Study links strokes, living near fast food
By Tom Spears, Ottawa Citizen
http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=1310605&sponsor=
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A new study links strokes to the proximity of fast-food restaurants.

OTTAWA — Here's a new way to estimate the risk of stroke in a neighbourhood: Count the number of fast-food restaurants nearby. A survey of a county in Texas shows a direct link between plentiful fast food and high stroke rates, according to evidence presented Thursday at a major stroke conference.

People in neighbourhoods with the greatest number of fast-food outlets had 13 per cent more strokes than people living near the fewest such restaurants, according to Dr. Lewis Morgenstern, head of the stroke program at the University of Michigan.

His research covers ischemic strokes, where a clot blocks blood supply to the brain. It's the most common type of stroke.

As well, he found, the relative risk of stroke increased by one per cent for each fast-food restaurant in a neighbourhood. A change of one per cent doesn't sound big. But with 50,000 major strokes a year in Canada, a one-per-cent increase would mean 500 more people who either die or become very sick. That's not counting smaller strokes, which are more numerous (though hard to count accurately). They can cause dementia and memory loss.

The Texas findings make good sense in Canada as well, says the Canadian Stroke Network, a network of lab scientists and medical doctors. The stroke network has new ads on Ottawa transit buses this week that say: "Sodium kills 30 Canadians each day."

"We know that fast food is loaded with sodium, and we know that sodium has a major impact on blood pressure, and blood pressure is the biggest risk factor for stroke," said Kevin Willis, a biochemist at the network. Mainly it's the salt, though fast food can also have high fat levels.

By coincidence, he is in talks with Health Canada this week aimed at reducing the amount of salt in Canada's food supply. "Unfortunately it (too much salt) is right across the board," he said. "It's really being added in ridiculous amounts." Adults should have no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt a day, the stroke network says. The elderly and children should have less.

A single slice of Pizza Pizza's Canadian pizza, as served to walk-in customers, contains 1,920 mg of sodium. A Wendy's Baconator burger has 1,880 mg, while its chicken club sandwich has 1,360 mg. McDonald's Big Mac has 1,040 mg. "The data showed a true association," or definite relationship, between unhealthy food and stroke, said Morgenstern. "What we don't know is whether fast food actually increased the risk because of its contents, or whether fast-food restaurants are a marker of unhealthy neighbourhoods."

One quarter of the neighbourhoods had fewer than 12 fast-food restaurants. One quarter had more than 33. Results were presented Thursday at the American Stroke Association's annual conference, in San Diego.

The tar sands are Canada's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Full-Page Tar Sands Ad in USA Today: "President Obama, you'll never guess who's standing between us and our new energy economy."

Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations and ForestEthics run full page ad in USA Today warning that tar sands are a human and environmental hazard; Stand in way of America's new energy economy

VANCOUVER and TORONTO, Feb. 17 /CNW/ - The Mikisew Cree and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nations and environmental group ForestEthics have placed a full-page ad in USA Today highlighting the human and environmental damage wrought by Canada's Tar Sands. The unprecedented advertisement, which features an oil splattered map of North America with oil oozing down from Canada into the United States, comes just two days before President Obama's first trip to Canada, and it makes an impassioned address to the new President.

View the ad here: www.forestethics.org

"Both the federal and provincial governments have failed our aboriginal community for the sake of money, for the sake of corporate interests, and for the sake of increasing energy exports to the United States. We are seeing disheartening toxicity levels in our animal life and have now received
confirmation of unacceptable cancer rates to people in our community. As a people who have been here for thousands of years, we are sad that no one will listen and that government sits back and issues denials and publicity campaigns without substance," said Chief Allan Adam of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.

Although the majority of Canada's oil is destined for the U.S., most Americans are unaware that Canada is their biggest supplier of oil. The ad is part of a larger effort to raise awareness about the environmental and human health impacts of the tar sands.

"This ad will raise awareness that dirty oil from Canada's tar sands is at odds with not only the clean energy future President Obama has embraced, but also his commitment to enable vulnerable communities to get ahead," said Merran Smith, Director, Climate Program, ForestEthics. "Green energy, means jobs and the human security that only a clean and healthy environment can provide. Dirty tar sands oil truly is a 'fossil' fuel that has no place in North America's green energy future."

The tar sands are Canada's fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions. ForestEthics is calling on the Canadian government to shift towards a green energy economy as outlined by President Obama, who is planning to invest four times more money per person in clean energy. And, while North America transitions to renewable energy, actions need to be taken to clean up the impacts of tar sands on water, air, land and communities.

Black or Green, Tea Consumption Reduces Risk of Ischemic Stroke by 21 Per Cent
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2009/19/c2045.html?view=print

Further evidence supports tea drinking to reduce the risk of heart disease

TORONTO, Feb. 19 /CNW/ - Canada is an established tea-drinking country that consumes over 9 billion cups of tea each year.(1) In fact, tea consumption is expected to jump 40 per cent by 2020, as growing consumer interest in health and wellness has led to increasing awareness of tea's functional benefits.(2) Study findings presented today at the American Heart Association's International Stroke Conference (ISC) provides further insight into the many health benefits of tea. Researchers have found that regardless of country of origin or type of tea consumed, the consumption of three cups of black or green tea per day is associated with an average 21 per cent lower risk of ischemic stroke compared to non tea drinkers.

The meta-analysis pooled nine studies involving 4,378 stroke occurrences from 195,000 individuals. Data was drawn from six countries - China, Japan, Finland, the Netherlands, Australia and the US - with the main outcome of fatal or non-fatal stroke.

Dr. Lenore Arab, PhD, Professor, Department of Medicine and Dept of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who lead the research program explained, "This Meta analysis suggests that daily increase in consumption to three cups of tea per day could lower the risk of ischemic stroke by 21 per cent. These findings relate to black and green teas but not herbal teas."

Stroke is the second most common cause of death globally, claiming 5.4 million lives per year. It is a major cause of disability and has a significant impact on quality of life. Of the two types of stroke - ischemic and hemorrhagic - ischemic stroke accounts for around 83 per cent of all stroke cases. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in Canada with more than 50,000 strokes occurring each year, and about 15,000 people suffering from a Transient Ischemic Attack or TIA - an occurrence also known as a "mini-stroke" which is caused by a temporary interruption of blood flow to the brain.(3)

This research was supported by the Lipton Institute of Tea and conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The Lipton Institute of Tea aims to support research that examines the mental and physical health benefits of tea consumption, including hydration, heart disease and cognitive performance.

"In recent years, a body of scientific evidence has shown that regular tea drinking can have an important role in health and wellness," says Douglas Balentine, Ph.D., Lipton Institute of Tea. "This new study provides further support that regular tea drinking may be one of the most actionable lifestyle changes a consumer can make to help maintain heart health." A full copy of the research study, Green and Black Tea Consumption and Risk of Stroke: A Meta Analysis, will be available online in Stroke at http://stroke.ahajournals.org on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 8:30 a.m.

Sensors Help Keep the Elderly Safe, and at Home
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13senior.html?ref=technology
February 13, 2009
By JOHN LELAND

Increasingly, many older people who live alone are not truly alone. They are being watched by a flurry of new technologies designed to enable them to live independently and avoid expensive trips to the emergency room or nursing homes. Bertha Branch, 78, discovered the power of a system called eNeighbor when she fell to the floor of her Philadelphia apartment late one night without her emergency alert pendant and could not phone for help.

A wireless sensor under Ms. Branch’s bed detected that she had gotten up. Motion detectors in her bedroom and bathroom registered that she had not left the area in her usual pattern and relayed that information to a central monitoring system, prompting a call to her telephone to ask if she was all right. When she did not answer, that incited more calls — to a neighbor, to the building manager and finally to 911, which dispatched firefighters to break through her door. She had been on the floor less than an hour when they arrived.

Technologies like eNeighbor come with great promise of improved care at lower cost and the backing of large companies like Intel and General Electric.

But the devices, which can be expensive, remain largely unproven and are not usually covered by the government or private insurance plans. Doctors are not trained to treat patients using remote data and have no mechanism to be paid for doing so. And like all technologies, the devices — including motion sensors, pill compliance detectors and wireless devices that transmit data on blood pressure, weight, oxygen and glucose levels — may have unintended consequences, substituting electronic measurements for face-to-face contact with doctors, nurses and family members.

Ms. Branch, who has severe diabetes and heart disease, said she could not live on her own without the system, built by a Minnesota company called Healthsense. “I lost a very close friend recently,” she said. “She was also diabetic and she fell during the night. She didn’t have the sensors. She went into a coma.”

Without the sensors, Ms. Branch said, “I would probably be dead.”

Stories like Ms. Branch’s show the potential of relatively simple devices to provide comfort and independence to an aging population that is quickly outgrowing the resources of doctors, nurses, hospitals and health care dollars available to it. The cost for Ms. Branch’s basic system, supplied by a health care provider called New Courtland as part of a publicly financed program, is about $100 a month, far less than a nursing home, where the costs to taxpayers can exceed $200 a day. In the two years Mrs. Branch has had the system, she has fallen three times and been stuck once in the bathtub, each time unable to call for help without it.

“On an individual basis, we’ve demonstrated that they can be very effective,” said Brent Ridge, an assistant professor of geriatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. “But until they’re launched on a wide-scale basis, you just don’t know. Physicians might say, ‘I’m already overstretched, I don’t have time for all this data.’ "

At a white ranch-style house in Middletown, N.J., Joseph Hayduk, 86, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, is greeted by a voice from a small box: “Good morning. It is now time to record your vital signs.” Mr. Hayduk has been using the device since 2006, after his second heart attack, through a program run by Meridian Health.

He stepped on a scale. “Are you experiencing more difficulty breathing today, compared to a usual day?” the voice asked. Mr. Hayduk pressed yes.

“That’s normal for me,” he said.

“Are your ankles more swollen than usual?” the machine asked. In patients with chronic heart failure, swelling or weight gain can indicate that they are retaining fluid. Mr. Hayduk pressed no. After a blood pressure reading, the device signaled that it had relayed the information to Meridian Health. There, a nurse calls all 18 patients in the program daily, starting with the ones whose data call for urgent attention. One morning, Mr. Hayduk left the house before the nurse’s call. As he sat on his neighbor’s porch, he watched a police car pull up to his house to check on him.

Mr. Hayduk chuckled at the memory, but said that the system had allowed him to stay in his home of 37 years. “This system’s invaluable to me, not only physically, but psychologically,” he said. “I don’t want to be in assisted living. That’s for people in wheelchairs and walkers.”

Philip Marshall, 85, another Meridian Health patient, uses a system tied to his cellphone to help him remember his medications. Mr. Marshall has high blood pressure and macular degeneration, and takes 10 pills a day. He cannot see a clock or work the buttons on most phones, so he uses a Jitterbug, a phone with big buttons and limited functions.

Drug compliance is one of the biggest problems for the elderly, especially those with memory loss. Until Mr. Marshall got Meridian’s Jitterbug system, his daughter Melanie, 55, said she had to leave work several times a month to help him with his drugs. “I’m answering the phone in meetings,” she said. “He’d forget whether he took a pill or whether he was supposed to take a pill.”

The system, which costs $20 a month, calls him after he is scheduled to take a pill and asks if he has taken it; if not, it asks him why not and sends automated alerts to his daughters.

“I worry a lot,” Mr. Marshall said. “All my life. So this gives me peace of mind.”

He added that knowing that a call was coming had helped him remember to take his medications before the phone rang.

This is the ultimate goal of personal health monitoring — that people who know they are being watched may modify their behavior to better their health. Jeffrey Kaye, director of the aging and Alzheimer’s and memory assessment clinics at Oregon Health and Science University, said one of the most useful health technologies was a cheap pedometer, because carrying one motivated people to walk more. But Stuti Dang, who directs dementia care for the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System and uses monitoring systems to track the vital signs of 400 patients, said one unforeseen consequence of the system was that “it somehow absolves their kin of the responsibility.”

“The daughter doesn’t have to call every day because she knows if something was wrong with her father, she would receive an alert,” Dr. Dang said, adding: “It’s good for the patient, but there needs to be personal responsibility. As a provider, I don’t want to be responsible for my patient 24 hours a day.” Raymond Carroll, 59, a retired school administrator, said he went online every day to check on his mother, Viola Carroll, 85, who lives in a building in Queens run by Selfhelp, a nonprofit organization that assists Holocaust survivors. Mr. Carroll checks the temperature of her apartment and calls if it is too hot. Since a system of motion detectors called Quiet Care was installed three years ago, on a grant from Selfhelp, he said he probably called more often but visited less.

Marvin Joss, whose mother, Ray, 89, is also in a Selfhelp building, said the system had helped improve their conversations. “In the past, I tried to spend more time on, ‘How are you feeling?’ ” Mr. Joss said. “I still ask those questions, but now it’s more to an idea of having a conversation, not trying to listen for clues about whether she’s O.K.” The future of these technologies, and the terabytes they gather, can involve unprecedented information about the whereabouts and well-being of older people. In a program with Intel, Dr. Kaye is combing motion data for patterns that indicate the onset of dementia, years before the decline shows up on cognitive tests. But until there is more research — and reimbursement — the technologies’ ultimate impact remains unknown.

“It’s not that we need new technologies,” Dr. Kaye said. “We need to use what we have more creatively. It’s all cool — but is it going to be helpful?”

How Sweet It Is: Coming to Grips With America's Sugar-Heavy Diet
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009
By Jennifer Huget
Tuesday, February 24, 2009; HE03

In her 1835 book "Little House on the Prairie," Laura Ingalls Wilder described in awed tones the joy of receiving for Christmas a single stick of peppermint candy, which she licked sparingly. There wouldn't be another until next Christmas, at least. I remember reading the "Little House" books curled up in my beanbag chair, often stuffing myself with candy (most memorably Bonomo's Turkish Taffy), wondering how a kid could get so worked up over one little candy cane.

In the century and three-quarters since Laura strolled the prairie, American sugar consumption has shot sky-high. In 2007, our per capita intake of caloric sweeteners (refined cane and beet sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and others) was more than 97 pounds per year, up from nearly 85 pounds in 1970, according to USDA data. Our taste for sweets has grown to encompass artificial sweeteners, which have expanded our opportunities to keep sweet flavors in our mouths day in and day out.

Is it too late to turn back, to wean ourselves from sweet foods and drinks so that they once again become special treats, not mainstays of our daily diet?

Humans are born with an affinity for sweet-tasting substances. Neal Barnard, an adjunct associate professor of medicine at George Washington University and author of "Breaking the Food Seduction" (and president/founder of the pro-vegetarian Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), points out that in nature, sweet taste signals that fruit, for instance, is ripe, at its nutritional peak, tempting people to eat it just when it's best for them. Sugar may also release opiates in the brain, he says, and it has analgesic qualities; babies given sugar water before getting heel-sticks cry less during the procedure, he notes.

Sugar -- and even high-fructose corn syrup, now the main caloric sweetener in the American diet -- isn't inherently evil. At just 16 calories per teaspoon, both could in moderation be part of a reasonable, balanced diet.

Though the connection seems obvious, nobody has definitively linked increased intake of sweeteners to the rise of obesity; that rise may have more to do with increased portion sizes and overall caloric intake than with any single food. In fact, the most compelling argument the USDA makes against sugar in its 2005 dietary guidelines is that it might contribute to dental caries, or cavities, among children (though even that's questionable, because the kids who eat tons of sugar may be the same kids who don't brush their teeth enough). The guidelines even note that adding sugar to such items as breakfast cereals might lead to more kids' consuming the wholesome grains they need.

At the same time, the guidelines recommend eating nutrient-dense (i.e. low-fat, low-sugar) foods: After the day's nutrient needs are met, there aren't many discretionary calories -- just about 150 to 200 per day -- left over to be consumed through extra fat, sugar and alcohol. But a single 12-ounce can of Pepsi has 150 calories, and a plain old 1.55-ounce Hershey milk-chocolate bar has 210. While those sweets are relatively easy to keep track of, caloric sweeteners lurk in all kinds of commercial products, from ketchup to bread and almost every baked good on the shelf. Add up all those hidden sugar sources and you'll blow through those 200 discretionary calories in no time. Barnard observes that sugar is a "Trojan horse": Sugary foods such as doughnuts, cakes and pies are often also filled with high-calorie fats.

Still, Barnard's not arguing against sugar: He suggests people decide for themselves whether sugar is exacting enough of a price in their lives that they want to cut back. Once they come to that point, though, Barnard offers a few suggestions:

• Gird yourself against cravings by getting plenty of sleep and maintaining level blood sugar, choosing low-glycemic-index foods such as oatmeal, beans, pasta, fruit and vegetables to keep your blood sugar stable.

• Don't throw the baby out with the bath water: Continue to eat fruit even as you seek to eliminate other sweet-tasting foods.

• Enlist friends and relatives in your quest. "We tend to eat like those around us," Barnard says. "We need to get those people on our side."

• Get plenty of exercise, which helps by making you feel better mentally and physically, tiring you out (see "getting plenty of sleep," above) and providing a distraction. "You can't eat a doughnut while riding a bike," he notes.

Barnard cautions that, unfortunately, moderation doesn't work for most people. "So many people ask, 'How do I moderate these things [that I crave]? I want to enjoy them, but I want to be in control.' "

People don't like hearing his answer, he says. "For almost everyone, it's easier just to get them out of your life. You crave today what you had yesterday. You might just have to say, 'I'm just not doing chocolate [or sugar in general] anymore,' " he says.

But Chicago dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner thinks you can temper your sweet tooth by using those discretionary calories wisely. Blatner, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, says you can reframe your relationship with sweets by adjusting your ideas about snacks vs. treats. A snack, she points out, has some nutritional value and can help tide you over between meals in a healthful way. A treat, though, is a food for which we have no nutritional expectations, an item that feels like, well, a real treat, pure and simple.

"We've made it okay to 'treat' ourselves to sweets all day long," Blatner says, by snacking on sweetened foods. Shifting sweets to the "treat" category can be a way to limit consumption and make sweets seem special once again.

Lemons Freshen Up Lenten Foods

Keep your pledges but don't deny your taste buds...
Fresh lemons can add pizazz to otherwise plain Lenten meals

SHERMAN OAKS, CA, Feb. 17 /CNW/ - Creative cooking is at its finest during the forty days of Lent when millions around the world fast and give up their favourite foods in preparation for Easter. Supplies of fresh Sunkist lemons are high during the season providing flavour and favour for traditional meatless meals as well as helping followers keep pledged commitments. "Cooking with fresh lemons is a natural and simple way of enhancing the flavour and nutritional value of traditional Lenten dishes," said Jill Davie, celebrity chef. "Mother Nature provides a healthy harvest of ripe and juicy lemons at this time of year so I encourage everyone to take advantage of them this season. Whether it's a squeeze or a zest, a touch of lemon can benefit your food and body."

Lemons Liven Up the Lenten Meal Line-up

Adding tart and tangy lemons to a recipe gives fish and pasta dishes, soups and salads and even beverages greater taste without breaking Lenten dietary guidelines. There are hundreds of lemon-based recipes, ranging from main courses to soups, perfect for Lent available on www.sunkist.com .Meyer lemons may also be used. See recipe below for Sunkist Lemon Swordfish Kabobs which are quick and easy to prepare.

Lemons Help Keep Lenten Promises

Bursting with flavour, adding lemons to their diet can help followers keep Lent

• Cutting back on coffee? Canning colas and other sources of caffeine?
  Start drinking herbal teas, club soda, or water as a replacement and use a lemon to flavour.

• Deep-sixing salt? Squeeze lemon for extra flavour.

• Giving up chocolate? Discover the sweet goodness of lemon blueberry muffins or lemon pudding.

• Passing on dessert and hoping to shed unhealthy pounds? Drinking fresh lemon juice can be helpful in losing weight.

• Pledging to be more thoughtful about the environment? Lemons are a great natural cleaner and disinfectant without harsh chemicals.

Recipe: Sunkist(R) Lemon Swordfish Kabobs

• 1 cup freshly squeezed Sunkist lemon juice

• 2 tsp. Sunkist fresh lemon peel, finely grated

• 1/4 cup capers with juice

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 4 tsp. garlic, minced

• 1 1/2 lbs. swordfish, cut in 1" cubes (1 ounce each)

• 24 pieces red bell peppers, cut in 1" pieces

• 24 pieces marinated artichoke hearts

• 8 metal skewers, 8"

• to taste salt and pepper

To make one portion:

• Combine Sunkist freshly squeezed lemon juice, Sunkist fresh lemon peel, capers with juice, olive oil and garlic in large zip-top bag or plastic container with lid.

• Add swordfish, bell peppers, and artichoke hearts to marinade. Seal and marinate refrigerated for 2 hours.

• When ready to prepare kabobs, drain marinade and discard. Thread each skewer with 3 pieces bell pepper, swordfish and artichokes, alternating the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. (Note: wooden skewers may be substituted. Soak in water for 15 minutes before threading to keep them from burning during cooking.)

• Grill or broil for 10 - 15 minutes until done. Ready to serve.

• Serving Suggestions: Serve with rice and fresh green beans.

• Option: Make a Sunkist Lemon Caper Butter to serve with the kabobs. Combine 1/2 cup warm melted butter, 1/4 cup Sunkist freshly squeezed lemon juice, 4 teaspoons Sunkist fresh lemon peel (finely grated) and 2 tablespoons caper - serve on the side.

Makes 4 servings

About Sunkist Growers, Inc.

The Sunkist brand was first used in 1907 to promote and unify an emerging fruit cooperative formed by independent growers (known previously as the Southern California Fruit Exchange and later as the California Fruit Growers Exchange). By 1908, the "Sunkist" name had captured the organization's interest and was adopted as trademark to appear on boxes of premium quality fruit. This legacy is honoured today, over 100 years later, by the California and Arizona growers, most of whom are small family farmers, who now own Sunkist Growers.

Steadfast to its commitment to provide quality fresh fruit, Sunkist is one of the world's oldest and largest citrus marketing cooperatives, packing millions of cartons of fruit each year.

Stretching its presence beyond the produce aisle, the Sunkist brand has licensed its name to more than 600 products - ranging from vitamins to beverages - in 50 different countries. For more information about Sunkist, visit www.sunkist.com.