Another Way To Control Weight

Overweight and obesity are big headache for health experts around the world as these 2 conditions will likely raise a person’s risk of getting diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension (high blood pressure), and eventually lead to heart disease or stroke. The medical cost involved can be a heavy burden for the governments.

In order to control body weight, one should watch the amount of food he or she eats. Numerous studies have looked at how the portion size can affect on the amount people eat. A new study, conducted by researchers from University of Utah, Salt Lake City, examined at how the bite size will influence the quantities ingested.

In their paper published in July 2011 in the ‘Journal of Consumer Research’, they argued that bigger bites lead to eating less, but only in restaurant settings.

The study was carried out in a popular Italian restaurant in the South-Western United States. 2 sizes of forks were used to manipulate bite sizes: a larger fork that held 20 percent more food than the fork usually used in the restaurant, and a smaller fork that held 20 percent less than the usual one. It was found that diners who used large forks ate less than those who used small forks.

Tables were furnished with either large fork or small fork over 2 lunches and 2 dinners in the restaurant. Servers, including one of the study's researchers, took customers' orders, and weighed the full plate of food that they had ordered before serving it to them.

Each plate was attached with a small sticky note written with details including weight and other information. At the end of the meal, every plate was brought back to the kitchen and weighed again. The results showed that diners who used the bigger fork ate less food than those who used the smaller fork.

Such theory, however, only worked in a restaurant setting. In another study conducted in the laboratory using also Italian food, researchers found that people who used big forks actually eat more. Hence, the study concluded that there are different motivations when people eat in a restaurant or a laboratory.

If you wish to control the amount you eat, perhaps you should ask for or simply bring along a big fork the next time you visit an Italian restaurant!

How Fast Can Stroke Cause Brain Damage?

A stroke, sometimes also known as brain attack, occurs when there is an interruption of blood supply to any part of the brain because of blockage or burst in one of the blood vessels in the brain. If the brain cannot get blood and oxygen, the brain cells could die and permanent damage would be caused within a relatively short period.

Stroke is one of the top killer s in the developed countries. In Canada, stroke ranks the fourth leading cause of death, affecting as many as 50,000 people and killing 16,000 every year. Risk factors for stroke include alcoholism, diabetes, high cholesterol, overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and stress.

So how fast can stroke damage the brain?

Common public perception believes that all strokes can be medically treated within 3 hours, but scientists from the University of British Columbia in this Western Canadian city reported otherwise. Their study, which was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, found that stroke could cause brain damage within 3 minutes.

Generally, stroke can be categorized into 2 types: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic strokes are those caused by interruption of the blood supply, while hemorrhagic strokes are those that result from rupture of a blood vessel or an abnormal vascular structure.

About 80 percent of stroke patients suffer ischemic stroke, which can usually be treated by clot-busting medications, provided if they could be admitted to the hospital within 3 hours. In reality, not every stroke patient is a candidate for clot-busting drugs.

Based on the results obtained from animal experiments performed, the scientists declared that brain could be damaged within 3 minutes. Such 3-minute window does not give people sufficient time to even call for help.

Preventive measures, therefore, are urgently required to tackle structural changes that happen very early on. People just need to manage risk factors and change their lifestyle to prevent getting a stroke, instead of relying on treatment when stroke strikes them.

Should Obese Be Called Fat?

Obesity epidemic has been a worldwide issue not only in developed and wealthy countries but also among many developing countries. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, with the level steadily increased over the last 10 years. According to the Department of Health in UK, almost 25 percent of adults and 14 percent of children were classified as obese in 2008.

An obese is a highly possible victim of many chronic diseases including Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), heart cholesterol, heart disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and certain types of cancer.

Authorities and health community have utilized all ways and means to curb the growing obesity epidemic. Recently, a government official in Europe has even suggested to call people who are obese as “fat” to motivate them to lose weight. The reason quoted by this official is that calling an obese “fat” could encourage this person to take personal responsibility for his or her lifestyles.

Most doctors and health workers tend not to use the word “fat” as they feel this will stigmatize people who are overweight or obese. However, this official believes that people will only start paying attention when they are called “fat”, and not “obese”. Patients will start doing losing weight only when they have true information about themselves.

Some doctors agreed with the official as they felt doctors need to be honest with their patients rather than telling them what they love to hear. To some doctors, the term “obese” seems to medicalize the state, and makes it a third person issue. Sometimes, for the sake of patients, doctors just need to be more brutal and honest.

Nevertheless, there were objection from other medical professionals against what the official advocated. They felt that people just do not want to be offensive. Calling a person “fat” will more likely to disgrace and harm that person. They also pointed out that obesity is something that happens to people rather than something they are. As such, they suggested using the term “obesity” to encourage patients to think about the condition in a different way.

While the approach might be different, the aim is still the same: to encourage the patient to lose weight so that he or she can be healthy. The best approach, perhaps, still depends on the relationship the doctor has with the patient and the doctor should make their judgment on a patient-by-patient basis.

Is Mini-Meals A Good Way To Lose Weight?

There is a widespread perception that eating little meals more often could be a good appetite control. Even some health professionals seemed to favor such claim, too.

However, the findings of researchers from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, however, did not seem to agree. In their study, men who were overweight and obese and on low-calorie, high-protein diets felt more satisfied and less hungry when they ate 3 times a day compared to when they ate 6 times a day. Their findings appeared in the journal “Obesity”.

It has been known that studies on whether eating frequency affects appetite control have had conflicting results. To investigate further, 27 men who were overweight or obese were randomly assigned to eat either a high-protein diet or a normal-protein diet for 12 weeks. Their diets contained 750 fewer calories than each man required to maintain his current weight.

From week 7 onwards, the male participants either ate their assigned diet in 3 meals, spaced 5 hour apart or in 6 meals eaten every 2 hours, for 3 consecutive days. Then, these participants switched to the other eating pattern for the next 3 days.

Participants who ate the higher protein diet (25 percent of total calories from protein) felt fuller throughout the day and refused to eat late at night, and were less preoccupied with thoughts of food than those participants who were consuming 14 percent of their energy as protein.

It was reported in the paper that eating frequency did not seem to influence appetite in the participants in the men on the normal-protein diet. Nevertheless, the researchers did find that participants on high protein diet felt fuller in the evening and late at night after eating just 3 meals a day.

Adopting the appropriate diet plays an important part in weight management. People who were overweight or obese are very likely the victims of many chronic diseases including Type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.

What Else Can Cause Obesity?

While many studies have blamed the increasingly sedentary lifestyle and the availability of low-cost high-calorie foods to be the culprit for obesity epidemic in the developed countries, there might be other reasons behind this.

Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine and the University of Colorado at Boulder found that the bugs that help digest food could also cause the body to gain weight if they are not properly regulated. If wrong kinds of bacteria were dominant, they could cause a low-level inflammation leading to a pre-diabetic condition and an elevated appetite, as explained in a paper published on March 4, 2010 in the Journal “Science”.

In the study, researchers examined mice that were genetically engineered to be deficient in a key immune system protein, namely TLR5, which helps cells sense the presence of bacteria. Such protein plays an important role in the intestinal community, meaning it knows not to apply too much force and does not harm the good bacteria.

In the absence of TLR5, the immune system can still regulate bacteria but it just could not do it properly. When the bacterial composition changes, a low level inflammation sets in and insulin receptors are desensitized.

To justify the theory, a series of experiments were preformed on mice. The results showed that if the TLR5-deficient mice were given unrestricted diets, they ate 10 percent more and gained 20 percent more weight than the normal mice. Even if their food was limited, the TLR5-deficient mice were still less sensitive to insulin than the normal mice.

The TLR5-deficient mice also developed metabolic syndrome, which could cause weight gain, high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, and it could raise the risk for developing diabetes and heart disease.

While the study was limited to mice, experts still believe they might applicable to humans as well. The findings suggested that excess caloric consumption is not only the result of undisciplined eating style but also changes in appetite and metabolism caused by the intestinal bacteria.

Why Are Urban Migrants Likely To Be Obese and Diabetics?

Diabetes is closely linked to obesity, which is a result of increased consumption of saturated fats and sugar coupled with reduced physical activities. Both diabetes and obesity, if not treated and managed appropriately, can lead to development of many other complications including heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol and stroke.

India, with the second largest population in the world, is experiencing diabetes epidemic, just like the rest of the world. Between 1984 and 2004, the number of diabetics has increased in the urban areas of India from 5 percent to 15 percent.

Being an essential part of the economic development, urbanization will naturally attract more people to migrate from rural areas to cities. Such movement would induce changes in diet and behavior for those migrants.

According to the findings of a large study published during April 2010 in “PLoS Medicine”, migrants moving from villages to cities to work are at a higher risk of becoming obese and developing diabetes, compared to their siblings who remain in the villages.

Researchers from the South Asia Network for Chronic Disease in New Delhi, India found that half of the migrants had gained about 14 pounds (6 to 7 kilos) of weight by the tenth year of their relocation. The increase was dramatic and some migrants even gained much more than that.

The study surveyed migrant workers from 4 factories in the north, central and south India, their siblings who were left behind in villages and the non-migrant urban workers. All participants had to answer questions regarding their diet and physical activity, and their blood sugar and body mass index (BMI) were also measured.

The results showed that migrants and the urban workers were 3 to 4 times more likely to be obese and more than 2 times more likely to be diabetics than people remained in the villages. Meanwhile, the migrants and urban workers were almost twice more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure) and have higher blood sugar than the villagers. Similar patterns of obesity and diabetes could also be found in women.

Evidence gathered from the study indicated the migrants, who had more money to spend on food, tend to eat more of everything (especially fat) than people in rural areas with other nutrients remained similar. The culprit behind the weight gain was not the Western foods but the ordinary everyday Indian foods.

Is There A Link Between Thigh Size and Heart Disease?

There is, as shown by earlier studies, a clear link between heart disease and obesity or overweight. But a recent study had shown that there is a link between heart disease and thigh size.

Researchers from Copenhagen University Hospital reported on September 4, 2009 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) that women and men with thigh size smaller than 60 cm (23.6 inches) were at a higher risk of premature death and heart disease.

They examined the data for 1,436 men and 1,380 women whose body measurements were taken in Denmark in the late 1980s. Over the next 12 years, more than 400 participants died and another 540 were found to suffer from either cardiovascular or heart disease. Men contributed to a larger portion of the deaths with a ratio of roughly 2 to 1.

Comparing to those with the 60 cm thighs, people with the thinnest thighs were more than 3 times likelier to die, and more than twice as likely to have heart problems. Survivors without any heart problems had significantly thicker thighs with other risk factors for heart disease like obesity, high cholesterol and smoking were taken into consideration.

The researchers concluded that there is a threshold effect for thigh circumference: if the thigh circumference were smaller than 60 cm, the risk of premature death would be increased greatly. On the other hand, for men and women with ham-like upper legs, bigger thighs do not seem to offer them any additional benefit.

With the new findings, the Danish researchers proposed that thigh size could be used as an indicator of cardiac risk, in additional to body mass index (BMI) and waist-and-hip ratio. Nevertheless, they felt that further research is still necessary.

Nevertheless, not all health experts would agree on the argument that thigh circumference could be used as a diagnostic tool. For example, there was a commentary also published in the BMJ expressed doubts that thigh circumference would be clinically useful.

What Would You Be If You Eat Fast and Eat Until Full?

The pace of eating and the amount of food consumed vary among people. Some people eat slowly and modestly while some eat fast and eat until they are full.

Japanese researchers from Osaka University pointed out in their study, published online on October 22, 2008 in The British Medical Journal (BMJ), that the latter are 3 times more likely to grow fat compared with the former.

As we all know, once a person gets fatter, many unwanted medical ailments like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, etc. might just be developed.

1,122 men and 2,165 women aged between 30 and 69 were recruited for the study. These participants were asked to closely track their own eating habits and BMI (body mass index), which has been used as a benchmark of obesity.

The results showed that about half of the men and just over half of the women were reported that they ate until they were full, while just under half of the men and a little more than a third were found to eat quickly.

Participants who ate until they felt full were twice as likely to be overweight comparing to those who did not eat until full. For those who ate both quickly and to satiety were 3 times likelier to be overweight.

In the study, distinction was made between people who ate until full and those who reported binge eating. One interesting finding of the study was that those who ate until full had a higher calorie intake than those who gorged.

The act of eating quickly is a survival mechanism, according to health experts. Human beings are such creatures that tend to over consume energy when it is available. Such characteristic would frequently cause humans to consume more calories than they require, especially when the food is cheap and instantly available, and they also eat swiftly.

Nowadays, family members seldom have meals together either because of the long working hours or other reasons. When eating alone, people are more likely to enter into fast-eating mode. In the meantime, more and more people like to eat while watching television or doing other things. When people are distracted, there is a tendency to eat faster. Last but not least, people on the go mostly turn to fast food when it comes to mealtime. The increased availability of relatively cheap food that is served in larger portions also promotes eating beyond satiety.

How Many of The Americans Are At Risk of Heart Disease?

Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and many other countries. A recent study showed that 90 percent of American adults have at least one risk factor for heart disease.

According to the researchers from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost all the Americans who have hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol or high blood sugar are overweight, smoking or exercising too little. Their report was presented on September 14, 2009 in the journal Circulation.

4 national studies that covered tens of thousands of Americans aged between 25 and 74 were examined, and it was found that only 10 percent of them had low risk scores in all 5 categories.

The 5 categories used refer to tobacco use, cholesterol level, blood pressure, BMI and diabetes. BMI is the short form for body mass index, which is a measure of overweight and obesity.

While tobacco use and cholesterol are still headed in the right direction, blood pressure, BMI and diabetes are all moving in the wrong direction, as indicated in the report.

Despite the effort being made during the 1970s and 1980s, situation deteriorated as a result of the increases in excess weight, diabetes and hypertension since the early 1990s.

Looking at the lifestyle adopted by people for the past decades, it will be very difficult for the situation to turn around unless people are willing to change their lifestyle and engage with regular exercise. This can never be an easy task, as it requires a great deal of effort from the people themselves as well as the authorities concerned.

How Much Do You Know About Stroke?

Strokes are also known as "brain attacks" because it is an emergency condition involving the brain. It can be caused by a lack of blood to the brain or arteries that are blocked or have burst.

Loss of function of certain limbs and severe weakness in the body are the common disabilities resulting from a stroke. In some patients, speech difficulties might be resulted. Some stroke patients may also forget things easily or become impulsive. Meanwhile, some patients may experience pain while others may not.

Other symptoms of stroke include weakness on one side of the body, loss of vision and balance, numbness, loss of sensation and become confused in thought.

Stroke can be caused by stress, overexertion or an unhealthy diet. The risk of suffering a stroke increases with age, stressful and sedentary lifestyle. Stroke risk doubles after the age of 65. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the young ones can be spared from getting stroke. In fact, patients in their late teens and early twenties are common. It is known that men are more prone to getting a stroke than women.

Other risk factors of stroke include family history of stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, inactivity, obesity and smoking.

It is important to go for a regular health screenings to make sure one's blood pressure is within the safety range, regardless of age. To reduce one's risk of getting stroke, one should deal with underlying risk factors such as controlling hypertension or stopping smoking.

Why You Should Not Be Too Skinny?

While being overweight or obese is definitely not healthy, people who are skinny are neither preferable. Why?

Because of modern lifestyle, number of people who are overweight or obese is increasing at a fairly fast rate. As we know, overweight or obesity can easily lead to many other diseases including diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol and heart disease. However, it seems that being very skinny is even more dangerous than being overweight or obese.

Japanese researchers from Tohoku University's Graduate School of Medicine recently (June 2009) found that slightly overweight people at the age of 40 could live 6 to 7 years longer than those very skinny people, who have an average life expectancy that is shorter by some 5 years than that of obese people.

The researchers did expect thin people to have shorter life expectancy but were surprised to discover such a large difference.

Working on middle-aged and elderly people, the long-term study involved 50,000 people between the age of 40 and 79 over a period of 12 years in the modern Japanese prefecture of Miyagi. The participants were divided into 4 groups at the age of 40 according to their BMI (body mass index).

BMI is the ratio of a person’s weight in kilos over the square of height in meters. BMI lower than 18.5 is classified as underweight. When BMI is between 18.5 and 25, the person is considered normal. Once the BMI exceeds 25 but lower than 30, the person is slightly overweight and once BMI exceeds 30, the person is considered as obese.

It was thought that thin people having shorter lives because many of them are either sick or smoke. However, the difference remained almost the same, even eliminating these 2 factors.

The researchers argued that skinny people were of shorter lifespan because they are vulnerable to disease such as pneumonia and the fragility of their blood vessels.

Nevertheless, people were not advised to eat as much as they want. Instead, the researchers recommended that thin people should try to gain normal weight but people with normal weight should never be putting on their weight.

Heart Disease Threats Can Cut Lifespan?

Smoking, high cholesterol and hypertension (high blood pressure) are 3 risk factors that can lead to heart disease. This statement can hardly arouse any objection.

In fact, many studies have confirmed that people, who do not smoke, eat healthily, and exercise, can cut their risk of developing heart disease. However, very few of these studies actually tackled and answered the question: ‘to what extend does having these heart disease risk factors shorten life expectancy?’

In order to seek the answer, researchers from the University of Oxford analyzed the data of 19,000 male British civil servants who were examined in the late 1960s when they were between 40 and 69 years old.

They found out that those male smokers with high cholesterol and hypertension die, on average, a decade sooner than those without any of these risk factors for heart disease. The findings were published on September 18, 2009 in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

The detailed information on medical history, lifestyle and smoking habits were provided by the participants at the outset of the study. Their weight, blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood sugar level and lung function were recorded by the doctors.

In 1997, or 28 years after the initial examination, more than 7,000 of those surviving participants were re-evaluated. It was found that those men who had a triple risk threat at the beginning of the study were 2 to 3 times more likely to have died of heart disease than men who were free from all the 3 risk factors. In other words, their lives were shortened, on average, by a decade.

According to health experts, the percentage of people having fatal stroke or heart attack does decline by about a quarter in many rich countries over the last decade. However, similar downtrend is not seen in many known risk factors for heart disease.

In the United States, the American Heart Association revealed that uncontrolled hypertension has fallen by only 16 percent, high blood cholesterol by 19 percent, and smoking by just over 15 percent since 1999.

Meanwhile, other risk factors of heart disease have remained either constant or even increased. For example, the number of people who exercise does not exceed than that more than 10 years ago. On the other hand, obesity rate have increased tremendously, especially among younger generation.

How Can Recession Obesity Affect The American Children?

In 2008, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), reported that nearly 32 percent of American children were overweight and 16 percent were obese.

Meanwhile, between 1980 and 1999, the obesity rate had tripled and this no doubt had created an epidemic. Poor diet that is heavy on fat and sugar with little consumption of fruits and fresh vegetables, and lack of exercise were blamed to be responsible for such phenomenon.

Obese children not only have a higher chance of becoming obese adults but are also at a higher risk of developing heart disease, high cholesterol and Type-2 diabetes.

Now, there is another possible force, which in the opinion of researchers, will help increase the obesity rate. Researchers from Duke University argued that the prevailing economic downturn would probably put American children at risk of ‘recession obesity’.

‘Recession obesity’ is a term for unhealthy side effects of people who lose their jobs and health insurance, then drop their gym memberships, delay medical treatment, and eat cheaper but less healthy meals. As fast food is cheap and filling, its consumption is on the rise during the economic downturn. The researchers fear that parents would substitute for their children fast food, high carbohydrate and high sugar-content food for healthy food. This would surely cause an uptick in the rate of overweight children and adolescents.

After analyzing dozens of indicators, the researchers compiled the 2009 Child Well-Being Index. The index tracks how American children are faring socially, emotionally, in terms of education and health. It aims to assess how American children are faring today, comparing their current situation with the past. They also project what these children might face in the future. This year’s index includes a special report on the impact of the current recession on the American children.

Is Silent Heart Attack Common?

The American Heart Association had declared heart disease as the number one killer in the United States. In general, people with high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, as well as those who are overweight or obese are at a high risk of getting heart disease.

According to a new study, the so-called silent heart attacks may be far more common than previously thought. Each year, there are nearly 200,000 Americans suffering such an attack without even realizing it.

In a paper published on April 20, 2009 in PLoS Medicine, a peer-reviewed publication of the Public Library of Science, the researchers from Duke University Medical Center reported that the unrecognized myocardial infarction (UMI) could be difficult to detect, if it occurred in the distant past, and it often goes unnoticed by the victim. It is, nevertheless, associated with a high risk of sudden death. They also pointed out that no one has yet fully understood how often these heart attacks occur and what they mean, in terms of prognosis.

The new study had led to the belief that the subset of heart attacks, known as non-Q-wave UMIs, is fairly common, at least among people with suspected coronary artery disease.

Doctors usually depend on specific alterations of an electrocardiogram (EKG) called a Q-wave that signals damage of heart tissue so that they could detect heart attacks, which happened in the distant past. However, many UMIs do not result in Q-waves on an EKG, leading to a previously unknown number of silent heart attacks.

In the study, the Duke researchers used a technique known as delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance (DE-CMR) to examine 185 patients, who were suspected of having coronary artery disease but who had no record of any heart attacks.

These patients were studied for 2 years and it was found that 35 percent of them had evidence of a heart attack, and that non-Q-wave UMIs were 3 times more likely than Q-wave attacks. Furthermore, those who suffered non-Q-wave attacks had 17 times higher chance of dying of heart attacks than those with no heart damage.

The researchers also suggested that if patients with UMIs happen to be identified, they could have been treated in a similar manner as those patients who were known to have heart disease.

What Are The Genes That Would Link to Heart Disease?

Being the number one killer worldwide, heart disease takes away the lives of more than 17 million people. This is the statistics released by the World Health Organization (WTO). High blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and smoking are common risk factors but genes could be a critical one too.

According to the 2 studies released on March 22, 2009, scientists discovered 10 common genetic mutations that boost the risk of sudden cardiac arrest by subtly disrupting the heartbeat.

An international team of more than 40 scientists, including those from Munich University and John Hopkins University in Baltimore, published their findings in the journal Nature Genetics. Their findings revealed the cause of the irregular rhythms that often underlie severe heart problems, which could point to new treatments.

Even without any symptoms, a person’s likelihood of sudden cardiac death could be predicted just by identifying genetic variants that affect the timing of heart contractions, known as the ‘QT Interval’.

The genomes of nearly 16,000 individuals whose QT Intervals had been measured by electrocardiogram were analyzed. The scientists screened some 2.5 million sites on each genome, trying to match subtle alternations in gene sequence with aberrant patterns of heart contractions.

The study found 10 bits of wayward genetic code. One of them known as Noslap had already been identified as contributing to heart trouble and several others had been placed on a list of suspects. Interestingly, almost half were surprising new genes that no one would have guessed as being involved in cardiac biology.

In the second study by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, similar results were found from more than 13,000 individuals.

As pointed out by the researchers, a single genetic variation in an individual does not necessarily mean a higher risk of an irregular heartbeat, much less increased risk of sudden cardiac death. However, when taking all the data together, the results become statistically significant.

Such findings had reassured the researchers because such strong replication was obtained in 2 independent studies.

Is Male’s Testosterone Level Linked To Cardiovascular Disease Death?

Testosterone is the primary 'male' hormone that helps maintain bone mass, fat distribution, muscle mass and strength, sperm production, sex drive and potency. Women do have testosterone but at lower levels.

There were suggestions from health professionals that men's overall health has somehow connected with their natural testosterone levels, but their relationship has yet been fully understood.

A study by the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in Britain found that higher naturally occurring levels of the male hormone testosterone apparently would protect men from fatal heart attacks or strokes and death from all causes.

The findings, which appeared on November 26, 2007 in the journal Circulation, showed strong benefits in men with higher natural levels of the hormone. However, the researchers cautioned men not to simply begin taking testosterone supplements just based on the results of this 10-year study because the benefits and risks are still unclear.

11,606 British men ages between 40 and 79, who had no known cancer or cardiovascular disease at the start of the study, were tracked. These participants joined the study from 1993 to 1997 and they were followed until 2003.

During the study period, 825 men died. Their testosterone levels were measured using frozen blood samples provided earlier, and were compared to a group of men still alive at the end of the study period.

The results of the study indicated that men in the upper 25 percent of natural testosterone levels had a 41 percent lower risk of dying from heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular conditions, cancer and all other causes, comparing with those having the lowest levels.

The relationship between testosterone levels and cardiovascular disease mortality was found to be comparable in magnitude to risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Thus, this would imply that men who might not have other known risk factors but have low testosterone levels could be at elevated risk for cardiovascular death.

Although the findings did indicate men with low levels of testosterone might cut their risk of death if they take testosterone supplementation, the researchers would not recommend doing this without further research supporting these results.

This is because the study looked only at naturally occurring levels of the hormone but not supplementation. Moreover, research had shown that high testosterone might be a risk factor for prostate cancer.

Depression Will Lead to Heart Disease For Women!

Diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol and smoking have long been regarded as culprits that cause heart disease. Depression, which is common for patients after heart attack or stroke, and would probably worsen these patients’ outcomes, could simply break a healthy woman's heart silently.

A study by researchers from Columbia University reported that new evidence has been gathered to show depression can certainly lead to heart disease for women. The findings of the 12-year study were published on March 9, 2009 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In the study, 63,000 women from the long-running Nurses' Health Study were tracked between 1992 and 2004. When the study began, there was no sign of heart disease among all participants except nearly 8 percent of them had evidence of serious depression.

Those women with depression were more than twice as likely to experience sudden cardiac death, which is caused by an irregular heartbeat. Furthermore, they had a smaller increased risk of death from other form of heart disease.

The researchers were also surprised to note that sudden cardiac death seemed more closely related to the antidepressant use than with the depression symptoms the women had. This might imply that women who were prescribed with antidepressants were the most seriously depressed, though such finding would still require more research to confirm.

In fact, the newer antidepressants frequently used now had not been reported to cause a risk of irregular heartbeat. To the contrary, some research has even suggested having some sort of protection. Nevertheless, the researchers argue that the current finding does add to the growing evidence that depression could be an independent risk factor for heart disease.

To achieve heart disease prevention for depressed women, it is suggested that further study should be carried out to test whether appropriate treatment would lower the risk of getting heart disease for those depressed women.

Are People With Restless Leg Syndrome At Higher Risk of Heart Disease?

When a person has a strong, irresistible urge to move the legs that is often associated with an itching, tugging or gnawing feeling, he or she is said to have Restless Leg Syndrome (or in short, RLS).

When resting, the syndrome tends to worsen and this could cause a person difficult to fall or stay asleep. About 5 percent to 10 percent of adults have RLS, and some 80 percent of sufferers move their legs periodically during sleep.

A study, which was conducted by Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, revealed that people with RLS were twice as likely to have a heart disease or stroke and those having severe syndromes were at higher risk. In fact, the association of RLS with heart disease and stroke was strongest in those people having RLS symptoms at least 16 times per month. The finding was published on December 31, 2007 in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3,433 men and women were enrolled in a sleep study with an average age of 68, and a detailed questionnaire indicated that nearly 7 percent of women and 3 percent of men in the study had RLS.

The researchers found that people with RLS were more than twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke, even after making adjustment for several risk factors such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, obesity and smoking.

While the results do not directly show that RTS can cause heart disease or stroke, the researchers argued that the periodic leg movements associated with RLS could well be a contributing factor.

According to the researchers, most people with RLS can have between 200 and 300 periodic leg movements per night of sleep. These leg movements are associated with substantial acute increases in both blood pressure and heart rate that may produce cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease over the long term. Moreover, sleep deprivation may also be linked to heart disease.

Incidentally, the research, which confirms several smaller studies, was also supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Heart Attack Symptoms in Women Can Appear Differently!

Instead of having chest pain, a 70 year-old woman was overwhelmed by dizziness before breaking out into a cold sweat. She alerted her son and immediately she was admitted to the hospital. Yes, she had a heart attack.

While pain, tightness or discomfort in the chest is commonly experienced by most heart attack patients, women may get symptoms quite different from these. For example, dizziness, nausea and even indigestion-like discomfort. It was estimated that about one-third of patients, who are elderly and female, might experience atypical symptoms during a heart attack.

A possible explanation is that most women suffer from heart attacks at an older age than men do. The physiology of ageing could make the chest pain in these women not as intense as that in younger patients. Therefore, other atypical symptoms may be predominant during an attack. Too often, these symptoms can be ignored or just go unrecognized. Studies have shown that up to one third of the heart attacks can go unrecognized in women, comparing to one quarter in men.

Central chest pain lasting more than 20 to 30 minutes is considered as one of the major criteria for heart attack diagnosis. Doctors might not consider a heart attack as the diagnosis if there are other symptoms presented. Moreover, a heart attack could frequently be confused with indigestion or an anxiety attack.

If a person already has some known risk factors for heart disease such as diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol or smoking, and feels persistently unwell with the symptoms indicated above, he or she should see a doctor at once for a more detailed evaluation. In fact, a simple ECG or EKG (electrocardiogram) can always diagnose a heart attack even if the symptoms are non-specific.

Although heart attacks do occur suddenly without any obvious preceding symptoms, some patients may notice increasing frequency or severity of certain symptoms. For instance, some might have chest pains on exertion or even at rest, while others might feel more breathless than usual when doing their normal daily activities.

Heart Damage May Be Reduced By Folate!

When the blood flow is cut off, the damage to the heart muscle could be reduced with the help of high doses of folate, as suggested by an animal study carried out by researchers from Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. The findings were published in the April 2008’s addition of “Circulation”.

What is folate? It is a water-soluble B vitamin obtainable from food. The synthetic form of folate that is found in supplements and added to fortified foods is known as folic acid. Folate helps produce and maintain new cells. It can be found in natural foods like leafy vegetables (such as spinach and turnip greens), fruits (for example, citrus fruits and juices), and dried beans and peas.

In the animal study, rats were treated with folate or placebo. After 1 week, their left coronary arteries were blocked for 30 minutes. As we know, blood normally carries oxygen to the heart muscle. Any sudden and severe blockage could just trigger a heart attack or an abnormal heart rhythm, which is considered as fatal conditions.

The researchers performed a 90-minute of reperfusion to some rates and do nothing to the others. Reperfusion is the restoration of the coronary blood flow to the heart muscle. Preserving or restoring heart function is a necessary procedure, but it can well cause a disturbance in the function of the cells in the heart muscle known as reperfusion injury.

Rats that were treated with folate had significantly less functional damage of the heart than those that were treated with placebo. When the researchers looked at reperfusion, smaller areas of dead heart muscle were found among rats pretreated with folate.

Further analysis also indicated that folate might have achieved these beneficial effects, in part, by maintaining levels of the high-energy phosphates ATP and ADP in the heart.

Despite of the positive findings, the researchers felt that it is still premature for people to start taking high doses of folate. However, if future studies on human beings can prove equally effective, then high-dose folate could be given to those people with high-risk factors (diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.) for preventing possible heart attack or to people who have suffered heart attack.