beppington
Elite Member
Oatmeal is pretty filling :thumbsup:
Heart Healthy Eating
- Thread starter txdon
- Start date
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Oatmeal is pretty filling :thumbsup:
Don,
I wonder if they take your blood pressure in both arms now that you have had
heart problems?
I don't have heart problems, yet, but have gone to doctors every 6 months
for years for other issues. I have never had them check the pressure in both
arms.
OP
txdon
Super Star Member
At the cardiologist they did take BP on both arms. One was 103/xx and the other arm was 98/xx. I can't remember the xx but they were fine.
OP
txdon
Super Star Member
I wouldn't be surprised if you cholesterol drops 10-20 points with that diet and loosing weight. That is as long as the evening meal is not catch up on meat/oil.
Eat as many greens as possible, and arugula has the most protective nitrates.
beppington
Elite Member
There was a segment on the radio show "On Point" on NPR tonight all about the incredible amount of sugar in America's food now. This is a topic I've heard a few times in the news recently; I think a reporter wrote a big, in depth article on it that got the pot stirred up. Apparently when the govt starting regulating the amount of saturated fat (I think) in food (didn't know they did that?), slowly but surely food producers have just switched to sugar instead.
Also they say that too much sugar makes your body think it's starving.
I mentioned earlier my observation that sweet tea at nearly every restaurant here in the south has become sweeter & sweeter to the point where it's hard to even drink, like drinking sugar water. I can put 1/4 to 1/3 glass of today's sweet tea in a glass, then fill the rest with un-sweet tea, & it tastes like sweet tea from a decade ago ... that is, plenty sweet.
Also they say that too much sugar makes your body think it's starving.
I mentioned earlier my observation that sweet tea at nearly every restaurant here in the south has become sweeter & sweeter to the point where it's hard to even drink, like drinking sugar water. I can put 1/4 to 1/3 glass of today's sweet tea in a glass, then fill the rest with un-sweet tea, & it tastes like sweet tea from a decade ago ... that is, plenty sweet.
Thanks for the reply. I was watching TV as I was treadmilling today and they were talking about how the dual measurement has been done in Europe for some time.
If there is a significant difference( more than 15 in the high and more than 10 in the low pressures between arms ) it could indicate a number of potential problems.
It is just catching on in the US and some are still skeptical of any real meaning.
Blood pressure: Can it be higher in one arm? - MayoClinic.com
schweizer
Gold Member
Hi Pacerron and others,
I haven't seen the TV clip you're referring to, but this sounds suspiciously like a case where the media is spreading some disinformation. This is not a case of Europe doing something that hasn't caught on in the US yet. In almost every person in the general population, you don't need to take BP in both arms because small variations are completely normal. In a patient with severe atherosclerosis it is prudent to check BP's in each arm for reasons I'll explain below.
Some background that everyone should understand. This thread title refers to heart disease, but atherosclerosis affects all the blood vessels. In the heart, the most severe ultimate consequence is a heart attack (MI or myocardial infarction), in the brain -- stroke, in the kidneys -- hypertension and chronic renal failure, etc. No, I'm not going to talk about calcified plaques vs ulcerated plaques. I'm just going to tell you some basic "plumbing" and how it relates to pathophysiology.
The large artery coming out of your heart is called the aorta. It curves around and makes a U turn, called the aortic arch. Lower down, the aorta gives off branches to major organs in the abdomen. At the top of the aortic arch, there are 3 major branches that go to your neck/brain and arms: the brachiocephalic artery (aka innominate art.), left common carotid artery, and left subclavian artery. See attached pic.
Atherosclerotic plaque formation has a preference for the artery origins (branch points). The left subclavian artery artery for some reason gets more plaque than the other 2 in the arch. If there is enough plaque buildup, or narrowing, the blood pressure beyond that point will be lower. This is the main reason why there is sometimes a significant difference between the BP's in each arm. Very, very *basic* pathophysiology, which every primary care doc also understands. If the narrowing is severe enough, you don't just have a blood pressure differential: when you exercise your left arm, blood can be stolen from the other side via vertebral arteries which supply your brain, causing dizziness, fainting, or even strokes. One of 4 of the main arteries starts flowing backward (AKA subclavian steal syndrome) all because of narrowing of the artery supplying your L arm!
These are disease processes I work with every day. Today, I interpreted many chest CT scans and carotid ultrasounds, both of which we can use to diagnose subclavian stenosis. I can also "alleviate" these diseases, for instance, by opening a clogged up renal (kidney) artery with a stent to relieve life threatening severe HTN (only IF that is the cause of the high BP).
What I am trying to emphasize from a medical perspective, is that just looking at heart disease or micromanaging your cholesterol levels is not looking at the whole picture. Having heart disease just shows you have whole body atherosclerosis. Again, diet, exercise, stopping smoking, reduced stress (via faith, meditation, whatever works for you) are key. Much better than taking drugs. So, so many diseases that affect Western society, especially the USA could be markedly reduced.
Marcus Bryner, M.D.
Interventional & general radiologist
I haven't seen the TV clip you're referring to, but this sounds suspiciously like a case where the media is spreading some disinformation. This is not a case of Europe doing something that hasn't caught on in the US yet. In almost every person in the general population, you don't need to take BP in both arms because small variations are completely normal. In a patient with severe atherosclerosis it is prudent to check BP's in each arm for reasons I'll explain below.
Some background that everyone should understand. This thread title refers to heart disease, but atherosclerosis affects all the blood vessels. In the heart, the most severe ultimate consequence is a heart attack (MI or myocardial infarction), in the brain -- stroke, in the kidneys -- hypertension and chronic renal failure, etc. No, I'm not going to talk about calcified plaques vs ulcerated plaques. I'm just going to tell you some basic "plumbing" and how it relates to pathophysiology.
The large artery coming out of your heart is called the aorta. It curves around and makes a U turn, called the aortic arch. Lower down, the aorta gives off branches to major organs in the abdomen. At the top of the aortic arch, there are 3 major branches that go to your neck/brain and arms: the brachiocephalic artery (aka innominate art.), left common carotid artery, and left subclavian artery. See attached pic.
Atherosclerotic plaque formation has a preference for the artery origins (branch points). The left subclavian artery artery for some reason gets more plaque than the other 2 in the arch. If there is enough plaque buildup, or narrowing, the blood pressure beyond that point will be lower. This is the main reason why there is sometimes a significant difference between the BP's in each arm. Very, very *basic* pathophysiology, which every primary care doc also understands. If the narrowing is severe enough, you don't just have a blood pressure differential: when you exercise your left arm, blood can be stolen from the other side via vertebral arteries which supply your brain, causing dizziness, fainting, or even strokes. One of 4 of the main arteries starts flowing backward (AKA subclavian steal syndrome) all because of narrowing of the artery supplying your L arm!
These are disease processes I work with every day. Today, I interpreted many chest CT scans and carotid ultrasounds, both of which we can use to diagnose subclavian stenosis. I can also "alleviate" these diseases, for instance, by opening a clogged up renal (kidney) artery with a stent to relieve life threatening severe HTN (only IF that is the cause of the high BP).
What I am trying to emphasize from a medical perspective, is that just looking at heart disease or micromanaging your cholesterol levels is not looking at the whole picture. Having heart disease just shows you have whole body atherosclerosis. Again, diet, exercise, stopping smoking, reduced stress (via faith, meditation, whatever works for you) are key. Much better than taking drugs. So, so many diseases that affect Western society, especially the USA could be markedly reduced.
Marcus Bryner, M.D.
Interventional & general radiologist
dmccarty
Super Star Member
Are we getting more sugar in our diet today compare to when I was a kid?
I ponder this frequently.
When I was a kid, a class would have 30-33 kids and maybe 2-3 kids would be fat. I noticed years ago, when passing various school bus stops, that quite a few of the kids were fat. Now a days with our kids in school, there seems to be more overweight kids in school than when I was a kid.
If you have been following the Disney thread you will know I have been to WDW a time or two.
The wifey and I went to WDW twice in the late 90s and then did not return for almost 10 years. Prior to returning I was e reading a website about WDW and I read a comment from a woman about overweight kids and how it was a form of child abuse. I thought this was a rather strong statement....On our first couple of trips back to WDW this century the number of overweight and morbidly obese children was very obvious. There were so many fat kids. The woman's statement was making more sense to me. I have seen some kids at WDW that really disturbed me because of their weight issues. One day we were returning to our resort and there was a family from the UK on the bus. They had a boy about 10-12 who was overweight and I noticed his ankles were rather large. I was wondering if he was just fat or did he have CHD already?
One huge change at WDW today compared to my trips as a kid was the number of parents using strollers. I was going to WDW somewhere around the age of 7 or 8. Today parents will keep kids in strollers who are almost teenagers while at WDW.
No way in hades was my mother pushing my fanny around in a stroller at four or five much less ten. Parents do this today because it is easier to carry all of the crap they want, control the kids, give the kids a chance to rest, and keep the family together. It is absurd. When I was a kid there were danged few strollers at the parks now Disney has huge stroller parking areas to handle the mass of strollers. It is unreal. As a kid we always had soda and salty snacks in the house. My mom baked sweets frequently as well. My family was just like everyone else I knew in this regard yet very few of us were overweight and certainly not morbidly obese.
Which gets me back to the question, are we getting more sugar/fat/calories today than we did in the past? And/Or is it lack of exercise?
I think kids certainly are kept on a short leash compared to when I was a kid but then they also have far more organized sports than I ever had as a kid. So I have no idea what is happening but it is bothersome.
Later,
Dan
Wilky
Bronze Member
Dan we probably are getting more sugar but they are getting a lot less exercise. As kids we walked everywhere and we outside almost all the time playing. Now the kids do little walking and play outside very little. I think they stay in watching TV and playing video games.. iMO.
Wayne
Wayne
beppington
Elite Member
Prob both. That NPR show said there's "added sugar" in 80% of our foods now. And of course many kids have their face stuck down in their smartphone instead of doing something active.
I had forgotten the primary point of the show: It's being discussed or proposed or whatever to regulate sugar now, because they're arguing that sugar is just as harmful as alcohol & tobacco. Raise taxes on it to make it more expensive. Limit access to it. Limit sales.
Regulating Sugar | On Point with Tom Ashbrook