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network than actually preparing their own meals. In his series, 'Food Revolution,' Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can't recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don't know how to cook."
"The book focuses on the knowledge gained from the China Study, a 20-year partnership of Cornell University, Oxford University and the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine that showed high consumption of animal-based foods is associated with more chronic disease, while those who ate primarily a plant-based diet were the healthiest.
Last fall, former President Bill Clinton even cited the book in explaining how he lost 24 pounds by converting to a plant-based diet in hopes of improving his heart health"
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