REPORTING POINT 7-06
HEALTH NEWS
“Live healthy...live well”
Dedicated to providing pertinent information on health, fitness, and nutrition to foster a culture of wellness among Southwest Airlines flight crews and their families.
by Larry Kline
SWAPA Voice Mailbox 4337/email: livehealthy-livewell@cox.net
Past issues of “Health News” are available at http://health.theballfamily.org. It includes a search engine; just enter a key word to find past articles. LK
LOSING WEIGHT IS THE BEST – means of reducing blood pressure if you are overweight and have hypertension. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition compared and analyzed subjects that were overweight and had hypertension. The subjects used either a low fat diet or the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.) The subjects on both diets lost the same amount of weight, about 12 pounds in 12 weeks, and received the same guidelines for exercise. Those on the DASH diet had better results at reducing hypertension and the risk of heart disease. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. More information on the DASH diet is available at www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash, or call 301-592-8573 for a free booklet. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 9/05.
CALCIUM TO REDUCE THAT GUT – recent research at the University of Tennessee found that eating yogurt can help one lose weight, especially in the midsection. In the 12-week study, people who consumed three 6-ounce servings of fat-free yogurt daily lost 81 percent more fat from their midsections than those who ate a variety of dairy products containing less total calcium. The mineral appears to help curb production of the stress hormone cortisol, which has been linked to the accumulation of abdominal fat. Men’s Health 7/05.
COFFEE, TEA, OR ? – much has been written about the benefits of drinking tea, especially green tea. Yet there are several observational studies that have linked regular coffee consumption with reduced risks of type 2 diabetes, gallstones, and possibly Parkinson’s disease. Green and black tea seems to offer better protection against cancer, heart disease, and possibly osteoporosis.
How They Protect You
COFFEE – caffeinated and decaf coffee each contain antioxidants and other substances that may help regulate blood sugar; that might explain the apparent reduced diabetes risk. Certain compounds in coffee also appear to help prevent bile from crystallizing into gallstones. Caffeine may cut the risk of Parkinson’s by boosting supplies of the brain chemical dopamine in males.
TEA – habitual tea drinkers’ reduced cancer risk might stem from tea’s high antioxidant capacity. Tea might protect the heart by relaxing blood vessels, inhibiting clots, and reducing cholesterol levels. Researchers speculate that fluoride and estrogen-like substances in tea may boost bone density.
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?
There is no evidence that drinking substantial amounts of tea is harmful to the average person. Moderate coffee intake, one or two cups a day, seems to be safe for most people. One large study has suggested that such consumption protects the heart, though the underlying reason is not clear.
Some research has linked drinking three or more cups of coffee a day with increased heart risk. Coffee can raise the level of homocysteine, an amino acid that might harm the arteries. Coffee’s high caffeine content – typically twice as much as black tea and several times that of green tea – may raise blood pressure, though that has not been proven.
Consuming lots of caffeine can also speed bone loss, and might reduce birth weight and raise the risk of miscarriage. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should drink no more than two cups of coffee or four cups of black tea a day. To guard their bones, postmenopausal women should probably stick with the same limits. Caffeine can also precipitate heartburn, anxiety, and rapid heartbeat. People who encounter any of those experiences when drinking coffee or tea should minimize their consumption. Consumer Reports 11/05.
HAVE A “CHEESY” SMILE – eating sweets causes the pH level of mouth saliva to plummet, transforming plaque into tooth-dissolving acid. Follow sugary-sweet eating with cheese and the pH level will stay steady. A study review published in Nutrition Reviews that looked at the pH boosting properties of 12 cheeses shows that while provolone is fairly good, cheddar is better. Cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack, and mozzarella raised pH levels highest and all you need is one bite as the study subjects ate less than a quarter ounce. Men’s Health 3/05.
A LITTLE FAT IS GOOD – salads are good choices for lunches, but consider the dressing you use. While a fat-free dressing seems like a healthy choice, the body won’t absorb some of the disease-fighting nutrients in vegetables without dietary fat. Researchers at Iowa State University found those test subjects who ate salads with fat-free dressing consistently failed to absorb carotenoids, antioxidants that have been linked to improved immunity and cancer prevention. Fat is necessary for the carotenoids to reach the absorptive intestinal cells. Choose dressings with healthy fats from olive or nut oils. Men’s Health 11/04.
MORE ON THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET – researchers followed more than 22,000 healthy Greeks for an average of four years and found that those eating the traditional Mediterranean diet were not only 33 percent less likely to die from coronary artery disease than Greeks eating other foods were but also 24 percent less likely to die from cancer. Overall they had a 25 percent lower death rate. The more closely they followed the diet, the greater the benefit.
The main elements of the Mediterranean diet: an abundance of plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans; olive oil as the main fat (instead of butter or lard); small to moderate amounts of fish and poultry, but little red meat; and moderate consumption of wine.
The researchers found that no single part of the Mediterranean diet played an appreciable role in reducing mortality but the cumulative effect of all these foods, which may act synergistically, was substantial. University of California Berkeley Wellness Letter 9/03.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE? – try eating celery. Research has shown that pthalide, the compound that gives celery its taste and smells, has antioxidant properties that may relax blood vessels. When test animals were injected with the celery compound, their blood pressure dropped by 13 percent. Try four celery stalks a day, the human equivalent of what the animals received. Other research is evaluating whether humans can receive the same benefit that the animals received. Men’s Health 1/06.
UNNECESSARY DENTAL X-RAYS – chances are that last time you changed dentists, the new one greeted you with a whole battery of X-rays, including a panoramic. And chances are, you did not need all those shots.
A panoramic is the one that views the entire mouth, jawbones, and sinuses in one picture. But when University of Buffalo researchers recently studied 1,000 randomly chosen panoramic films, the view turned out to be frequently worthless, spotting abnormalities unseen by other X-rays only 2 percent of the time. The researchers concluded that routine panoramics should be scrapped, except in those cases when a patient shows signs of jaw or sinus problems. X-rays should be taken only when an exam or patient’s history suggest they are necessary. Though the amount of radiation is small and the danger minimal, dentists should not treat X-rays as harmless procedures.
According to guidelines set by the American Dental Association and the Food and Drug Administration, here are the ones you are likely to need at the next visit and the ones you may not need at all:
If you are…
-seeing a new dentist for the first time, you will probably need to have bitewing X-rays, which look at the spaces between teeth and the way the top and bottom teeth fit together. You will also likely need periapical shots, which look closely at individual teeth.
-getting a check-up and have no cavities, you should have bitewings every 2 to 3 years.
-getting a check-up and have cavities or a history of cavities, bite-wings every 6 to 18 months are appropriate.
-getting a check-up and have gum disease or dental implants or other special circumstances, you may need some or all of the above each visit. Health 7/05.
SHAKES WORK – a study recently published in the Journal of Nutrition found that meal-replacement shakes work. For six months, test subjects either replaced two daily meals with shakes and bars, or followed a conventional low-calorie diet. Both groups shaved off more than 9 percent of their original body weight. Those who had liquid breakfasts and lunches found that they had “manageable dining-out options,” meaning for dinner they could eat anything within reason, since the shakes had kept their calories under control throughout the day. The problem with the meal-substitute shakes is that they are very low in dietary fiber, so be sure to eat a fiber-rich dinner if you opt for the meal-replacement shakes. Also, if weight loss is your goal, be sure to start or maintain a consistent exercise regime to reach your weight and fitness goals. Men’s Health 11/04.
