In honor of International Omega-3 Awareness Day, the third day of the third month of the year, it’s time to set the record straight about the wonder nutrient Omega-3s. The first research finding correlation between lower risk of heart disease and omega-3 fatty acids goes back to the 1970s when two Danish scientists discovered that Eskimos in Greenland had an extremely low rate of heart attacks—about one-tenth the U.S. rate—despite eating a diet high in fish, seal, and whale fat. Now 40 years later, researchers still agree that omega-3s play a key role in shrinking risk of coronary diseases.
However, there is a critical disclaimer to that statement. All omega-3s are not the same; only fatty acids from fish known as DHA and EPA are known to deliver a large heart benefit. The ALA acids found in plants such as flaxseed, walnuts, and canola oil have a shorter carbon chain that has to be converted to DHA and EPA by your body; and human bodies are not efficient at turning plant omega-3s into the fish kind.
Additional claims about omega-3s should be taken with a grain of salt. Studies have suggested that the EPA and DHA might help battle dementia, ADHD, and cancer. But there’s a problem. The research mostly looked at the improvement rates of these conditions among people who ate a lot of fish. The type of person who goes out of their way to eat fish several times per week is most likely doing other things to take care of their health; like eat less red meat and exercise more. This alone does not prove that omega-3s are responsible, but it could be the combination of fish consumption along with regular exercise.
Click here for more information on omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Having abnormal cholesterol levels can significantly increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Abnormal levels of cholesterol are high levels of “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoproteins), and/or low levels of “good” cholesterol (high-density lipoproteins). Taking control of your cholesterol can be done through exercising regularly and adhering to a low cholesterol diet.
One of the easiest ways to stick to a low cholesterol diet is to keep unhealthy foods out of your house. Simply grab a garbage bag, open the refrigerator and the pantry, and start tossing! Many of these unhealthy foods contain trans fats or saturated fats, and as of January 2006 the FDA ruled that all nutritional labels must include both saturated and trans fat content. The American Heart Association recommends that people get only 7% of their calories from saturated fat, and 1% from trans fat
Now start stocking up on heart-healthy oils and fats. Look for foods with polyunsaturated fats, found in nuts and seeds (also sunflower, peanut, and walnut oil) and monounsaturated fats, like olive, and canola oils, which are known to reduce the “bad” LDLs and increase “good” HDLs.
To chat with a doctor about cholesterol, sign up for the live chat at NorthShore HealthSystem on March 4, 2010 at 1PM.
If you are concerned about your cholesterol, check out this health check test at WebMD.com
Does your heart race for no apparent reason at all? It could be a sign of Supraventricular Tachycardia, also known as SVT; which is when your heart occasionally beats very fast for a reason other than exercise, stress, or high fever
When experiencing SVT the heart’s electrical system doesn’t work right, causing the heart to beat very fast. A normal heart beats around 60-100 times per minute, but during an SVT episode, the heart can beat anywhere from 100-300 times per minute.
Most episodes of SVT are caused by faulty electrical connections in the heart, but what causes the poor connections is unclear. SVT can also be caused by high levels of the heart medicine Digoxin, or the lung medicine Theophylline. Also, some types of SVT may be hereditary, as in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, or be caused by a lung problem like pneumonia.
To treat sudden episodes of SVT a doctor may prescribe a medicine to take when an episode occurs, or show you some techniques to try and slow your heart rate on your own like coughing, gagging, or putting your face in ice-cold water. These techniques are known as vagal maneuvers.
To ask questions to a doctor directly, request a reminder for NorthShore HealthSystem’s online chat about SVT on February 25, 2010 at 11AM (CST).
Or for more information visit, WebMD.com
Several recent studies have shown that low vitamin D levels are tied to increased risk of heart attack and stroke. With statistics showing that three out of four Americans are not getting enough vitamin D in their diet, many people can benefit from taking this issue seriously.
One survey measured vitamin D levels from the same patients for up to 12 years. Compared to everyone in the study, the quarter with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 40% higher risk of dying from heart attacks, strokes, and other heart-related events.
The survey also delivered an additional variable that darker skinned people produce less vitamin D from sunlight than those with lighter skin tones; revealing that African-Americans are more likely than whites to die from heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.
In another recent study, conducted in order to examine the racial disparity in cardiovascular death, researchers analyzed data from a national health and nutrition survey that included more than 15,000 people; and found that African-Americans were 38% more likely to die from these heart-related events than non-Hispanic whites due to their lower vitamin D levels.
Vitamin D can be naturally produced by the human body with 10 to 15 minutes of direct sunlight exposure a few times a week; or it can be found in the following foods: butter, cheese, fortified milk and cereal, and margarine. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends that adults under 50 years old get 400 to 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day and that adults over the age of 50 get 800 to 1,000 IU. Darker skinned people may need even more.
For more information on heart healthy benefits of vitamin D, visit http://northshore.org
