Heart disease

Keeping heart healthy with tree nuts

Stanford University researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials to investigate the effects of tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) on blood lipids, lipoproteins, blood pressure and inflammation in adults 18 years and older without prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Tree nut consumption was shown to lower total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL cholesterol and its primary apolipoprotein, ApoB.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that nut intake lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease. Our findings, showing that nut intake lowers LDL cholesterol, ApoB and triglycerides in clinical trials, provide mechanistic evidence to support this relationship, said lead author Liana Del Gobbo.

Nuts contain important nutrients such as unsaturated fats, high quality protein, vitamins (i.e., vitamin E, folate and niacin), minerals (i.e., magnesium, calcium and potassium) and phytochemicals–all of which may offer cardioprotective properties, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to announce a qualified health claim for nuts and heart disease in 2003. The claim states, “Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”

This new analysis provides further support that nuts can and should be part of a heart-healthy diet, states Maureen Ternus, Executive Director of the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation (INC NREF), adding that just 1.5 ounces of nuts per day (about 1/3 cup) can provide many of the important vitamins, minerals and energy we need throughout the day.

Source: Zee news

Could too much green tea be harmful to health?

For centuries, green tea has been hailed for its numerous health benefits. But according to a new study, the beverage could do more harm than good if consumed in large amounts.

In a new study published in the Journal of Functional Foods, researchers reveal how exposure to excessive amounts of green tea impaired the reproductive function of fruit flies, as well as the development of their offspring.

While it is unclear whether the beverage has the same impact on humans, the team says their findings warrant caution against consuming large amounts of green tea and other nutraceuticals.

 

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Green tea is made from fresh leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Because green tea is one of the least processed forms of tea, it retains the majority of its antioxidants and polyphenols, which are known to be largely beneficial for health.

Previous research has suggested green tea can aid weight loss, reduce cholesterol and protect against numerous illnesses, including cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

However, some studies have reported negative health effects if the beverage is consumed in large doses; animal studies have linked excessive green tea consumption to dramatic weight loss and impaired embryonic development.

Green tea ‘should be consumed in moderation’

To reach their findings, lead investigator Mahtab Jafari, associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California-Irvine, and colleagues exposed embryos and larvae of fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, to varying doses of green tea.

Fruit flies are often used to study human disease because they share 75% of the same genes that cause disease in humans.
The team found that 10 milligrams (mg) of green tea led to slower development of larvae. There was also a significant reduction in the number and size of offspring that emerged.

Female offspring exposed to 10 mg of the beverage showed a reduction in reproductive output, as well as a 17% reduction in lifespan.

In addition, the researchers found 10 mg of green tea led to morphological abnormalities in reproductive organs of the fruit flies, including atrophy in the testicles and ovaries.

Green tea was found to protect the flies against dehydration, but it also increased susceptibility to heat stress and starvation.

While the study did not assess the mechanisms by which green tea affected the development and reproduction of the fruit flies, they hypothesize that high doses of the beverage may trigger excessive apoptosis, or programmed cell death, to produce such effects.

Source: Medical News Today

Moderate coffee drinking may be tied to lower risk of death

People who drink coffee daily, even up to four cups per day, are less likely to die from heart disease, neurological disease, type 2 diabetes or suicide than others, according to a new study.

Researchers did not test how upping coffee consumption would change health outlooks, so they cannot conclude that coffee “causes” a decreased risk of death. Rather, they looked at death trends in groups with varying amounts of coffee consumption.

“The main takeaway is that regular consumption of coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet,” said senior author Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

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“There is no evidence of harm of regular consumption in terms of chronic disease risk or mortality, and consistent evidence that consumption of coffee reduces the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” Hu told Reuters Health by phone.

“People who are already drinking it should continue to enjoy it, but for people who don’t drink it or don’t like it, there’s no particular reason to start for the sole reason of health,” he said.

Hu and his coauthors studied the association of coffee intake – caffeinated, decaffeinated, or both – and risk of death based on self-reported coffee habits of more than 160,000 women in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study 2 and 40,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.

Every four years, participants in these studies filled out questionnaires on lifestyle factors, including how often they usually consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, ranging from never to six or more times per day.

The researchers had data on the participants from the mid-1980’s or early 1990’s through 2012. During that time, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died.

Those who reported drinking one to five cups of any type of coffee per day were less likely to have died during follow-up than those who did not drink coffee, the authors reported in Circulation.

Death from heart disease, neurological disease and suicide was less common among moderate coffee drinkers than among others, but there was no relationship with deaths from cancer, the researchers found.

“The benefit in terms of mortality is very small,” and leveled out at four to five cups per day, Hu said.

For diabetes and cardiovascular disease, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee seem to have similar effects, so the benefits may be due to compounds in the coffee other than caffeine, he said.

“Coffee of course is a complex beverage, it’s really difficult or impossible to pinpoint the ingredients that are responsible,” Hu said.

But for neurodegenerative disease, depression and suicide, most likely the benefits are due to caffeine, he said.

 

Source: Foxnews

Doctors perform rare surgery on man with five heart chambers

In what is claimed to be the first -of-its-kind surgery in the country and only the third in the world, doctors at a hospital treated a man suffering from a rare congenital heart condition of having five atrial chambers instead of four.

Doctors perform rare surgery on man with five heart chambers

42-year-old Pali Devaram, who had been suffering from breathlessness and continuous coughing and heart pain, was diagnosed with the rare heart defect termed ‘Cortriatrium with Mitral Regurgitation’ after he underwent a medical check up at Medipulse Hospital here.

“On diagnosis, we found him to be suffering from a rare congenital disease… We carried out some more tests in consultation with a cardiothoracic surgeon and found him to have five chambers in his heart instead of four,” the private hospital’s Cardiologist Alok Madan said. Madan said Cortriatrium is a defect where an additional membrane or a septum creates fifth chamber in the heart.

After the final diagnosis, a team of doctors carried out a nearly four-hour-long surgery on Devaram on Wednesday. “We cut the membrane, which had created the wall above fourth valve thereby forming a fifth chamber and made it a four chambered heart, which is a normal heart,” Cardiothoracic surgeon Sanjeev Suresh Waidand said.

Now, the patient would be able to lead a normal life as any other healthy person, he added.

Claiming it to be the first-of-its-kind surgery in India and only the third in the world, the hospital’s director Navneet Agarwal said, “First two surgeries of such type have been administered in China and Germany.”

He said that the age of the patient and the severe Mitral Regurgitation made this surgery unique and rare, which costed about Rs 1.25 lakh to the patient. Patient’s relative Dinesh said they had visited many doctors and hospitals across the country but no one was able to diagnose the disease.

“In last two months, Pali’s problems of breathlessness, constant coughing and heart pain had aggravated,” he said.

Eating Fruit Cuts Heart-Disease Risk by 40%

An extra helping of leafy-greens is good for your heart Eating fruit every day can lower risk of heart disease by up to 40%, new research suggests.

Eating Fruit Cuts Heart-Disease Risk by 40%

A new study that looked at more than 451,680 participants over seven years asked the group to report their fruit consumption, whether it be never, monthly, 1-3 days per week, 4-6 days per week, or daily.

The researchers found that compared to people who never eat fruit, those who eat fruit every day cut their heart disease risk by 25% to 40%. Those who ate the most amount of fruit also had much lower blood pressure compared to the participants who never ate fruit.

The study is not the first to find a connection between eating fruit and having better heart health. One study of about 110,000 men and women over 14 years found that people who eat fruit and vegetables every day had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and some studies have found that citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits have especially protective benefits.

Next time you’re in need of a snack, grab an apple over a bag of chips. It’s surely not the last time science will say it.

Source: TIME

Five powerful health benefits of eating pomegranate!

Years ago pomegranates were considered exotic. Like Mandarin oranges they were precious imports brought over on ships for a once-a-year treat at Christmas. But in recent years, as you might have noticed, the pomegranate has been designated a “superfood” (foods with the highest nutritional values). And it truly is super with its high dietary fibre and folate, vitamin C and vitamin K. Since ancient times, the fabulous fleshy seeds were used for fertility, but it turns out they do so much more.

Five powerful health benefits of eating pomegranate!

Five reasons the pomegranate is a superfood:

1. You can reduce joint pain and inflammation with pomegranates. At the source of any joint pain is always a cascade of enzyme reactions that lead to the body triggering inflammation and ultimately pain. Pomegranates have been shown to halt the enzyme reactions before the inflammation is able to occur and reduce pain as a result.

2. Pomegranates have been used to treat malaria. In ancient Indian culture, this was the only remedy that was available for the treatment of malaria because of its powerful anti-parasitic properties. Remember to stock up on pomegranates before your next tropical destination vacation to ward off those pesky parasites.

3. Pomegranates are anti-viral. Protect yourself during those winter months by stocking up on pomegranates. The anti-viral component of these fruits is so powerful that it’s been studied as an alternative treatment of HIV, with promising results.

4. Pomegranate plant flowers can be used to lower cholesterol. Pomegranate flowers contain an oil called oleanolic acid that improves the metabolism of free triglycerides found in the blood. These triglycerides are what lead to the collection of LDL cholesterol and blockage of arterial walls leading to atherosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of the artery walls) increasing your susceptibility to heart disease.

5. Pomegranates protect your cardiovascular system. For plaque to begin to form on your arteries, there first must be damage to the arterial walls caused by free-radicals. Pomegranates contain powerful antioxidants that eat up these free radicals and target the lining of your blood vessels and prevent them from damage. The ultimate prevention food!

Source; chatelaine

Sitting in an office chair for long periods

How much can sitting affect our body? Too much time spended in the sitting position is killing you. Sitting all day at work, and later on the couch or infront of computer at home have been proven to have negative  impact on human health.

Sitting in an office chair for long periods

Diabetes and heart disease.
Stressful working conditions are increasing the risk of stroke at women fir 88%, and employees who are middle-aged or older and sit most of the working time have twice the risk of diabetes, according to research from the British University of Leicester.

In order to improve the circulation of the blood and sugar balance, every hour stand and walk for five minutes or do some practice in office.

Hip pain.
This pain often affects women who work sitting, especially those who are genetically prone to getting osteoporosis.

Adjust your chair for your legs and back so thay can form an angle of 90 degrees. Allso practicing yoga can help with problems with hips.

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Weight Gain.
More than 60% of the employees in the office regularly snack unhealthy foods such as chips or chocolate, and experts say that the work associated with sitting and unhealthy diet are the main causes of obesity in countries around the world.Eat less fast food and unhealthy snacks, replace them with healthier options, such as dried fruit or nuts.

Dry eyes.
Looking at the computer screen causes pressure on the eye muscles. It causes dryness and deteriorating eyesight.

To prevent this, apply the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet in distance and hold the gaze 20 seconds. It will be enough for the eyes to rest.

Source: secretly healthy

50% of American adults have chronic diseases: Study

American adults have chronic diseases

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revealed that half of all adults in the USA have at least one chronic condition, such as diabetes, heart disease or obesity.

The study published in the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ also shows that over a quarter of adults have two or more of these conditions.According to researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the

majority of these chronic conditions are largely preventable through the reduction of risk factors that falls within individuals’ control such as – tobacco use, poor diet, and physical inactivity (both strongly associated with obesity), alcohol consumption, and uncontrolled high blood pressure.

Compared with other high-income countries, USA is less healthy in areas such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung diseases.

The study also found that Medicare enrollees (the majority of whom are over 65) accounted for 300 billion dollars in healthcare spending. And over 90 percent of this healthcare expenditure was accounted for by people with two or more chronic conditions.

Source: zee news

High-fibre diet ‘benefits heart attack patients’

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If you have had a heart attack, eat plenty of fibre because it may improve your long-term chances of recovery, say US researchers.

Heart-attack survivors were more likely to be alive nine years later if they followed a high-fibre diet, a study in the British Medical Journal found. Every 10g-per-day increase in fibre intake was linked with a 15% drop in death risk during the study.

Dietary fibre may improve blood pressure and cholesterol, experts say. On average, most people in the UK get about 14g of fibre a day, against a target of at least 18g. US experts recommend up to 38g a day.

Fruit, such as bananas and apples, root vegetables, such as carrots and potatoes, wholemeal bread, cereals and bran are all good sources of dietary fibre. A jacket potato and baked beans contain about 10g of fibre; two slices of wholemeal bread about 4g.

Breakfast cereals
A low-fibre diet is associated with constipation and gut diseases, such as diverticulitis and bowel cancer, but it may also have implications for heart health, say US researchers.

The Harvard School of Public Health team analysed data from two large US studies involving more than 4,000 men and women who had survived a first heart attack and had provided information about their usual diet via questionnaires.

They were followed for an average of almost nine years after their heart attacks, during which time 682 of the women and 451 of the men died.

Chances of survival appeared to be linked with fibre intake, which was mostly from breakfast cereals. The one in five who ate most fibre had a 25% lower chance of dying from any cause during the nine years after their heart attack compared with the fifth who ate the least.

The high-fibre group was 13% less likely to have a fatal heart attack. The researchers say the findings point to a simple lifestyle step that people could take, alongside their medication, to improve their long-term health prospects.

Victoria Taylor, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “High-fibre foods are a key part of a healthy balanced diet, and this study suggests they may have a particular benefit for heart-attack survivors.

“We can’t say for sure what caused the fibre benefit seen here, but we do know that, on average, we’re not getting enough fibre in our diets. “Fibre comes from a range of foods, including fruit and veg, beans and lentils, and also from cereal products, which this study found to be particularly beneficial.

“To get more fibre, you can make simple swaps, such as trading white bread for wholegrain versions or opting for higher-fibre breakfast cereals, like porridge or muesli.”

Source: BBC

Salt-reduction campaign led to decrease stroke, heart disease deaths

A nationwide campaign to reduce salt intake among people in the United Kingdom resulted in a drastic reduction in heart disease and stroke deaths among the population.

In 2003, the government in the U.K. launched a widespread effort to encourage companies to gradually reduce sodium levels in processed foods. Now, a new study in the British Medical Journal is showing the impact of this public health initiative.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 31,500 people participating in the Health Survey for England between 2003 to 2011. During the study period, levels of salt intake among the population decreased by about 15 percent. Over the same period, deaths from stroke decreased by 42 percent and deaths from coronary heart disease dropped by 40 percent.

Rates of smoking and overall cholesterol levels in the population declined over the same period, while produce intake and body mass index both increased. The researchers, from Queen Mary University of London, noted that the single largest factor contributing to the decline in deaths was decreased blood pressure among the population.

Some physicians noted that the U.K. has been far more proactive and successful at enforcing the reduction of sodium in foods, compared to the U.S.

“In the U.K., the political action group ‘Action on Salt’ worked with the government and the food industry to slowly wean the British populace off salt, with excellent results. Yet, our food industry has fought a similar action tooth and nail,” Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at UC San Francisco
Source: Fox news