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February 2010 [Volume 9, Issue 2]
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In this issue of To Your Health:
Whether you're young, old or any age in between, cardiovascular exercise – any activity that makes the heart work harder for a prolonged period of time, thus making it stronger – is a great way to protect against heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular-related conditions. But did you know that cardio has other health benefits?
For example, a study published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests cardiovascular fitness is "positively associated" with intelligence in teens. According to the study authors, "Cardiovascular fitness changes between age 15 and 18 [years] predicted cognitive performance at 18 [years]."
Another study, this one published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, emphasizes that because men and women tend to experience an accelerated drop in their cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) after the age of 45, it's important to participate in cardio as a means to maintain fitness and avoid the negative health consequences. The study authors specifically note that the decrease in CRF may affect older adults in terms of their ability to "function independently" and also state that "low CRF levels increase the risk of diseases."
Heart health is vital at any age, and cardiovascular exercise is a great way to ensure a strong, healthy heart for a lifetime. And as the above studies suggest, heart health isn't the only reason to do it. Keep in mind that while you can get a great cardio workout at a gym with a treadmill or an exercise bike, you can also do something as simple as run up and down the stairs or jump rope at home. Ask your doctor for other suggestions on how you can get a great cardio workout today and every day.
The True Measure of Heart Disease Risk
A new study suggests waist circumference is equally as important as body-mass index (BMI) in predicting risk of non-fatal and fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD). That doesn't mean BMI is irrelevant, but it does mean if you've got a pot belly, yet are considered normal weight under BMI guidelines, you should still be concerned about your health and your risk of heart disease and related conditions.
In the study, researchers evaluated more than 20,000 men and women for an average of 10 years and found that their risk of developing cardiovascular disease was significantly higher if subjects were either considered overweight or obese according to BMI measurements or had a waist circumference that exceeded normal limits as established by the researchers.
Let's do some quick BMI and waist circumference math. If you're 5 foot, 10 inches tall and weigh 174 pounds (which we'll consider an average male in this example), then your BMI is 24.96, which is considered to be at the outer edge of normal weight by BMI standards. Likewise, if you're 5 foot, 6 inches tall and 155 pounds (let's consider that the profile for an average female), your BMI is 25.01 – again, right on the border of normal (healthy) weight and overweight. (See why so many people are considered overweight/obese these days?)
In terms of waist circumference, the study notes that for women, if your waist exceeds 31.5 inches, you're considered overweight, and obese if it exceeds 34.5 inches.
For men, having a waist greater than 37 inches puts you in the overweight category; obese if greater than 40 inches.
Remember, both BMI and waist circumference appear to be significant; according to the study, obese individuals are twice as likely to suffer non-fatal cardiovascular disease and four times more likely to experience fatal CVD compared to people with a "normal" BMI and waist circumference.
Oil is primarily fat, with some trace vitamins and minerals. While that may not sound too impressive, it's an excellent food for our body: Fat is the most efficient source of energy, every cell membrane in the body contains fat, skin and hair are fed with it, and it helps us absorb fat-soluble vitamins.
While choosing what to eat is getting more and more complicated, there are three simple rules to help you choose the oils that will help, not hurt:
Avoid oils that are high in trans fats. Stay away from food or cooking oils that contain trans fats. Avoiding trans fats should be easier now that they must be listed on labels, but beware: "0 trans fats" means there could be up to .5 g in each serving. Since the American Heart Association suggests you get less than 1 percent of your calories from trans fats, for a 2,000 calorie diet that would be about 2 grams (18 calories). So, after four servings of a zero-trans-fat food, you could theoretically hit your limit.
Limit saturated fat in all forms. Since our body makes saturated fats, we don't necessarily need to eat them. Most of these fats are found in meat and whole-fat dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream; however, some oils, like coconut, are particularly high in saturated fat. Saturated fats have been linked to elevated LDL and cardiovascular disease.
Stick to the serving size. For cooking oil, one serving is a tablespoon - not a sweeping flourish or a "glug-glug-glug" into the pan. In that tablespoon are 14 grams of fat, or 126 calories. That's as many calories from fat as a large slice of pizza, or to put it another way, 15 minutes of moderate running (more or less, depending on your weight; but you get the picture, right?).
For adults, the Food and Drug Administration recommends between 5 (about 1 ½ tablespoons or 21 g) and 7 teaspoons (just over 2 tablespoons or roughly 28 g) of oil a day depending on age and gender. This includes oil from all sources (food, cooking oil, and condiments). For fat in general, the American Heart Association suggests you should get no more than 25-35 percent of your total calories from all types of fat. For a 2,000 calorie diet, that breaks down to less than 16 g of saturated fat, less than 2 g of trans fat, and between 50 and 70 g of total fat each day.
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