President Obama endorses US soda tax plan

President Obama endorses US soda tax plan

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Preventable Health Problems

The United States spent about $2.2 trillion on healthcare in 2007. This accounts for 16 percent of our gross domestic product, and that’s projected to rise to 20 percent by 2017. Much of this healthcare spending can be tied to preventable health problems.

Here are some examples of preventable health problems:

The largest numbers of deaths in the United States are caused by two preventable causes – tobacco smoking and high blood pressure – killing an estimated 467,000 and 395,000 people respectively in 2005. Currently, one in three American adults (about 73 million people) has high blood pressure; one in every six Americans age 20 or older has high cholesterol. Anyone suffering from high cholesterol or hypertension is at heightened risk for heart disease, according to HealthBeat, a Harvard Publication. Heart disease is projected to cost more than $304.6 billion in 2009, including health care services, medications, and lost productivity (CDC).

Case for obesity: Excess weight is a significant factor in four of the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Obesity has fueled a 45 percent rise in diabetes over the past 20 years; someone born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing the disease (US News Jan’09).
Obesity increases a person’s risk of illness and death due to diabetes, stroke, heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, and kidney and gallbladder disease. Obesity may increase the risk for some types of cancer. It is also a risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis and sleep apnea (NY Times June’08)

Case for colon cancer: Statistics show that although the death rate from colon cancer has dropped in recent years – likely mostly because of screening efforts – colorectal cancer still strikes almost 150,000 Americans every year and kills about 50,000.
Disease prevention is a key part of health care reform and the U.S. needs to do a better job preventing deaths through improved screening technology and ensuring more people have access to the tests, such as colonoscopies, says gastroenterologist Dr. Jon LaPook. He has his own colonoscopy recorded (see video, courtesy of CBS NEWS) to remind people of the importance of regular screenings.

Here are some simple preventive measures:

Low-risk factors for hypertension include a Body mass Index (BMI) of less than 25; an average of 30 minutes exercise per day; a good diet as measured by the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) or a Mediterranean-style diet centered on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fish instead of red meat and processed foods. Also beneficial is an anti-inflammatory diet that is focused on reducing saturated fat and trans fats and eating more foods rich in alpha-linolenic acid—like flax seed, walnuts, and canola oil—and omega-3 fats.

Lifestyle therapies are considered first-line interventions for managing both long- and short-term risks, including fat loss, increased physical activity, and adopting a healthy diet, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and lean protein, and low-fat dairy, fiber supplements; reduced intake of saturated fat and cholesterol. Many experts agree that whole grains are notably beneficial for maintaining vital markers of cardiovascular health like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, homocysteine levels and inflammation, in addition to aiding weight management.

Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health and wellness tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, and health bulletin.

Prevention and Wellness: Sensible Healthcare Reform

In the United States, only about 4% of total annual health expenditure is directed at preventing chronic diseases. As the national conversation about healthcare reform continues, there should be a paradigm shift in healthcare practice – working to improve health through prevention rather than mainly managing symptoms.

The United States spent about $2.2 trillion on healthcare in 2007. This accounts for 16 percent of our gross domestic product, and that’s projected to rise to 20 percent by 2017. Much of this healthcare spending can be tied to preventable health problems. For example, obesity-related spending, chiefly to treat high blood pressure and diabetes, accounted for 27 percent of the increase in overall health spending between 1987 and 2001, according to a study by Kenneth Thorpe, a professor of health policy at Emory University. Overall, caring for people with chronic medical conditions, many of them preventable, accounts for about 75 percent of medical spending nationwide (US News Jan’09).

Every year, an estimated 900,000 people die from avoidable causes: because they failed to maintain a healthy weight, eat nutritiously, and exercise, or because they smoked or drank excessively, for example. That’s roughly 40 percent of all U.S. deaths (USA News, 2009). In fact, poor or inadequate diets are linked to four of the top 10 causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.

Let me highlight the impact of obesity on healthcare expenditure.

Excess weight is a significant factor in four of the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. Obesity has fueled a 45 percent rise in diabetes over the past 20 years; someone born in 2000 has a 1 in 3 chance of developing the disease (US News Jan’09).

Obesity is not just dangerous, it is expensive. New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than someone who’s normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, according to the journal Health Affairs (MSNBC News July’09).

Given the heavy human and financial cost of chronic disease, heading off a medical condition, or at least its potential complications, seems like a no-brainer (US News Jan’09). It is sensible to promote “prevention and wellness” through preventive care, behavioral and lifestyle changes—emphasizing routine checkups, physical activity and better nutrition.

Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health and wellness tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, and health bulletin.

Milk and dairy products may protect against metabolic syndrome

Lifelong Supplements™ health news! Recent research findings from Wales indicate that increased intake of milk and other dairy products may reduce metabolic syndrome and should be recommended as part of a healthy eating pattern. Peter Elwood and colleagues from Cardiff University studied the diet and incidence of metabolic syndrome among 2375 men, and found that men who drank milk and ate dairy products regularly were 62 per cent less likely to have the syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterized by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type-2 diabetes and CVD. Fifteen per cent of adult Europeans are estimated to be affected by MetS, while about 32 per cent in USA are affected.

The Caerphilly Prospective Study assessed dietary intakes of the men (age range 45-59) using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire at baseline, while a sub-sample of 603 men kept a seven-day weighed dietary intake record. The subjects had two or more markers for MetS, from high blood glucose, insulin, blood fats, body fat, and blood pressure.

After 20 years of follow-up the researchers calculated that the 15 per cent of men with MetS at the start of the study were at almost double the risk of coronary artery heart disease and four times the risk of diabetes of those without the syndrome. But those who regularly drank milk and ate dairy products, such as yogurt and cheese, were significantly less likely to have the syndrome. Indeed, Elwood and co-workers report that a daily pint of milk was associated with a 62 per cent risk reduction, while regularly intake of other dairy produce reduced the risk by 56 per cent.

Dairy products are part of a healthy diet and their consumption should be promoted, they conclude

Source: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 61, Pages 695-698 “Milk and dairy consumption, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome: the Caerphilly prospective study” Auhors: P.C. Elwood, J.E. Pickering, A.M. Fehily
Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, and health bulletin.

Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has shown that as weight increases to reach the levels referred to as “overweight” and “obesity,”* the risks for the following conditions also increase:

• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Dyslipidemia (e.g, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
• Stroke
• Liver and Gallbladder disease
• Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
• Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
• Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

*Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher; obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Gum Disease and Heart Disease Association Revealed

The association between gum disease (periodontitis) and coronary heart disease (CHD) has been known for years, but a genetic link between the conditions hadn’t been confirmed until now. German scientists at the University of Kiel found that the two diseases share a genetic variant on chromosome 9. This discovery helps explain association between the two illnesses. Dr. Arne Schaefer and his colleagues verified this genetic association in groups of 180 periodontitis patients and 1,100 CHD patients. “We think that periodontitis should be taken very seriously by dentists and diagnosed and treated as early as possible,” Schaefer said. He further noted that periodontitis and CHD share risk factors such as smoking, diabetes and obesity.
Useful health tips from: Lifelong Health Products and Lifelong Health Products-health bulletin. Follow me on Twitter.

NIH Study – Calorie Intake Determines Weight Loss

Lifelong Supplements™ health news! , A two-year National Institutes of Health-funded study that assigned 811 overweight people to one of four reduced-calorie diets found that all trimmed pounds just the same. It didn’t matter what foods participants ate (not protein, fat or carbohydrate ratios), but rather how many calories they consumed, according to the Wall Street Journal report. This finding “really goes against the idea that certain foods are the key to weight loss,” says Frank Sacks, the lead researcher and a professor of cardiovascular-disease prevention at Harvard School of Public Health. Click here The Wall Street to learn more.
Helpful health tips from: Lifelong Health Products, and Lifelong Health Products-health bulletin.

Lifelong Fiber Supplement Improves Digestive Health

Lifelong Supplements™: Are you getting enough fiber? Think about a host of chronic disorders connected to digestive health. Lifelong fiber supplements benefit metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, obesity, constipation or inability to empty the large bowel (colon). Consider fiber supplements, exercise, and fluid intake to control bowel irregularity and associated disorders.
Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health tips from: Lifelong Health Products, and Lifelong Health Products-health bulletin.

Managing Metabolic Syndrome: Lifestyle therapies, nutritional solutions, and lifelong-supplements™

Metabolic Syndrome is characterized by a combination of obesity, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol, and linked by the underlying resistance to insulin.  Some experts refer to it as a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors disease associated with insulin resistance.  It is estimated that metabolic syndrome affects about 50 million Americans.  Possible outcomes of metabolic syndrome include the development of type-2 diabetes and increased risk of stroke and other heart diseases.

The American Heart association and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute recommend metabolic syndrome be identified as the presence of three or more of the following components: elevated waist circumference; elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol; elevated blood pressure; and elevated fasting glucose.   

What is the best way to deal with the risk factors?  Lifestyle therapies are considered first-line interventions for managing both long- and short-term risks, including fat loss, increased physical activity, and adopting a healthy diet, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, fish and lean protein, and low-fat dairy, fiber supplements; reduced intake of saturated fat and cholesterol.  Whole grains are particularly multi-therapeutic in managing metabolic syndrome because they deliver a wealth of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and phytonutrients.  Many experts agree that whole grains are notably beneficial for maintaining vital markers of cardiovascular health like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, homocysteine levels and inflammation, in addition to aiding weight management.  Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, health bulletin, and http://www.lifelonghp.com.

Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Metabolic Syndrome Connection

Number of people with diabetes in United States increased to 24 million according to 2007 data by U.S. Center of Disease Control and Prevention.  About 57 million people have pre-diabetes. Diabetes is characterized by high levels of blood glucose resulting from defects in insulin production (i.e., “insulin resistance” syndrome) that causes sugar to build up in the body.  “Insulin resistance” leaves excess sugar in the bloodstream, which damages small blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys, and other organs. In addition to hindering the body’s ability to convert foods to energy, diabetes is a risk factor for development of related illness and disease, including heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, nerve damage, and amputation.

Metabolic syndrome is a common precondition for both coronary disease and type-2 diabetes.  The American Heart Foundation estimates over 50 million people in the U.S. have the syndrome, which is characterized by a group of metabolic risk factors including: abdominal obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, high blood pressure and insulin resistance.

Diabetics and those at risk for diabetes can take control of the disease through lifestyles changes such as diet and exercise. People suffering from the condition generally need to stick to a diet high in fiber and low in sugar and fat, particularly saturated fat. Several natural products, including dietary supplements, are available to help control the disease. Chromium is one of the best studied minerals for diabetic support and shown to control blood glucose levels.  Supplemental chromium comes in three forms – chromium picolinate, chromium chloride, and chromium nicotinate.  Give your health a boost with lifelong supplements™! Helpful health tips from: blog.lifelong supplements, health bulletin, and http://www.lifelonghp.com.