3 Major Signs Your Body is in Need of a Heart Transplant

 

The first successful heart transplant was done in 1967. Since that time, the procedure has been improved in a number of ways to allow patients to have a successful outcome. Heart transplants are generally done when patients fail to improve after all other medical procedures have been provided, but with good treatment and proper aftercare, these patients can enjoy greater longevity and quality of life. Heart transplants are usually suggested when three major signs are present:

 

1 – Imminent Heart Failure Despite Medical Treatment

Most heart transplant candidates have undergone a number of treatment options to improve their condition without success. In these cases, patients are carefully evaluated to determine if they are able to withstand the surgery and special treatment afterward that is necessary after a transplant procedure. Cardiomyopathy, which causes severe weakening in the heart muscle, is one type of condition that often does not respond to other treatments and may require a heart transplant.

 

2 – Severe Heart Pain

Patients with severe heart pain, called angina, may also require a heart transplant to relieve pain and allow them to engage in normal activities. This condition may be caused heart valve problems that cannot be corrected by other types of procedures. In these cases, medical conditions that could affect the outcome of surgery, such as liver, kidney or lung disease, may be a contraindication for heart transplant surgery. Cardiac specialists, such as those at ICE, Institute of Cardiac Excellence, administer echocardiograms, cardiac catheterizations, coronary angiograms and other diagnostic methods that are used to determine the severity of impairment.

 

3 – Heart Arrhythmias That Do Not Respond to Treatment

Another sign that indicates that a heart transplant may be necessary is chronic heart arrhythmias. Although a number of treatments are available to help regulate heart rhythm, such as medications and pacemakers, these may not be able to correct the underlying disturbance. These arrhythmias can occur in both the children and older people. Congenital heart defects in children that have not responded to other treatments may require heart transplantation to allow normal activities. A heart transplant may be the only way to ensure the child is able to live a normal life, free from the disability. Adults with severe arrhythmias must be free of severe vascular problems that might affect the outcome of heart transplant surgery.

 

If a patient has undergone a number of heart procedures and therapies and continues to have severe pain, fatigue, heart rhythm problems or physical defects in the heart that cannot be corrected by other means, a heart transplant may be necessary. Your cardiac specialist can advise you on the procedure, preparatory measures and what you will have to do after the transplant to continue your treatment.

 

Categories: healthy heart, heart, heart arrhythmias, Heart Attack, heart disease, heart health, heart pain, heart rhythm, Heart Risk, heart transplant, Heart Wellness, major signs

Head, Heart, Stomach and More: How Stress Affects Your Body

 

Stress doesn’t just have an impact on your emotional health; it also has a damaging effect on your physical wellbeing. According to wellness expert Allen Elkin, author of Stress Management For Dummies (2nd Edition) ‘Researchers estimate that 75 to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for complaints and conditions that are, in some way, stress-related. Every week, 112 million people take some form of medication for stress-related symptoms.’ But how exactly does stress affect your wellness?

 

1. Headaches: ‘A headache is just one of the many ways stress can interfere with your sex life,’ says Elkin. ‘Stress can affect sexual performance and rob you of your libido. When you are feeling stress, feeling sexy may not be at the top of your to-do list. Disturbed sexual performance may appear in the form of premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and other forms of difficulty in reaching orgasm. The irony is sex can be a way of relieving stress. In fact, for some people, sexual activity increases when they feel stressed.’

 

2. Muscle Pain: ‘Your muscles are a prime target for stress,’ Elkin notes. ‘When you are under stress, your muscles contract and they become tense. This muscle tension can affect your nerves, blood vessels, organs, skin, and bones. Chronically tense muscles can result in a variety of conditions and disorders, including muscle spasms, cramping, facial or jaw pain, bruxism (grinding your teeth), tremors, and shakiness. Many forms of headache, chest pain, and back pain are among the more common conditions that result from stress-induced muscle tension.’

3. Heart Health: Elkin details, ‘Stress can play a role in circulatory diseases such as coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death, and strokes. This fact is not surprising because stress can increase your blood pressure, constrict your blood vessels, raise your cholesterol level, trigger arrhythmias, and speed up the rate at which your blood clots. Stress is now considered a major risk factor in heart disease, right up there with smoking, being overweight, and not exercising. All of this becomes very important when you consider that heart disease kills more men over the age of 50 and more women over the age of 65 than any other disease.’

 

4. Tummy Troubles: Elkin points out, ‘Ever notice how your stress seems to finds its way to your stomach? Your gastrointestinal system can be a ready target for much of the stress in your life. Stress can affect the secretion of acid in your stomach and can speed up or slow down the process of peristalsis (the rhythmic contraction of the muscles in your intestines). Constipation, diarrhoea, gas, bloating, and weight loss all can be stress-related. Stress can contribute to gastroesophageal reflux disease and can also play a role in exacerbating irritable bowel syndrome and colitis.’

 

5. Immune System: Elkin warns, ‘Stress — particularly chronic stress — can compromise your immune system, rendering it less effective in resisting bacteria and viruses. Research has shown that stress may play a role in exacerbating a variety of immune system disorders such as HIV, AIDS, herpes, cancer metastasis, viral infection, rheumatoid arthritis, and certain allergies, as well as other auto-immune conditions. Some recent studies appear to confirm this.’

 

6. Colds: ‘Recent research conducted by Dr. Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University, has concluded that stress really does lower your resistance to colds,’ Elkin comments. ‘Cohen and his associates found that the higher a person’s stress score, the more likely he was to come down with a cold when exposed to a cold virus. Chronic stress, lasting a month or more, was the most likely to result in catching a cold. Experiencing severe stress for more than a month but less than six months doubled a person’s risk of coming down with a cold, compared with those who were experiencing only shorter-term stress.’

Categories: headaches, heart health, muscle pain

Lower Your Cholesterol With These 8 Heart-Loving Foods

Looking after your heart is so important to your wellbeing, so why not try to include a few more heart-loving foods in your diet? We’ve got a list of the best artery-cleansing, cholesterol-lowering picks around, so just choose your favourites!

 

1. Avocado: Megan Madden, a registered dietician in New York, suggests, ‘Instead of using a whopping dollop of mayonnaise on your sandwich, try using thin slices of avocado.’ Why? According to wellness writer Jessica Smith, ‘A 1996 study done by researchers in Mexico found that people who ate avocado every day for one week experienced an average 17% drop in total blood cholesterol. What’s more, their levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol decreased and HDL (“good”) cholesterol increased.’

 

2. Whole Grains: Smith points out, ‘The soluble fibre found in whole grains such as whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal binds the cholesterol in your meal and drags it out of your body.’ Madden adds, ‘When your body needs to utilise cholesterol in the future, it draws on your blood cholesterol supply, effectively lowering your total blood cholesterol level and your risk for heart disease.’

 

3. Olive Oil: Yes, you can’t have an article on heart health without mentioning olive oil! Smith details, ‘A 2011 study found that people aged 65 or older who regularly used olive oil (for both cooking and as a dressing) were 41% less likely to have a stroke compared to those who never use olive oil in their diet. Use a little olive oil instead of butter, or drizzle some over pasta, salad, or veggies to take advantage of its high mono- and polyunsaturated fats.’ That said, Madden warns, ‘Although it’s a healthier option, remember to use these oils sparingly, as all fats still contain the same number of calories.’

 

4. Nuts: Madden explains, ‘Almonds are very high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and fiber, while walnuts are a great plant-based source of an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid.’ The American Heart Association states that monounsaturated fats can help you to reduce your blood levels of bad cholesterol and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, so grab a nutty snack!

 

5. Plant Sterols: Foods that have been fortified with sterols can help your heart because the sterols compete with the cholesterol in your food for absorption within your digestive tract. Madden notes, ‘Sterols have been shown to lower both total and LDL cholesterol and can be found in certain brands of fortified orange juice, margarine spreads, and milk.’ However, Smith cautions, ‘Just be sure to check the label—make sure the margarine is trans fat-free and that “partially hydrogenated oil” does NOT appear on the ingredient list.’

 

6. Fatty Fish: ‘Eating fish twice a week can reduce your risk of developing heart disease by decreasing inflammation and lowering triglyceride levels,’ says Madden. ‘And it may even help boost your HDL levels.’ This is because fatty fish such as mackerel, herring, tuna, and salmon are absolutely packed with omega-3 fatty acids.

 

7. Asparagus: Shane Ellison, an organic chemist and author of Over-The-Counter Natural Cures, asserts, ‘Asparagus works within the 100,000 miles of veins and arteries to release pressure, thereby allowing the body to accommodate for inflammation that has accumulated over the years.’ Plus, it helps ward off deadly clots.

 

8. Pomegranate: ‘Pomegranate contains phytochemicals that act as antioxidants to protect the lining of the arteries from damage,’ Smith comments. ‘A 2005 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice stimulated the body’s production of nitric oxide, which helps keep blood flowing and arteries open.’

Categories: avocado, blood cholesterol, cholesterol, fatty fish, heart disease, heart health, heart loving, loving foods, monounsaturated fats, olive oil, total blood

I Heart Sleep: Why Fewer than 6 Hours Damages Heart Health

In your hectic, daily schedule, sleep can seem like such a hindrance – that’s eight hours of your day in which you’re not doing anything productive! However, sleep is actually extremely productive for your overall wellbeing. Sleep helps you to stave off major health concerns by aiding your mental and emotional wellness, keeping you trim, strengthening your immune system, fighting inflammation, and maintaining your heart and blood vessels.

 

In fact, sleep enables your body to repair your damaged tissues, produce crucial hormones and strengthen your memories. This latter process is known as consolidation, and it helps you to perform a new skill better after sleeping than you would if you spent an equivalent amount of time awake, which is why all-nighters are never as effective as you think they’ll be. Virend K. Somers, MD, a professor of medicine and cardiovascular diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who studies sleep and heart health, explains, ‘It’s a way for the body to integrate everything that happened over the past waking day and to kind of prepare for the next day.’

 

According to Shelby Freedman Harris, PsyD, director of behavioural sleep medicine at Montefiore Medical Centres Sleep-Wake Disorders Centre in New York City, ‘When you’re sleeping you’re regulating hormone levels, you’re regulating insulin levels, your blood pressure is being kept under control, there are a lot of things going on, and if you’re not getting enough sleep you’re throwing these things out of whack.’ One way in which your body becomes skewed by a lack of sleep is in your heart. If you get less than six hours of sleep a night, or you don’t spend enough time in the deepest stages of sleep, you have a higher risk of heart attacks and strokes than those who get at least seven hours.

 

In 2011, two studies revealed the devastating impact of sleep deprivation on heart health. The first study, performed in male Japanese factory workers, showed that sleeping for less than six hours a night made the factory workers five times more likely to have a heart attack over a 14-year span compared with those who logged between 7 and 8 hours a night. The second study, this time involving men over the age of 65, showed that even healthy participants with normal blood pressure were almost twice as likely to develop hypertension if they spent less time in the deepest sleep stage (known as slow-wave sleep).

 

As well as long-term sleep deprivation having an impact on your heart health, there’s also some evidence – albeit somewhat limited – that even short-term sleep deprivation may be harmful if you already have a heart problem. Swedish researchers, who published the results of their work in 2012, reported that in the week after the spring transition to daylight saving time, hospital admissions for heart attacks increased by about 4% compared to other weeks. This is the time in which you set your clocks an hour ahead and lose an hour of sleep.

 

As to why not sleeping enough affects your heart, wellness experts aren’t quire sure. However, researchers are clear on why sleep apnoea is a known heart hazard. If you have sleep apnoea, you tend to snore and have upper airway collapse during sleep, meaning that you snort and gasp for breath without really waking up enough to be aware of it. Charles Czeisler, MD, the Baldino Professor of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, explains, ‘It’s as if somebody’s choking you, so your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure goes up, and instead of having a daily cycle in which everything slows down at night, instead everything is higher during the night. Over time, even your daytime blood pressure is higher.’

Categories: blood pressure, factory workers, heart attacks, heart health, Sleep apnoea, sleep deprivation, sleep medicine, sleep nbsp, term sleep

The Health Benefits of Sex: 6 Doctor-Recommended Reasons

Having sex isn’t just good for your relationship or sexual health; it also has vast benefits for your wellbeing. According to Dr. Oz, the cardiothoracic surgeon and author who hosts The Dr. Oz Show, ‘When it comes to the topic of sex, I’ve been known to put it all out there. As a matter of fact, on the very first episode of The Dr. Oz Show, I jumped right in—to the point of telling the audience personal stories about my sex life with my wife, Lisa…I’m still passionate about this issue because taking care of yourself isn’t just about eating right and exercising. Being in a healthy, fulfilling sexual relationship can do wonders for your overall wellness.’ So what can having sex do for your wellness?

 

1. Heart Health: Dr. Oz notes, ‘We already know that sex can be a decent cardio workout (one 30-minute session can burn 70 calories); now research indicates it may protect your heart in other ways. A study in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy found that people who had sex an average of 12 times per month had greater heart rate variability (HRV)—a measure of how well the heart responds to subtle changes throughout the day (like standing versus sitting). Higher HRV is a good thing; it may lower your risk of developing heart disease, the leading cause of death for women.’

 

2. Anti-Ageing Wellness: ‘Have sex at least three times a week,’ Dr. Oz advises. ‘In a study at Scotland’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital, people in their 40s who reported having an average of 50 percent more sex than the typical person were judged by a panel of strangers to be about seven to 13 years younger than their actual age. Researchers believe the youthful glow comes in part from the release of the DHEA hormone during sex. DHEA, which is produced by your adrenal glands, has anti-ageing properties that can increase the production of collagen and may reduce wrinkles.’

 

3. Better Sleep: Dr. Oz explains, ‘Levels of the hormone oxytocin surge after sex, and its stress-reducing qualities may help you nod off more quickly. (The relationship between shut-eye and intimacy works the other way, too: One study found that women ages 42 to 52 who reported restless sleep patterns were less likely to get physical pleasure from sex than women who regularly got a good night’s rest.)’

 

4. Fewer Headaches: ‘Ever pass on sex because your head is pounding?,’ asks Dr. Oz. ‘You may be missing out on the very thing that could bring relief. A small study conducted at Southern Illinois University found that nearly half of female migraine sufferers felt better after orgasm. As endorphins flood the body, they may have an effect similar to morphine, muting your body’s pain response and increasing your threshold for discomfort.’

 

5. Fewer Colds: Dr. Oz details, ‘A study from Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that people who had sex once or twice a week enjoyed a boost in their immune system, thanks to a 30% increase in immunoglobulin A, the infection-fighting antibody found in the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. One caveat: Subjects who had sex more than three times a week actually had lower levels of the antibody than those who had less sex. Researchers believe that in moderation, the release of chemicals during orgasm may enhance your immune function, while too much of these chemicals may suppress it.’

 

6. Living Longer: ‘For women, quality trumps quantity when it comes to the lifesaving effects of sex,’ says Dr. Oz. ‘Simply having positive memories about your sexual past may add roughly four years to your life, according to research at the Duke Centre for the Study of Ageing and Human Development. Researchers found that these fond memories may encourage you to continue leading a happier, healthier life.’

 

Categories: anti ageing, health, Health Benefits, heart, heart health, nbsp, sleep, study, Women

Sun, Sand and Health Benefits: You’ll Love Beach Volleyball

If this winter weather has you dreaming about sun, sea and sand, why not indulge your fantasies by considering a summery fitness trend, like beach volleyball. Not only does it get you out on the beach, which does wonders for anyone’s overall sense of wellbeing, but beach volleyball has a number of wellness benefits. Women can expect to burn up to 495 calories per game, while men might burn a whopping 550 calories. However, according to Linda Drummond, wellness expert and fitness writer for Body + Soul, that’s not all.

 

Drummond notes, ‘In an average match you work your cardiovascular system and tone your core, glutes, lower back, thighs and calves, but in a low-impact fashion. You can also tone the muscles in your upper body: pecs, shoulders, arms and upper back. The benefits aren’t just physical; the game’s also a great way to improve hand-eye coordination and boost mental agility. Flexibility and physical agility are also improved with regular play. Injuries from playing beach volleyball are rare, and that plenty of people recovering from injury take up beach volleyball to maintain their fitness and aid their recovery.’

 

Convinced? Of course you are! But how does it work? ‘The game of beach volleyball is similar to the indoor version,’ Drummond explains. ‘Each team is allowed three hits of the ball before returning it to the other side of the net, and no player can hit the ball twice in a row. The ball is generally returned over the net using the hands and arms, but it is permissible for any part of the body to be used to hit the ball. Teams can only score when they’re serving and the first to 15 points, with a break of two points, is the winner. However, there are differences between beach and regular volleyball. Beach volleyball is played on soft sand, between 30 and 40 centimetres deep, and is traditionally played outdoors.’

 

Drummond continues, ‘Players of beach volleyball have no set positions and are free to move around the court to attack the ball. At an elite level, beach volleyball is played by two teams of two very athletic players, but beginners can have six a side. The soft sand court surface of beach volleyball makes for spectacular play, with players able to fling themselves around and dive for the ball in order to score a point without the same risk of injury as indoors.’ In fact, spectators have enjoyed watching beach volleyball since the late 1800s, when volleyball enthusiasts saw the opportunity to spend even more time on the sand and shifted the sport seaside. Richie “Doc” Coles is an instructor with the Sydney Beach Volleyball School and says that what he loves about the sport is it gives him the chance to get on the sand at every opportunity.

 

So that’s the benefits of beach volleyball, how it works and where it started, but how do YOU get started? Here are Drummond’s tips for having a go at beach volleyball:

 

1. Know the terrain: ‘Familiarise yourself with the soft sand, Drummond advises. ‘Go for sprints, long, endurance runs or jump in the sand.’

 

2. Give your fitness an edge: Drummond recommends, ‘Use stairs to increase your all-round fitness for the game. Run up them, jump, hop or crawl up them.’ She adds, ‘The higher your level, the more physically demanding the game becomes, so prepare your body with strength work in the gym, agility training and some flexibility work such as Pilates or yoga.’

 

3. Talk to your team: ‘Communication is key,’ asserts Drummond. ‘Talk to your teammates and learn to shout out for the ball. It’s the first thing beginners need to master.’

Categories: ball, beach, beach volleyball, drummond, heart health, nbsp drummond, sand, soft sand, tone, volleyball

Cardiologist Makes Bold New Claims about Diet Myths

You may be trying to protect your wellbeing by reducing butter, cheese and red meat in your diet, but these things may not be as bad for your heart as wellness experts have previously suggested. This is according to Aseem Malhotra, interventional cardiology specialist registrar at Croydon University hospital, who has recently reported in the British Medical Journal that it is time to “bust the myth” of saturated fat. He also argues that the government’s obsession with lowering cholesterol in an attempt to reduce heart disease has led to an over-prescription of statins, which have more side-effects than benefits. According to Malhotra, ‘With 60 million statin prescriptions a year, it is difficult to demonstrate any additional effect of statins on reduced cardiovascular mortality over the effects of the decline in smoking and primary angioplasty.’

 

Malhotra further believes that the insistence that you remove saturated fat from your diet has, paradoxically, led to an increased risk of heart disease. He explains, ‘Recent prospective cohort studies have not supported significant association between saturated fat intake and cardiovascular risk. Instead, saturated fat has been found to be protective.’ However, Malhotra also says that you have wrongly embraced low-fat products, noting, ‘Last week I saw one patient in her 40s who had had a heart attack. She said she had gained about 20kg in the last six months. She had been drinking five low-fat drinks a day.’

 

However, neither Public Health England (PHE) nor the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have agreed with Malhotra’s argument. Peter Weissberg, medical director at the British Heart Foundation, comments, ‘Studies on the link between diet and disease frequently produce conflicting results because, unlike drug trials, it’s difficult to undertake a properly controlled, randomised study. However, people with highest cholesterol levels are at highest risk of a heart attack and it’s clear that lowering cholesterol, by whatever means, lowers risk. Cholesterol levels can be influenced by many factors including diet, exercise and drugs, in particular statins. There is clear evidence that patients who have had a heart attack, or who are at high risk of having one, can benefit from taking a statin. But this needs to be combined with other essential measures, such as eating a balanced diet, not smoking and taking regular exercise.’

 

Alison Tedstone, director of diet and obesity at PHE, notes, ‘PHE recommends that no more than 11% of person’s average energy intake should come from saturated fats, as there is evidence to show increased levels of saturated fats can raise blood cholesterol levels, in turn raising the risk of cardiovascular disease. The government’s advice is based on a wealth of evidence. The BMJ article is based on opinion rather than a complete review of the research. Evidence specifically linking sugar to cardiovascular disease is limited; however, on average the population needs to reduce its sugar intake. Eating more calories than we need, irrespective of whether they come from sugar or fat, over time leads to weight gain. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.’

 

However, Malhotra did gain support from experts like Robert Lustig, paediatric endocrinologist at the University of San Francisco and author of Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth about Sugar, who asserts, ‘Food should confer wellness, not illness. Real food does just that, including saturated fat. But when saturated fat got mixed up with the high sugar added to processed food in the second half of the 20th century, it got a bad name. Which is worse, saturated fat or added sugar? The American Heart Association has weighed in – the sugar many times over. Plus added sugar causes all of the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome. Instead of lowering serum cholesterol with statins, which is dubious at best, how about serving up some real food?’

Categories: british heart, cardiovascular disease, cholesterol levels, Heart Attack, heart disease, heart foundation, heart health, lowering cholesterol, real food, saturated fat, saturated fats

Could Even a Low Exposure to Arsenic Affect Your Heart?

Your environmental wellness, or your exposure to toxins, is intrinsically linked to your overall wellbeing. This has already been established in countless studies, but a new one has come into the fray to add to what we already know; exposure to toxins is bad for wellness. However, this new study, published the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, points out that chronic exposure to even low levels of arsenic in your environmental can increase your risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular disease.

 

Previous research has already shown us that exposure to high levels of arsenic in your drinking water (which is defined as more than 100 micrograms per litre) is connected to a raised risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease and carotid atherosclerosis. However, this new study, undertaken by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, aimed to see how low to moderate levels of arsenic in an environment might affect heart health risks in American Indians. According to study author Dr. Ana Navas-Acien, a researcher in the department of environmental health sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, ‘We didn’t know what would happen at levels that occur regularly in the United States.’

 

Even after the researchers adjusted their results to take into account other risk factors – such as smoking, obesity and cholesterol levels – the results of the study revealed that regular exposure to more common levels of arsenic did indeed correlate to increased risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease. Navas-Acien commented, ‘It’s a chronic long-term health effect. We need to understand that cardiovascular disease is a very complex illness, and there are many environmental risk factors like arsenic which can contribute.’ However, while the plus point of they study is that it did find an association between relatively common levels of arsenic in drinking water and a higher risk of heart disease, it’s important to bear in mind that the researchers did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

 

For the study, the researchers spent 19 years studying almost 3,600 Native American men and women living in Arizona, Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota. The study began in 1989, and the researchers continued to follow the participants up until 2008. The researchers surmised that participants living in Arizona and the Dakotas were possibly the most exposed to arsenic through groundwater, as the private wells in those states often exceed the U.S. standard for arsenic in drinking water of 10 micrograms per litre. In fact, these wells sometimes contain arsenic levels as high as 50 micrograms per litre. In Oklahoma, on the other hand, the most likely source of arsenic exposure was their food, which the researchers citing rice, flour and other grains as potential sources.

 

Alice Lichtenstein, a distinguished professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University, was not involved with the study, was pleased with the findings. She noted, ‘The paper is very important. It’s an area where we need to look more carefully. It gives other research groups another variable to address.’  However, Lichtenstein, who also is the director of the cardiovascular nutrition laboratory at the university, added, ‘We don’t know what the direct effect is. What is important is that we gather more information, which I hope will be done promptly. We should not discount this. It’s very important. But I think we need a little more information.’

 

If you’re worried about your arsenic exposure risk, Navas-Acien recommended you have your drinking water tested. ‘In particular, people who live in small communities or have private wells should be aware of the arsenic levels in their drinking water,’ she said. ‘If you use groundwater and you don’t know the levels of arsenic in your drinking water, that can be quite dangerous.’ Lichtenstein agreed, and added, ‘The best advice we can give people is to eat food that comes from a variety of different regions, as opposed to being raised in a single location.’

Categories: Arsenic, bloomberg school, cardiovascular disease, common levels, drinking water, heart health, johns hopkins, navas acien, private wells, public health, Research, risk factors

Could An Unhealthy Relationship Literally Break Your Heart?

It’s obvious how relationship problems can affect family wellness, but you may not be aware how your relationship with your partner affects your personal health. Relationship distress can interfere with your immune system and hormones, delay healing and even affect your mental health with depression and anxiety. According to a lot of studies, good relationships are beneficial to wellness, and can create a stronger sense of happiness. Unhealthy relationships, however, can damage your emotional and physical wellbeing. The question is; are you experiencing the signs of an unhealthy relationship?

 

1. Touch hunger: Clinical psychologist Dr Sue Johnson, author of Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love, explains that we Westerners are ‘the world’s least tactile people, we hold, hug, pat, stroke, fondle and caress each other much less often than do other folks. Psychologists have suggested that we suffer from “touch hunger” and that this is just one of the signs of our ongoing loss of connection and community.’ This lack of connection can be even more damaging when you feel it in context of your significant relationships, so maybe it’s time to get a little more touchy-feely.

 

2. Isolation within relationships: ‘The sense of isolation is a pivotal concern in love relationships,’ says Dr Johnson, who argues that touch hunger, or not feeling safe enough to touch a loved one, shows this deprivation of emotional connection at its most obvious. Dr Johnson comments, ‘The new science of love tells us that feeling a sense of connection to another is the deepest and most pressing need we have as human beings. Our social brain codes this connection as safety, and touch is the most obvious route into this safety.’ Loving touches releases oxytocin – the cuddle hormone – in your brain and turns on your mind’s reward centres, which makes you feel recognised, significant, relaxed, comforted or even aroused. As oxytocin counters cortisol – the stress hormone – this shows just how important physical and emotional connection is in weathering the stresses and strains of life.

 

3. The (literal) heartbreak rejection: According to Dr Johnson, ‘Partners speak about the pain of rejection or abandonment in terms of life and death. This is not because they are immature or too needy. It is because emotional isolation is traumatic, reminding us of our essential vulnerability in a world teeming with danger.’ When you feel emotionally alone or in hostile a situation within your relationship, research shows that this elevates your blood pressure, stress hormone levels, heart disease risk and risk of death from a major cardiac event. It turns out a bad relationship can really break your heart! Dr Johnson adds, ‘The quality of our love relationships is a big factor in how mentally and emotionally healthy we are. Conflict with, and hostile criticism from, our loved ones increase our self-doubts and create a sense of helplessness, classic triggers for depression.’

 

So that’s how an unhealthy relationship can affect your health, but how do you make things better? It’s normal to go through phases of feeling disconnected to the one you love, but if this separateness causes you to become more withdrawn, hostile or hurtful to one another, this can destroy your relationship as well as your health, and you need to take measures to bring you and your partner closer. Dr Johnson recommends reaching out to your loved one and asking to be held, perhaps with the help of couples’ therapy. ‘The couple therapy I do is a tested, cutting edge approach to healing a love relationship,’ she says. ‘The powerful outcomes it achieves seem to hinge on a couple’s ability to shape a “hold me tight” conversation, where each partner can reach for the other, be held and hold in return.’

Categories: Connection, dr johnson, emotional connection, heart health, Isolation, johnson, relationship, Relationships, stress hormone, Touch Hunger, unhealthy relationship

Kitchen Kings: The Best Ways to Amp Up Your Heart Health

Heart-healthy eating starts in the kitchen, which means that you need to get your kitchen wellness on track if you want to protect your family from heart problems. Here are seven simple tips to help you do it:

 

1. Switch to heart healthy cooking oils: It’s better for your wellness if you choose cooking fats that have minimal levels of saturated fat and trans fat, and high levels of healthier fats like monounsaturated fats and omega-3s. Therefore, you should do most of your cooking with canola oil, and then use olive oil in any recipe that works. Olive oil contains the most monounsaturated fat, very little saturated fat, and phytochemicals which are helpful for your wellbeing. You can also use safflower, sunflower, soybean, or flaxseed oil.

 

2. Switch to a better margarine: When you can’t replace margarine or butter with canola oil, make sure you choose a margarine that’s low in saturated fat (two grams or less per tablespoon) and contains no trans fats at all. For an added bonus, look for ones with omega-3 fats.

 

3. Have a clear out: Junk food is defined by two characteristics: an absence of nutrients and an overabundance of fat, sodium, or sugar. All these complementary wellness techniques are useless if you have a pantry full of junk food, so clear your kitchen of junk and replace these foods with healthier alternatives. Look at the labels on all the foods in your fridge, freezer and cupboards, and see which are really not worth holding onto.

 

4. Watch out for calorie boosters: It’s easy to spot junk foods like crisps and chocolate, but some ingredients can really sneak up on you if you’re not careful, and load your meal with fat, calories and cholesterol. You should think “red flag” whenever you come across regular mayonnaise, bacon and bacon grease, heavy and light whipping cream, half-and-half cream, puff pastry, full-fat cheese, sausage, coconut oil, butter, and pie crust dough.

 

5. Fill your fridge with heart-smart foods you can’t live without: Find out what your favourite frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables are, and then add in wholegrain products that can make for a quick lunch or entrée. Whole-wheat pitas and tortillas, and wholegrain pasta cooked al dente and chilled in the fridge are great options. Then, fill your fridge with lean meats and vegetarian substitutes, low-fat dairy products such as low-fat yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese, skimmed milk, and sugar-free beverages that you like to drink, such as iced green tea and mineral water.

 

6. Make your freezer convenience food as healthy as possible: Sometimes you don’t eat fruit and vegetables because you haven’t got any fresh ones in, but this is where the freezer is your friend. If you’ve always got frozen fruit and veg to hand, you’ll never have an excuse to not add them to your meals. Keep frozen blueberries and raspberries for mixing into muffin and pancake batter and for topping oatmeal or waffles, and frozen broccoli florets, baby carrots, or frozen mixed vegetables for a quick side dish or for mixing in with the entree.

 

7. Make a few sneaky substitutions: If recipe instructions call for unhealthy ingredients, try using healthier alternatives. If you’re making macaroni and cheese from a packet and it calls for butter, for example, add a tablespoon or two of heart-smart margarine and a tablespoon or two of fat-free sour cream to make up the difference. Also, look on the label to see if the product already contains fat, as this may mean you can skip adding fat altogether and instead add – depending on the product – fat-free sour cream (for use in a cream pasta product), low-sodium broth (for use in a stuffing mix), low-fat yoghurt (for use in a muffin mix), strong coffee (for use in a brownie or cake mix) and applesauce.

Categories: canola oil, cholesterol, free sour, healthier alternatives, heart health, heart smart, Heart-Healthy, junk food, nbsp, olive oil, sour cream

Diets Do Battle: Is Mediterranean Better than Mypyramid?

When it comes to an eating plan that benefits your wellbeing, nothing is more recommended than the Mediterranean diet. Consuming foods that grow around the Mediterranean Sea has been shown to lower your cholesterol, reduce your blood pressure and thereby lessen your risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, Westernised versions of the Mediterranean diet don’t have the same health impacts as that which is eaten by people in Southern Italy and Greece. Whilst people in these regions have some of the lowest levels of obesity and heart disease in the world, those eating Western versions of the Mediterranean diet are still seeing an increase in obesity and related health problems.

 

This may be why the USDA recommends the Mypyramid plan over the Mediterranean diet, but nutrition wellness expert Cheryl Baker, DTR, asserts that, if you do it properly, going Mediterranean is still a good way to go. Baker explains, ‘At the base of the Mediterranean diet are grains such as pasta, rice, couscous, polenta and whole grain breads. This category consists of the same foods as the Mypyramid plan. These foods are eaten almost every day and are a large portion of the diet, just as with Mypyramid.’ When eating from this group, it’s important to choose whole grain breads and pastas.

 

‘The next group of foods most commonly eaten are fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts and legumes,’ Baker notes. ‘These foods are eaten daily much like the recommendations for Mypyramid. Fruits and vegetables play a big part in Mediterranean diet. Most European countries grow delicious produce. Most produce is grown locally for easy access and commonly eaten soon after harvest. An example of this is Venice, Italy, where their vegetables are grown on the outskirts of the city. Eggplant and tomatoes are an example of the types of vegetables consumed. These fruits and vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and fiber that are essential for good health. Mypyramid also advocates eating a variety of fruits and vegetables.’

 

So if the two eating plans are so similar, what’s the point in choosing Mediterranean over Mypyramid at all? Baker points out that a ‘major difference of the Mediterranean diet from Mypyramid is the consumption of olive oil. The Mediterranean diet is rich in olive oil. It is so important that it is eaten daily whether used for cooking, in salad dressing (such as the standard vinegar and oil dressing) or for dipping with bread. Butter is rarely used. In fact, there is very little saturated fat (“bad” fats) consumed in this diet. This is the primary reason those who eat this way have low levels of cholesterol and normal blood pressure. Olive oil is rich in monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. These “good” fats are essential to a healthy heart. Most Mediterranean people consume extra virgin olive oil-the first pressing of the olives. Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the healthiest form of the oil because it has no refined oils mixed into the finished product and contains many antioxidants.’

 

She adds that another ‘distinct difference between the two diet plans is the consumption of nuts. Nuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and good unsaturated fats. These are eaten daily in the Mediterranean diet plan but in small amounts, such as one ounce of walnuts on pasta. Walnuts are recommended for those with high cholesterol and heart disease because of their ability to increase the elasticity of arteries that allows blood to move more quickly thus lowering blood pressure.’ So, if you want to maintain your weight and protect your heart health, speak to your doctor or a dietician about how the Mediterranean diet can benefit you.

Categories: blood pressure, commonly eaten, eaten daily, extra virgin, grain breads, heart disease, heart health, Mediterranean diet, Mypyramid, olive oil, virgin olive

Tips for Seniors on Improving Heart Health

If you’re a senior, the health of your heart has probably crossed your mind from time to time. You try not to worry, but you know it’s also important to face this very real threat. The risk of heart problems increases rapidly between the ages of 45 and 55.

 

Fortunately, it isn’t too late. Changing your lifestyle now can have a huge effect on your future heart health, and it can also give you an increase in energy, improved well-being and a greater sense of purpose to carry you forward through your golden years.

 

Add Some Color to Your Diet

Aim for at least five servings a day of your favorite fruits and vegetables, and if you can, try to mix it up a bit. Fruits and vegetables are filled with antioxidants and soluble fiber that can help lower your cholesterol and guard against heart problems. One way to ensure that you are getting enough is to check your cart at the grocery store. If you see a rainbow of colors, you’re on the right track. If you see a lot of brown and white, then you’re probably buying too many processed foods.

 

Start Getting Active

It’s never too late to start getting in shape, even if you’ve never exercised in the past. Committing to a few simple activities each week, such as walking, hiking, dance, yoga or riding a bicycle, can go a long way in helping your heart. Aside from strengthening your cardiovascular system, getting regular exercise can also increase your energy levels, lower blood pressure, improve your flexibility, decrease depression and generally make you feel younger, stronger and happier than ever before. If you’ve already been diagnosed with a heart condition, don’t begin an exercise routine without first talking to your doctor.

 

Watch Your Fats

It’s important to watch your consumption of fats, especially if you’ve already been diagnosed with heart disease or high cholesterol. Avoid butter, lard and too much red meat, instead opting for healthier choices like olive oil, flaxseed and fish. If fish isn’t your cup of tea, consider taking fish oil supplements for the beneficial fats.

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Improve Your Environment

If you’ve been having trouble living on your own, it may be time to consider an assisted living facility. These facilities have come a long way in the past few decades. Many have an abundance of great things to offer seniors, including a sense of community, new friendships, recreation, healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. Many seniors struggle with properly caring for their bodies on their own but find it easier when taking part in an active community. If you’ve been having a hard time getting into a better lifestyle, making the move to an assisted living facility might be a good idea for you.

 

Growing older can be scary, but it’s nowhere near as negative as it used to be. People are living longer and healthier lives than ever, and as long as you make the effort to stay active and watch your diet, your golden years will be some of the best you’ve ever experienced.

 

Concerned with the issues of health and human rights, author Molly Pearce shares this post in the hopes in can offer seniors some fresh information on staying healthy. Making the choice to go to assisted living can actually improve heart health by reducing stress and increasing access to health care. Molly found valuble research for this post at http://www.dogwoodforest.com/marietta-assisted-living.html, the website of several assisted living facilities in Georgia.

 

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakleyoriginals/8634139503/

 

Categories: golden years, health, heart, heart health, Heart Problems, living, living facility, nbsp, offer seniors, seniors, Tips

The Whey Forward: Seven Reasons to Take a Supplement

If you dream of a killer body, exercising along isn’t enough to get you there. Yes, a healthy, balanced diet and the right exercise regime provide the foundation to your wellness, but you’re not going to build anymore on that until you have the right supplement. Here are seven reasons why, for muscle-bound men, whey protein is the whey forward!

 

1. Brilliant Biological Value (BV) – Understanding BV is essential if you want to establish your muscular durability, as it measures your body’s rate of absorption as well as the effectiveness of a protein. The BV of whey is 170, which means it is the best source of BCAA and so has the most impact on your weight loss, muscle mass and overall well-being.

 

2. Excellent Eating Effect – The “effect of satiation” in why helps you to feel as though you have a full stomach, meaning that you have a smaller appetite and won’t overeat. Therefore, if you’re going for the “trimmed and toned” look, regular exercise and a leucine-rich whey protein can help you to achieve lean muscle mass and a fat-less body.

 

3. Post-Workout Protein – After a workout, your body hits a reverting stage and craves instant protein. When this occurs, whey protein supplements can provide the protein you need.

 

4. Good Glutathione Levels – If you’re undergoing some surgery or suffering from any ailment, glutathione helps in your overall nutritional status. As whey helps in binding minerals, lipids and fat soluble vitamins, it can help to heighten this metabolic process and increase the levels of Glutathione in your blood, which strengthens your muscles.

 

5. Indestructible Immune System – OK, whey won’t make you indestructible, but it contains enough antioxidants to help your immune system become pretty darn strong. According to recent research, if you consume whey on a regular basis, you will have a much stronger immune system than those who don’t.

 

6. Healthier Heart – When you use whey regularly, you significantly reduce your risk of high blood pressure, cholesterol, C reactive protein, hypertension and other cardiovascular risks.

 

7. Combating the Big C – Not only does whey increase your glutathione level (which helps in improving the muscle strength of a patient undergoing any treatment) but scientists are of the opinion whey reduces colon and breast cancer tumours, both in terms of size and number. Therefore, your whey supplement could be reducing your chances of developing cancerous cells and even tumours.

Categories: Biological Value (BV), glutathione, heart health, helps, muscle mass, nbsp, Protein, whey, whey protein, Whey Supplements

The Secret to Boosting Your Heart Health Using Yoga

Some of the wellness benefits of yoga are widely understood, such as the ability to tone up your muscles and improve your core stability – but did you know it can also help to improve your heart health? Yoga can help to keep your weight and fitness under control, and through this can boost the overall wellbeing of your heart in numerous ways.

 

Whether you have problems with heart disease or simply want to make sure that your heart remains healthy, it is worth giving yoga a try. More and more research is showing that yoga can make a significant difference to the health of your heart.

 

Yoga is designed to improve your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, and the research is showing that it definitely delivers on that. In fact, the most recent research is revealing that yoga can prevent or even reverse the signs of heart disease, and can impact on many other illnesses, too.

 

As well as heart disease, yoga is now thought to benefit those with diabetes, high blood pressures or who are suffering from or at risk of having a stroke. Yoga provides the tools and strategies that patients need to help get their conditions under control or prevent them all together.

 

If you are hoping to use yoga to improve specific heart-related health conditions, there are a few specific positions that you should try. A chair spinal twist, for example, is an ideal way to help you guard against these types of condition. You do this by sitting in a chair that has a flat seat and straight back (such as a wooden dining room chair). You sit sideways on the seat so that your feet are flat on the floor, and use a pillow under your knees or bottom if needed to make sure that your knees are level with your hips as your feet touch the floor. Put your hands on the chair back and stretch your rib cage upwards, allowing your body to twist as far as is comfortable. Then release and turn around so that you face the other way on the chair and try again.

Categories: chair, health, heart, heart disease, heart health, improve, nbsp, yoga

The Most Debated Meal of the Day: Should You Skip Breakfast?

Categories: blood pressure, calorie breakfast, calorie dinner, heart health, high blood, high cholesterol, Lose weight, obese women, skip breakfast, Skipping Breakfast, weight

Diet vs. Fitness: Which One will Get the Job Done?

Ok, so you know that diet and exercise are both essential to your wellness in general, but what about those times when you want to work on something specific? Let’s be honest; you don’t always have the time or ability to take care of your entire wellbeing, so how do you get better and faster results when you need to drop a dress size or up your energy levels? We’ve compiled a list of five common health focuses you might be interested in, and pitted diet and fitness against each other to see which one reigns supreme.

 

1. Weight Loss

Although both are obviously the way forward, dieting definitely has the edge here. Tim Church, MD, the director of preventive medicine research at Louisiana State University, explains, ‘It’s clear that you need to restrict calories in your diet to lose weight—and exercise to keep it off. Most people who exercise to lose weight and don’t restrict calories shed only 2-3% of their weight over six to 12 months.’ It’s just easier to deny yourself 500 calories a day than burn that much through your fitness regime. If you consume a low-calorie dense diet of less fat, more produce and adding water to recipes, you can easily consume 230 to 396 fewer calories a day says a study published in the journal Appetite.

 

2. Energy

Having enough energy is hugely important to your health and overall sense of wellbeing, as you need it to exercise and basically function. However, even though exercise can give you a good surge of energy  diet reigns supreme here as eating the right way throughout the day will give you a steadier supply of fuel. According to nutritional biochemist Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, author of The Secret of Vigour, ‘With proper nutrition and well-timed meals, you’ll keep your blood sugar balanced. This is important, since blood sugar spikes and drops are a leading cause of energy fluctuations.’

 

3. Heart Health

In this wellness area, you should focus on exercise. A study published in the journal Circulation, which was eight years in the making, found that being physically fit reduces your risk of dying from heart disease. Lead author Martha Gulati, MD, associate professor of medicine at Ohio State University, notes, ‘Being fit is more important than weight or body mass index for heart health.’ This is because exercise lowers your weight, alleviates your stress, reduces your cholesterol, and increases your blood flow – all of which are important for heart health.

 

4. Brain Power

Exercise is the method of choice for those who want to keep their mind sharp. Gary W. Small, MD, the director of the UCLA Longevity Centre and co-author of The Alzheimer’s Prevention Programme, comments, ‘When people exercise, the areas that control memory, thinking, and attention increase in the brain. Regular exercisers also have less of the abnormal protein deposits in the brain that have been linked to Alzheimer’s.’ Diet still has an impact on your mental wellness, Small adds, ‘It’s just that the effects of exercise are more pronounced based on the evidence we have now.’

 

5. Libido

When it comes to sex, exercise wins out every time. Heather Hausenblas, an associate professor of health sciences at Jacksonville University, argues, ‘Exercise is one of the best ways to improve body image, which affects libido.’ Your libido is affected by mood and self-esteem, both of which can be improved via exercise. For better sex, Lori Brotto, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, advises yoga and strength-training exercises.

Categories: associate professor, Blood Sugar, diet, exercise, heart health, libido, Lose weight, reigns supreme, restrict calories, state university, study published, Weight Loss

Doctor Doglittle: Could You Benefit from Animal Therapy?

While guide dogs are so commonly used that you wouldn’t even think anything of it, you may be less sure about animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Otherwise known as pet therapy, this complementary wellness practice sees animals being trained to help you achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional wellness goals.

 

Though it sounds fairly unusual, people have been using animals to boost their wellbeing ever since the ninth century. In Gheel, Belgium, an assisted living programme designed for people with disabilities revolves around learning to care for farm animals, while animal-assisted healing has been more commonly used in the US for mental health problems. However, AAT has gained more of a formal presence in the last few decades, even being implemented in schools, prisons, hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, and outpatient care programmes.

 

So what are the benefits of owning a pet, or visiting a therapeutically-trained animal?

 

Heart Health – According to various studies, physical contact with a pet can reduce your high blood pressure, and improve your survival rate after a heart attack.

 

Happy Hormones – Evidence also shows that petting an animal can cause your body to release endorphins, which are the chemicals in your body that improve your mood and suppress the pain response.

 

Special Skills – With the assistance of a therapy animal, you can learn or improve in many different skills. If you need physical therapy after an accident or operation, walking, running or playing fetch with a dog can encourage your rehabilitation. Petting, grooming and feeding an animal can improve your motor skills, while giving verbal and physical commands, or writing and talking about therapy animals and pets, can enhance your communication.

 

However, you can’t just interact with any animal for it to qualify as AAT; practitioners and their animals are required to undergo a high standard of training to ensure you have a safe and positive experience. Although the pets are trained by volunteers, these volunteers will work with other medical professionals, and be fully trained to set you specific goals and track your progress. Plus, the animals themselves should be well trained to be around people, medical equipment and other animals, and should not get distracted by food and odours, chew inappropriate objects or mark territory.

Categories: animal, Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), animals, heart health, hormones, nbsp, therapy, trained

When is Diet more Important than Exercise, and Vice Versa?

The biggest health question around has to be “Is a healthy diet or exercise better for your wellbeing?” While I’m not going to tell you that you should choose one over the other, the truth is that, depending on what you’re after specifically, sometimes you need to shift your focus. For the best and quickest results to lose weight, say, you need to emphasize diet, while your waning libido will benefit the most from a few tweaks to your fitness regime. We’ve rounded up the five main wellness goals, as well as the related research and expert opinions, so you can see which of the two you need to focus on:

 

1. Weight Loss: Although both are obviously the way forward, dieting definitely has the edge here. Tim Church, MD, the director of preventive medicine research at Louisiana State University, explains, ‘It’s clear that you need to restrict calories in your diet to lose weight—and exercise to keep it off. Most people who exercise to lose weight and don’t restrict calories shed only 2-3% of their weight over six to 12 months.’ It’s just easier to deny yourself 500 calories a day than burn that much through your fitness regime. If you consume a low-calorie dense diet of less fat, more produce and adding water to recipes, you can easily consume 230 to 396 fewer calories a day says a study published in the journal Appetite.

 

2. More Energy: Having enough energy is hugely important to your health and overall sense of wellbeing, as you need it to exercise and basically function. However, even though exercise can give you a good surge of energy  diet reigns supreme here as eating the right way throughout the day will give you a steadier supply of fuel. According to nutritional biochemist Shawn M. Talbott, PhD, author of The Secret of Vigour, ‘With proper nutrition and well-timed meals, you’ll keep your blood sugar balanced. This is important, since blood sugar spikes and drops are a leading cause of energy fluctuations.’

 

3. Heart Health: Although a lot of articles on heart health are diet-centric, you should actually focus on exercise. A study published in the journal Circulation, which was eight years in the making, found that being physically fit reduces your risk of dying from heart disease. Lead author Martha Gulati, MD, associate professor of medicine at Ohio State University, notes, ‘Being fit is more important than weight or body mass index for heart health.’ This is because exercise lowers your weight, alleviates your stress, reduces your cholesterol, and increases your blood flow – all of which are important for heart health.

 

4. Brain Power: Exercise is the method of choice for those who want to keep their mind sharp. Gary W. Small, MD, the director of the UCLA Longevity Centre and co-author of The Alzheimer’s Prevention Programme, comments, ‘When people exercise, the areas that control memory, thinking, and attention increase in the brain. Regular exercisers also have less of the abnormal protein deposits in the brain that have been linked to Alzheimer’s.’ Diet still has an impact on your mental wellness, Small adds, ‘It’s just that the effects of exercise are more pronounced based on the evidence we have now.’

 

5. Libido: When it comes to sex, exercise wins out every time. Heather Hausenblas, an associate professor of health sciences at Jacksonville University, argues, ‘Exercise is one of the best ways to improve body image, which affects libido.’ Your libido is affected by mood and self-esteem, both of which can be improved via exercise. For better sex, Lori Brotto, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of British Columbia, advises yoga and strength-training exercises.

Categories: associate professor, Blood Sugar, diet, exercise, fitness regime, Goals, heart health, Lose weight, restrict calories, state university, study published

How to Keep Your Heart Healthy in the Workplace

Studies have shown that there is a great deal of potential in improving our wellbeing in the workplace by improving our heart health. We spend a large proportion of our time at work, so it stands to reason that this should be one of the key areas we improve when trying to boost our health. A heart healthy workplace helps you to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke, which could be life threatening. Work can be stressful and place a significant effect on our mental and physical health, and it can also be a breeding ground for poor eating and lifestyle habits. Think of the vast amount of unhealthy snacks and takeaway foods you eat in a week, not to mention the increasing amount of time you spend sitting at your desk or dodging that walk around the block on your lunch break in favour of sitting in the canteen. Wellness programmes are becoming more and more popular as a way of getting employees to get up and move more, as well as encouraging them to eat better while they’re at work. All in all, a healthier workplace equals a happier one.

 

If you work an office job especially, you are at risk of developing poor posture from sitting at your desk all day, depression, poor eyesight from staring at a computer screen all day and unhealthy eating habits. Where businesses are concerned, unhealthy employees cost employers money – more sick days, people being signed off with work related injuries, and less productivity. This is why wellness programmes are so popular now – they may cost money to implement, but the rewards are well worth it. Studies have shown that wellness programmes improve people’s body weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, and glucose and lipid concentrations in more than 5000 people. More people gave up smoking and even adding salt to their meals. The improvement to people’s health as a result of the study was astonishing, and showed just what a difference healthier choices at work made.

Research suggests that employees who are more physically active enjoy their work more and are more alert, as well as having higher concentration levels. Exercise is a natural mood booster and can encourage your mind to be more enthusiastic and engaging with your colleagues. There’s also a social element to exercising which can help build team working skills and improve the rapport between colleagues. The best way to achieve this is to have healthy food around the office instead of chocolate and crisps in the vending machines – opt for fruit bowls, for example. Keeping active for just 30 minutes a day could help to lower your risk of heart attacks and strokes, so opt for the stairs or go for a walk on your lunch break – you could even get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk the remainder of your journey each morning. Giving up tobacco is another top tip for improving both your heart health and general wellbeing. There are a number of ways to improve your health through your workplace habits – it’s simply a way of noticing where you’re going wrong and making better decisions about how you spend your time at work. There are often various options for fitting in more exercise or some of your five a day, from the snacks you take at elevenses to how you spend your lunch break. Once you and your employers are aware of this, your workplace can become a far healthier place that carries less health risks for your heart and general health.

Categories: exercise, Food, health, healthy heart, heart, heart health, Heart-Healthy, people, Wellness Programme, Wellness programmes, work, workplace

Hold onto Your Nuts: Why These Snacks are Health Powerhouses

Ok, so you know that munching on nuts is good for you, but why? Can nuts prevent health concerns and enhance your wellbeing, or are they just a better snack option than wolfing down half a tub of ice-cream? The truth is, the unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients found in nuts can do wonders for your heart wellness, and these nutty little guys are also inexpensive and convenient in terms of storage and eating on-the-go. So what is it about nuts that makes them so healthy?

 

1. Nuts lower your cholesterol: If you eat nuts as part of a heart-healthy diet, this can lower your body’s levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This is known as the “bad” kind of cholesterol, as high levels of LDL is one of the primary culprits for causing heart disease.

 

2. Nuts reduce blood clots: You’re less at risk for developing blood clots if you eat nuts, which means you’re less at risk of having a fatal heart attack.

 

3. Nuts help your arteries: Nuts improve the health of the lining of your arteries, which helps to prevent a whole host of heart health problems.

 

4. Nuts prevent ageing: According to registered dietician and nutritionist Susie Bond, of Health First’s Pro-Health & Fitness Centres, as ‘nuts contain an abundance of important nutrients for heart health, including omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, plant sterols and fibre,’ this can help to prevent the signs of ageing.

 

5. Nuts contain unsaturated fats: We’ve already touched on this, but there are good fats found in nuts that are thought to play a role in LDL cholesterol reduction. Wellness experts aren’t entirely sure why, but it’s true of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.

 

6. Nuts contain omega-3 fatty acids: Although not all nuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, most nuts are packed with the stuff – which is great news for your heart. Omega-3s work to prevent dangerous heart rhythms that can lead to heart attacks. Although you’ll also find these fatty acids in many kinds of fish, nuts are one of the best plant-based sources of omega-3s, so vegetarians have no excuses. As an added bonus, omega-3s are thought to have a role in preventing acne, protecting you against breast cancer and helping you lose weight.

 

7. Nuts contain fibre: Not only does fibre help to lower your cholesterol and aid in digestion, it also is thought to play a role in preventing diabetes and can help to stave off tiredness and fatigue. Plus, this macronutrient, found in all nuts, is a key part of any smart diet plan, as fibre helps you to feel fuller for longer, so you eat less.

 

8. Nuts contain vitamin E: As a powerful antioxidant, vitamin E is an amazing nutrient, especially with regards to your eye health and the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. However, vitamin E is also beneficial to your heart, as it may have a part to play in stopping the development of plaque in your arteries. This is important, as arterial plaque can narrow your arteries, which leads to chest pain, coronary artery disease or a heart attack.

 

9. Nuts contain plant sterols: In some nuts, you’ll find plant sterols, a substance that can help balance your cholesterol and reduce your risk of coronary artery disease. Although you might get plant sterols added to your orange juice or margarine, they occur naturally in nuts.

 

10. Nuts contain l-arginine: As a source of l-arginine, nuts improve the health of your artery walls by making them more flexible and less prone to blood clots that can block blood flow.

Categories: artery disease, blood clots, fatty acids, heart health, nuts, omega 3s, plant sterols, unsaturated fat