Eat Less Fructose To Prevent Hypertension!

Dessert is usually a sweet course of dish served at the end of a meal. It includes cake, cookie, gelatin, pastry, ice cream, pie, and candy. Dessert is not only liked by children but also favored by many adults especially females.

Besides dessert, many of our daily diet can also be laden with excessive sugar. For instance, sugary or soda drinks are popular among teenagers and many young adults. Most of these sweetened drinks contained the popular high-fructose corn syrup (sometimes called corn sugar). Fructose can be found naturally in fruit and table sugar and that is why it is also called fruit sugar.

Well, lovers of sugary drinks and sugar-laden foods should pay attention to results of a study conducted by scientists from the United States, who reported that consuming a lot of foods and drinks sweetened with fructose might significantly increase the risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure).

The study was published on July 1, 2010 in the ‘Journal of the American Society of Nephrology’ by researchers from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. They found increased rates of borderline high blood pressure for people who consumed at least 74 grams of fructose a day (about 4 bottles of soda).

American Heart Association (AHA) also warned that having too much sugar of any kind can cause people gain weight and this could in turn lead to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

While scientists have yet to find out the exact reason why fructose would raise blood pressure, some experts suspected that fructose has the potential to reduce production of nitric oxide within the blood vessels.

Nitric oxide, which is known to relax the vessel, is supposed to lower blood pressure. But fructose reduces the production of nitric oxide and makes it difficult for the vessels to relax and dilate.

Meanwhile, fructose also raises uric acid in the blood that could raise blood pressure. Fructose can signal the kidneys to 'hold onto' more salt, and that can contribute to high blood pressure.

Avoid Processed Meat To Prevent Heart Disease!

Bacon, sausage, hot dog and some other processed meat have already become an integrated part of many meat lovers’ diets. But many are probably not aware that eating too much of these would raise their chances of developing diabetes and heart disease.

In a paper published on May 17, 2010 in the journal ‘Circulation’, researchers from Harvard School of Public Health reported that eating unprocessed beef, pork or lamb did not seem to raise risks of heart attack and diabetes. Therefore, salt and chemical preservatives are the real culprits responsible for these 2 health disorders.

Many past studies examining the relationship between eating meat and cardiovascular disease and diabetes had found mixed results, and few had looked at the differences in risk between processed and unprocessed red meat.

To get evidence of a link between eating processed and unprocessed red meat and the risk of diabetes and heart disease, a systemic review of nearly 1,600 studies from around the world were carried out.

Processed meat was defined in the study as any meat preserved by smoking, curing or salting, or with the addition of chemical preservatives. Good examples of processed meat included bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs or processed deli or luncheon meats. On the other hand, unprocessed red meat included beef, lamb or pork but not poultry.

The findings showed that on average, every 50 grams serving of processed meat a day (equivalent to 1 or 2 slices of deli meats or 1 hot dog) was associated with a 19 percent higher risk of developing diabetes and 42 percent higher risk of heart disease. Meanwhile, they found no higher risk of diabetes or heart disease in people eating only unprocessed red meats.

Hence, they urged people to eat less (1 serving or less per week) processed meats such as bacon, salami, sausages, hot dogs and processed deli meats in order to lower the risk of diabetes and heart attack.

As expected, the American Meat Institute objected to the findings quoting that it was only one study that was different from other studies and the United States Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Hence, there is no reason for dietary changes unless further studies could justify so.

What Would Heart Disease Cost United States 20 Years Later?

Most people are aware that heart disease is a chronic disease and the cost of treating it can never be cheap. When the condition of a heart disease patient is serious enough that it cannot no longer be treated by medication alone, he or she might need to undergo heart by-pass surgery or even heart transplant. Though advancement of technology has reduced the medical cost substantially, the amount of money that patients need to pay is still considered huge for most people.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in most developed countries including United States, where one in 3 people has some form of heart disease. Every year, 17 percent of the cost of medical care, which is about US$273 billion, is meant for heart disease.

A study published on January 24, 2011 in ‘Circulation’, a journal of the American Heart Association (AHA) estimated that the cost of treating heart disease in United States are expected to triple to US$818 billion per year by 2030.

Based on the current disease rates, an expert panel of AHA expanded the cost according to projections from United States census data about approaching shifts in the population. The researchers also assumed that there would be no new discoveries made between now and 2030 to stop the tide of heart disease.

As revealed by the panel, 36.9 percent of Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart failure or stroke presently. The number of people affected would increase to 116 million or 40.5 percent. Patients with stroke and heart failure are expected to increase the most by about 25 percent.

Most heart disease, according to AHA, is preventable if people can stick to healthy diet and adequate exercises. Unfortunately, many people do not seem to follow such advice. Meanwhile many heart disease patients do not take their medications as directed or drugs are not optimally prescribed to them. All these can further raise the cost of treatment.

Women Benefit More In Certain Heart Disease Treatment!

Heart failure is a condition in which heart is unable to pump blood at an adequate rate or in adequate volume. In serious cases, heart failure patients could lose their life with cessation of heartbeat.

There are numerous reasons why one might develop heart failure, which can be sudden or happen gradually over a periods of time. Some common causes are heart attack, high blood pressure, defective valves in the heart, cardiomyopathies (diseases of the heart muscle), too much alcohol, and congenital conditions that one is born with.

Besides taking right mix of medications, heart failure patients could have their condition reversed if the heart valve is repaired or fast heart rhythm is controlled. In some cases, certain devices are used to help the heart beat and contract properly. For example, cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator (CRT-D), which is a form of therapy for congestive heart failure caused by dilated cardiomyopathy, have been found to have remarkable benefits on appropriately selected patients with heart failure.

CRT-D can help guard against sudden death from irregular heart rhythm by using a specialized pacemaker to re-coordinate the action of the right and left ventricles in patients with heart failure. It can also help strengthen pumping action in patients with heart damage.

Researchers from the University of Rochester pointed out in their findings that CRT-D works twice as well in women. Their study, which was published on February 7, 2011 in the ‘Journal of the American College of Cardiology’, found that when using CRT-D, there was a 70 percent reduction in heart failure in women compared a 35 percent drop in men.

This is probably the first time in history of heart disease research that has credited a certain type of treatment that is more effective in women than in men. In the past cardiac studies, men and women generally received similar benefit from preventive medical therapy.

According to researchers, CRT-D works better in women because women tend to suffer from a different type of heart disease than men. The male participants in the study were more likely to have coronary heart disease while the female participants were more likely to suffer from non-ischemic heart disease.

Coronary artery disease, which is also known as ischemic heart disease, is a condition in which narrowed vessels restrict blood flow to the heart. Non-ischemic heart disease, on the other hand, is one that involves more generalized scarring of heart tissue.

How To Help Women Quit Smoking?

Smoking is definitely not a good habit for health. Smokers are at a higher risk of getting not only lung cancer but also other diseases including heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). More importantly, smokers can pose health risk to people around them through secondhand smoke.

While smokers are aware of the risk they face, many of them especially females are reluctant to quit because they afraid they could gain weight after they stop smoking. In fact, most smokers who quit smoking will eventually gain 5 to 15 pounds.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center reported that a combination of specialized counseling and the anti-smoking drug Zyban might boost, at least for a while, chances of quitting smoking for female smokers.

Zyban is a prescription drug used to help smokers give up their habit. It comes in a pill form, and it does not contain nicotine. Hence, it is not a nicotine replacement therapy product. Zyban is the trade name of the drug called “bupropion” and it was approved in 1997 as a stop smoking aid.

The findings, appeared on March 22, 2010 in the ‘Archives of Internal Medicine’, showed that over a period of 6 months of treatment, women who received the combo therapy were more successful at quitting than those who received weight counseling only, and more successful than those who received standard smoking-cessation counseling plus Zyban.

Over the period of 6 months, 34 percent of women in the group that received weight counseling and Zyban consistently abstained, comparing to 21 percent of women who received standard counseling and Zyban, 11 percent of those who received weight counseling and placebo (inactive pills) and 10 percent of those who had standard counseling and placebo.

However, the positive effect faded after treatment ended. At the 1-year mark, 24 percent of women in the group that received weight counseling and Zyban had still remained abstinent, as compared with those in the group that received standard therapy/Zyban. Yet, researchers still insisted that cognitive behavioral therapy, which was developed by them, aimed at smokers' weight-gain issues could give certain women an extra push to quit.

Higher Risk of Hip Fracture for Asian Diabetics!

A diabetic is one whose blood sugar is high either because the body does not produce enough insulin or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. Diabetes can damage one’s eyes, kidneys and nerves. It can also lead to heart disease, stroke and even limb amputation.

In Asia, researchers from National University of Singapore (NUS) have also found that there is a link between diabetes and osteoporosis, which is the thinning of bone tissue and loss of bone density over time. The data obtained in the study showed that Asians with diabetes experience an increased risk of osteoporotic hip fracture, just like the diabetics in the West.

This is the first Asian study on the correlation between diabetes and osteoporosis, and its findings, which were published in May 2010 in ‘Diabetes Care’, a journal by the American Diabetes Association, were identical to the combined results of 11 previous studies done in the West.

Using the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a cohort study of more than 63,000 Chinese aged between 45 and 74 years, researchers examined the link between the 2 conditions. Established between 1993 and 1998, the study followed the participants for 12 years. Interviews were used to get the diabetes status and the number of hip fractures was identified through a nationwide hospital discharge database.

There was significantly more women had hip fractures: out of about 1,200 cases of hip fracture, there were 871 women, compared to 342 men. Meanwhile, the risk of hip fracture among people with diabetes was found to be twice that among those without diabetes.

While the participants were all Chinese, the researchers confirmed that the link so found could also exist across different populations with varying lifestyle or genetic make-up. In other words, the results in the study will apply to Malays and Indians too.

It is hoped that the findings could alarm the public so that doctors who manage diabetes and diabetic patients themselves will test for osteoporosis early to cut down the risk of hip fracture.

Let Garlic Help You Lower Hypertension!

While garlic is widely used as a seasoning or condiment, it has also been used as a remedy for infections, digestive disorders and fungal infections. In fact, traditional Indian Ayurvedic medicine practitioners have been using garlic to prevent high blood pressure for centuries. Meanwhile, many past studies also linked it to prevention of cancer and heart disease, and reduction of blood sugar.

A 12-week trial involving 50 patients that was conducted by Australian researchers from University of Adelaide reported that people with hypertension (high blood pressure) who took 4 capsules a day of a aged garlic extract had their systolic blood pressure reduced by around 10 mmHg, as compared with those who were given a placebo. The findings were published in October 2010 in the scientific journal ‘Maturitas’.

A placebo is a sham or simulated medical intervention that is commonly used in medical research. It is given as control treatments and can be inert tablets, sham surgery and other procedures based on false information.

However, the researchers pointed out that garlic, if it is taken in any other way, for instance, raw, fresh or in powdered form, does not have the same effect. When fresh garlic is cooked, its ingredient that is responsible for lowering blood pressure simply disappeared.

Though this was not the first study to examine the beneficial property of garlic, it was the first study to assess the impact of aged garlic extract that was evaluated as an additional treatment to other high blood pressure drugs, as claimed by the researchers.

Hypertension is a risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, peripheral vascular disease and many other medical conditions. Globally, about 1 billion people have hypertension, which also affects about 1 in 3 adults in the United States. If hypertensive patients can have their blood pressure normalized, the risk of getting heart disease and stroke could be reduced.

Nevertheless, as garlic has blood-thinning effect and might interact with many drugs, it is advisable for patients to seek advice from qualified health practitioners or doctors before taking any garlic supplements.