Nutrition and Weight Loss Ideas

Did you ever stop to realize that one of the leading causes of death in this country is heart disease? I’m guessing you do know that. But did you ever stop to realize that it is largely preventable?

We seem to believe that we’re indestructible. We believe that heart disease is something that’s going to happen to the other guy. Well folks, the statistics for 2006 show that over 71 million (71,000,000) of the people in this country are suffering from some form of cardiovascular disease. (This is from data put out by the American Heart Association.)

Now, realize that these 71 million people are the ones who have been to a doctor and have been diagnosed. What about the number of people who haven’t seen a doctor but who also have heart disease? Since the numbers indicate that 1 out of 3 American men and women have some form of cardiovascular disease, doesn’t it make sense that we should take some positive steps to ensure that we’re one of the two people who don’t have the problem?

The primary risk factors are:

**** Poor Diet
**** Abdominal obesity
**** High blood pressure

Here are a few steps you can take to keep your heart healthy:

1. Take charge of your eating habits.

Reduce your fat intake and carefully choose the fats you do eat. When it comes to spreads, choose those with non-hydrogenated fats instead of butter. Avoid any products with saturated and trans fats.

2. Reduce abdominal obesity.

Eating fewer calories should be the number one priority when trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy body shape. Start with small diet changes and build accordingly. You’ll be able to tell if you’re on the right track by how your clothes fit.

3. Talk to your physician about your cholesterol level.

Just go get a blood test. It only take a few minutes. Either call your doctor and make an appointment or watch for free cholesterol screenings in your neighborhood. Believe me, if your readings are too high, it will be a motivator to get you back on track.

4. If you smoke — QUIT!!! — and do it NOW!!!

Yes, I know it’s hard to do. I’ve been there — and done that! There’s nothing more to say about smoking other than if you do it, QUIT. It is estimated that smokers lose five and a half minutes of their lives with every cigarette smoked.

5. Talk to your physician about your blood sugar levels.

Our dietary habits in this country are awful. From 1994 to 2002, 54% more people got diabetes, and it is going up by 8.2% each year. Why? We eat lousy food and we don’t get off our butts and move our bodies. Diabetes can lead to progressive blindness, heart disease, kidney damage and death. Giving in to your cravings really isn’t worth your life.

6. Check your blood pressure.

Know your blood pressure and have it checked regularly to make sure your values are under control.

7. Adopt an active lifestyle.

Engage in an activity that you like to do, not just one that you think you should do. This will keep you motivated to continue your exercise program. Try walking, running, hiking, biking, tennis, golf (without a cart), gardening, etc. The list goes on and on. Watching TV isn’t on the list, by the way, unless you’re watching it while walking on a treadmill.

8. Use alcohol in moderation.

If you choose to drink alcohol, moderation is the key. Generally, moderation is considered no more than two drinks daily. Frankly, I’m no expert, but I think that’s too high. Two drinks a week is more like it. There’s a ton of sugar in those drinks.

9. Reduce mental stress.

Meditation, yoga, and other relaxation programs are just a few examples to help control stress. I use meditation and find it’s the best way for me to keep stress levels down. You can read an article that I have published about meditation at this website: http://www.jmorganmag.com/EsotericCorner.html

10. Add motivation.

Arm yourself with better and up-to-date knowledge by reading more about nutrition and weight loss. Make it a habit to visit this blog every couple of days and you’ll have plenty of information. Take all of the steps above that apply to you. Do whatever it takes to make sure you’re one of the 2 out of 3 that don’t have heart disease. Then congratulate yourself.
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Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti,

Ron

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While doing some research for an ebook I’m working on about prostate cancer, I came across an interesting study about the effect of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids on this disease. Since my last article was about fats and we talked about the omegas, I wanted to pass this information along to you.

A new U.S. study found that altering the ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the typical western diet may reduce the growth rate of prostate cancer tumors.

This study with mice is one of the first to show the impact of diet (in this case, more omega-3 fatty acids and fewer omega-6 fatty acids) on lowering an inflammatory response known to promote prostate cancer tumor progression. The finding could help lead to the development of new treatments, the researchers said.

The researchers, from the University of California, Los Angeles, used mice with a hormone-sensitive prostate cancer that closely resembles human prostate cancer. One group of mice was fed a diet that included 20 percent fat with a one-to-one ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. The other group of mice also received a diet with 20 percent fat, but this diet was mostly omega-6 fatty acids.

In the mice that received the balanced diet of fatty acids, tumor cell growth rates decreased by 22 percent and prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels decreased by 77 percent, compared to the mice that received the diet with mostly omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-6 fatty acids, the predominant polyunsaturated fatty acids in the Western diet, are found in corn, safflower oils and red meats. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in cold-water fish, including salmon, tuna and sardines.

“Corn oil is the backbone of the American diet. We consume up to 20 times more omega-6 fatty acids in our diet compared to omega-3 acids,” principal investigator Dr. William Aronson, professor in the department of urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a researcher at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center, said in a prepared statement.

“This study strongly suggests that eating a healthier ratio of these two types of fatty acids may make a difference in reducing prostate cancer growth, but studies need to be conducted in humans before any clinical recommendations can be made,” Aronson said.

(The findings were published Aug. 1, 2006, in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.)

I found this study to be interesting because, once again, the possibility that controlling the types of fats in our diet may have a profound effect on human health, for both men and women. Sure, prostate cancer is a male disease, but the inclusion of the omega fatty acids, particularly the omega-3s, will do wonders for the heart health of both genders.
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Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti,

Ron

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Just the other day as I was picking up some groceries, I couldn’t help but notice how many of the food packages were shouting out, “Fat Free” — or — “Lo-Fat” — (wonder why they don’t spell “low” correctly?) — and it started me thinking about whether fat is really the enemy of a healthy diet.

So, I did some research — and I discovered (once again) that fat is essential! Fat aids in the absorption of many important nutrients and helps form the protective barriers surrounding virtually every cell in our bodies.

However, (there’s always a “however”, right?) some fats are really harmful — while other fats are vital for good heart health.

So how do you tell the good guys from the bad guys?

The answer is easy to learn and easy to remember because it isn’t complicated. Simply stated, “The bad fats are the saturated fats and the trans fats!”

Saturated fats, the type found in animal foods like meats and high-fat dairy products, increase the unhealthy LDL cholesterol – and that means you’ll risk the build-up of artery-clogging plaque. A diet high in saturated fat may also make your blood vessels abnormally stiff, which in turn, will increase your blood pressure. You need to limit your intake of these fats by choosing lean meats and reduced-fat milk and cheese, even though these may contain a small amount of saturated fat. The tradeoff is worthwhile because of the important nutrients these foods contain.

On the other hand, trans fats are villains with no redeeming value. And, as I’m sure you’ve heard, there is a major movement in this country to get rid of this awful fat completely. Believe me, this is wonderful news. Let’s all hope that it happens.

Why are trans fats so awful and where do you find them?

Almost entirely a product of manufacturing, trans fats are found in many processed foods like cookies, crackers, potato chips and doughnuts. “Processed trans fats are the ones we want to avoid completely because they’re the worst ones for our arteries,” notes registered dietitian Carol Clarke, a member of the Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiovascular Network of Dietitians of Canada. Trans fats are considered four to 10 times more damaging than their saturated counterparts because in addition to increasing the amount of ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood, they decrease levels of HDL, the healthy cholesterol that scours away build-up on blood vessel walls. Saturated fats are bad, but trans fats are nasty.

What about good fats?

“The good fats are unsaturated fats,” says Ramona Josephson, a registered dietitian and nutrition coach in Vancouver, B.C. “That includes the monounsaturated fats and the polyunsaturated fats – in particular the subgroup called omega-3s.” These are so important to our heart health.

Almonds, olives and olive oil are just a few foods that contain monounsaturates – fats that improve the balance between good and bad cholesterol and inhibit plaque formation. Polyunsaturates include omega-6s and omega-3s – two groups of ‘essential fatty acids’ the body can’t manufacture. In moderation, omega-6s – found in corn and safflower oils – lower harmful LDL cholesterol, though too much can diminish healthy HDL. But these pale in comparison to omega-3s – found in flax seed, walnuts and fatty fish. (Canola oil, which contains a mix of omega-6s and omega-3s, is a rich source of the latter.)

Some omega-3s help ward off dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities, lower levels of triglycerides (another blood fat linked with gunky arteries), and make blood less prone to forming clots that lead to heart attacks and strokes.

But while all omega-3s are beneficial, the omega-3 fats from fish are the real winners. Most experts recommend eating two servings of fatty fish (such as salmon, trout or sardines) each week.

Now, you need to eat the right foods, but don’t go out and overeat a whole bunch of food full of good fats — you still need to keep your eye on calories in and calories out in order to keep your weight under control.
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Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti,

Ron

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