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Articles (10)

 
JANUARY 2006

ANY DAY NOW, after investing 30,000 hours in research and testing, Kraft Foods will introduce an Oreo cookie that contains no trans fat. The company, like other food manufacturers, has been scrambling to meet a Jan. 1…

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FEBRUARY 2005

But evidence proves elusive for cancer-preventing effects of YOUR HEART LOVES fruits and vegetables, according to a multiyear study of more than 100,000 participants conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health. Researchers found that the more total fruits and vegetables participants ate, the less their cardiovascular risk.…

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MARCH 2007

IF YOUR BELLY enters the room before the rest of you, a new study finds, you may be headed for the cardiac ward.…

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MAY 2007

IF YOU’RE A WOMAN age 65 or older, new American Heart Association prevention guidelines suggest talking with your doctor about the potential benefits and risks of daily low-dose aspirin therapy to protect your heart—even if you’re healthy or at low risk of heart disease.…

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AUGUST 2005

IF YOU’RE TRYING to eat more fish for your heart’s sake, forget the fish sticks and Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and skip Long John Silver’s. A new study suggests that fried fish and the like not only don’t help protect your heart, but may actually increase your risk of cardiac woes. Only fish that’s been broiled, baked or prepared in a similar way seems linked to reduced risk of heart disease, according to research recently presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association.…

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MAY 2007

HERE’S ANOTHER REASON for women to watch their cholesterol levels: A new analysis of data from the Women’s Health Study has found that women with elevated cholesterol levels had twice the risk for ischemic stroke compared to women with the lowest cholesterol levels,…

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NOVEMBER 2007

Worried about your risk of heart disease? Get out the tape measure. A new study indicates that your waist-to-hip ratio is a better predictor of atherosclerosis risk than waist circumference alone or even the highly touted Body Mass Index (BMI).…

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MAY 2008

Dairy does a body’s blood-pressure good—as long as the dairy is low-fat. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis of data on almost 30,000 participants in the observational Women’s Health Study, which found that an increased intake of low-fat dairy products reduced women’s risk of developing hypertension. Women with the greatest average low-fat dairy consumption were 11% less likely to develop high blood pressure than those consuming the least.…

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JULY 2008

EVEN IF you don’t have high blood pressure, you might want to try the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan. New results from the Nurses’ Health Study— based on an impressive 24 years of follow-up—show that women whose diets most closely resembled the DASH plan were 24% less likely to develop heart disease and 18% less likely to have a stroke.…

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OCTOBER 2009

That bowl of healthy breakfast cereal you ate this morning could help you fight heart failure—the leading cause of hospitalization among older Americans. So could the broccoli you’ll have with dinner. Eating breakfast cereal and consuming plenty of vegetables and fruits were two of six lifestyle factors identified in a new study as protective against heart failure in men.…

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NewsBites (1)

 
JANUARY 2006

GETTING AWAY from the 9-to-5 pressures at work by retiring early may mean you’ll enjoy life more, but it won’t help you live longer. Retiring very early, at 55, …

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Special Reports (1)

 
OCTOBER 2007

IS THERE a health benefit to that Halloween chocolate treat? Mount - ing evidence has indicated so, linking certain forms of chocolate to improved cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure, enhanced glucose tolerance, even stronger teeth. Candy-makers as well as “health-oriented” companies have even developed chocolate products they claim are good for us.…

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Health Updates (3)

 
May 2012

To the dismay of dentists everywhere, an expert review of 537 studies on periodontal disease and risk of heart attack or stroke overturns the popular belief that healthy gums contribute to a healthy heart. “A link between oral health and cardiovascular disease has been proposed for more than a century,” noted a scientific statement from the American Heart Association, endorsed by the American Dental Association and World Heart Federation. But despite many observational studies finding that people with periodontal disease often also suffer from atherosclerosis, the experts found no evidence of cause and effect. Rather, both conditions share common risk factors, such as tobacco use, diabetes and age. “Patients and providers are increasingly presented with claims that periodontal disease treatment strategies offer atherosclerotic vascular disease protection; these claims are often endorsed by professional and industrial stakeholders," the experts wrote, concluding that such assertions “are unwarranted.” — Circulation …

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January 2010

The American Heart Association outlined 7 keys to what one expert called "the fountain of youth for your heart" in the launch of an ambitious national campaign to improve Americans' cardiovascular health 20% by 2020. Citing the importance of "true prevention" for the long term, the AHA for the first time is making better heart health — rather than reductions in deaths from heart disease — a goal in itself. Only about 5% of Americans now meet the 7 criteria for "ideal" heart health. But the payoff for meeting those goals is huge: If you can reach age 50 with ideal heart health, you can probably live another 40 years free of heart disease and stroke. For people currently free of clinical cardiovascular disease, the 7 goals to aim for are: 1. Never smoked or quit more than a year ago. 2. Body mass index (BMI) under 25. 3. Stay physically active at least 150 minutes at moderate intensity or 75 minutes at vigorous intensity per week. 4. Eat a healthy diet. 5. Keep total cholesterol under 200 mg/dL. 6. Maintain blood pressure below 120/80 mmHg. 7. Keep fasting blood glucose less than 100 mg/dL.…

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May 2009

Whichever diet plan works best for you to lose weight, after you've slimmed down, a diet low in saturated fat is best for your health. A new study at the University of Maryland compared the health effects—not the weight-loss impact—of three popular diet plans: the low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet, which allows foods high in saturated fat; the South Beach Diet, which emphasizes unsaturated fats, vegetables and legumes; and the Ornish plan, a low-fat, vegetarian regimen. The 26 healthy, non-obese volunteers tried each diet plan for a month to test the effects on cholesterol, inflammation and blood-vessel function. While the Atkins Diet caused LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels to slightly increase, LDL levels dropped 12% on the South Beach plan and 17% on Ornish. The Ornish diet also had the most positive effect on blood-vessel function. Researchers concluded, "The bottom line is that once weight loss has been attained, a diet low in saturated fat represents an excellent prescription for a healthy heart."—Journal of the American Dietetic Association …

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High-protein diets make kidneys work harder—an issue for the more than 20 million Americans who have chronic kidney disease but don’t know it.

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