Archive for Cholesterol
How are your omega-3 levels?
Posted by: | CommentsScientists are calling for doctors to routinely use a blood-test to check omega-3 levels to help fight diabetes and heart disease. They want the tests to sit alongside cholesterol tests that doctors regularly order.
Professor Bernhard Breier and a team of scientists at Massey University’s Albany campus have been working on research that is the first to show the benefits of omega-3 in protecting against diabetes and heart disease in people who are prone to obesity.
Bernhard, chairman of human nutrition at the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health, said a test for omega-3 levels could be performed as simply as a cholesterol test, and the benefits were just as pronounced.
Their studies had shown Omega-3 made insulin more effective and therefore improved carbohydrate and fat metabolism. That means people taking the right amount of Omega-3 for their body could be less prone to developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or both. A blood test could work out how much more omega-3 a person might need.
“omega-3 fatty acids are one of the important parts of the puzzle in our fight against type 2 diabetes.”
Bernhard said the health benefits were well known, but the group wanted to find out how omega-3 worked, and whether there were differences in how it worked when there was a genetic predisposition for obesity.
“We know some people can put on the pounds more easily than others. We investigated how omega-3 worked in different lifestyle conditions,” he said.
The group found omega-3 was not as effective in those genetically predisposed to obesity but that it could still have benefits.
“It is not one size fits all for the amount of omega-3 that people need to eat or take. We want to establish how it gives the best dietary protection against disease, and that might vary in age groups or by gender.”
Breier said foods rich in omega-3 included oily fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, or plant sources like flax seed, canola, soy bean oil and walnuts.
He said most people could get the right amount of omega-3 from a healthy diet. “It is a bit of a guessing game. Do I like salmon? And if I like it, I eat it a lot, and if I don’t, well it’s a bit difficult. And how much do I need anyway? Is it enough if I take one fish oil tablet a day, or should I take four?”
A test would solve that issue, he said. “We have the ability to change the different body-building blocks by eating omega-3 rich foods.”
by: SARAH HARVEY
originally printed : - Sunday Star Times
Americans with high blood pressure, cholesterol go untreated
Posted by: | CommentsNearly a third of all adults have high blood pressure and another third have high cholesterol, but most aren’t being treated, leaving them at risk for developing heart attacks, strokes and related vascular diseases, according to new data out from the CDC.
Half of American adults with high blood pressure and two thirds of those with high cholesterol aren’t getting adequate treatment, the agency reports.
And it’s not lack of health insurance keeping people from the doctor. Some 80 percent of people with uncontrolled hypertension or high cholesterol have some form of coverage, the CDC reports.
So what’s the problem? Well, while patients may have insurance, they may not have regular access to medical care, or the counseling and support needed to care for these chronic conditions. Others don’t go to the doctor for follow-up visits and about half just stop taking their medicine all together.
Heart attack, stroke and other vascular diseases kill more 800,000 Americans a year and cost the nation about $300 billion a year in medical costs. Thing is, medications can control high blood pressure and high cholesterol before they become serious, the CDC urges.