Thu, 23 April 2009
Dr. Radford reviews how changes in physical activity impact longevity Dr. Radford reports that patients often come into Cooper Clinic for the first time around age 50. The good news is, even if you start to adopt healthy lifestyles at age 50, you’ll see lots of benefits. The study supports Dr. Radford’s assertion that positive lifestyle changes positively impact overall health. In the study reported in the British Medical Journal, 2,200 Swedish men were evaluated at age 50 (between 1970 and 1973), and then re-evaluated at ages 60, 70, 77, and 82 years. Researchers wanted to determine the impact of physical activity in inactive, moderately active and very active men, and see if increased physical activity resulted in improved health benefits. Increased physical activity was determined by asking a couple of simple questions. Men who answered “Yes” to “Do you spend most of your time reading, watching TV, going to the movies, or engaging in mostly sedentary activities?” were labeled low-activity. The men labeled “moderately active” answered “Yes” to the question “Do you often go walking or cycling for pleasure?” Men who reported that they engage in any active recreational sport or heavy gardening at least 3 hours every week, or who stated they regularly engage in hard physical training or competitive sports were labeled high-activity. Researchers followed these men over 35 years. In their conclusions, researchers stated “Increased physical activity in middle age is eventually followed by a reduction in mortality to the same level as seen among men with constantly high physical activity. This reduction is comparable with that associated with smoking cessation.” Dr. Radford says it took about 10 years in the high-activity level for the previously low- or medium-active men to realize the increased health benefits of the men who had constantly high had physical activity. The benefits were significant though – researchers saw a reduction in cardiac risk for these guys – as much as the benefits seen when someone stops smoking. Todd mentions that research shows over-and-over that 150 minutes of exercise per week seems to be the magic number we need to meet in order to get all the health benefits of exercise. Dr. Radford noted that the 3 hours (180 minutes) of exercise seen in the study was pretty minimal given the incredible health rewards. Dr. Radford suggests that people following as few as 2 reality shows a week probably spend 5- to 6 hours in front of the TV for those programs. If time is tight, her recommendation is that spending time on the treadmill or exercise bike while watching a TV program is an easy way to “find” the time needed to exercise. Jill Turner is VP of Operations for Cooper Concepts, the company that markets Cooper Complete nutritional supplements. Jill regularly contributes information to the Cooper blog. Email jsturner@cooperwellness.com or call 972-560-3262 with your questions and comments. Reference Information
Direct download: Nina_Radford_LIFESTYLE_CHANGES_35_year_followup.mp3
Category:Health and Wellness -- posted at: 2:03pm CDT |
Fri, 10 April 2009
Dr. Nina Radford, Cooper Clinic director of cardiovascular medicine is interviewed by Todd Whitthorne, and gives her thoughts on the ENCORE study as discussed at the recent
The ENCORE trial looked lifestyle interventions for lowering blood pressure. It’s been well described that a diet called the DASH Diet has been associated with reductions in blood pressure. The diet heavily emphasizes fruits and vegetables and has been very effective at lower blood pressure by 10- to 15 points, as much blood pressure lowering effect as many medications offer.
What isn’t known is what happens when the DASH Diet is combined with exercise and caloric restriction for weight loss. In the ENCORE study, healthy overweight individuals with slightly elevated blood pressure were put into one of three groups:
· Group 1 – DASH Diet only · Group 2 – DASH Diet plus behavioral weight management (including supervised exercise three times weekly) · Group 3 – Usual Care
Researchers found that the participants who followed the DASH diet and also received behavioral weight management support had the best results in managing their blood pressure.
The DASH Diet recommends 9- to 11 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Dr. Radford urges us to not get overwhelmed by this recommendation. Our serving sizes are simply out of whack. One-half cup orange juice (4 ounces), an amount most of us would find piddling in our glass, counts as one fruit. And a couple of slices of tomatoes on your sandwich at lunch is going to be vegetable serving. We really don’t have to eat a giant vat of fruits and vegetables. At lunch, make sure the sandwich has lettuce and tomato, and substitute fruit instead of chips. The biggest obstacle in getting the recommended servings for most people is planning: we’re going to have to go to the grocery store of farmers market and make sure we have the fruits and vegetables available to us. And, when we get home we need to clean and package them up for serving so when we go to reach for a snack or make a meal, including the fruits and vegetables is easy.
Dr. Radford also briefly discusses salt intake for the average person who has slightly elevated blood pressure. In general, reducing the amount of salt we use has less impact on our blood pressure then increasing our intake of fruits and vegetables. This said, Dr. Radford suggests we start a salt reduction plan by eliminating the salt shaker from our dinner table.
The Poly Pill was also discussed that the American
Dr. Radford says there are seven or eight different classes of blood pressure drugs. Your physician picks the one they believe will work best given your specific health history and condition. The Poly Pill takes this individualization out of the picture. But, for the folks who can tolerate the Poly Pill, it’s a great possible solution to blood pressure control.
Jill Turner is VP of Operations for Cooper Concepts, the company that markets Cooper Complete nutritional supplements. Jill regularly contributes information to the Cooper blog. Email jsturner@cooperwellness.com or call 972-560-3262 with your questions and comments.
Reference Information
ENCORE Study http://www.cardiosource.com/rapidnewssummaries/summary.asp?SumID=414
Total mortality after changes in leisure time physical activity in 50 year old men: 35 year follow-up of population based cohort http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/338/mar05_2/b688
DASH Eating Plan – Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure With DASH http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
Direct download: Nina_Radford_ENCORE_Study.mp3
Category:Health and Wellness -- posted at: 4:15pm CDT |