Research published in the Harvard Heart Letter found people with periodontitis (gum inflammation and erosion) had several types of bacteria in their bloodstream believed to cause plaque in the arteries (atherosclerosis). This plaque narrows arteries and releases toxins that damage blood vessels, lead to heart attack and blood clots.

Inflammation of the mouth is also believed to cause inflammation in other parts of the body, including the walls of arteries. Bacteria from gum disease can elevate blood sugar in diabetics, leading to kidney and cardiovascular disease. Dental infection is also linked to stroke, premature births, Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis and endocarditis (infection of the heart lining). Patients with diabetes or HIV are more prone to complications from dental disease.

Open Your Mouth for Your Heart

Good oral hygiene is a daily essential to good oral health, but it is still not enough. Regular dental visits are mandatory. The American Heart Association has found people who have dental cleanings reduce their risk for heart attack by 24 percent. Many disease symptoms show up in the mouth where dentists are trained to find them and refer you to a doctor. Dentists know that:

• bleeding gums and bad breath could be a sign of diabetes
• A painful jaw could signal an impending heart attack.
• Inflamed gums or loose teeth could be early warning signs for heart disease.

Brush Up on the Warning Signs

Gum disease has no symptoms in its earliest stages. Healthy gums are light pink and firm. See the dentist if you:

• Have constant bleeding after you brush or floss
• Have receding gums
• Suffer from swollen or red gums
• Have pain when you chew or bite into food.
• Have loose teeth.

Make sure to brush twice and floss once daily for good oral hygiene. If you have active heart disease, it may be advised by your doctor that you take a regimen of antibiotics before a dental procedure. This reduces the chance of oral bacteria migrating to the heart and causing inflammation (endocarditis) of the heart lining.

The post Never Skip the Dentist! How Your Teeth Protect Your Heart appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

5.1 million people have heart failure in the U.S, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The majority of them don’t even know it. Symptoms like shortness of breath or extreme fatigue are usually dismissed as just a sign of getting older. Heart failure has no age or gender bias. Children and younger adults also develop it. Risk factors for heart failure include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, severe viral/bacterial infection and diabetes.

There are two types of heart failure:

• Systolic heart failure – This is when the heart muscle is unable to contract effectively, pumping less oxygen-rich blood through the body.
• Diastolic heart failure – This is when a heart contracts normally, but the ventricles do not expand (relax) as they should when they fill with blood.

Heart Failure Myths vs. Truths

Heart failure is a very misunderstood subject. It does not have to be a death sentence. It is manageable. In worst cases, it requires a heart transplant. Most of the time, medications and modified lifestyles can control this condition. Here are some myths you may have heard:

• Heart failure is untreatable – False. There are treatments and medications that can reduce symptoms and delay its progress. Your doctor can devise a treatment plan.
• People with heart failure should never exercise – False. Exercise helps strengthen the heart and improves circulation. Aggressive exercise should be avoided. Cardiac rehab programs teach you how to exercise safely.
• Heart failure kills – False. Heart failure can shorten your life. It is not always a death sentence. It is treatable under a doctor’s watchful care.
• Congestive heart failure is a death sentence – False. Congestive heart failure is a fluid build-up on the lungs. Fluid can be removed and future build-up managed with proper medication, exercise and dietary changes.
• Heart failure means you must halt activities you enjoy – False. While it is true lifestyle modification and medication are the rule, a proper treatment regimen makes heart failure manageable so you can enjoy a good quality of life.
• Heart failure has no symptoms – False. Quite often you will experience swelling in your ankles, feet, legs or abdomen. It also causes unexplained weight gain, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, lung congestion, coughing, wheezing, rapid heartbeat, chest discomfort and extreme fatigue.
• Symptoms of heart failure are no big deal – False. If you suffer any symptoms of heart failure, you should call your doctor immediately. The sooner heart failure is treated, the better your outcome and less damage to your heart.

When to Call 911

Heart failure should not be ignored. You should seek emergency treatment if you suffer any of these symptoms:

• Loss of consciousness
• Rapid heartbeat that exceeds 120 to 150 beats per minute
• Sudden paralysis or weakness in the arms or legs
• Severe chest pain or discomfort with shortness of breath, nausea or sweating
• A sudden, severe headache

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Exercise and eating right are key to improving cardiovascular health. A well balanced diet low in sodium, bad fats and sugar prevents heart disease. Exercise burns calories, lowers blood pressure and reduces bad cholesterol (LDL), while elevating good (HDL) cholesterol. Before engaging in any exercise regimen, always consult with your doctor.

Get Up – Get Moving

Doctors recommend moderate intensity activity at least 20 minutes, three times a week to improve respiration, circulation and strengthen the heart. Less intense physical activity is also effective. Use caution. Stop and get medical help if you have any pain or pressure in your chest, a cold sweat, uneven heart rate, are light headed, very tired or experience trouble breathing. Effective fitness includes:

• A warm up and cool down – start at a slow pace for a few minutes and slow down at the end of your workout.
• Stretching – do this a couple times a week to improve flexibility. Do it before and after you exercise.
• Aerobic (cardio) exercise – running, biking, jogging and dancing raise heart rate and respiration. If you are unable to talk to someone while you are performing these activities, you are pushing too hard. Low impact cardio activities include swimming or walking.
• Strength training – done two to three times a week to improve endurance and strengthen muscles. Use weights, or resistance bands.

Fitness on-the-Go

Yes, you have time for fitness. It just requires creative multi-tasking. Here are suggestions:

• Spice up a brisk walk by jogging, jumping jacks or running in place.
• Walk your dog.
• Walk as you talk or text on the phone.
• Take a brisk walk around the mall.
• Take the stairs, not the elevator.
• Turn a stair climb into an endurance exercise. Gradually increase your speed.
• Jog behind your kids while they bike.
• Go out and play with your kids. It only takes 10 minutes to raise your metabolism.
• Use a jogging stroller when you take your toddler out for a ride.
• Get off the bus a couple blocks before your destination.
• Park your car further out in the parking lot.
• Do push-ups, sit-ups or crunches during TV commercials.
• Go for a walk on your lunch break.
• Dance while you clean the house.
• Skip the car. Jog,walk or ride your bike home from work.
• Use a stability ball at your desk. Do 15 reps of dumbbell curls, overhead presses and ab crunches on your break.
• Use dumbbells while you walk on a treadmill.

Smart Mobile Fitness

Mobile apps can keep you fit. They include:

• Instant Heart Rate – determine your target heart rate in seconds when you place your finger on your phone’s camera so you don’t over-stress your heart.
• Stress Check Pro – measures your heart rate variability (HRV) through the phone’s built-in camera when you are stressed. It compares it with your baseline or normal heart rate when you are relaxed. This helps you manage stress by learning your triggers.
• HeartWise – tracks your blood pressure over time periods that you select so you can monitor your progress. It also tracks your weight. Reports can be emailed to your physician.
• Blood Pressure Monitor – allows you to enter foods you typically eat, medications you are taking and your current body position. It analyzes these factors to track your weight, blood sugar levels and blood pressure.
• My Fitness Pal Calorie Counter – lets you see how many calories each activity burns with a log to track your progress.
• Fitness Buddy – offers over 1,000 exercises with a user-friendly interface that helps you track your progress.

The post The On-the-Go Guide to Hacking Your Heart Health appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Some of today’s most unhealthy fad diets include the:

• Raw food diet
• Gluten-free diet
• Paleo diet
• Alkaline diet
• Werewolf or lunar diet
• Master Cleanse diet
• Cookie diet
• Grapefruit diet
• Baby food diet
• HCG diet
• Sleeping Beauty or Fast diets
• Tapeworm diet
• Cotton ball diet

Why Most Fad is Bad

Most fad diets result in quick, but temporary weight loss. They are harmful because they:

• Lack essential carbs, robbing the body of energy.
• Lack certain fats like Omega 3s that are necessary for cardiovascular health.
• Lack protein, leading to hair and muscle loss. The body takes what it needs. When it is deficient, the body actually eats away at muscle mass.
• Alter your metabolism with eating schedules that don’t coincide with your body’s metabolic clock.
• Disrupt electrolytes and rob the body of potassium necessary for heart health.

Best Diets for the Long Haul

Even if you want to lose weight, you need to feed your heart. Heart healthy diets are well balanced, low in bad fats, sodium and sugar. U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the 10 best fad diets. They include:

• A.S.H. diet (lowers blood pressure)
• Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes (TLC) diet
• Mayo Clinic diet
• Mediterranean diet
• Weight Watchers diet
• Flexitarian diet
• Volumetrics diet
• Jenny Craig diet
• Biggest Loser diet
• Ornish diet

Diets rich in red and blue fruits and dark vegetables have fiber, folic acid, essential vitamins, potassium, and magnesium that lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and boost good cholesterol (HDL). Foods like fish and nuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids that lower LDL.  Cleveland Clinic researchers recommend six walnuts before lunch and dinner to decrease inflammation in the arteries of the heart. A recent study also shows up to two daily servings of pistachios may reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol levels. Peanuts, macadamia nuts and almonds are also good source of plant sterols, lowering LDL by up to 15 percent.

The American Heart Association recommends two weekly servings of fish for cardiovascular health. Fish contains unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3) that lower bad cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, clotting, stroke risk and reduce inflammation that can damage blood vessels. The best source of Omega 3s are salmon, lake trout, herring, sardines and tuna. Tilapia and catfish are not as effective, according to researchers.

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The 2012 analysis parallels conclusions of recent Cornell University research that found people who sat for more than 11 hours a day had a 12 percent higher mortality rate than those who sat for under four hours. This higher death rate even applied to people who worked out on a daily basis, according to Cornell.

Why Sitting is So Bad

Sitting for prolonged periods with limited muscular contraction shuts off the lipoprotein lipse (LPL), which absorbs fat and triglycerides that the body uses for energy. Excessive sitting tells the body to shut down the process which normally stimulates metabolism during waking hours. This causes a buildup of bad cholesterol and triglycerides, leading to a host of problems.

A study of 4,800 people with prolonged sedentary time who participated in the 2010 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey exhibited higher blood fats, protein and markers of insulin resistance. The reverse was true with people who moved around. Study participants who took more breaks registered lower concentrations of the C-reactive protein responsible for inflammation that leads to cardiovascular disease.

Stand Up For Your Heart

The World Health Organization blames physical inactivity for six percent of deaths worldwide. Excessive sitting in today’s electronic age is associated with an increased risk for obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. Medical experts recommend standing throughout the day to reduce the risk for chronic or cardiovascular disease. They say periodic standing, moving around and walking go a long way to lower the chances of chronic disease.

A report published in the Annals of Internal Medicine recommends standing for two to three minutes at a time, every half hour to reduce the risk of heart disease. The ultimate goal is to reduce sedentary time by two to three hours every day.

To help you get up and get moving more, here are a few simple things you can do:

1. Take frequent breaks throughout the day to stretch
2. Every half hour, take a walk around the office- even if it’s just for a couple of minutes
3. Take the long way to the bathroom
4. Take a walk after you eat lunch
5. Don’t skip commercials with your DVR. Instead use that time to get up and walk around a little.
6. Use a pedometer and set your goal for number of steps taken per day, and slowly increase it
7. Take the stairs instead of the elevator
8. Replace your standard chair with a fitness ball or a standing desk
9. Park your car in the back of the parking lot

The post Why Sitting is Bad for Your Heart (& What to Do About It) appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

1. Kick the bad habits – Twenty percent of annual deaths due to heart disease are caused by smoking, according to the American Heart Association. A daily pack or more of cigarettes doubles your chances for heart attack.  Smoking decreases oxygen flow, increases blood pressure, heart rate, blood clotting and damages coronary arteries and blood vessels. Borgess offers you a way to kick the habit with our Tobacco-Free Handbook.
2. Improve your body mass index and your waistline – The Journal of the American College of Cardiology says too big of a waistline raises blood pressure, blood lipids and damages the heart. It also increases the risk for diabetes. A smaller waistline can be achieved by simple abdominal exercises and lowering sugar intake.
3. Unplug – Recent medical studies show prolonged stress raises stress hormones, increasing the risk for heart attacks, blood clots and high blood pressure. Take time to relax. Disconnect. Researchers with the University of Worchester in England say the more we use our cell phones, the more anxious and stressed we become. Take time to unplug and de-stress. Engage in your favorite hobby or walk your dog instead.
4. Breathe – Take a deep breath. Regulated, relaxed breathing resets your autonomic nervous system and releases “feel good” hormones (endorphins) that lower stress and anxiety. Breathing from your diaphragm lowers your heart rate and anxiety.
5. Get Moving – Just getting up and moving around reduces the risk of heart disease by 40 percent. It improves blood pressure, circulation, blood cholesterol levels and lowers risk for stroke. Get off the couch, out of your office chair and walk around. Take regular walks, even if it is just around your house or the office.
6. Stretch – The benefits of stretching are enormous. Relaxation techniques like yoga and regular stretching dramatically improve heart rate variability (HRV), according to research published in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine.
7. Laugh – A good sense of humor is appreciated by everyone around you. Your heart likes it too. Laughing releases endorphins, which are good for your body and your cardiovascular system.
8. Boogie While You Vacuum – Mundane housework can become a fun cardiovascular workout. Break out your favorite tunes and do a dance step while you vacuum or mop. You’ll improve mobility, muscle tone, respiration and burn calories.
9. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – Worrying elevates blood pressure and constricts blood vessels. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health determined chronic worry and anxiety greatly increases the risk of heart disease. Make a list of what you really need to worry about. Forget the rest.
10. Sleep – Fifteen medical studies in 2011 determined less than six hours of sleep a night increased heart attack risk by 48 percent. Get at least eight hours. Make time for sleep. Don’t take the smartphone to bed. Electronic devices disturb sleep cycles.

The post 10 Essential Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

While it has been well established that patients who discover their breast cancer early have better outcomes, I still have many women ask me what the current recommendations are regarding screening. There are generally three common parts of breast cancer screening: clinical breast exam, self-breast exam and screening mammogram. All of these parts have their pros and cons. Over the years, when to start each of these screenings has caused some controversy.

Below are recommendations from some major breast cancer societies for AVERAGE RISK WOMEN. In the coming weeks, we will look more closely at the individual parts of screening and discuss recommendations for women at high risk.

The post Breast Cancer: A Closer Look at Early Detection appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Athletes through the ages have searched for foods to improve their performance. However, it was not until the 1930’s performance nutrition began to be studied by scientists in a controlled laboratory environment. In the 1960’s, researchers at the University of Florida developed the first version of what would go on to be called Gatorade to help the school’s football players stay hydrated competition during the hot and humid Florida summers. In the years since, sport science has expanded to explore optimal fueling before, during, and after competition. This has turned into big business with $1.5 billion spent on sports drinks each year!

In 2006, researchers from Indiana University were looking into whether chocolate milk, an inexpensive alternative to commercial recovery drinks such as Gatorade Recover, would be as effective at replenishing energy stores after an intense endurance training session. As it turns out, those in the study that refueled with chocolate milk were able to perform longer and to a higher intensity during the workout following the chocolate milk refueling. These findings led to be big boost in chocolate milk sales. Everyone, from Little Leaguers and U6 soccer teams to amateur and professional athletes jumped on board the chocolate milk bandwagon. Individual serving sizes of the delicious drink started showing up as post-practice snacks and at finish lines of 5ks everywhere. However, like many performance enhancing products, claims can be over blown or completely taken out of context.

Chocolate milk is a good recovery drink because it contains an optimal ratio of carbs to protein. The carbohydrates, supplied by the sugar added to the milk, provide the building blocks to replace glycogen (the fuel source stored in our muscles) lost during intense exercise. Milk provides a good source of protein to help the body repair muscles damaged during training. These two components, carbohydrates and protein, are necessary components of recovery drinks.

So, chocolate milk is a delicious and inexpensive way to get the nutrients you need to recover from exercise, right? Well, like so many things, timing and amount make the difference between effective recovery aid and excess amount of a sweet treat.

According to research, recovery aids are necessary when athletes are training to exhaustion levels. This means they have exercised as long and as hard as they are physically able. This is not the kind of training most of us do most of the time. With 69% of adults in the US considered overweight and eating more than 150 pounds of sugar each year, it is important to use this any recovery aid for its intended purpose – to recover from near-exhaustive bouts of exercise. Most of us don’t need a recovery drink after our road run, little league game, or pick up soccer match because we have not worked to a high enough intensity to deplete our glycogen stores.

Even though milk is considered a highly nutritious source of protein, calcium, and vitamin D, all of which are GREAT for bone health and defending against osteoporosis, chocolate milk is a whole different story. Chocolate milk has 158 calories and 26 grams of sugar versus white milk’s 103 calories and 12 grams of sugar. If you’re recovering from an extremely intense bout of exercise, the added calories and sugar may be just what you need to be ready to do it all over again for your next training session. But if you’ve just put in an hour on the Eliptical or played 45 minutes of recreational tennis, it is more likely you just need a good old fashioned jug of plain water to replace the fluids you lost without the added sugar and calories found in a recovery drink.

Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm
http://www.usda.gov/factbook/chapter2.pdf
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/trade-sports-drinks-for-water-201207305079
oakbrooksc.com/docs/stager_chocmilk_study.pdf
https://www.supertracker.usda.gov/foodapedia.aspx

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For American women, breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, with the exception of lung cancer. In 2013, an estimated 39,620 women in the U.S. were expected to die from breast cancer, though death rates have been declining since 1989 (with the largest decrease in women under 50). This reduction is believed to stem from treatment advances, as well as earlier detection through screening and heightened awareness.

While it has been well established that patients who discover their breast cancer early have better outcomes, I still have many women ask me what the current recommendations are regarding screening. There are generally three common parts of breast cancer screening: clinical breast exam, self-breast exam and screening mammogram. All of these parts have their pros and cons. Over the years, when to start each of these screenings has caused some controversy.

Below are recommendations from some major breast cancer societies for AVERAGE RISK WOMEN. In the coming weeks, we will look more closely at the individual parts of screening and discuss recommendations for women at high risk.

When considering this information, keep in mind that the American Cancer Society, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force still all continue to advise regular screening mammography to decrease a woman’s risk of death from breast cancer. Regarding when to start mammography and at what frequency, a woman should talk to her health care provider.

The post Breast Cancer: A Closer Look at Early Detection appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Are you bothered by the urge to move your legs when you lie down? Is the creepy, crawly, tingling and/or painful sensation in your legs keeping you awake at night?

If you answered yes, you could have a sleep disorder known as restless legs syndrome or RLS. RLS is a neurological disorder that can interrupt your ability to rest or fall asleep. Today, growing research has enhanced the medical community’s understanding of restless leg syndrome, leading to more effective treatments.

What causes restless leg syndrome?

The primary cause of restless legs syndrome is largely unknown. However, it can run in families and thus there is likely a genetic basis to some cases. Restless legs syndrome can also be related to low iron (anemia). Additionally, some people with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and kidney disease, are at increased risk for developing restless legs syndrome.

What are the symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of RLS include:

• Leg discomfort—many people describe the feeling as creepy, crawly, painful, or tingling. These sensations usually occur at bedtime but can also occur at other times of inactivity, such as long car rides or watching a movie
• A strong urge to move the legs- To relieve the leg discomfort, people with RLS often have an irresistible urge to move their legs, whether it is tossing and turning while lying in bed or walking or running about at bedtime.
• Sleep disruption- People with RLS often take a long time to fall asleep because of the leg discomfort and need to move. They not only have problems falling asleep but may also have difficulty staying asleep.

What can you do to put your symptoms to rest?

If you have RLS, there are several things you can do to improve your sleep—and your life—quality:

1. Change your bedtime habits. Given that leg discomfort gets worse the longer you lie in bed, it is usually better to wait to get into bed until you are ready to turn out the lights.
2. Heat up or cool down. Consider using a heating pad or cold compress on your legs for temporary relief.
3. Massage. Massage your legs as a kind of “counter-stimulation.”
4. Move it. Get up and move or stretch your legs before bedtime. For example, flex your ankles to stretch your calf muscles. If you’re on a plane or in a movie theater, try to sit in an aisle seat so you can get up and move around if necessary.
5. Lay off the java. Caffeine can make restless legs syndrome symptoms worse. Forgoing caffeine, found in coffee, chocolate, sodas and even some medications (i.e. Excedrin), can help you wind down for optimal sleep.
6. Eat well, sleep well. If you have RLS, it’s very important to eat a well-balanced, healthy diet. Sometimes, restless leg syndrome is linked to not having enough iron. Supplementing may help. Be sure to talk to your doctor before taking any supplements.
7. Medication. If you are experiencing significant sleep disruption due to RLS, medication may be recommended. Talk to your doctor about treatment- there are a number of different types of medications that may help.

The post 7 Tips for Putting Restless Leg Syndrome to Rest appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Instead of eating that banana you grabbed from home, you opt for a couple donuts your coworker brought into the office. Then, running late to another meeting, you scarf down a chili dog for lunch. Later, when you enter that data into your nutrition-tracking app on your iPhone, surprise—you see you’ve exceeded your allotted calories for the day.

You decide that after work, you’ll head out for a run, making sure your Fitbit or FuelBand is in tow. Post run, you feel better about yourself and your choices, but you get a reminder from your primary care physician to get a good night’s sleep. He/he tells you it’s important to improve upon those erratic sleep patterns he/she has been tracking through a daily health report app.

This is the world Apple foresees with its recent introduction of HealthKit. HealthKit is Apple’s attempt to marry and share the diverse data of your health and fitness apps with each other, and if you desire, with your medical providers, too. Apple hopes its latest brainchild will be the one-stop solution for your health and fitness needs.

How It’s Supposed to Work

• HealthKit powers a corresponding app called Health. Health, which comes with iOS 8, shows data about your activity levels, blood pressure, calories burned and sleep activity from all your health and fitness devices.
• From there, you can get detailed reports and build a wellness plan to achieve personal goals like, say, getting in better shape or losing weight.
• If your health app tells you your blood pressure is too high or other metrics aren’t healthy, it will help connect you with a health care provider for support. For now, Apple has partnered with Mayo Clinic to assist customers with these needs.
• Apple has plans to work with many partners to ensure customer satisfaction. Nike (Nike+) is one of the first partners, but rumor has it that Fitbit, Withings and iHealth are also on the shortlist.

Potential Pitfalls

1. HealthKit sounds pretty good on paper, but there are some potential pitfalls. First, there is lack of standards compliance across different devices and apps. For instance, the number of calories burned according to Fitbit can be different from the number that FuelBand reports. Will it prefer the data from one over the other? How will Apple resolve these differences?
2. Secondly, there’s a fair amount of healthy competition on the horizon. Perhaps most notably, Samsung’s SAMI and Google’s Google Fit.
3. HealthKit is iOS 8-only for the moment, meaning it probably won’t be compatible with older iOS devices or desktop apps on OS X.
4. Maybe most importantly, despite the popularity of health and fitness gadgets, not a single one has managed to prove why consumers should care about having their heart-rate monitored via wristband or continuously wear a device that keeps tabs on their z’s.

“Please don’t think that a health data repository on a mobile device will be transformative,” wrote Dr. Joseph Kvedar, director of Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare. “Google discontinued its health data repository and Microsoft’s has gotten very little use. We have not given consumers/patients enough of a reason to make the effort to store all of their health data on one platform.”

If Apple can pull HealthKit off, however, iPhone may very well become the ideal all-in-one fitness tool.

The post Move Over Music, Your Health and Wellness is Calling appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 69 percent of adults age 20 years or older are overweight or obese. Perhaps that’s why weight loss continues to be such big business in this country, and why those of us who have struggled with our weight have tried just about any fad to help us defeat the battle of the bulge. Even people who have achieved and maintained a healthy weight have probably assumed at one time or another that anything claiming to be “diet” or “sugar-free” or “fat-free” must be beneficial to their waistlines.

This assumption might be especially true for diet soda. A new study, funded by the American Beverage Association, suggests that drinking our favorite diet carbonated beverages might be more effective than water alone when it comes to losing weight.

Should we celebrate with Diet Cokes all around?

“The study, published Tuesday in the journal Obesity, included about 300 overweight participants, all of whom were enrolled in a weight loss and exercise program. As part of the intervention, each participant was randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was told to avoid all diet drinks and drink mostly water. The other group was told to consume a combination of zero-calorie drinks (for example, diet soda or artificially sweetened teas) and water,” reported NPR.

After three months, those in the diet-drink group had lost about 13 pounds on average, four more than the average of 9 pounds shed by participants in the water group. Seems like a victory for diet soda, right?

Well, not exactly. “One of the stipulations in the study was that at the start, all participants already be routine diet soda drinkers; the protocol required several diet sodas per week at a minimum. The group assigned to diet sodas could drink all the water they wanted in addition; the group assigned to water could not, of course, drink any diet sodas—nor add any non-nutritive (or “artificial”) sweeteners to their foods or drinks on purpose,” noted David Katz, MD, MPH, director, Yale University Prevention Research Center.

Therefore, we can summarize that from a group of individuals who routinely drank diet soda, half were told to continue doing that, and the other half told to stop. Both groups received guidance to promote weight loss.

Is there any other important information left out of this study we should know about? Details of what the two groups actually ate, for one.

“We would need details of dietary intake for the two treatment groups. What information is totally absent from the article? Exactly that. The investigators provide no information at all about dietary intake,” Dr. Katz also surmised.

Plus, this study, remember, was funded by the American Beverage Association. Two of the investigators also happen to be paid consultants for Coca-Cola, which may explain why the study enrolled only routine diet soda drinkers and why there is potential for bias.

Other researchers also contend the new study doesn’t provide any closure to the questionable science of diet sodas. “This paper is fatally flawed, and leaves us with little science to build on,” said Susie Swithers, a Purdue University researcher. “[It] tells us nothing about the long-term health consequences that should be our real focus.”

Whether you decide to indulge in diet soda, like anything else, is your personal choice. That being said, you should keep in mind that artificial sweeteners are designed to be acutely sweet (ranging from 600 to 1,300 times as sweet as sugar), and thus, may feed and/or grow your “sweet tooth.”

So if you drink a lot of diet soda, you may be injecting a lot of sweet into your diet. When you remove that sweetness, you may look to fill the void elsewhere, and that could result in extra pounds.

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Americans tend to have an all or nothing mindset when it comes to eating, and for generations, we’ve been told to forgo saturated fat because it raises low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad cholesterol”) in our blood, which increases our risk of heart disease. In other words, we should just skip the steak and banish the butter, right?

Well, not exactly. According to a new analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, it may not be quite that simple. After decades of research, an increasing number of experts are questioning the link between saturated fat and heart disease. When researchers tracked people’s saturated fat consumption over time and followed up to evaluate whether this higher consumption boosted their risk of heart disease and stroke, they didn’t find a consistent or definitive connection.

So what’s the skinny?

Researchers now believe the relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is much more complicated than it was understood to be in the 1960s, when concerns over fat intake reached a fever pitch. Today, medical experts know that LDL is only one indicator of heart disease risk.

A more significant predictor of heart disease is the ratio of a person’s LDL to high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good cholesterol”). There’s also evidence that when compared to carbohydrates (what Americans frequently swap in for saturated fats), saturated fat can raise HDL and lower the fat deposits in the blood known as triglycerides, which could actually be protective against heart disease.

Where do we go from here?

The overall takeaway from this latest research is that none of us should embrace an all or nothing approach to what we eat. You shouldn’t, therefore, simply replace your fat intake with carbohydrates or fat-free substitutes (which are often loaded with added sugar, salt and calories). Think: “low-fat” cookies and “fat-free” bagels of the 1990s, and remember how many people gained weight from the pitfalls of that harmful trend.

A good rule of thumb is to stay away from diets that are built on single nutrients. A healthy diet should include a broad range of minimally processed, whole foods like nuts and vegetable and olive oils (containing some saturated fat), along with fish, fruits, vegetables, and small amounts of animal products such as yogurt and cheese.

When debating whether saturated fat is good or bad, try to focus on what you’re eating instead. While not every organization is on board regarding questioning the link between fat and heart disease (e.g., the World Health Organization and American Heart Association), saturated fat shouldn’t be entirely demonized, as it is only one piece of a much larger dietary puzzle.

Too many calories from any one source—fat or carbohydrates—can cause weight gain, and ultimately, it’s those extra pounds that elevate your risk of heart disease.

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You’ve probably seen them or own one yourself, those watches and fitness gadgets worn around the wrist or elsewhere. Maybe you even have an app on your computer, phone and/or tablet that syncs with your fitness “tethering” device of choice.

According to Forbes, Google is now stepping up its health-tech game, challenging competitors like Apple’s HealthKit and Samsung’s SAMI, with Google Fit. It’s a decision rooted in ensuring the online search giant doesn’t get left behind.

Forbes noted: “Google Fit will aggregate data through open APIs, instruction sets that allow apps to share information, and will also announce partnerships with wearable device makers at its I/O conference.” Google’s wearable device would supposedly measure key data like steps and heart rate to interface with its cloud-based services.

This isn’t the first time Google has forayed into the field. Google Health, however, was shut down in 2012. “Google Health never took off because consumers actually don’t want to aggregate their data,” said Derek Newell, CEO of digital health care platform Jiff. “They haven’t wanted to. What they want is information. They want meaning, rewards and a feedback loop.”

Bringing your health and wellness into the 21st century—and beyond—appears to be a trend that’s here to stay. From bathroom scales that send your weight data to your home computer to wristbands that collect information on steps taken, calories burned and overall movement to shirts with electronic sensors that track biometrics, high-tech health and fitness is big business. Samsung has already entered the market with products like Galaxy Gear 2 and Galaxy Gear Fit and Apple has HealthKit, while Microsoft is also reportedly working on its own smart watch with health-related features.

Despite these products being in vogue, not a single one has managed to prove why consumers should care about having their heart-rate monitored via wristband or continuously wear a device that keeps tabs on the quality of their sleep. For now, all the major players seem to still want to dominate the health-tech arena.

For more on Google Fit, check out this article from Forbes.

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For many parents of toddlers or young children, it may be easy to miss the signs of nasal allergies. After all, kids are exposed to lots of new germs, and lots of new germs can result in plenty of runny noses and sneezing.

While it’s true a constant runny nose or sneezing could be nothing more than another cold, allergies are also one of the most common diseases in children. Signs of nasal allergies in kids include:

• Runny and itchy nose
• Congestion
• Frequent sneezing
• Chronic cough
• Red, watery eyes
• Mouth breathing, especially while sleeping
• Exhaustion due to poor sleep
• Dark rings under the eyes (allergic “shiners”)
• Symptoms that last longer than two weeks

Nasal allergies can actually be more than just a nuisance. The constant congestion can lead to frequent sinus and ear infections. If a child has too many ear infections, he or she might not be able to hear well, which can lead to developmental delays. Eczema and asthma are also linked to nasal allergies. In many kids, allergies begin with patches of eczema as infants, progress to nasal problems as preschoolers and develop into asthma later.

So what causes nasal allergies in kids? Children are often allergic to the same things as adults, such as dust mites, pet dander and pollen. Some kids also have food allergies, including cow’s milk, that can sometimes cause nasal problems. Fragrances in household products like shampoos, detergents and soap can cause or worsen symptoms as well.

Children have a higher risk of developing allergies if their parents had or have allergies. Outgrowing allergies is possible; however, early food allergies are usually the ones that are outgrown. Nasal allergies have a greater likelihood of persisting.

The 9 Things You Can Do

The key to treating allergies in kids is pinpointing the trigger. Allergy blood tests work well in kids 3 and older, but they aren’t as effective in younger children. When trying to find out what might be making your child have symptoms, ask yourself if his or her symptoms have changed:

At different times of the year? When your child has been out of daycare for a few days? When you’re away from home or your pets? After home renovations, or a leak or flood?

Taking notes regarding changes in your child’s symptoms can also be helpful for his or her health care provider. With food allergies, an elimination diet can be another way to identify possible causes. Once you determine the cause, controlling your child’s environment can be very beneficial. Here are some tips:

1. Get rid of stuffed animals, or wash them regularly in hot water. Stuffed animals can be a haven for dust mites and other allergens.
2. Cover your child’s mattress with a dust mite-proof cover. Wash bedding every week in hot water with an extra rinse cycle.
3. Remove carpets and heavy drapes that trap dust and allergens.
4. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
5. Use air conditioners to filter allergens from the outside. Clean or replace filters often.
6. Reduce your use of chemical cleaners with strong scents.
7. Don’t allow smoking in the house.
8. Keep pets out of your child’s bedroom or playroom.
9. Consider an allergy medication. Go over the pros and cons with your child’s provider, as there are some safe and effective medications available. Never start using an over-the-counter drug without a pediatrician’s recommendation.

Remember, your goal doesn’t need to be an allergen-free home. Little ones with nasal allergies can handle some exposure to an allergen without symptoms. Making a few smart changes and decreasing your child’s overall exposure may be sufficient to eliminate his or her symptoms.

The post 9 Ways to Help Clear Up Your Child’s Nasal Allergies appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

You may have heard the American Medical Association (AMA) has classified obesity as a disease. While the AMA’s decision technically has no legal weight, it means one-third of adults and 17 percent of children in America now have a legitimate medical condition. It also means physicians should pay closer attention to obesity, which could encourage more insurance companies to pay for treatments, including counseling, medications and weight-loss surgery.

“The subsequent health problems of obesity and the risk factors in a person’s family history passed down through the generations have become increasingly more of a burden. That’s the siren sound we can no longer ignore,” Gordon Tomaselli, MD, past president of the American Heart Association, told the organization. Dr. Tomaselli was also co-chair of a subcommittee that guided the completion of new obesity-related medical guidelines.

These new guidelines recommend that:

• Health care providers find out who would benefit from weight loss by calculating the body-mass index (BMI) of each of their patients, at least once a year. BMI is an idicator of obesity based on hieght and weight. Patients who have a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese, and therefore, should receive treatment for weight loss.
• Patients with a high BMI would then participate in a medically supervised weight-loss program two or three times a month for at least six months. Advising patients to lose weight isn’t enough. Health care providers should own the problem of weight management just as they own the problem of glycemic control in patients with diabetes.
• Physicians should also consider weight-loss surgery for severely obese patients who have one or more obesity-related health problems, such as diabetes, sleep apnea or high blood pressure. The guidelines do not endorse any one weight-loss surgery. Instead, the choice of procedure should be based on the person’s age, severity of obesity, risk of complications and other factors.

Gaining New Life
If you’re one of the millions of Americans hoping to shed some weight, there’s good news. Making important lifestyle changes isn’t easy, but embracing healthy habits will help you truly manage your weight over the long run. Talking to your health care provider is a great way to begin your journey. He or she can give you safe and effective guidance for both losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight for life.

Remember, reliable weight-loss programs should offer realistic goals, as well as healthy advice on keeping weight off for good. When researching specific programs, consider asking these questions:

• What are the features of the program? For example, does it offer group classes and one-on-one counseling, do you have to buy special meals or supplements and does it provide suggestions for being more physically active? Is there a maintenance program to help keep the weight off once it’s lost?
• What are the staff credentials? Does the staff include qualified counselors and health professionals, such as registered dietitians, doctors and exercise physiologists?
• Are there any health risks? Could the program’s drugs or supplements be harmful to your overall health? Does a doctor or other certified health professional run the program?
• How much does the program cost? Does your insurance cover any of the fees?
• What are the typical results? What percentage of people complete the program? How much weight does the average person lose? How long does the average person keep the weight off?

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“If I knew my life would have improved like this, I wouldn’t have waited so long.”

It’s something orthopedic surgeons hear a lot these days. Not so long ago, however, many doctors advised their patients to wait as long as possible in order to avoid complications or multiple joint replacements over their lifetime.

Today, we now know the majority of artificial joints last more than 20 years and the health risks of disability are often too high to put off surgery. When waiting, the pain from joint degeneration frequently forces people to slow down, resulting in inactivity and weight gain—two factors that place individuals at greater risk for disability, heart disease and diabetes.

So how do you know when it’s time to finally have that knee or hip replaced? When deciding to have joint replacement surgery, you should first consider how much pain you’re having and how that pain is affecting your everyday life. Below are six signs that it could be time to have your knee or hip replaced:

1. You have severe pain—pain that keeps you awake at night even with the use of medications, pain that keeps you from walking or bending over, pain that doesn’t go away with rest or pain that isn’t helped by non-surgical approaches (e.g., pain relievers, physical therapy or weight loss).
2. You can no longer complete daily tasks without help from others (e.g., getting dressed, driving or climbing stairs).
3. You have stopped doing activities you love because of your pain.
4. You have arthritis (degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone) and feel this condition is negatively affecting you physically, emotionally and mentally.
5. You have side effects from the medications you’re taking for your knee or hip pain.
6. Testing has shown advanced arthritis or significant joint damage.

Choosing Experience

After talking to your primary care provider and deciding that joint replacement surgery may be right for you, finding an experienced surgeon and hospital can make a profound difference when it comes to the success of your procedure. Here are some key questions to ask when looking for a surgeon:

• Are you board-certified in orthopedic surgery?
• How long have you performed joint replacements?
• How often do you perform joint replacement and how many have you done?
• What kind of outcome would you expect from someone in my condition?
• What complications are most common, and how do you handle those complications?
• Could I talk to any of your patients who have had this surgery?
• Do you work with a specific physical therapist or rehab center?

The post Joint Replacement: Why Waiting is the Hardest Part appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

If you’re doing your best to set aside time for physical activity either before work or after work, good for you — but finding time to exercise can be a challenge for anyone who has a busy schedule. Why not work out while you’re at work? Consider 10 ways to make workplace exercises part of your routine.

1. Make the most of your commute. Walk or bike to work. If you ride the bus or the subway, get off a few blocks early or at an earlier stop than usual and walk the rest of the way. If you drive to work, park at the far end of the parking lot — or park in the lot for a nearby building. In your building, take the stairs rather than the elevator.
2. Look for opportunities to stand. You’ll burn more calories standing than sitting. Stand while talking on the phone. Better yet, try a standing desk — or improvise with a high table or counter. Eat lunch standing up. Trade instant messaging and phone calls for walks to other desks or offices.
3. Take fitness breaks. Rather than hanging out in the lounge with coffee or a snack, take a brisk walk or do some gentle stretching. For example, face straight ahead, then lower your chin to your chest. Or, while standing, grab one of your ankles — or your pant leg — and bring it up toward your buttock. Hold each stretch for 15 to 30 seconds.
4. Trade your office chair for a fitness ball. Consider trading your desk chair for a firmly inflated fitness or stability ball, as long as you’re able to safely balance on the ball. You’ll improve your balance and tone your core muscles while sitting at your desk. You can even use the fitness ball for wall squats or other workplace exercises during the day.
5. Keep fitness equipment in your work area. Store resistance bands — stretchy cords or tubes that offer weight-like resistance when you pull on them — or small hand weights in a desk drawer or cabinet. Do arm curls between meetings or tasks.
6. Get social. Organize a lunchtime walking group. You might be surrounded by people who are ready to lace up their walking shoes — and hold each other accountable for regular exercise. Enjoy the camaraderie, and offer encouragement to one another when the going gets tough.
7. Conduct meetings on the go. When it’s practical, schedule walking meetings or walking brainstorming sessions. Do laps inside your building or, if the weather cooperates, take your walking meetings outdoors.
8. Pick up the pace. If your job involves walking, do it faster. The more you walk and the quicker your pace, the greater the benefits.
9. If you travel for work, plan ahead. If you’re stuck in an airport waiting for a plane, grab your bags and take a brisk walk. Choose a hotel that has fitness facilities — such as treadmills, weight machines or a pool — or bring your equipment with you. Jump-ropes and resistance bands are easy to sneak into a suitcase. Of course, you can do jumping jacks, crunches and other simple exercises without any equipment at all.
10. Try a treadmill desk. If you’re ready to take workplace exercise to the next level, consider a more focused walk-and-work approach. If you can safely and comfortably position your work surface above a treadmill — with a computer screen on a stand, a keyboard on a table or a specialized treadmill-ready vertical desk — you might be able to walk while you work. In fact, Mayo Clinic researchers estimate that overweight office workers who replace sitting computer time with walking computer time by two to three hours a day could lose 44 to 66 pounds (20 to 30 kilograms) in a year. The pace doesn’t need to be brisk, nor do you need to break a sweat. The faster you walk, however, the more calories you’ll burn.

Want more ideas for workplace exercises? Schedule a walking meeting to brainstorm ideas with your supervisors or co-workers. Remember, any physical activity counts!

The post 10 Ways to Burn Calories at Work appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

When you hear the word “heart failure,” don’t let that discourage you.

Heart failure really means the shape and structure of the heart is no longer pumping blood throughout the body like it should. If the heart doesn’t pump the way it should, blood will back up in the blood vessels around the lungs, causing congestion and difficulty breathing, swollen legs, fatigue, weakness, weight gain and your activity may be limited.

While heart failure is a lifelong condition that often has no cure, there’s good news. With proper management and lifestyle changes, people with heart failure can feel better as well as live healthier, longer lives.

The best way to manage heart failure is to take control of your risk factors and symptoms by:

• Kicking those butts. Smoking damages your blood vessels, decreases the amount of oxygen in your blood and makes your heart beat faster. If you smoke, talk to your health care provider about developing your own unique “quit plan.”
• Maintain healthy Blood Pressure and Heart Rhythm. Whether you have high blood pressure or you are on medications to treat your blood pressure and heart rhythm, it is important keep your blood pressure and heart rhythm within the ranges your provider has set. High Blood pressure and abnormal Heart Rhythms put you at risk for heart failure.
• Controlling your Blood Sugars or Diabetes. There is no such thing as a “little sugar”. Controlling your blood sugar is an important part of your health. Having high blood sugar can damage your vital organs and tissues in your body. Check with your provider to see if you have high blood sugar. Further testing and treatment may be needed.
• Controlling your Cholesterol. A lipid panel is the recommended blood test to determine if your “good” and “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides are too high. Having abnormal lipids puts you at risk for heart disease. “Know Your Numbers” and check with your providers to see if you have a cholesterol problem that requires treatment, or if you have other medical problems that require “Statin” therapy to reduce your risk.
• Eating well, living well. Those who have heart failure should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and limit fats and cholesterol. Too much sodium (salt) in the diet contributes to fluid retention. People with heart failure should cut their dietary salt to 2,000 milligrams per day. Eating 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily is also ideal, as it lowers blood sugar and fat levels, and will keep you feeling fuller longer.
• Working out. Regular exercise is beneficial to your heart, helps control blood sugar, reduces stress and boosts your health in many other ways. Before you start an exercise regimen, visit your provider to discuss what’s best for you and your condition.
• Limiting alcohol. Excessive alcohol use can weaken your heart muscle or worsen existing heart failure. If you have severe heart failure, your doctor may also suggest limiting all your fluids daily. Do not use illicit drugs. If you have a drug or alcohol problem, seek help immediately.
• Watching your waistline. People with heart failure should keep their waist line less than 40in for men and <35in for women.  If you’re overweight or obese, talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian about how you can achieve a healthier weight. People with heart failure may also need to weigh themselves daily to ensure they aren’t retaining fluids. (Notify your health care provider if you’ve gained three or more pounds over night.)
• Seeing the doctor. Living with a chronic condition like heart failure means that you should check in with your provider on a regular basis, so they can modify your treatment plan as needed, or refill your prescriptions. Remember—always take your medications exactly as prescribed.

Part of the Borgess Heart Institute, the Borgess Heart Failure Program has been awarded The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval™, as well as earned national recognition from the American Heart Association. For more on our legacy in heart care, visit heart.borgess.com.

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Athletes of all types strive for that competitive edge. For this reason the sport and fitness market is flooded with costly products that promise to make you a better athlete. Performance jewelry is one of the latest things to hit the market, promising to improve athletic performance. Manufactures of these products claim that simply wearing performance jewelry helps athletes to improve flexibility, balance and strength. These products are very trendy and attractive in design but struggle to prove that their “technology” actually works. Marketing for these products is impressive and often centers on the testimonials of high profile professional athletes. Product websites for example, are flooded with photos of athletes donning bracelets and necklaces, which can mislead people into believing that such trinkets are somehow linked to elite athletic performance.

So what is performance jewelry and how does it work? To answer this question you can go directly to the source. Most product websites provide some explanation regarding the “science” or “technology” behind their products. Unfortunately, the answers provided by these companies often only lead to more questions. One of the most popular performance enhancing products currently on the market is a bracelet sold by the company Power Balance®. This product is a silicon bracelet equipped with two dime-sized holograms; one on either side of the bracelet. Power Balance® products retail for $29.99 – $99.99 each. According to the Power Balance® website, these two pieces of foil are said to be “based on eastern philosophies.” Power Balance® also states that “there is no assurance it can work for everyone” and wisely follows up by telling consumers that Power Balance® “makes no claims and lets the consumer decide based on their experience.”

With the growing popularity of these products, many researchers have also begun to evaluate their effectiveness. Not surprisingly, several studies have revealed no link between performance jewelry and improvements in flexibility, balance, strength or anything else related to sports performance (Porcari et.al. (2011), Kablan et.al. (2012). To date there are also no studies that can prove any link between athletic performance and holograms, foil, silicon or any other component of these products. Based on these findings, it is safe to say that although performance jewelry might make you look like an athlete, it can’t help you be one. There is no substitute for good old fashion training.

Sources:
Porcari, J., Hazuga, R., Foster, C., Doberstein, S., Becker, J., Kline, D., Mickschl, T. and Dodge, C. (2011). Can the Power Balance® Bracelet Improve Balance, Flexibility, Strength, and Power? Journal of Sports Science and Medicine 10, 230-231

Sari, Z., Kablan, N., Ozgul, B., Aydogdu, O., Timurtas, E., Tutuncuoglu, F., Yurdalan, S., Polat, M. (2012). An Investigation of the Effects of Holographic Wristbands on Strength, Balance and Flexibility – a Double-Blind Placebo Contrilled Study. Journal of Physical Therapy Science 24, 577-580.

The post Want to be a Better Athlete? Forget the Jewelry. appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Daylight Saving Time (aka “Spring Forward”) is Sunday, March 9. It’s also the first sign the long cold winter might be waning. The evenings will be brighter, and soon (fingers crossed), the warmer weather will thaw our spirits.

While losing an hour of sleep is just a nuisance for some, it can actually cause weeks of sleep deprivation for others. Chronic sleep deprivation can take a toll on one’s mood, productivity, and overall health and wellness. Considering many of us already don’t get enough quality sleep, losing another hour can be more problematic than you might think.

So how will this Sunday’s time change affect you? That will depend on your own personal health, sleep habits and lifestyle. Moving our clocks in either direction shifts light (the main time cue) for setting and resetting our 24-hour natural cycle, known as our circadian rhythm. When this happens, our internal clock becomes out of sync with our current day-night cycle.

Losing an hour of sleep in the spring is generally harder to adjust to than gaining an hour in the fall. If you’re routinely getting seven to eight hours of good sleep each night and go to bed a little early the night before the spring time shift, you could wake up feeling well rested. If you’re sleep deprived, getting by on six hours or less, you might not fare as well.

What can you do then to cope with Daylight Saving Time and grab better z’s overall?

• Linger in the early light: Expose yourself to sunlight during the day as much as possible, as light is your body’s principal environmental cue for waking up. Getting some very early morning sun Saturday and Sunday (the weekend of the time change) can help your brain’s circadian rhythm line up with the new light-dark cycle.
• Avoid evening light: Nicer weather and the later sunset are great excuses to stay outside longer, but resisting this temptation can also help your body adjust. Try not to expose yourself to bright light when it’s dark outside. For instance, if you get up at night to go to the bathroom, do not turn on the light. Plan ahead by installing a night light.
• Practice good sleep hygiene: Sleep hygiene describes the actions you can take to create an ideal sleep environment, and improve your odds of falling asleep, staying asleep and sleeping soundly. This can include reducing or eliminating caffeine and alcohol, exercising several hours before bedtime, establishing relaxation rituals (e.g., taking a hot bath), and wearing earplugs and eye masks.
• Surrender the Starbucks. Avoid drinking beverages containing caffeine at least four to six hours before bedtime. Alcohol can also cause symptoms that disturb sleep. To reduce these symptoms, make sure to practice moderation, as well as drink one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume.
• Create a sound sleep environment. Create a sound sleep environment—whether that means closing the curtains or using a fan for white noise. Remember, your bed should be used for sleep and sex only. If you watch TV or eat in bed, your bed can become associated with distracting activities.
• Eat well and you’ll sleep well. While it isn’t good to go to bed hungry, it’s also important to avoid heavy meals before you rest, as an over-full stomach can keep you up at night. There is no direct evidence that certain diets truly influence your circadian rhythm, but carbohydrates do tend to make it easier to fall asleep.
• Don’t smoke. If you smoke, never quit quitting. However, if you do smoke, you should know that having a cigarette before bed puts nicotine (a stimulant) into your bloodstream.

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Harold Ramis leaves behind an admirable legacy of laughter. The director of “Caddyshack,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Groundhog Day,” co-writer of “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” and co-star of “Stripes” and “Ghostbusters” tragically lost his battle with vasculitis on February 24 at the age of 69.

What is vasculitis?

Vasculitis is a condition that involves inflammation of the blood vessels; the disease occurs when the immune system attacks blood vessels. The immune system attacks proteins circulating in the blood, and these “immune complexes” become lodged in blood vessel walls and lead to inflammation. When the blood vessels become inflamed, blood flow is restricted or cut off entirely.

There are many different types of vasculitis. The types are typically categorized based on the size of the blood vessels they affect. Some types of vasculitis can be very painful and debilitating. In Ramis’ case, the Chicago Tribune reported he suffered an infection that led to complications and forced him to relearn to walk.

What causes it?

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, what causes vasculitis isn’t completely understood. A recent or chronic infection might cause your immune system to attack your blood vessels. Your body may also respond this way in reaction to a medicine. Sometimes, an autoimmune disorder can trigger vasculitis. Autoimmune disorders happen when the immune system produces antibodies (proteins) that attack and damage the body’s own tissue and cells. Examples of autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and scleroderma.

Who is at risk?

Vasculitis afflicts people of all ages and races, as well as both men and women. Specific types of the disease seem to show up more frequently in people who:

• Have a chronic hepatitis B or C infection, or other medical conditions
• Have an autoimmune disease like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma
• Smoke cigarettes

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of vasculitis can vary, and will depend on the type of the disease and the organs involved. Symptoms that are systemic (or have an impact on people in a general way) include:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Fatigue
• Joint aches and pains
• Rash

Vasculitis can cause problems with specific organs and body systems, creating a variety of other signs and symptoms. For example, if vasculitis affects your lungs, you may feel short of breath or cough up blood.

How is it diagnosed?

Vasculitis is diagnosed based on symptoms, medical history, physical exam and blood testing and tissue biopsy. Depending on the type of vasculitis and/or organs affected, your primary care provider may refer you to a rheumatologist (joint and muscle specialist), infectious disease specialist, pulmonologist, neurologist, cardiologist, or another type of doctor. Many tests may be used in the diagnosis of vasculitis, ranging from blood screenings, biopsy and angiography to urinalysis, echocardiography and lung function testing.

What about treatment?

Again, treatment will depend on the type and severity of the vasculitis. Ultimately, the goal of treating vasculitis is to reduce inflammation. People who have severe vasculitis are often treated with chemotherapeutic drugs. Those with mild vasculitis may find sufficient relief from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or corticosteroids.

Is there a cure?

A lot of research is being done, but to date, no cure has been found for vasculitis. However, if vasculitis is diagnosed early and responds effectively to treatment, it may go into remission. Sometimes, the condition is chronic. Rarely, vasculitis doesn’t respond well to treatment, and therefore, the condition can lead to disability or even death.

Borgess offers sincerest condolences to all those who loved, learned from and laughed with actor-director Harold Ramis.

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Just last week, a Canadian research study appeared to cast doubt on the benefits of regular mammograms to detect breast cancer. The study watched about 90,000 women aged 40 to 59 for 25 years who were randomly assigned to either have mammograms every year for five years or the occasional professional breast exam.

When deciding whether to have regular mammograms, it’s important to recognize that this study isn’t new. The study was actually done in the early 1980s and the recent stories are a review of the data. The results of this study, first published 22 years ago, revealed no advantages for screened women, and to no surprise, the latest re-review revealed the same results.

The Canadian study results are different than other randomized research trials, which do show benefit. When these other trials are combined together (nine studies total, including the Canadian study), screening mammography has, in fact, been shown to significantly decrease breast cancer death for women age 39 and above.

While all the various studies and reports seem confusing, the American Cancer Society (ACS) still remains a strong advocate for mammograms. “If you are a woman 40 or older, you should get a mammogram every year,” the ACS recommends.

Along with the ACS, the American College of Radiology also stands firm on the benefits of mammograms. The organization called the Canadian study “deeply flawed,” and said new and better treatments for breast cancer do save lives. Many breast cancer experts add that the recovery from treating a very small breast tumor is much less stressful than if a woman’s cancer has grown and spread.

Since the completion of the Canadian research, several new observational trials across the world using modern screening mammography have confirmed the benefit of screening. Computer models that include both current mammography and current treatment show a 40 percent breast cancer mortality reduction for women who start screening at age 40.

The bottom line? The ACS, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force continue to advise regular screening mammography to decrease a woman’s risk of death from breast cancer. Regarding when to start mammography and at what frequency, a woman should talk to her health care provider.

For American women, breast cancer death rates are higher than those for any other cancer, with the exception of lung cancer. In 2013, an estimated 39,620 women in the U.S. were expected to die from breast cancer, though death rates have been declining since 1989 (with the largest decrease in women under 50). This reduction is believed to stem from treatment advances, as well as earlier detection through screening and heightened awareness.

The post Mammography Still Matters appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

It’s Valentine’s Day and you are probably trying to figure out what to do to celebrate with that special someone. Stay in tonight and try a romantic, heart healthy meal. This grilled flank steak with garlic and chile marinade from the Borgess Light Hearted Living Cookbook is sure to please. Be sure to start putting it together about 75 minutes earlier than you’d like to eat as the steak will need to marinate before cooking.

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 2 tsp liquid smoke
• 2 tsp ground ancho chile pepper
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 lbs . flank steak, trimmed of fat

Now that you have the ingredients, you are ready to go. Follow the following steps and enjoy!

1. Whisk garlic, vinegar, oil, liquid smoke, ground chile, oregano, sun-dried tomatoes, cumin and salt in a small bowl.
2. Place steak in a shallow baking dish and pour marinade over it, turning to coat both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.
3. Preheat frill to high heat. Oil the grill rack (see tip).  Grill the steak until desired doneness, about 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium.
4. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and let set for 5 minutes. Slice the steak very thinly across the grain.
5. Serve warm or chilled.
6. Tip: To oil a grill, oil a folded paper towel, hold it with tongs, and rub it over the rack. Do not use cooking spray on a hot grill.

Once you get done trying it, be sure to let us know what you think! You can get more great recipes like this in the Borgess Light Hearted Living Cookbook, available at cookbook.borgess.com or by visiting the Seasons Gift Shop located inside the Atrium at Borgess Medical Center.

The post Cooking for your heart on date night appeared first on Borgess Blog |.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. Every year, about 715,000 Americans experience a heart attack.

A heart attack happens when the blood flow to part of the heart is blocked (often by a blood clot). Heart attacks occur because coronary arteries that supply the heart with blood become thicker and harder from plaque (the buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances). If the plaque breaks open and a blood clot forms that blocks blood flow, the result is a heart attack.

During a heart attack, the part of the heart supplied by the blocked artery begins to die. This damage increases the longer an artery stays blocked, and once the muscle dies, the heart becomes permanently damaged. That’s why it’s so important to not only know the warning signs of a heart attack, but also act fast if you feel you (or someone you love) may be experiencing one.

Never tough out heart attack symptoms. Even if you’re not entirely certain it’s a heart attack, just have it checked out. Call your doctor about your symptoms. Don’t wait more than five minutes to call 9-1-1 (or your emergency response number) if you’re having the symptoms below.* (Drive yourself to the hospital only as a last resort.)

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Remember, while a woman’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort, she is more likely than a man to experience other symptoms, especially shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

When it comes to the health of your one and only heart, Borgess does more. In fact, the Borgess Heart Institute treats nearly 20,000 heart patients every year. For more on our cardiac legacy, visit heart.borgess.com.

*Source: American Heart Association.

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