According to the National Center For Health Statistics, Heart Disease was the leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2004. If you want to avoid being a statistic, it’s time to think about a heart healthy diet.
A study run by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School ranked daily meal plans and food recommendations of eight popular weight-loss programs. With 70 as a perfect score, here’s how they ranked:
- Ornish, 64.6.
- Weight Watchers high-carbohydrate, 57.4.
- New Glucose Revolution, 57.2.
- South Beach Phase 2, 50.7.
- Zone, 49.8.
- MyPyramid, 48.7.
- Weight Watchers high protein, 47.3.
- Atkins 100-g carbohydrate, 46.
- South Beach Phase 3, 45.6.
- Atkins 45-g carbohydrate, 42.3.
“We were most surprised by the fact that the MyPyramid wasn’t even in the top three. We figured that this would be a model diet because it is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture dietary recommendations,” said the study’s author clinical psychologist Sherry Pagoto.She went on to assure the public that these rankings aren’t an indication of the general healthfulness of any particular diet. All of the diets are potentially healthy and have been shown in a variety of studies to result in weight loss, which is important to improving heart health.
One important thing to consider is your personal food preference. Because no matter how healthy a diet is, if you aren’t going to stick to it, what good is it to you in the long run? For example, if you really like carbohydrates, you’re better off with Weight Watchers than Atkins. But, people with a family history of heart disease should consider using this study as a guide when choosing a diet plan, Pagoto said.
To those of us ignorant about acupuncture, who would have thought that sticking needles in your body could relieve pain? But, new research shows that using acupuncture before and during an operation can cut a patient’s need for more traditional painkillers.
“From a pain perspective, you can reduce the amount of morphine that the patient uses and improve the quality of analgesia and pain control,” said lead researcher Dr. Tong J. Gan, a professor and vice chairman of anesthesiology at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, N.C.
Morphine is a potent painkiller used in hospitals. But it can often produce side effects. In the new study, Dr. Gan and his team analyzed data from 15 clinical trials looking at the use of acupuncture to reduce postoperative pain. They found that adjunctive acupuncture could reduce post-op itchiness by 30 percent, nausea by 50 percent, and dizziness by 60 percent. About eight out of 10 patients will experience those side effects from postoperative morphine, Gan said.
The studies Gan reviewed used Chinese acupuncture, but he said that similar effects would occur with other styles and whether needles, electrical or manual acupuncture was used. Adjunctive acupuncture is “not widely used because people need to be educated,” Gan said.
A recent story on msnbc.com reported that citizens in the United States are on average twice as fat as our European counterparts. And it’s leading us down a one-way street to Broke Town. Obesity leads to all kinds of chronic ailments that add $100-$150 billion in annual healthcare costs, according to a report published in the journal Health Affairs.
About 33 percent of Americans are obese, compared with 17 percent in 10 European countries reviewed.
We each need to do our part. But things have gotten so dire here in the U.S. that one city official is looking to put a moratorium on the opening of fast food joints.
The ordinance proposed by Councilwoman Jan Perry would stop new fast-food restaurants from opening in southern Los Angeles, California for up to two years. The area is reported to have the most fast food restaurants in the country.
“While limiting fast-food restaurants isn’t a solution in itself, it’s an important piece of the puzzle,” said Mark Vallianatos, director of the Center for Food and Justice at Occidental College.
Count Hardee’s fast food restaurants among the un-PC, as they just rolled out a breakfast burrito that packs a serious punch… to the gut. If you eat one of their new Country Breakfast Burritos, you’re going to get more calories than you were probably counting on. Try counting to 920! Not to mention that it has 60 grams of fat.
My heart just skipped a beat. But it may not beat too much longer if I ate many of these burritos that contain two egg omelets filled with bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy.
What was once the Rhythm Nation could soon be the Weight Loss Nation. Janet Jackson, one of music’s biggest influencers, has announced she’s putting ink to paper to share her personal struggle with weight gain and loss. The book is currently in progress and has not yet been given a title, but Miss Jackson says she’s “really coming from the soul with it.”
She expresses that the journey can be different for everyone, and she’s merely sharing her own. During the past year the singer/actress lost an impressive 60 pounds, she says by eating less and exercising more.
Like many other celebrities who’ve publically struggled with their weight, including Oprah and Mariah Carey, Janet plans to share her experiences with her adoring public.
(Please visit again later for further updates on Janet Jackson’s upcoming book.)
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