“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
email:
livehealthy-livewell@cox.net
Cancer Is A Preventable Disease - Only 5-10 percent of cancer cases are due to genetic defects. The other 90-95 percent of cancer cases are due to environmental and lifestyle factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, poor diet, obesity, infectious agents, environmental pollution and radiation. Pharmaceutical Research, 09/08.
Recovering from Cancer surgery - Cancer patients can literally take a step-by-step approach to combat fatigue following surgical treatment. This fatigue doesn't go away with sleep, affects daily activities (doing your personal hygiene in the morning, getting up and getting dressed, going from the bedroom to breakfast, etc.) and can also lead to anxiety and depression. Patients who underwent an operation as part of their cancer treatment and then started a regular walking regimen experienced less fatigue than cancer survivors who did not do the walking program. Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 04/12.
FISH FACTS – good fish choices are labeled
“frozen at sea,” which means it was flash-frozen before it could begin to
spoil. It will be as flavorful as fresh
fish and cost less.
Fresh
fish should have flesh that is firm and translucent. Choose wild versus farmed fish. Wild fish usually contain more omega-3s (and
higher, more beneficial ratios of omega-3s to omega-6s) than farmed fish. Wild fish are also free of the antibiotics
used to keep farmed fish disease-free.
Fish (6 ounces) Protein (grams) Omega-3s/Omega-6s
(milligrams) Safe
number of servings per month (based on mercury and PCB contamination)
Alaskan
salmon 46 2,420/192 4+
Spanish
mackerel 40 2,478/184 2
Halibut
(Pacific) 46 1,138/65 4+
Yellowfin
tuna 50 528/17 4
Cod
(Pacific) 40 482/14 4+
Rainbow
trout (U.S. farmed) 42 2,102/1,614 4+
Swordfish 44 1,796/63 1
Tilapia
(U.S. farmed) 42 403/504 4+
Catfish
(U.S. farmed) 32 440/1,750 4+
Salmon
(farmed) 38 3,842/1,132 1
Men’s Health 04/11.
TRIGLYCERIDE TROUBLE – high triglycerides may raise the
risk of cancer. A study from Austria,
Norway, and Sweden showed that men with triglyceride levels of 150 milligrams
per deciliter or higher were more likely to develop one or more cancers,
including kidney, colon, and lung than those with low levels. Excess triglycerides may trigger
cancer-inducing free radials. Men’s Health 04/11.
PROTECT YOUR BRAIN – tea and coffee may protect the
brain. People who consumed as little as
half a cup of coffee or tea a day were 34 percent less likely to develop brain
cancer later in life than those who don’t.
High levels of antioxidant in these drinks may help prevent cancer cells
from forming in the brain. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Weight On The Brain - One-third of US adults are
obese. A big part of the environment that encourages weight gain is the
availability and consumption of calorie dense, high-fat foods. In particular,
what we eat can alter the brain regions that regulate body weight. Leptin is a
key hormone secreted from fat tissue and its main function is to inhibit
appetite. Eating a high-fat diet reduces the actions of leptin in the brain.
This miscommunication can lead to increased food intake and weight gain.
Evolutionary speaking, we are designed to want to eat foods high in fat and
gain weight because it made it easier to survive times when food was scarce.
That is no longer a real concern since food is always available, but we still
have a biological desire to eat calorie dense foods. Cell Metabolism, 02/12.
Added Sugar, Obesity And Diabetes - Fructose intake from added
sugar is linked with the epidemic rise in obesity, metabolic syndrome and
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk
factors that raises a person's risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and
other health problems. Metabolic syndrome currently affects 25% of Americans.
If you compared two diets of similar calorie intake (more fructose vs. more
starch), the higher fructose diet will lead to greater accumulation of fat
around organs and higher insulin resistance. Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, 03/12.Fish Oil - Six weeks of supplementation with fish oil significantly increased lean mass and decreased fat mass in test subjects. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 10/10.
High-Fat Diets Increase Colon Cancer Risk - Eating too much fat and sugar puts a person at greater risk for colon cancer and obesity. In normal tissue from patients with colon cancer, they found that epigenetic marks on genes involved in breaking down carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids (abundant in the fatty Western diet) appeared to have been retrained. Epigenetic marks are chemical modifications that serve as on/off switches for many genes. These foods are changing the methylation patterns on a person's insulin genes so that they express differently, pumping out more insulin than the body requires. Cancer Prevention Research, 03/12.
Exercise Linked To Change In DNA - Exercise almost immediately alters DNA in healthy but inactive men and women. Although the genetic makeup is not altered, DNA molecules change structurally and chemically when a person exercises. One researcher noted, "Our muscles are really plastic. We often say 'You are what you eat.' Well, muscle adapts to what you do. If you don't use it, you lost it and this is one of the mechanisms that allow that to happen." Cell Metabolism, 03/12.
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Berry Good News - People who regularly consume
foods rich in flavonoids (such as berries, apples, certain vegetables, tea
and red wine) may significantly reduce their risk for developing Parkinson's
disease. Flavonoids are naturally occurring, bioactive compounds present in
many plant-based foods and drinks. Neurology,
04/12.
CommuteRs Risk Health - Individuals with the
longest commutes are least likely to report frequently engaging in moderate
to vigorous exercise, and most likely to show risk factors for poorer
cardiovascular and metabolic health. Commuting more than 10 miles to work (or
a cross-country commute) is linked with high blood pressure. American
Journal of Preventive Medicine, 06/12 .
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Snacking On Raisins - Eating raisins as an after-school
snack prevents excessive calorie intake and increases the feeling of fullness
as compared to other commonly consumed snacks. Grapes, potato chips and
cookies resulted in approximately 56 percent, 70 percent and 108 percent
higher calorie intake compared to raisins, respectively. The cumulative
calorie intake (breakfast + morning snack + lunch + after-school snack) was
10-19 percent lower in children who ate raisins as an after school snack when
compared to children who consumed other snacks. Canadian Nutrition Society, 05/12. |
Protein and Diabetes - Diabetes risk increases with higher intake of total protein and animal protein. For every 5 percent of calories consumed from protein instead of carbohydrate or fat, the risk of developing diabetes increased 30%. Increased animal protein intake coincided with increased intakes of saturated fat, cholesterol, and heme iron, and with increased body mass index, waist circumference, and blood pressure. Vegetable protein intake was not associated with diabetes risk. Diabetes Care, 05/12.
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