Seven Tips for Healthier Hearts

Seven Tips for Healthier Hearts

http://www.naturalnews.com/025723.html

by Reuben Chow

(NaturalNews) Based on statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 652,091 Americans died of heart disease in 2005. This was supposedly more than a quarter of all American deaths (27.1%), and applied almost equally to both men and women. In view of this heart wrenching epidemic, what simple steps can you take to drastically cut your risk of being hit by this ailment? A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has zoomed in on three "do's" and three "don'ts" for protection.

Do Not Smoke

Chemicals found in cigarettes increase blood pressure, lower levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol, the supposed "good" cholesterol), and also harm your blood vessels. All these damage cardiovascular health and contribute significantly to your risk of being hit by a heart attack.

And of course, it's not just about the heart - smoking is bad for just about every part of your body. In order to obtain and maintain good health, smoking is one of the first habits which must be kicked.

Do Not Drink Excessively

Drinking too much alcohol can cause elevated blood pressure and weight again; these, too, mean poorer heart health. And if you drink heavily on a long-term basis, you are at increased risk for cardiomyopathy, where your heart becomes enlarged and permanently damaged. These apply to beer, hard liquor, and even wine.

Do Not Keep Too Much Air In That Spare Tire

Recent research has linked belly fat to increased risk of heart disease. For example, one recent study discovered that every two additional inches translated to an added heart disease risk of almost 20%. Again, it is not just about the cardiovascular system - belly fat has been linked to premature death, too.

Get a Risk Assessment

Another suggestion put forth by the researchers is for you to assess your risk of heart disease, in particular through important numbers like your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc. Your family doctor could do the job, or the website HeartDecision.org can be used from the comfort of your own home. This website was launched by Dr Jon Keevil, a medical professor from the university.

Cut Your Weight

Obesity is linked to a whole host of serious diseases, including heart problems. The researchers do not want you to experiment with fad diets or to starve yourself. "The question really comes down to the type and amount of food you're eating. Not every diet is designed to help you have a healthy heart. Healthy diets are low in red meat, fried foods and sweets. They emphasize fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grain, fish and poultry," said Dr Matt Wolff, the chief of cardiovascular medicine at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.

Exercise!

Exercise is the only way to get the heart pumping hard and working out, which is key to long-term good cardiovascular health. Like all muscles in the body, the heart loses its strength without regular use. If you can manage it, some vigorous exercise is useful, although moderate physical activities like walking have also been shown to have beneficial effects.

When it comes to cardiovascular health, there are numerous studies showing the massive importance of exercise. In fact, a recent study which was funded by the US government showed that even heart failure patients will benefit from a certain amount of exercise. Read more about that study at http://www.naturalnews.com/024996.html.

Consume a Healthy Diet

Although it is indirectly implied and mentioned above, it is still very surprising that consuming a healthy diet is not a specific recommendation of the Wisconsin study. With that in mind, here is a quote from a study conducted by Canadian researchers, which found that people who ate a lot of fried foods and meat had a 35% higher risk of getting acute heart attacks, as compared to those who were "prudent" eaters:

"What we found was that the prudent diet, which is very simple - lots of fruits and vegetables, less fried food and red meat - was protective. It was protective in every part of the world, in men and women, old and young - everybody. And the degree of protection was quite substantial," said Dr Salim Yusuf, a professor of medicine at McMaster University and director of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences, the leader of that study.

Conclusion

So there you have it - seven important suggestions to make your heart happy and healthy. These tips also come with a very useful side effect - better health and vitality all round. That is way better (and cheaper) than what any heart drug can offer.

Sources

Study offers heart-healthy advice for living longer (http://www.estacadanews.com/feature...)

Heart Disease Facts and Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/heartDisease/sta...)

In any diet, fried food, meat raise heart-attack risk: Study (http://www.canada.com/Health/diet+f...)

http://www.naturalnews.com/024996.html

Consuming Acrylamides Boost Kidney Cancer Rate by 59 percent

Consuming Acrylamides Boosts Kidney Cancer Rate by 59 Percent
by David Gutierrez

Source: Natural News - Consuming Acrylamides Boosts Kidney Cancer Rate by 59 Percent


(NaturalNews) According to a new study conducted by researchers from the Netherlands, consuming high levels of acrylamide increases people's risk of kidney cancer by 59 percent,

Kidney cancer is the tenth most common cancer in the world. According to Marji McCullough, a nutritional epidemiologist for the American Cancer Society, smoking and obesity are well-known risk factors for the disease.

"It's best not to smoke and to maintain an ideal body weight," McCullough said. "One way to maintain a healthy body weight is a healthy diet."

But increasing evidence is emerging that dietary factors may also play a role.

Acrylamide is found in coffee and in starchy foods like grains and potatoes that have been baked, fried, roasted or toasted. It has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer since 1994, due to its documented genotoxic and carcinogenic effects in laboratory animals.

In the most recent study, researchers looked directly at the effects of dietary acrylamide on cancer risk by studying data from the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer, which includes more than 120,000 adult female and male participants between the ages of 55 and 69. Researchers from Maastricht University, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, and TNO Quality of Life calculated the dietary acrylamide intake of 5,000 random participants, based on food frequency questionnaires filled out when the cohort study began.

The results are presented in the article "Dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of renal cell, bladder, and prostate cancer" by J.G. Hogervorst, L.J. Schouten, E.J. Konings, R.A. Goldbohm, P.A. van den Brandt, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (May 2008, Volume 87, Number 5, pp. 1428-1438).

The researchers found that after 13.3 years, those who had the highest dietary acrylamide intake experienced a 59 percent higher risk of renal cell carcinoma than those with the lowest intake. Renal cell carcinoma is responsible for more than 80 percent of kidney cancer cases.

"We found some indications for a positive association between dietary acrylamide and renal cell cancer risk," the researchers wrote.

A total of 339 cases of kidney cancer, 1,210 cases of bladder cancer and 2,246 cases of prostate cancer were observed among study participants. The researchers did not observe any connection between acrylamide intake and cancer of the bladder or prostate.

The highest average acrylamide intake was 40.8 micrograms per day, while the lowest was 9.5 micrograms per day. Average intake was 21.8 micrograms per day, or slightly less than the amount found in a 2.5-ounce serving of French fries. Every 10 microgram increase in daily intake appeared to increase a person's risk of kidney cancer by 10 percent. Among smokers, the effect of dietary intake was even stronger.

Coffee was the biggest source of dietary acrylamide for the study participants. Among participants in the group with the highest average intake, however, the biggest source was a popular baked snack called Dutch spiced cake.

Prior to 2002, acrylamide was known only as an industrial chemical that consumers might be exposed to through cigarette smoke, cosmetics or the breakdown of certain environmental contaminants such as the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup). Then researchers from the Swedish Food Administration discovered that the chemical also formed at high levels in many popular foods, such as potato chips and bread. Since then, research has suggested that it may also form in dried fruit.

Although acrylamide is generally accepted to pose health risks in humans, some researchers have questioned whether typical dietary intakes are actually high enough to have an effect. The recent study is only one of the latest to suggest that dietary intake is indeed a significant source of exposure to the chemical.

In earlier research conducted by the same team of scientists, also using data from the Netherlands Cohort Study, dietary acrylamide was found to increase women's risk of ovarian cancer by 78 percent and their risk of endometrial cancer (in the lining of the uterus) by 29 percent. Among women who had never smoked, the increase in risk was much higher: 122 percent for ovarian cancer and 99 percent for endometrial cancer.

Researcher J.G. Hogervorst recommended that people limit their acrylamide intake, including from their diet.

"In preparing food at home, fry potatoes at temperatures below 175 degrees Celsius [347 degrees Fahrenheit] and fry them to gold-yellow, not dark brown," Hogervorst said. "The same goes for making toast and cookies."

The darker a food is fried or baked, the more acrylamide it contains. Foods that are steamed or boiled do not contain acrylamide.

Sources for this story include: www.washingtonpost.com, www.foodnavigator-usa.com ;