Reducing the Risk of Heart Disease

A healthy heart is about enjoying a healthy lifestyle and making this a part of your everyday life. It is also about taking positive steps to reduce risk factors.

The best ways to reduce the risk of developing heart disease, and to help prevent it getting worse if it already exists is to reduce or remove the risk factors over which we have some control. Some of the steps you can take to reduce the risk of developing heart disease are outlined below.

1. Be Smoke-free
Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood and damages the artery walls. Stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.

2. Enjoy Healthy Eating
Cholesterol and fat contribute to the deposits which build up in the artery walls and cause disease. You can help lower your blood cholesterol level and limit further artery clogging by reducing the amount of saturated fat you eat. Saturated fat is found in fatty meats, full cream dairy products, butter, two vegetable oils (coconut and palm oils), most fried takeaway foods and commercially baked products. Replace saturated fats with moderate amounts of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as canola, olive, sunflower and soybean oils.

3. Be Physically Active
The body is designed to move, and regular, moderate physical activity is good for the heart. Being active is also a great way to have fun. Physical activity can also help control other risk factors such as high blood pressure and being overweight. The Heart Foundation recommends that people include 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity (such as brisk walking) on most, if not all days of the week, for health benefits. The amount of activity can be accumulated in shorter bouts, e.g. three 10-minute walks.

4. Control Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can strain your heart and speed up the process of coronary heart disease. Have regular blood pressure checks. If your blood pressure is high, reduce salt intake, limit alcohol to two drinks or less daily and follow your doctor's advice. Long-term medication may be required to manage high blood pressure.

5. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Being overweight and carrying too much weight around the waist are risk factors for coronary heart disease and diabetes. Healthy eating and being physically active assists weight loss.

Healthier Ingredient Options

Eating healthy does not mean throwing out your favourite recipes just because they contain cream as one of the ingredients. You can try replacing the following high fat ingredients with lower fat options.

Standard Option	Healthier Option
Full cream milk	Reduced fat/non fat milk
Full cream evaporated milk	Low fat/light evaporated milk
Yoghurt	Low fat/diet yoghurt
Cream	Low fat/light evaporated milk Low fat unsweetened yoghurt
Tasty cheese	Edam cheese
Cream cheese	Ricotta Low fat cottage cheese
Streaky bacon	Middle eye rasher
Luncheon meat	97% fat free/light ham, turkey, chicken
Tuna/salmon in oil or brine	Tuna/salmon in spring water
Puff or regular pastry	Filo pastry

You can also:

• Add a side salad with foods like pies, pizza and lasagne.
• Grate vegetables (like carrots) into mince dishes.
• Add cauliflower or broccoli to pasta bakes and dishes.
• Use leftover vegetables in soups or omelettes.
• Add a can of beans or lentils to mince dishes.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=140

Wii Fit and Weight Loss

There are over 1.75 million households in Australia with a Nintendo Wii and around 52% of them own the Wii Fit game.

The American Council on Exercise conducted a study on the fitness benefits of Wii Fit. After analysing the six most aerobically challenging activities featured in the Wii Fit (Free Run, Island Run, Free Step, Advanced Step, Super Hula Hoop and Rhythm Boxing) the study concluded that the exercise intensity of some of the activities in the game was proven to be lower than expected. However, it should be noted that this study only used 16 volunteers (both male and female between the ages of 20 and 24).

The study found that the most challenging of the activities, Island Run and Free Run, burned around 691 kilojoules (165 calories) in 30 minutes, which compares well to a brisk walk. The activities may help you burn some kilojoules but neither was sufficient enough to maintain or improve cardiorespiratory endurance as defined by the American College of Sports Medicine. For the other activities, after 30 minutes, Rhythm Boxing burned 466 kilojoules (114 calories), Super Hula Hoop burned 465 kilojoules (111 calories), Advanced Step burned 452 kilojoules (108 calories) and Free Step burned 414 kilojoules (99 calories).

So, if you’re using the Wii Fit during time that you would normally be watching TV or surfing the net, then something is better than nothing. However, you shouldn’t replace regular exercise with time on the Wii Fit as it may be a good place to start, but not be your only source of fitness.

As a side note, the ACE report mentioned that you’re better off doing Wii Sports than Wii Fit because in Wii Sports there’s more jumping around and you’re not constrained by having to stand on the balance pad - there’s more freedom of movement and you get a better workout.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=125

Seasonal Food Guide

The government tells us that we should be eating 5 serves of veggies and 2 serves of fruit each day. Produce that is in season locally is cheaper, tastes better and has more nutrients. Fruits and veggies start to lose nutrients immediately after they are harvested, so the best produce is that which is the freshest.

Luckily the Seasonal Food Guide Australia website (seasonalfoodguide.com) can tell us when different fruit and veggies are in season. Buying locally grown produce not only supports your local farmers, it also guarantees you the freshest produce, which imported and interstate produce can't compete with.

For those of us living in NSW, now is the best time to eat cherries, mandarins, oranges, peaches, plums and strawberries.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=116

Metabolic Syndrome

There is a medical condition that doubles the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.  It’s called “Metabolic Syndrome” and most people affected with it don’t know they have it.

The Metabolic Syndrome is a group of risk factors that can potentially contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease (disease of the heart and blood vessels), type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and stroke.

The Metabolic Syndrome is associated with increasing age, lack of physical exercise, smoking and a diet that is high in fats and sugars. To a degree, genetic factors may also determine whether an individual is at risk of developing the metabolic syndrome.

The components of the Metabolic Syndrome include:

• Abdominal obesity (carrying too much weight around the waist area);
• Hypertension (high blood pressure);
• Low HDL cholesterol levels in the blood (HDL is the so-called “good” cholesterol);
• High LDL cholesterol levels in the blood (LDL is the so-called “bad” cholesterol);
• High blood levels of triglycerides (fats);
• Insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes. (Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels. When the body develops insulin resistance, it becomes less capable of lowering the blood sugar level after meals. If insulin resistance is not reversed or treated, diabetes mellitus may develop); and
• Microalbuminuria (protein in the urine).

People with three or more of the above symptoms can be considered to have the Metabolic Syndrome, greatly increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease and/or type 2 diabetes, two of the most pervasive diseases in Western populations.

More than half of all Australians have at least one of the Metabolic Syndrome conditions. Suggestions for reducing your risk include:

• Incorporate as many lifestyle changes as you can – eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and losing weight will dramatically reduce your risk of diseases associated with metabolic syndrome such as diabetes and heart disease.
• Make dietary changes – eat plenty of natural wholegrain foods, vegetables and fruit. To help with weight loss, reduce the amount of food you eat and limit foods high in fat or sugar. Reduce saturated fats such as meat, full cream dairy and many processed foods – this will help improve your cholesterol levels. Reducing alcohol consumption to less than two standard drinks a day may help to lower triglyceride levels.
• Increase your physical activity level – regular exercise raises the level of HDL (‘good’) cholesterol in your blood, which helps remove excess cholesterol from your body and protect against heart disease. Exercised muscle cells are also more sensitive to insulin.
• Manage your weight – increasing physical activity and improving eating habits will help you lose excess body fat. As a result, your blood pressure may drop and your cells will be more sensitive to insulin.
• Quit smoking – smoking increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and lung disease. Quitting will have many health benefits, especially if you have metabolic syndrome.
• Medication may be required – lifestyle changes are extremely important in the management of the Metabolic Syndrome but sometimes medication may be necessary to manage the different conditions. Some people will need to take antihypertensive tablets to control high blood pressure and/or lipid lowering medications to keep cholesterol within the recommended limits. The most important thing is to reduce your risk of heart attack, diabetes and stroke.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=95

Finding Time to Exercise

Having problems finding the time to exercise is a discussion topic that comes up all the time. Statistics show that the number one reason 85% of the population isn’t working out consistently is because they believe that they don’t have enough time.

We all have work, family and social commitments, but some people are able to consistently fit exercises into their busy schedules. Below are 5 tips that may help you:

1. Set yourself a health or fitness goal and commit to it. 
2. Prioritise exercise as a health concern. 
3. Schedule workouts as you would any other appointment. 
4. View exercising as important as other commitments. 
5. Working out before work so that nothing can interfere later in the day.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=82

Storing Fruit & Veggies

You can extend the shelf life of fruit and veggies by storing them properly, but the proper method depends on what type of fruit and veggies you’re talking about. However, all fruit and veggies are best eaten fresh as they lose their nutrients the longer they’re stored.

In a Cool Dark Place

Keep potatoes, onions, garlic and shallots in a cool dark area of the kitchen.

At Room Temperature

Most fruit and veggies are best kept at room temperature until ripe and then move them into the fridge if you plan to eat them later.

In the Fridge

Most fruit and veggies will keep best in the crisper of your fridge.  Bananas tend to go black when you put them in the fridge.  Berries are the most fragile – you should eat them as quickly as possible and only wash them just before eating, otherwise they can go mouldy.

http://healthjigsaw.com/blog/?p=70