Heart organization sets walking record

By Taylor Chen

On a cold morning in early January, 64 Americans participated in setting a world record for walking the greatest distance (128 miles—the record is currently awaiting approval by Guinness World Records) covered by partners on a treadmill, at Grand Central Station’s Vanderbilt Hall. Sponsored by the American Heart Association (AHA) as well as Subway Restaurants, Healthy Choice, and AstraZeneca, Start! is an ongoing campaign that invites Americans to lead heart-healthier lives by walking. On April 8th, National Start Walking Day, designated Start! walking paths in local communities will be unveiled throughout the country.

How they did it: The AHA set up two treadmills side by side, which operated 16 hours without pause. Pre-selected pairs took turns walking in 30-minute increments, demonstrating how effortlessly you can incorporate a half-hour walk into your day—reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure.

Who did it: Suzanne Elliott, an executive vice president at the nonprofit Dress for Success, was one of the participants. “Being a runner, I really liked the idea of showing other people how easy it is to stay active: You don’t need to do a marathon—you only need to walk for 30 minutes a day,” she says.

Walk online: The record-breaking event marked the successful launch of MyStart! Community (startwalkingnow.org), a virtual tool that lets you track walking activities and distance, plot walking routes, and even connect with other people walking in your neighborhood. Recent surveys show that Americans are 76 percent more likely to walk if someone else is expecting it of them. The 20,000-plus members of the online community provide support and motivation, and offer praise when you reach your goals.

Be accountable: “MyStart! Community helps you find a buddy and be accountable to each other, but also be accountable to yourself should you choose to track and post your information,” says Timothy Gardner, M.D., president of AHA. “If you show the world your exercise accomplishments, that confidence helps you tackle your next big walk.” Elliott says she loves the social aspect of exercising with friends. Plus, it helps her stick to her routine.

Get started: To register, set up a profile and map your route. The technology can even track your daily calories. Need encouragement? Connect with others using the online conversation tool. Elliott signed up after the event at Grand Central station, and hasn’t stopped using it since. “Walking is a big part of my daily routine, but it’s hard to keep track of it. With the MyStart! tool, I now know I walk almost two miles,” she says.

12 ways to rein in your health care costs

Economists agree that American health care reform will falter unless health care spending is brought under control. Moreover, even people with good health insurance are paying a larger fraction of their health care bills these days, in the form of co-pays, deductibles, and other out-of-pocket expenses. The editors of the Harvard Health Letter, in consultation with the doctors on its editorial board, propose 12 ways you can help curb health care spending, saving society—and perhaps yourself—some money. The recommendations, published in the March 2009 issue, include these:

Develop a good relationship with a primary care physician. A primary care doctor who knows you, your medical history, and your circumstances stands a better chance than a stranger does of making decisions and giving advice that will keep you healthy. He or she can take care of you in context.

Don’t use the emergency department unless absolutely necessary. Call your doctor and try to get some advice over the phone or in person.

Get and stick with the program. Taking prescribed medications, getting regular check-ups, and adhering to lifestyle changes can keep chronic diseases under control at relatively modest cost.

Don’t go directly to a specialist without checking with your primary care doctor, even if insurance allows it. Whenever possible, let your primary care physician coordinate your care. If he or she doesn’t know what’s going on, it can lead to wasteful—and possibly harmful—overtesting and duplication of treatments.

Go generic. Generic drugs cost less than their brand-name equivalents. Also, most insurers have higher co-pays for brand-name drugs. Check with your doctor about generic options.

Fight inertia. If you’re taking a medication, discuss with your physician how long you’ve been taking it, whether it’s working, and, if it isn’t, not taking it anymore.

Question the need for expensive tests. Don’t push to get new, expensive tests just because you think new is better. If your doctor orders an expensive test like an MRI or CT scan, ask why it’s necessary and how it will make a difference.

Stay healthy. Quit smoking, eat right, exercise, and get enough sleep. You’ll reduce your risk for conditions that require medical care.

Vitamins and Minerals: What you need to know

Understanding how vitamins and minerals interact in our body gives us a valuable means of taking our health into our own hands. Research into the effects of these micronutrients has been enlightening. For example, we now know that a large fraction of Americans are not getting enough vitamin D, and the range of consequences may be far greater than we thought. Recent studies suggest that vitamin D does more than help build strong bones; it may help to prevent hypertension, certain types of cancer, and some autoimmune diseases. We also believe, with an increasing degree of certainty, that getting enough folic acid can counteract some of the adverse effects of consuming alcohol.

Researchers are constantly making such discoveries, and often their findings have far-reaching effects. But it’s worth keeping in mind that while nutrition research can yield powerful answers, it also raises new questions. Nutrition is endlessly complex, and the research is invariably in a state of flux. Not only do nutrients interact with one another (making it difficult to isolate their effects) but they also interact with genes, drugs, and even lifestyle factors. For some nutrients, such as selenium, there’s a narrow range between too little and too much, and that amount varies from person to person.

This Special Health Report provides the latest evidence and mineral and vitamin information so that you can make healthy choices about what foods to eat and what supplements to take. Because nutritional science continues to evolve, this report also contains tips on how to judge new studies on vitamin benefits and put the findings in context.

Prepared by the editors at Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Meir J. Stampfer, M.D., Dr.P.H., Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health. 45 pages. (2008)

5 easy steps to prevent sinusitis

A cold that lingers—and lingers—isn't something that happens only in winter. It may not even be a cold. It could be sinusitis, an inflammation of the sinuses and nasal passages. You can relieve the symptoms of this common infection with several easy treatments, reports the March 2009 issue of Harvard Women’s Health Watch.

When the sinuses become blocked, viruses or bacteria in the nose can become trapped in a pool of mucus with nowhere to go. The germs can grow out of control, causing infection and inflammation. The result: swelling, which causes headache and facial pain; mucus buildup, which produces congestion; and an influx of white blood cells to fight the infection, which thickens and tints the mucus. Other symptoms may include loss of smell or taste, bad breath, fever, and fullness in the ears.

The main cause of blocked sinuses is swelling produced by the common cold. More serious sinusitis can result from a deviated septum or nasal polyps.

Here are some suggestions from Harvard Women’s Health Watch for reducing your chance of developing sinusitis or relieving early symptoms:

Bathe your nasal passages daily. Use a small pot or squeeze bottle to run water into the nasal passages. This helps clear excess mucus and moisten membranes.

Drink lots of water. Good hydration helps keep mucus thin and loose.

Inhale steam. Linger in a hot shower. Or bring water to a boil, pour it into a pan, place a towel over your head, and bend over the pan to inhale the steam.

Avoid dry environments. A humidifier by your bed or at your desk can help keep nasal passages from drying out.

Sleep with your head elevated. Mucus pools when your head is down.

The 10 commandments of cancer prevention

About one of every three Americans will face some form of cancer during his or her lifetime. You can help beat these grim statistics by taking steps to protect yourself right now. In fact, up to 75% of cancer deaths in the United States can be prevented, reports the April 2009 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Here are 10 ways to get started.

1. Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke.
2. Eat right. Reduce your consumption of saturated fat and red meat. Limit your intake of charbroiled foods, and avoid deep-fried foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. And don’t forget to eat fish two to three times a week.
3. Exercise regularly. Physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of colon, prostate, breast, and reproductive cancers.
4. Stay lean. Obesity increases the risk of many forms of cancer. Calories count—if you need to slim down, take in fewer calories and burn more with exercise.
5. Limit alcohol consumption. Excess alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, liver, and colon; it also increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. If you choose to drink alcohol, the limit should be one to two drinks a day for men, no more than one a day for women.
6. Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation. Wear sunscreen to protect yourself from ultraviolet radiation. Get medical imaging studies only when you need them. Check your home for radon.
7. Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins such as asbestos, benzene, aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
8. Avoid infections that contribute to cancer, including hepatitis, HIV, and the human papillomavirus (HPV).
9. Consider taking low-dose aspirin. Men who take aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may have a lower risk of colon and prostate cancers.
10. Get enough vitamin D. Taking 800 to 1,000 international units (IU) daily may help reduce the risk of prostate and colon cancers.

Sugar Detox

If you’re run-down, overweight, or moody, you could be suffering from sugar overload. Our expert plan will help you rid refined sugar from your diet, lose weight, feel great, and still lead a sweet life.

By HILLARI DOWDLE

If it’s impossible to slim down despite your best efforts, your problem may be fructose. This simple sugar occurs naturally in fruits, sweet vegetables, and honey, but is also added as high fructose corn syrup to most baked goods, drinks, sauces, and prepackaged foods.
Recent studies have found that fructose very quickly turns into body fat, in some cases never even yielding energy for the body to use, says Richard Johnson, author of The Sugar Fix (Rodale, 2008). Fructose also puts a damper on a hormone called leptin, which signals our brain that we’re satiated and it’s time to stop eating. To end your own sugar fix and lose weight, follow this plan from Johnson:

1 Cut down on fructose. Start by avoiding high fructose corn syrup and table sugar. Look for these in any processed food, including ketchup and other condiments, sauces, salad dressings, jams, peanut butter, meat products, and commercially produced desserts. Eat no more than 35 grams of fructose per day.

2 Say no to sugary drinks. Sodas are obviously out—12 ounces of cola has more than 20 grams of fructose— but pay attention to juices. One eight-ounce serving of orange juice has 10.7 g of fructose, cranberry juice can have up to 13 g, and apple juice 16. Avoid smoothies, sweetened coffee beverages, wine coolers, and any bottled drink that lists high fructose corn syrup on the label. Stick to water, and unsweetened coffee and tea, instead.

3 Eat some starch. Starchy foods (whole wheat pasta, potatoes, and even whole-grain bread) may stay on the menu. They are rich in glucose, which stimulates insulin release, “a normal and healthy physiologic reaction,” says Johnson.

4 Take care of yourself. Boost your metabolism with 30 minutes of exercise per day, Johnson says. Get 10 to 15 minutes of sun twice a week for vitamin D (your body makes it from sunshine), and 250 mg of vitamin C daily for the antioxidants. Eat small amounts of dark chocolate on occasion— it helps lower blood pressure.

5 Take the no-fructose challenge. Eating fructose triggers the body to produce more of the enzymes that metabolize it, which leads to more cravings. You can break this cycle by going cold turkey for two weeks. Skip sweetened food and drinks, including desserts, fruit and fruit juice, even honey. Read labels and don’t eat anything with high fructose corn syrup. (You can still eat potatoes, pasta, rice, vegetables, meat, fish, legumes, nuts, and cheese.) After two weeks, eat fructose in moderation.

Is sugar . . . MAKING YOU FAT (AND SICK)?
Fructose is added to everything, says Johnson, and while it may have helped our ancestors prepare for winter or famine, that need no longer exists. Having too much fructose in your diet can set you up for a cluster of health concerns that increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Look for these symptoms and get tested for the following:
►Excess weight, especially near your waist
►Low HDL or “good cholesterol”
►High blood pressure
►High blood glucose levels and/or insulin resistance
►High levels of triglycerides (energy stored in fat cells) in your blood

FINDING FRUCTOSE
Johnson recommends eating less than 35 g of fructose a day, but keeping track of it can be tricky. Here’s a handy list of fructose-rich foods, excerpted from Johnson’s book, The Sugar Fix:
TABLE SUGAR, 1 tablespoon 2.0
PINEAPPLE, 1 slice 4.0
MOLASSES, 1 tablespoon 5.5
GRANOLA, 1/2 cup 7.0
BANANA, 1 medium 7.1
RAISIN BRAN, 1 cup 7.6
APPLE, medium 9.5
WATERMELON, 1/4 melon 11.3
GRAPES, seedless, 1 cup 12.4
APPLE PIE, 1 slice 16.5
CARROT CAKE, 1 slice 27.0
CHOCOLATE CAKE, 1 slice 37.0

5 Tips for Staying Active With Kids and Family

By Amanda MacMillan

During American Heart Month, it’s important that we think not only of our own cardiovascular health but also that of future generations. A study last year found that obese children and teens have as much plaque in their arteries as a 45-year-old adult, setting them up for heart disease and other serious health conditions much earlier than their parents.

If you’ve got kids, of course you want to make sure they grow up fit and healthy. But you also know it’s hard to juggle work, family, and physical activity—for you alone, never mind for you and your kids. Setting a healthy example is a good start; research shows that parents who are physically active increase the likelihood that their kids will be active as well. But if you’re looking for ways to get your kids involved, check out these tips.

1. Plan outdoor activities
Set aside one day a weekend to do something active as a family: swimming in the summer, sledding or hiking in the winter, or biking in the spring and fall. Taking along a picnic lunch—and splurging on some healthy snacks after a good workout—will help the day go by without a complaint.

2. Take classes together
Ask around at fitness clubs and community centers in your area about yoga or aerobics classes offered to parents and kids together. If your little one is too young to participate, look for classes that help you burn calories with your baby by incorporating them into your yoga moves or pushing them along during stroller workouts. No kids? Check out partner yoga or even “doga”—yup, yoga for you and your dog.

3. Redo your family room
Too often, family rooms are the center of laziness in a home: a comfy couch, a video-game console, a shelf full of DVDs, and nothing to encourage fitness or physical activity. There are ways to add in subtle reminders, however, without overhauling your entire room or dragging in a giant piece of workout equipment. Set a time limit on weekly television and incorporate these Skinny House essentials to keep your whole family moving.

4. Make chores fun
Instead of relegating each member of the family to doing separate chores by themselves, turn chores into a game you can all do together. Race to see how fast you can get the house cleaned, and then try to beat your old time the next week. Play music while you’re doing laundry, and enlist the kids to sing and dance while helping to fold and put clothes away. Take the dog for walks together, and squeeze in some running, roller-skating, or jump rope while you’re at it.

5. Make over your meal plan
This isn’t necessarily a fitness tip, but it’s also worth mentioning: Families that eat healthier also tend to have other healthy habits, such as regular physical activity. If you want to slim down after having a baby or just want to eat better overall, get your entire family involved and you’re more likely to succeed. Take kids to the farmers market, let them pick their own fruits and vegetables, and involve them in the food preparation. They’re much more likely to enjoy their meals—and to clean their plates.