heart disease

Salt Shake-Up: Low-Salt Push May Be Unhealthy

Posted on 05/17/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Personal HealthFor years we’ve been told to slash our sodium consumption to protect against strokes, heart attacks and high blood pressure. But now an influential committee says there’s no scientific evidence that a very low-salt diet cuts the risk of heart disease. In fact, the new Institute of Medicine report says that cutting sodium to 1,500 milligrams (mg) daily — the current government recommendation for older adults (ages 51 and up), African Americans and those with diabetes, high blood pressure and …

Bypass or Stents: Which Is Best for Older Patients?

Posted on 04/24/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthIf you’re a Medicare patient facing either heart bypass surgery or having stents inserted in your blocked arteries, the deciding factor may have a lot to do with the rest of your health, a new study suggests. Overall, the average patient did slightly better with bypass surgery, living about 19 days longer over the course of five years, according to a team of Stanford University researchers. However, when researchers separated out the patients who were otherwise healthy (no diabetes or …

Carnitine: A New Reason to Cut Back on Red Meat?

Posted on 04/9/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthMaybe it’s not really cholesterol from that big, juicy steak that’s linked to heart disease. Instead, it could be a compound in red meat called carnitine, which does a number on our gut bacteria if we eat too much meat too often, suggests intriguing new research. Carnitine seems to have a profound effect on certain bacteria in the intestine; these in turn produce a chemical linked to clogging of the arteries and heart disease. The more meat we eat, the …

Key to a Longer Life? Fatty Fish Twice Weekly

Posted on 04/2/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthOlder adults who regularly eat fish high in omega-3 fatty acids — primarily oily varieties like salmon, mackerel, albacore tuna and trout — may add years to their lives, as compared with those age 65-plus who don’t, new research finds. The fatty-fish eaters may also be able to reduce their chances of dying from heart disease by more than a third. The study of 2,700 adults age 65 or older found that those who had the highest blood levels of …

Hail Kale! Why You Should (or Shouldn’t) Eat It

Posted on 03/25/2013 by | Personal Health and Well-being | Comments

Bulletin Today | Food | Personal HealthWe are in the midst of a kale craze. The dark green leafy vegetable is everywhere, from upscale restaurant menus to the grocery store snack food aisle (think kale chips). It’s been called “the new beef” because of its high iron content. It’s been hailed as the “queen of greens” because, well, it’s fun to say. Even the health-conscious White House has gotten in on the trend with a kale salad that was the hit of the Obamas’ Thanksgiving menu …

Saga of a Wounded Heart

Posted on 03/12/2013 by | Latino Life | Comments

Personal Health | Your Life  Welcome to the land of bad news and statistical misery and to the prospect that you might drop dead of a heart attack at any moment if you are fat, old, smoke cigarettes, drink too many martinis or refuse to eat your broccoli and your collard greens. I mention that today because I fit into just about every one of those categories and am a good bet to becoming one of the Americans who die every 40 seconds from …

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