That's Fit

I'm a food label reader. I don't always understand everything I read. But I read. I mostly look for foods with way low sugar, minimal levels of sodium, moderate amounts of calories, and pretty darn low servings of fat. But what about trans fats? What if I find a low-fat item that happens to list a teeny tiny trace of trans fat? Is this OK?

It's OK, says this doctor who maintains that as long as saturated fats make up less than 10 percent of daily calorie intake, no harm will be done.

I'd still prefer none of this trans fatty stuff. But if I happen to swallow a bit of it, I guess I'll survive.

Recent research shows that the anniversary of a parent's death can trigger sudden death, particularly for men. Researchers think the mental stress from the anniversary of the event may induce sudden death in people that are prone to heart failure. People at risk will likely have a family history of heart attack, sudden death, and/or coronary disease. Other risk factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, obesity, or a sedentary lifestyle.

Researchers evaluated 102 sudden deaths of people between 37 and 79 years old. 70% of those people died from coronary artery disease. 12% of the people died on the anniversary of a parent's death. 80% of those who died on an anniversary date were male.

Coronary artery disease sufferers possessed nearly double the amount of colorectal tumors and cancers compared to those without the artery ailment, according to a new study out of Hong Kong.

It's interesting here to see how cancer of the colon relates to heart disease. Researchers on the study indicated that both conditions were probably related to chronic inflammation more than any specific link between artery disease and cancer tumors.

Still, the risk factors for both diseases are very similar, according to the researchers. The list sounds like a broken record to many of us: high-fat diet, a high-protein diet, a sedentary lifestyle. Although a high-protein diet may sound odd to some, it's right up there. This is why you'll see the word 'balanced' in front of diet in many cases. Too little or too much both can be problems in striving to maintain a state of good health.

Men who lose more than 3cm in height as they get older are at greater risk of heart attacks and death, a recent study shows.

The average height-loss of the 4,200 men studied was 1.67cm, but more than 1,400 men had lost 2cm or more. This height loss translated into a 42% increase in coronary events, like heart attacks. Those who had lost 3cm or more were 64% more likely to die than those who had lost 1cm or less.

While it known that osteoporosis, a degenerative bone disease, increases the likelihood of death, doctors do net yet have a full explanation for the correlation between height loss and heart problems. Some say that shortness has long been associated with heart disease, and this merely follows. Others point out that this height loss is merely another sign of poor health, and is not causing the heart trouble. Yet some think there may be an underlying mechanism effecting both bone mass and coronary functioning.