AHA > Life’s Simple 7

Life’s Simple 7
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/My-Life-Check—-Lifes-Simple-7_UCM_471453_Article.jsp

My Life Check® was designed by the American Heart Association with the goal of improved health by educating the public on how best to live. … This seven step list has been developed to deliver on the hope we all have–to live a long, productive healthy life.

Manage blood pressure
Control cholesterol
Reduce blood sugar
Get active
Eat better
Lose weight
Stop smoking

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Red meat consumption and mortality

Red meat consumption and mortality: results from 2 prospective cohort studies.
Arch Intern Med. 2012 Apr 9;172(7):555-63.
Pan A, et al.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22412075

BACKGROUND:
Red meat consumption has been associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases. However, its relationship with mortality remains uncertain.

METHODS:
We prospectively observed 37 698 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2008) and 83 644 women from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980-2008) who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer at baseline. Diet was assessed by validated food frequency questionnaires and updated every 4 years.

RESULTS:
We documented 23 926 deaths (including 5910 CVD and 9464 cancer deaths) during 2.96 million person-years of follow-up. After multivariate adjustment for major lifestyle and dietary risk factors, the pooled hazard ratio (HR) (95% CI) of total mortality for a 1-serving-per-day increase was 1.13 (1.07-1.20) for unprocessed red meat and 1.20 (1.15-1.24) for processed red meat. The corresponding HRs (95% CIs) were 1.18 (1.13-1.23) and 1.21 (1.13-1.31) for CVD mortality and 1.10 (1.06-1.14) and 1.16 (1.09-1.23) for cancer mortality.
We estimated that substitutions of 1 serving per day of other foods (including fish, poultry, nuts, legumes, low-fat dairy, and whole grains) for 1 serving per day of red meat were associated with a 7% to 19% lower mortality risk. We also estimated that 9.3% of deaths in men and 7.6% in women in these cohorts could be prevented at the end of follow-up if all the individuals consumed fewer than 0.5 servings per day (approximately 42 g/d) of red meat.

CONCLUSIONS:
Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, CVD, and cancer mortality.
Substitution of other healthy protein sources for red meat is associated with a lower mortality risk.

Comment in:
Additional ways to diminish the deleterious effects of red meat. [Arch Intern Med. 2012]

Higher red meat consumption is associated with increased risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. [Evid Based Nurs. 2012]

Holy Cow! What’s good for you is good for our planet: comment on “Red Meat Consumption and Mortality”. [Arch Intern Med. 2012]

journalistic version:
Death By Bacon? Study Finds Eating Meat Is Risky
March 12, 2012
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/12/148457233/death-by-bacon-study-finds-eating-meat-is-risky

5 or less alcohol drinks per week is healthy

The Addicted Brain.
Coursera, 2014. Emory University.
by Michael Kuhar, Ph.D.
https://www.coursera.org/course/addictedbrain

The amount that we can drink safely has been explored.
A weekly intake of no more than five drinks for men and two drinks for women is associated with lowest mortality. This suggests than a low level use of alcohol may be, in fact, healthy.

The NIAAA (National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) recommends:
No more than 14 drinks per week for men
No more than 7 drinks per week for women.

Daily use of over 15 drinks per day for men and 10 for women will likely lead to dependence.

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drinks for summer
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127217858

White rice and type 2 diabetes

White rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: meta-analysis and systematic review
BMJ 2012;344:e1454 (Published 15 March 2012)
http://www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e1454

Objectives: To summarise evidence on the association between white rice consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes and to quantify the potential dose-response relation.

Design: Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.

Data sources: Searches of Medline and Embase databases for articles published up to January 2012 using keywords that included both rice intake and diabetes; further searches of references of included original studies.

Study selection Included studies were prospective cohort studies that reported risk estimates for type 2 diabetes by rice intake levels.

Data synthesis: Relative risks were pooled using a random effects model; dose-response relations were evaluated using data from all rice intake categories in each study.

Results: Four articles were identified that included seven distinct prospective cohort analyses in Asian and Western populations for this study. A total of 13 284 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were ascertained among 352 384 participants with follow-up periods ranging from 4 to 22 years.
Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations had much higher white rice consumption levels than did Western populations (average intake levels were three to four servings/day versus one to two servings/week).
The pooled relative risk was 1.55 (95% confidence interval 1.20 to 2.01) comparing the highest with the lowest category of white rice intake in Asian populations, whereas the corresponding relative risk was 1.12 (0.94 to 1.33) in Western populations (P for interaction=0.038). In the total population, the dose-response meta-analysis indicated that for each serving per day increment of white rice intake, the relative risk of type 2 diabetes was 1.11 (1.08 to 1.14) (P for linear trend<0.001).

Conclusion: Higher consumption of white rice is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, especially in Asian (Chinese and Japanese) populations.

Glycemic index

Glycemic Index
The University of Sydney
http://www.glycemicindex.com/about.php

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health.
Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2).

related:
Whole grain and refined grain consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies.
Eur J Epidemiol. 2013 Nov;28(11):845-58.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24158434

http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-eating/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2012/10/18/use-and-abuse-of-the-glycemic-index

Fist bump: A more hygienic alternative

Which greeting is the cleanest?

The fist bump: A more hygienic alternative to the handshake
Sara Mela, BSc, and David E. Whitworth, PhD,
American Journal of Infection Control, Volume 42, Issue 8 (August 2014),
http://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(14)00659-2/abstract

Fist bumping beats germ‐spreading handshake

July 28, 2014 – “Fist bumping” transmits significantly fewer bacteria than either handshaking or high‐fiving, while still addressing the cultural expectation of hand‐to‐hand contact between patients and clinicians, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control

researchers performed trials to determine if alternative greetings would transmit fewer germs than the traditional handshake. In this experiment, a greeter immersed a sterile‐gloved hand into a container of germs. Once the glove was dry, the greeter exchanged a handshake, fist bump, or high‐five with a sterile‐gloved recipient.

Targeting Overweight Workers With Wellness Programs

Targeting Overweight Workers With Wellness Programs Can Backfire
by Yuki Noguchi
July 02, 2014
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/07/02/327388276/targeting-overweight-workers-with-wellness-programs-can-backfire

For several years, Ryan Tax Services in Dallas has offered a wellness program to its 2,000-person staff.
The program includes health fairs, free screenings, cooking demos and health club memberships.
Nearly 70 percent of employees participate, and that’s helped curb health care costs, according to the company.

Still, says Delta Emerson, executive vice president, “56 percent of the employees that tested are overweight, which was a little shocking to me because we have a very young population. The average age is in the high 30s.”