Just three things could save 94 million people from heart disease

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These three things could save 94 million people from heart disease.
In a new study, researchers found that three public health interventions could save 94 million people from premature death caused by heart disease.
The three interventions are lowering blood pressure, cutting sodium intake, and reducing trans fat from the daily diet.
They suggest that the three interventions can have a huge health impact on heart health through 2040.
The research was led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
In the study, the team used global data from multiple studies and estimates from the World Health Organization to make their calculations.
They estimated that scaling up treatment of high blood pressure to 70% of the world’s population could extend the lives of 39.4 million people.
In addition, cutting sodium intake by 30% could stave off another 40 million deaths and could also help reduce high blood pressure, which a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Eliminating trans fat could prevent 14.8 million early deaths.
The team also found that more than 50% of all delayed deaths, and 66% of deaths delayed before age 70, will be among men.
They suggest that many programs and policies would be necessary to reduce premature deaths from heart disease.
For example, one important strategy would be to increase the use of blood pressure drugs that are safe and affordable.
The team admits that scaling up the three health interventions would be a “huge challenge,” but they added that previous analyses have shown that the interventions are achievable and affordable.
They believe that these are realistic goals that have been shown to be attainable on a smaller population.
Now people need the commitment to scale up the programs to achieve them globally.
The lead author of the study is Goodarz Danaei, associate professor of global health at Harvard Chan School.
The study is published in Circulation.

7 great reasons you should concider eating avocado daily

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You have probably heard about avocado being a superfood and how good it is for your health. This is true, avocados are very healthy. The next time you are ordering that burrito, don’t forget to add some extra guacamole. Here are seven reasons why you should consider eating this fruit every day.

1. Avocado Is Superfood

Avocados are extremely nutritious, this particular fruit is a very concentrated food, more like a nut than a fruit. Although avocados are high in calories, they are very high in most of the B vitamins except B12, being particularly good in folic acid. They also have some vitamin C, good amounts of vitamin A, and vitamin E. As you already know, avocados are rich in potassium. In addition, they have good amount of other minerals, including magnesium, iron, and manganese. For vegetarians who do not eat a lot of fatty foods, avocados may be a good source of needed oils.

2. Reduced Risk of Cancer

Avocados give our body numerous phytochemicals that may help prevent cancer. The fruit contains elements that have been known to decrease rates of oral cancer. Some research show that there is a potential that avocados can reduce risk of both breast and prostate cancers. Although, there is some research available on cancer preventive qualities of the fruit, future research is required to obtain more conclusive results.

3. Reduced Risk of Heart Diseases

As a matter of fact, heart disease is the number 1 killer in the United States. Heart disease is often linked to poor diet and lifestyle. Therefore, making right food choices is essential.

Avocados contain low level of saturated fat and high level of unsaturated fat, which has positive effect on our cardiovascular system. Unsaturated fat in your diet also may help to lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol), maintain HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).

Furthermore, eating avocado can improve your insulin sensitivity. In addition to good fats, avocados also contain a great variety of nutrients, including antioxidants. This fruit may help prevent inflammation and oxidative stress in the blood vessels while improving blood flow.

4. Weight Loss Helper

Would you ever think that eating fat will help to lose fat? Recent studies show that avocados help to maintain healthy Body Mass Index (BMI). Avocado in meals helps to extend the feeling of fullness and reduce desire to overeat. Each fruit contains about 14g of fiber, which helps to reduce your waistline.

5. Skin and Eyes Protection

There are some nutrients (carotenoids and lutein) in avocados that can help to slow age-related ocular decline and prevent vision dysfunction. In addition, the same nutrients protect our skin from UV damage, making it smooth and healthy.

6. Blood Pressure Regulator

Since avocados are an excellent source of potassium (actually even better than bananas), they can be helpful in lowering high blood pressure. Potassium is important in the human body, along with sodium, it regulates the water balance and acid-balance in the blood and tissues. Thus, for most individuals with high blood pressure, increasing potassium intake is a much more reliable way to lower blood pressure than decreasing intake of sodium. Potassium is also important for normal growth and for building muscles.

7. Avocados Are Delicious And Very Versatile

Besides being so healthy and nutritious, avocados are also delicious and go well with different foods. They are commonly used in salads, dips such as guacamole, in sandwiches, stuffed with seafood, as spreads on your morning toast, or simply plain on its own. When choosing an avocado, aim for a heavy fruit with unbroken skin. The fruit should yield to gentle pressure without denting. If it dents, it is overripe. Leave unripe avocados on the kitchen counter for a few days and they will be ready to eat! Ripe avocados will keep for four-five days in the fridge. Unripe avocados will never ripen if you put them in the refrigerator. The flesh is the part eaten, the seed and skin should be discarded. Once cut, you can sprinkle the flesh with lime or lemon juice to prevent from turning dark. Enjoy!

$1 Million Prize for Engineering a Fountain of Youth

 

Joon Yun, benefactor of the prize. Screenshot: YouTube/Palo Alto Prize

The Palo Alto Longevity Prize was launched on  September 9th 2014  by physician, life-enhancing advocate, and hedge fund manager Joon Yun.  11 teams have taken up the gauntlet (the deadline for team registration is in January 2015).
The rules of the challenge are pretty simple: Every team has to pursue two longevity-increasing objectives, each of which is worth $500,000. The deadline to present their results is set at September 2018. 
"Cracking the code on the fundamental aging process may allow us to influence the actual biology of aging, thereby slowing or resolving the process of aging and many diseases and issues related to aging. If we solve this, we all win," competition organizers said in the announcement. The prize will be divided into two $500,000 awards, given to the first teams to unlock the secrets of a foundational trait known as "homeostatic capacity." Homeostatic capacity is the ability of the body's systems to stabilize in response to stressors.
As the body ages, its ability to recover from diseases, injuries and lifestyle stresses such as a late night or loss of sleep becomes more difficult. In youth, blood pressure and elevated blood sugar levels can return easily to normal levels. But as homeostatic capacity erodes with age, the body no longer is able to regulate these changes as effectively, resulting in diseases such as diabetes or hypertension.Increased homeostatic capacity could in theory allow people to live perhaps 120 years, organizers said.

Vegetarians 'cut heart risk by 32%'

 
Ditching meat and fish in favor of a vegetarian diet can have a dramatic effect on the health of your heart, research suggests.
A study of 44,500 people in England and Scotland showed vegetarians were 32% less likely to die or need hospital treatment as a result of heart disease.Differences in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and body weight are thought to be behind the health boost.
The findings were published in  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Heart disease is a major blight in Western countries. It kills 94,000 people in the UK each year, more than any other disease, and 2.6 million people live with the condition.
The heart's own blood supply becomes blocked up by fatty deposits in the arteries that nourish the heart muscle. It can cause angina or even lead to a heart attack if the blood vessels become completely blocked.Scientists at the University of Oxford analyzed data from 15,100 vegetarians and 29,400 people who ate meat and fish.Over the course of 11 years, 169 people in the study died from heart disease and 1,066 needed hospital treatment - and they were more likely to have been meat and fish eaters than vegetarians.
Dr Francesca Crowe says: "The main message is that diet is an important determinant of heart health. "I'm not advocating that everyone eats a vegetarian diet. The diets are quite different. Vegetarians probably have a lower intake of saturated fat so it makes senses there is a lower risk of heart disease."The results showed the vegetarians had lower blood pressure, lower levels of "bad" cholesterol and were more likely to have a healthy weight.
Tracy Parker, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "This research reminds us that we should try to eat a balanced and varied diet - whether this includes meat or not.
"But remember, choosing the veggie option on the menu is not a shortcut to a healthy heart. After all, there are still plenty of foods suitable for vegetarians that are high in saturated fat and salt."If you're thinking of switching to a vegetarian diet, make sure you plan your meals carefully so that you replace any lost vitamins and minerals, such as iron, that you would normally get from meat."

Telltale visible signs of aging may predict heart disease

A new study identifies a receding hairline at the temples, baldness on the top of the head, horizontal earlobe creases and yellow, fatty deposits around the eyes as markers of aging associated with heart disease. Got any three? Your chance of a heart attack goes up 57 percent.
But you can slash your risk by up to 60 percent and look younger, too, if you adopt some heart-smart habits:
1. Eliminate the five food felons: trans fats, most saturated fats, added sugars, sugar syrups and all grains that are not 100 percent whole. Add heart-friendly food (salmon and trout), or take up to 900 milligrams a day of omega-3 DHA.
2. Exercise and sleep more: Your goal: 10,000 steps a day; strength training two to three times a week; seven to eight hours of nightly shuteye. (Thirty minutes of exercise a day boosts restorative REM sleep by 65 percent.)
3. Go by the numbers: Blood pressure -- 115/75; triglycerides -- 100 or less; HDL -- 60 or above; LDL under 100; blood glucose -- 85 upon waking up; and BMI -- 18.5 to 24.9.
4. Ask your doc about taking two baby aspirins a day (with warm water before and after).   
5. After all that, have more fun (including sex)!  People who are more satisfied with their life produce fewer stress hormones, which protects your heart, big-time. 
Health tips are based on the Drs Oz and Roizen publications.