Weekly Health Tips for the month of January
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January 1, 2007- Cold-Weather Heartbreak
If you, or someone you know, have high blood pressure, consider hiring a few neighborhood kids to shovel your driveway.

Cold temperatures constrict blood vessels and cause blood to clot more easily. Throw in hypertension and demanding physical activity and you could have a recipe for a heart attack. To help protect yourself when you venture out into a deep freeze, layer up, avoid sudden exertion, and don't drink alcoholic beverages beforehand. If you must engage in heavy outdoor labor, save it for the afternoon.

People experience a natural adrenaline surge in the morning. Add the vessel-constricting effects of cold weather and a bit of heavy exertion and you can put quite a strain on your cardiovascular system. Fit and healthy people may be able to handle it. But for people with high blood pressure or other heart conditions, it could be risky. 

Save cold-weather physical activities, such as shoveling the walkway, hiking in the snowy woods, or taking down the outdoor holiday lights, for later in the day. And even then, bundle up and stay warm.

Source: Journal of Clinical Cardiology, ©2006


January 7, 2007- Mighty Good Bacteria
What would happen if you regularly ate yogurt and cheese -- and then suddenly stopped?

Your immune system could slack off. That's exactly what happened when regular eaters went cold turkey for just 2 weeks, avoiding these and other fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, soy sauce, and kefir. The reason? Foods that are fermented provide your gut with good bacteria, which help buttress immune system function. So have some yogurt or a chunk of cheddar.

From the moment a newborn begins to eat, a colony of bacteria -- good bacteria that aid digestion and help displace bad bacteria (the kind that make you sick) -- develops in the gut. By the time the child reaches age 2, the bacteria are firmly established.

As we get older, fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, and cheese help keep that intestinal bacteria thriving. In the study, adults who normally ate these foods five times a week suddenly stopped eating them. Results: Some immune system cells became sluggish, and others dropped in number.

Yogurt with active cultures (check labels), whether plain or with fruit, is one of the surest ways to get a daily dose. But if you're not big on straight yogurt, there are other tasty ways to get your fill of this immune-boosting food. These tips can help cut calories as well. 

Make half-and-half mayo (half low-fat yogurt, half light mayo) for salad dressings, spreads, and veggie dips. As your taste buds adjust, you can slowly shift the proportions until yogurt completely supplants the mayonnaise.
-Spoon low-fat yogurt onto baked potatoes or any dish that calls for a topping of sour cream.
-Add a dollop of low-fat yogurt to a steaming bowl of soup -- it's particularly good in split pea, lentil, and tomato.
-Blend yogurt with fresh fruit chunks and orange or cranberry juice for a thick, rich smoothie.   Yogurt that has active cultures contains one of several mighty microscopic immune boosters, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus GG, or Streptococcus thermophilus. Some yogurts have as many as five different cultures -- but any one of them will do the job.

Not a fan of dairy? Try fermented vegetables, such as sauerkraut, kimchi, or marinated artichokes, and fermented soy products, such as miso, tempeh, and soy sauce.

Source: Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, ©2006


January 14, 2007- Just Peachy Blood Pressure
Try this naturally sweet treat to help keep your blood pressure (BP) in the safety zone: dried peaches.

Bananas get all the credit for being a super source of BP-friendly minerals, but other fruits deliver them, too. High on the list are dried peaches and dried apricots. Ounce for ounce, they deliver nearly six times the potassium in bananas. And research shows this mighty mineral helps control blood pressure. Here's a yummy trail-mix recipe with dried apricots.

Your body relies on minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium to regulate blood pressure. So if you have high blood pressure, the right foods may help bring it down. When researchers compared potassium chloride, the kind in some blood pressure medications, and potassium citrate, the all-natural form in fruits and vegetables, they found both types significantly lowered blood pressure in people with hypertension. The extra potassium brought the study participants' systolic blood pressure (the top number) down by about 13 points and lowered their diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) by about 5 points.

Getting at least 3,000 milligrams of potassium every day can reduce your blood pressure. Along with apricots and bananas, try these potassium-rich fruits and juices for variety: cantaloupe, honeydew melon, watermelon, orange juice, and grapefruit juice.

Source: Hypertension, ©2006


January 21, 2007- Early-Bird Screening Special
Do you drink alcohol regularly? Then ask your doctor about early colon cancer screening.

Ninety percent of colon cancers occur after age 50, which is why routine screening beginning at that age is recommended for most healthy people. But smoking doubles the risk of colon cancer, and drinking alcohol carries a similar risk. Now, a new study suggests that if you smoke or drink, getting a colon check beginning in your mid-40s may be the smartest thing you can do, along with stomping out that butt and putting down that glass.

A recent analysis of more than 166,000 people with colorectal cancer revealed that current smokers or drinkers develop the life-threatening disease about 5 years earlier, on average, than people who don't indulge in tobacco or alcohol. For those who made both a habit, cancer appeared 8 years earlier, on average.

One day, screening recommendations may be based on a scoring system that weighs the impact of body mass index, diet, calcium consumption, and, yes -- smoking and drinking. But for now, you're on your own. If you're not yet 50, but your health habits put you at risk, ask your doctor about early screening for colon cancer.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, ©2006

January 28, 2007- Why Salads Make You Smart
What do vintage cars, sterling silver, and your brain have in common? They lose their brilliance without enough TLC.

Keeping your car tuned and your silver polished is pretty straightforward.  To buff up your brain? Spinach. Leafy greens help slow the rate at which people's minds naturally lose their edge due to aging. Eat three or more servings of these veggies each day and you'll slow mental decline by as much as 40 percent. Spelled out another way: Eating leafy greens can make your brain function more like the brain of someone who's 5 years younger!  Someone pass the vinaigrette.

Like everything else, brain function declines with age -- unless you do something about it. Staying physically and mentally active helps preserve brainpower, and so can the foods you eat, if you make the right choices.  In a study of people age 65 and older, leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, lettuce) were declared the hands-down produce winners when it came to preserving brain function. Also near the top of the list were zucchini, squash, eggplant, and broccoli.

What makes these veggies so super for saving your smarts? Probably brain-friendly nutrients like vitamin E, carotenoids, and flavonoids. Eat your leafy greens with a little fat (such as olive oil or a sprinkling of nuts) to help your body absorb and use all those good-for-you, fat-soluble nutrients.

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