New Heart Data “Scary & Disturbing”

Not meeting heart health criteria? Unfortunately, the chances are pretty good that you aren’t. Recent findings from the American Heart Association characterize the extent to which we are taking care of our hearts in pretty ugly terms. Following the presentation of the latest data at an annual meeting of the American Heart Association, an AHA spokesperson called the country’s success at meeting goals for heart health – goals that will save our lives – both scary and disturbing.

The AHA outlines seven steps to heart health (here from WebMD), and following most of these steps – the benchmark is six or seven – has shown in studies to decrease the risk of dying by 56%. These guidelines break it down into steps that help you get to know your digits – things like BMI, blood sugar and cholesterol – and get them into alignment for your heart’s sake. If you think you might be a grim statistic, now is not the time to be ashamed. Be motivated. Take a moment to get heavy on Life’s Simple Steps toward increasing your chances of living a longer, healthier life.

One the AHA’s seven steps toward protecting our heart is meeting requirements of a healthy diet. This important heart healthy step is broken down into these five components to make “healthy diet” a little less vague and more achievable:

  • Eat more than 4 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables a day.
  • Have oily fish such as salmon, trout, and herring at least twice a week.
  • Eat sweets sparingly.
  • Have three or more servings of whole grains a day.
  • Eat fewer than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day.

The AHA recommendations include meeting four of five of these keys to fulfill healthy diet requirements.

Simple principles for some pretty serious stuff. But we know simple isn’t always easy. If you feel like you’ve got to start from scratch when it comes to your heart, seven steps can seem like a lot. But remember, there is no reason not to start with one: the AHA reminds us that for every step we take, we’ve decreased our risk of dying by 18%.   

Canadians Count to Ten for Health

Canadian food guidelines have been published, and Canada isn’t off the hook when it comes to getting their fruits and veggies. Recommendations for the amount of fruits and vegetables that Canadians should consume come in at 7-10 for adults. It’s in alignment with American guidelines, which represents a departure from the previous 5-A-Day campaigns of the past.

Winter is the perfect time to keep fruit and vegetable servings in mind – even with great opportunities in frozen, it’s the time of year that presents the most challenges when it comes to recommended servings. It seems that when the ground is frozen, the produce that comes from it just isn’t on our mind like it is in the summer. But it’s a mind set that’s easy to change; winter presents plenty of options. As the Canadian recommendations remind us, a single serving is one half cup of fresh, frozen, or canned fruit or vegetables, or one half cup of 100% juice. A cup of raw leafy vegetables or salad counts as a single serving, as does a single piece of fruit.

If you’re from the States, you can take a lesson from those just slightly North, offered up by Canadian Red Seal chef Gordon Desormeaux – that’s Chef Dez to you.

Chef Dez has some helpful advice about how to achieve the recommended servings. Here’s a great one: Get it in your cart. He suggests buying the recommended serving amounts for each member of your family for the number of days you are shopping for. For example, a family of four will need 84 servings of fruit and vegetables combined, for the next three days, based on an average of seven servings each. He suggests buying them before proceeding to the other departments and aisles, and building meals based on those initial selections. Keep items like bulk frozen fruits (think wild blueberries) on your shopping list that can be used whenever you need them.

Here’s a sampling of some other F&V tips we love from the Great White North to slip in your back pocket. Thanks Chef Dez.

  • Serve every piece of chicken or fish on a bed of sautéed spinach leaves.
  • Have fresh lettuce, tomato, and onions on hand at all times to give an instant Mediterranean flair to your sandwiches.
  • Buy something completely new to your family at least once per month.

Take Off!  You can consult the Canada Food Guide for more information, no matter where you hang your hat.

Shake Baby Shake – For Your Heart!

So you’ve decided the risk of dying from heart disease is not one you are willing to take. You’ve decided to attack these seven steps from the AHA with a vengeance. You know your blood pressure numbers, you’ve quit smoking, you’re getting your exercise, and now you’re focused on maintaining a healthy diet.

Start by getting your servings. There are loads of ways to integrate the F and the V into your life. Here’s one we just heard about especially for the tech savvy that can curb your instinct for grabbing a “bad” snack when a better one will do – just shake it! JuggleFit is an app for iPhone and iPad created to help people beat holiday weight gain and start eating better by focusing on the array of possible snacks your can enjoy when cravings hit.

Here are the basics: shake your phone, and it turns into a virtual slot machine which eventually lands on one of 200 snacks or “mini-meals” that use three basic ingredients. All focus on the simple and the mostly healthy, whether you choose something sweet or something savory. Shake it up to find Greek yogurt, wheat germ and blueberries, or maybe avocado, lemon and garlic (recipes and calorie counts are included). It’s worth a try – JuggleFit is free now through December 12, and surrounding yourself with options that motivate you can start the snowball rolling toward reducing your chances of dying from heart disease. Simple as that.

Sterols & Stanols: Improving the Cholesterol Picture

You may have seen references to them on your orange juice or yogurt carton. You may know about them because you are making efforts to lower high cholesterol. They are phytosterols, otherwise know as plant sterol and stanol esters, or simply sterols and stanols. They are naturally occurring compounds found in plant cell membranes, and they come with an interesting benefit. Because phytosterols are structurally similar to the body’s cholesterol, when they are consumed, they compete with cholesterol for absorption in the digestive system. As a result, cholesterol absorption is blocked, and blood cholesterol levels are reduced.

Because of this natural process, consuming phytosterols in recommended quantities has been shown to lower total cholesterol up to 10 percent and LDL (that’s your bad cholesterol) up to 14 percent. Here is the FDA’s health on phytosterols:

“Foods containing at least 0.65 gram per serving of vegetable oil plant sterol esters, eaten twice a day with meals for a daily total intake of at least 1.3 grams, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

A Satisfying Middle Ground?

It’s easy to understand why phytosterols are in fashion – this natural process has the potential to be very valuable for those of us trying to keep our heart healthy and our cholesterol at less than dangerous levels. And, phytosterols have the potential to offer a satisfying middle ground: a natural way to improve cholesterol that falls between just eating right and taking medication. As always, there are some things worth keeping in mind when it comes to sterols and stanols. Here’s the run-down:

  • Reduction in cholesterol occurs with regular use.
  • According to the American Heart Association, maximum effects are achieved at 2 grams per day – more than this does not provide more benefits.
  •  They simply don’t replace medications – if you are at risk, eat well and keep your meds.
  • Recommendations are part of a healthy lifestyle. While polysterols can be helpful, for those at high risk, they can’t do they job all by themselves.

Polysterols, Where Are You?

Since the FDA claim, we can find them in more places then you might think. Polysterols can be found in whole foods and pill form, but you are most likely to encounter them in the supermarket, as part of a growing number of fortified food products.

First, phytosterols are naturally present in many whole foods. Vegetable oil, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and most fruits and vegetables have polysterols, but only in small quantities. The amount required to lower cholesterol is 500 mg per day, and these natural sources fall short. That’s when foods fortified with sterols and stanols take the stage. Popular fortified foods include butter spreads, some cooking oils, salad dressings and yogurts. Some juices, such as Minute Maid Heart Wise Orange Juice for example, are fortified, and milk, rice milks and soy milks can be as well.

The American Heart Association does not recommend sterol and stanol-fortified foods for everyone, suggesting instead that those who have been diagnosed with high cholesterol or have had a heart attack should use them. This seems counter to current consumer trends, however. Since we have come to understand that phytosterols can have a positive effect on a very ubiquitous health ailment, the expectation is that we’ll see many more foods in the supermarket that will include them. In effect, if you are in the market for phytosterols, you’ll be able to choose how you get them, whether it’s in a breakfast cereal, a snack bar – even in chocolate.

(In addition to fortified foods, supplements exist, but experts generally advise against them. The effects are simply unclear, and the benefits appear to be very small.)

Getting these beneficial phytosterols naturally or through fortified foods may seem to be a palatable compromise to taking cholesterol medication. But while supplementing the body with healthy foods is a good idea, it’s worth repeating that medication is necessary those who have proven to have a need. Stanols or sterols by themselves will simply not protect someone with risk factors. As always, it’s something to consult your doctor about to find out the best way to protect your ticker for the long term.

The Cleveland Clinic has more info about sterols and stanols.

Heart Help

There’s lots of information out there to help you get informed about heart health and nutition. WebMD shows us an array of foods that will make anyone happy to be eating heart healthy with
25 Foods that Will Save Your Heart. You’ll also do well to consult the American Heart Association about guidelines and risk factors when it comes to this all important organ.

Heart Health & Wild Blueberries

Eating heart healthy foods is job one for anyone concerned about heart health and cardiovascular disease. If seeking out natural ways to increase your heart’s longevity is your mission, look no further than the wild blueberry. Here’s four heartening reasons:

A blueberry-enriched diet may protect the heart muscle from damage. Due to their ability to act as both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, wild blueberries can help limit heart harm that comes from aging and lifestyle.

A diet of blueberry supplementation can provide cardiovascular support. Blueberries may support cardiovascular health through reducing plasma cholesterol levels.

Blueberries may reduce the build up of so called “bad” cholesterol. By reducing buildup of LDLs, wild blueberries contribute to reducing cardiovascular disease and stroke, thanks to their powerful antioxidants.

Wild blueberries could help regulate blood pressure and combat atherosclerosis. Studies show that they have the potential to decrease the vulnerability of heart blood vessels to oxidative stress and inflammation.

Get the skinny on heart health research and other health benefits of wild. Then, take heart at the myriad ways there are to begin caring for this precious organ that is quite literally at the center of your health.

Armor Up, America – We’re in the Salt Battle of Our Lives

Recently, news concerning the nation’s salt intake brought some tough love to American consumers. Tough enough to prompt the author of the study, which was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to be quoted in the Wall Street Journal as saying, “This is not good news”. True enough. It is in fact alarming news, proving that when it comes to salt, the term “silent killer” is no misnomer.

Adults, the study indicates, should eat less than one teaspoon of salt each day, while 70% of the population should eat less than 2/3 of a teaspoon. But in fact, only 1 in 18 people meet this goal. With heart disease and hypertension numbers on the climb, it looks like a true battle royale, with NaCl donning the armor.

It’s Not the Salt Shaker

This insidious mineral stepping into the gladiator arena is sodium chloride. Used traditionally for food preservation, it is something necessary for human life in small quantities and harmful – even deadly – in excess. It is a major player in the fight against high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease.

Decades ago, putting down the salt shaker may have been solid advice for maintaining good health. But today, minding the shaker is old school. If you are a human being consuming food in 2010, you know your salt issues originate elsewhere:

  • Processed food: tomato sauce, soups, condiments, canned food, prepared mixes…
  • Restaurant foods
  • Cold cuts / meats
  • Baked goods
  • Grain-based products

In addition, some medications include sodium, and we can even be taking in a significant amount sodium from natural sources, such as well water. In fact, the Mayo Clinic determines that a mere 6% of salt originates from the shaker while 77% of salt intake comes from processed food. The rest comes from salt added while cooking and natural sources.

We could shake all day long and never reach the amount we get from processed of prepared food.

Salt is Part of the Golden Trinity

We have talked about David Kessler here in previous posts, and the recent salt news has catapulted him into the mainstream. Currently, more of the public is hearing about his mission to understand and expose the golden trinity of taste for what he feels it is: a concoction created by food companies to seduce the brain chemistry into making us eat and crave more. The recipe? Fat, sugar and salt that bathes food in startling amounts, in the most appealing and scientifically proven combination. Arguably, it’s the NaCl gladiator’s most powerful weapon.

It’s really no wonder that 1 in 3 U.S. adults has high blood pressure, and the government estimates that 9 in 10 will develop it in their lifetime. We at risk, according to this study, are often eating twice their daily requirement of sodium.

Salt Reform

FDA’s anti-salt initiative begins later this year and would eventually lead to legal limits on the amount of sodium allowed in food. Its plan would be phased in over ten years and would not be voluntary. Restaurants are targets as well, and while some have said they will voluntarily reduce salt in items on the menu, they may also be required to visibly post amounts. Recently, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg began a national campaign to cut salt levels, and food companies were recruited to comply. Starbucks and Heinz were one of 16 that agreed to cut salt levels in their products.

While regulation debates rage on, some eschew regulations and prefer to enter the gladiator ring for a one-on-one. For those, there’s one dagger of knowledge that can help us get medieval on salt starting now.

Sodium is an Acquired Taste

Your secret weapon is knowledge. We know, for instance, that salt is an acquired taste. It’s acquired by the processed and prepared foods we eat over our entire lifetime and the result is that low sodium foods taste bland.

But as we take steps to reduce sodium in our diets, our taste sensitivities will adapt. We will appreciate foods for their true flavor. The process of adapting takes about 8-12 weeks – that’s the amount of time it takes for a shift in taste preference to occur in most people.

Give yourself 8-12 weeks.

The American Heart Association offers these tips to get you started.

  • Choose fresh, frozen or canned food items without added salts.
  • Select unsalted nuts or seeds, dried beans, peas and lentils.
  • Limit salty snacks like chips and pretzels.
  • Avoid adding salt and canned vegetables to homemade dishes.
  • Select unsalted, lower sodium, fat-free broths, bouillons or soups.
  • Select fat-free or low-fat milk, low-sodium, low-fat cheeses and low-fat yogurt.
  • Learn to use spices and herbs to enhance the taste of your food.  Most spices naturally contain very small amounts of sodium.
  • Add fresh lemon juice instead of salt to fish and vegetables.
  • Specify how you want your food prepared when dining out. Ask for your dish to be prepared without salt.
  • Don’t use the salt shaker. Use the pepper shaker or mill.

Now that you are armed with tactics, remember that they must be combined with strategy. In the end, according to Kessler, we must change our relationship with food by understanding that hyperpalatable foods that use hyperportions of salt are not our friends. They should be understood as harmful and be duly replaced by healthier foods and their own positive associations – until we get to the point where the golden trinity of taste is no longer what we crave.

Best of luck, gladiators. Let the games begin.

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The Key to Your Heart: New Heart Health Guidelines Focus on Food, Not Nutrients

The International Food Information Council Foundation’s website Food Insight published an interesting interview recently with Dr. Rachel Johnson. Johnson is Dean and Professor of Nutrition at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Vermont, and member and chair-elect of the American Heart Association Nutrition Committee. She discusses some new dietary metrics released by the The American Heart Association that have been designed to maintain ideal cardiovascular health.

Johnson’s message includes a focus on food intake, including types of foods and calories, rather than nutrients. That’s because nutrient-based messages are hard for people to translate into action, she said. The new directives also aim to address a messaging disconnection. In the past, recommendations have included terms such as “moderating” intake or “minimizing” certain foods, and such vague rules for healthy eating were not resonating with consumers the way hard numbers could, said Johnson.

The guidelines for good heart health include a recommendation of no less than 4.5 cups of fruits and vegetables per day. Other guidelines include eating fish and whole grains, and cutting sodium intake. Another important principle for heart health, according to Johnson, is cutting sugar, and the guidelines also include strict calorie allowances for sugar, particularly sweetened beverages.

A New Kind of Sugar High

In the spirit of concrete measurements, the article sites research by the American Cancer Institute that says Americans consume 22 teaspoons of sugar per day. That translates into 335 calories per day – a high number for a country struggling with issues of obesity and the diseases that accompany it. New guidelines from the AHA dictate a limit of 100 calories per day for women, and 150 for men – that’s a mere 6 teaspoon and 9 teaspoons respectively.

Sugars in foods can be seemingly ubiquitous in our diets, and such a ceiling on sugar intake can seem strict. But Johnson doesn’t vilify sugar; instead she suggests that those who want more sugar should simply move more. “We haven’t said eliminate added sugars from your diet. I feel that the wise approach is to use your added sugars allowance in a way that enhances the flavor and the palatability of otherwise nutritious foods (e.g., putting a little maple syrup on your oatmeal),” she said.

Other positive sugar intake can include its use as an incentive for kids to eat well. A little flavoring in milk, for example, can encourage children to incorporate milk into their diet. The hope is that such dietary trade-offs will be well worth the net nutritional gain, so kids can maintain their own heart health for years to come.

Find out more about nutrition and heart health by reading the interview.

Food Insight is a publication of The International Food Information Council Foundation, a foundation dedicated to the mission of effectively communicating science-based information on health, food safety and nutrition for the public good.