As a fitness instructor I am constantly “observing” what people are eating, drinking, and asking myself how much exercise they really accumulate in a day. It’s no fun hanging out with me as I am sure I get on my family and friends nerves. I do love to people watch; it makes me feel so much better about myself.

Why do overweight people drink diet soda? My curiosity comes from a purely scientific place because artificial sweeteners have been getting bad press lately. Are people really trying to cut calories any place they can or more troubling is artificial sweeteners exacerbating their weight problem?

The truth may lie in a study recently published in the current issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The authors, Richard D Mattes of Purdue University and Barry M Pomkinof the University of North Carolina, reviewed 224 professional studies of the effects of artificial sweeteners on appetite, food intake, and weight. The results of the study concluded that artificial sweeteners can aid in weight loss only if people do not overcompensate by eating higher calorie food. There is no substitute for making smart food choices, people get into trouble when they think artificial sweeteners make up for poor food choices. I think it is safe to say, the problem with artificial sweetener is behavioral and not biological!

	Johns Hopkins Health Alert CPR to the Rescue

If you have a friend or loved one with coronary heart disease, you’ll want to know what to do in the event of sudden, cardiac arrest. A study reported in the journal The Lancet compares the benefits of mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest compressions versus chest compressions alone and their findings may surprise you.

A heart attack typically occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery completely blocks blood flow to a segment of the heart. When this blockage takes place, portions of the heart muscle are deprived of oxygen and become permanently damaged. Damage to the heart muscle can impair the ability of the heart to pump blood efficiently, which can lead to heart failure. The impaired blood flow can also damage the electrical system of the heart and lead to arrhythmias.

A study reported in The Lancet (Volume 369, page 920) found that victims of cardiac arrest (heart attack) stand a better chance of surviving if a bystander performs only chest compressions and forgoes mouth-to-mouth ventilation.

Japanese researchers found that of 4,068 adults who had a cardiac arrest outside the hospital, those who received chest compressions alone were twice as likely to survive with good brain function 30 days later as those who received standard CPR (22% vs. 10%).

The findings go against the long-held principles of CPR, which combine chest compressions and “rescue breaths.” But they also support what a number of experts have said for years: Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation does little for cardiac arrest victims and may actually dim their already low odds of survival.

What’s more, mouth-to-mouth ventilation is often a barrier to bystanders initiating CPR. Chest compressions are vital to keep blood flowing to and from the heart until medical help arrives; stopping to deliver rescue breaths may impede this blood flow.

Bottom line: Though these study results have spurred calls for revamped CPR recommendations, guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) still advise rescue breaths (two breaths after every 30 chest compressions) for all cardiac arrest victims. We advise that you follow the AHA recommendations.

There is nothing worse than tossing and turning the night away with fitful sleep. Researchers at the University of Chicago recently reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association that too little sleep can promote calcium build up in the heart arteries leading to plaques that can rupture and cause heart attacks and strokes.

How much arterial plaque accumulates? The Chicago team documented that one hour less each night can increase coronary calcium by 16%. Among the 495 participants ( men and women aged 35 to 47 ) 27% getting five hours or less showed plaque build up, 11% of those sleeping the recommended five to seven hours did, 6% of those sleeping more than seven hours showed plaque build up. The Chicago researchers stated “We were not expecting to find an association at all and certainly not one as strong “.

Why plaque accumulation occurs with sleep deprivation the researchers are not sure. One possible explanation is too little sleep may raise stress hormones, such as cortisol. In turn,increasing inflammation that can destabilize arterial plaque and cause a heart attack.

An easier explanation might be that sleep lowers blood pressure and with increased sleep deprivation blood pressure remains elevated increasing the possibility of a plaque rupture.

Get a check up. Your Doctor is your partner in managing your health. During your physical exam, see to it that you are offered preventive health screenings and care. Preventive care is much easier than managing disease. If you do not make time for your health, you will make time for illness. Knowing your health status and risk factors will help you make the lifestyle changes that are needed.

Tools To Manage Your Health:

• Know your cholesterol level
• Monitor your blood pressure.
• Obesity and body mass index
• Quit smoking
• Are you at risk of developing diabetes?
• What exercise is best for YOU!
• Look closely at your family history.
• Are you at risk for heart disease, stroke, or diabetes?

Making a list of your health concerns to discuss with your Doctor is a great way to get the most out of your visit and participate in your visit as a informed health consumer.

The American Heart Association recently reported that 5% to 10% of daily caloric intake should come from omega-6 fatty acids. Consumption of this level of omega-6 fatty acids was associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease. This report was published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Data from randomized trials, case control studies, and long term feeding animal studies indicate that consuming 5% to 10% of our caloric intake from omega-6 fatty acids reduced the risk of fatty acids relative to lower doses. Some research has suggested that omega-6 fatty acids may actually increase cardiovascular risk because they promote inflammation. Most studies found that omega-6 fatty acids were associated with unaltered or minimal inflammatory markers and by replacing saturated fatty acids with omega-6 fatty acids coronary heart disease events can be lowered by 24%.

Sources of Omega-6 include vegetable oils, borage oil, flax/linseed oil, and acai berry.

Don’t smoke. Smoking damages a lot more than your lungs, it also hardens your arteries, raises blood pressure, and causes irregular heart beats. If you do smoke, find a smoking cessation program NOW!

We are all looking for ways to recover more quickly from a workout. The Journal 0f Applied Physiology recently reported that a large coffee and a whole wheat bagel may just do the trick.

In a randomized clinical trial of trained athletes, researchers examined the effects of a caffeine and carbohydrate mixture- or carbohydrate alone- on muscle recovery. Results showed that glycogen, our primary fuel for muscle recovery, was replenished more rapidly when a mix of caffeine and carbohydrate was ingested as opposed to just carbohydrate. When caffeine plus carbohydrate were ingested athletes had 66% more muscle glycogen storage four hours post exercise than just carbohydrate alone.

This is the first evidence that caffeine and carbohydrate together can increase muscle glycogen storage.

“Stress can play a bigger role in the development of heart disease than butter”

Recent research suggests that surgery may not be the way to prevent a cardiac event or worse, sudden death. If that’s the case what is the next step? The old familiar lifestyle modifications still hold true, not smoking (huge), controlling cholesterol, maintaining a optimal blood pressure, exercising and staying at a healthy weight. Some newer suggestions may surprise you! Diet abd exercise are both more enjoyable a less ridged. You no longer need to eat card board and exercise to the point of exhaustion to reap the benefits.

The time tested risk factors remain the same, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabeties, smoking, abdominal obesity, and lack of exercise. What’s different, C- reactive protein? CRP is a blood born marker for inflammation; it is now recognized as the driving force behind blood clots that prevent blood flow to the heart.  Despite these finding patients are rarely tested even if preexisting heart disease is present. People who have normal cholesterol levels can still have high CRP levels that predispose them to a cardiac event.

Revisit your diet. A new dietary approach is actually based on advice long before the low-fat craze. The Mediterranean dietary approach, whole foods like fruit, vegetables, beans and fish are dietary mainstays. The Mediterranean diet is not low in fat but replaces saturated fat with healthier unsaturated fat found in olive oil, oily fish, nuts, seeds, and certain vegetables.

Reduce sources of chronic inflammation. Good dental hygiene with periodic check up can protect your heart as well as your teeth.

Reduce chronic stress. Recent studies have found that stress more than doubles the risk of a heart attack. Relaxation exercise such as deep breathing can help cool the hottest blood. Other techniques, prayer, yoga, laughter, take a nap (my favorite), get a dog (my other favorite), and exercise regularly.