Battling Heart and Stroke

You are what you eat. And this study indicates that diet can determine the risk of heart attacks - in a global scale.So what’s your typical diet?

Canadian researchers at McMaster University reported in the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association their results after studying the dietary patterns and heart attack rates in 52 countries. And it’s bad news for the Western diet.

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The cold season is here and we can see what’s coming. No, I am not referring to winter and snow. I am talking about the holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year. Good food, calories and cholesterol. Good for the tummy, bad for the heart. Here are a few tips as what to pay attention to during this season of festivities and parties:

Eat slowly

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“All-natural” or “natural health product” or natural nutritional supplement“. These are the buzzwords that appeal to the health-conscious individual. Over the years, many natural health products have been introduced to the market, supposedly good for our health and vascular system.

Facts about flax seed or linseed

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It is a well-known fact that large amounts of caffeine can affect your health and your heart. Therefore, beware! Many energy drinks - purported to dietary supplements are anything but nutritional. They contain lots of sweeteners - and caffeine. Lots of it.

A recent study by Johns Hopkins scientists reported that many energy drinks could actually contain 5 to 10 times more caffeine than a can of coke or a cup of coffee. However, we consumers do not know it because the actual amount is not reflected on the label.

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We are what we eat and drink. And where else can we check out the latest on gastronomy than at the New York City Wine & Food Festival on October 9 to 12, 2008.

Now, you might want to ask, what does such a festival have to do with battling heart and stroke? Everything.

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The trend is disturbing. More and more children and young people are having cardiovascular problems. And the causes can be traced to unhealthy lifestyles.

Lack of proper nutrition

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What are fibers?

Fibers come from plant materials. Our body cannot digest or absorb fibers. They seldom provide vitamins and nutrients. Yet, fibers in our diet are very important to our health.  A lot of fibers are actually in carbohydrates that you eat - yes, carbs - that dreaded word that seems to give weight watchers nightmares. Don’t worry. Fibers are special. More →

Heart experts from all over Europe and the world met in Munich, Germany last August 30 to September 3 to share the latest research findings on cardiovascular sciences at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2008. Today and in the coming days, I will be presenting some extracts from reports presented at the Congress.

One of the most interesting presentations under the topic “Cardiovascular Disease Prevention - Risk Assessment and Management” is entitled “The gourmand’s heart - a bitter sweet relationship?” where Spanish heart expert S.S. Menendez summarized the latest updates on the health effects of four common food and drinks in the Western diet, namely tea, coffee, wine and chocolate. More →

When I was growing up in an Asian country in the Pacific, the daily fare was rice, fresh fish, vegetables, and fruit. That was before the fast food invasion. Several decades, the daily diet has drastically changed - burgers, pizza, fries galore.

This is happening all over as globalization proceeds in a very fast pace. With lifestyle changes come changes in diet and physical exercise with consequences on our health. Below are some examples of how lifestyle changes are adversely affecting the cardiovascular health of once primarily healthy populations. More →

We all know that our diet is a key factor to being and keeping healthy. It is the food we eat that provides us the energy to perform our daily activities - it is what keeps our heart pumping. Now, we get to wonder, what do high performance athletes eat? What gives them the energy, the power to run, swim, jump or lift weights faster and better than non-athletic people like you and me?

Here are some examples of what Olympic athletes eat on a normal day. More →