The new cholesterol guidelines recommend against treating to a numeric result of LDL and total cholesterol. Hallelujah! I recommend optimizing diet (dump those grains and sugars), exercising, and keeping inflammation down. Read more here.
Heart Health
A Report on the FDA’s View About Trans-Fats
I’m excited that the FDA will be requiring elimination of trans fats from foods (they haven’t set a date yet, though). Here is a recent article about their perspective. Best bet for health–eat whole foods. Packaged foods remain suspect.
A Deadly Combination
If you are taking calcium-channel blocker medication for high blood pressure, please take note. The combination of the antibiotic medication clarithromycin with calcium-channel blockers has been associated with increased risk of death. Read more here. Please be sure to question your prescribing physician should this combination arise for you. And […]
Folate vs. Folic acid
There is a lot of confusion out there regarding whether or not “folic acid” (Vitamin B9) is safe to supplement. The answer likely lies in the form being supplemented. Folic acid has been the most common form of Vitamin B9 in our supplements. But our diet contains folate (think foliage). […]
FDA to Ban Trans-Fats!
This is very exciting news!! The FDA is finally in motion to ban all trans-fats in our diets. Now, this may still take a while as they plan on working with manufacturers for a phase in date which means you still must be very careful with your selections of packaged […]
Calcium–Supplement or Not?
While I will always prefer getting our nutrients from our diets, supplementation can also be important. I wanted to share this article on calcium supplementation, though, since there seems to be a link between calcium supplementation and heart disease in men. More research is needed before any “across the board” […]
Exercise as Preventative Care
This title may provoke a “no surprise” attitude, however, look closer. Research is showing, and I quote: “They found no difference in mortality between exercise and drug interventions in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease or Type 2 diabetes. For stroke prevention, exercise programs were more effective than anticoagulants […]
“Exercise is as good as medicine” for Heart Disease . . .
OK–that’s an eye-catcher! Evidence is suggesting that exercise may be as effective as some medications for heart disease and that more studies should be completed. This is great news–but it does NOT mean that you should stop your heart medication. Please consult with your prescribing physician before making any medication […]
Arsenic Linked with Heart Disease
So you might be thinking that you don’t need to worry about this finding, however, did you know that arsenic is in drinking water and our food (check out how they treat commercial chickens)? This study reports increased risk of cardiovascular disease at levels the government has deemed safe. Hmmm. […]
Calcium Channel Blockers and Breast Cancer
If you are taking a calcium channel blocker for high blood pressure, please be aware that there is evidence that long-term use may increase the risk of breast cancer. This does NOT mean that you should stop your medication–but DO ask your doctor if there may be alternative medications, conduct […]
