Artery-clogging trans fats banned in all B.C. restaurants today
Good news for foodies here at home: British Columbia became the first Canadian province to restrict trans fat in restaurant food this week, but as critics point out, the restrictions on the unhealthy fat won’t apply to packaged food sold at grocery stores.
Trans fats are found in things like cake and muffin mixes, croutons, cookies, taco shells, frying oils and margarine. “We want healthier food choices to be the easier choice,” said Ida Chong, BC’s Minister of Healthy Living and Sport, in a statement released on September 29th. “Consumers won’t see or taste the difference in the meal they’ve ordered, but with restrictions on industrially produced trans fat, they will be eating foods that have been prepared using healthier ingredients,” said Chong.
Trans fat comes in two forms. One form is naturally occurring in ruminant meat, such as beef or lamb as well as dairy products. The other is industrially produced, in partially hydrogenated oils, margarines and shortenings, and hidden in prepared foods like donuts, croissants and other baked goods, according to provincial health officials.
The industrially produced trans fat increases our risk of coronary heart disease by raising levels of low-density lipoprotein known as bad cholesterol and lowering levels of good cholesterol, leading to blocked coronary arteries and heart disease. (more…)
Doctors should start screening teenagers for heart disease risks
I didn’t have a heart attack last year because I had one stressful morning at work, or ate one piece of bacon. In fact, at Mayo Clinic, we learned that most cardiovascular disease is actually 20-30 years in the making. So why are we waiting decades for cardiac symptoms to become severe enough to be noticed?
About one third of young people ages 10-19 in North America have LDL (bad) cholesterol levels that are too high (considered by many to be a risk factor for developing heart disease). In some cases, high cholesterol runs in families. This is called familial hypercholesterolemia. About 1% to 2% of children have this condition, and they should have their cholesterol levels checked before they are 5 years old.
When the bodies of young soldiers (many just in their teens) who died in the Korean and Vietnam wars were autopsied, most had coronary arteries that were already showing signs of dangerous plaque deposits. Several studies have shown that fatty plaque buildup begins in children as young as 10, and progresses slowly into adulthood. This disease process is called atherosclerosis, which leads directly to heart disease. (more…)
“Wouldn’t I be silly to make it myself?”
“Go to all that bother.. when Campbell’s is so homey and nourishing? Not me!”
“When I was a little girl, I remember we always made our own vegetable soup. Mother used to devote just hours to to it. But one day when she was rushed, she tried Campbell’s Vegetable Soup. My dad’s not so easy to please, but he ate a bowlful, and then another. Since then, Mother has served Campbell’s… and Dad’s been as pleased as a kid!
“I’m married now myself and — well, we young-marrieds all feel that same way. I mean why bother to make vegetable soup when Campbell’s Vegetable Soup is so wonderful — a grand-tasting beef stock and all those 15 garden vegetables. Why, every time I serve it, my husband says: ‘Gosh, darling, this is really swell!’ And what better music can a wife hear than that? Now I ask you!”
After I picked myself off the floor where I’d fallen down laughing, I pondered what effect this magazine ad from the 1940s actually must have had on women who read it. And for those concerned about heart health, the widespread marketing of highly processed, high-fat, high salt, low-fibre, mass produced industrial food was a grim development. (more…)
40 profound life lessons that a heart attack can teach you
Many heart attack survivors I’ve met will readily describe, surprisingly, how their heart disease has actually been a “gift”, which sounds positively goofy unless you’ve been in the cardiac unit yourself. This gift can be appreciated only from the distance of willing hindsight, enhanced by the gratitude of surviving what many do not. For example, I often look back at my ‘normal’ running-around-with-my-hair-on-fire, over-committed and chronically exhausted self pre-heart attack, and wonder what I thought was so important that I always had to be in such a hurry for back then. As one of my Mayo Clinic Heart Sisters said: “I have more balance in my life now – because I have to!”
Like many diagnosed with chronic, progressive conditions, I’ve been mulling over some of the many lessons learned from having a heart attack. Please don’t wait until you have a catastrophic health event to mull these over yourself. Here are 40 to start:
- Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
- When in doubt, just take the next small step.
- Your job won’t take care of you after your heart attack. Your friends and family will. Stay in touch.
- Pay off your credit cards every month.
- You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
- Save for retirement starting with your first paycheque.
- When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
- Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
- However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
- Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. Keep reading to find out the next 30 lessons!
Happy World Heart Day!
World Heart Day, Sunday, September 27, 2009
Over 17.2 million people around the world die each year from cardiovascular diseases, making these the leading cause of death worldwide. Yet 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided by controlling the main risk factors: tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.
Businesses around the world, as well as leading organizations such as the World Health Organization and the World Economic Forum have recognized the importance of employee health to achieve core business objectives. Many have committed to include health promotion on their corporate agenda.
Yet it is mostly large corporations in developed countries that offer workplace health programmes.
There is an urgent need to extend these benefits to all employees, in other industries and sectors, and in other parts of the world. In particular, workers in low- and middle-income countries, where over 80% of deaths from cardiovascular disease currently occur, could benefit greatly from the implementation of such programmes.
Find out more from the World Heart Federation.
