Using data from the ever-mineable National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found that, among adults with high blood pressure, only 27.3% had it under control in the 1988-94 study period. But that number had risen to 50.1% by the 2007-08 study period.

Way to go, hypertensives!

That’s not to say that rates of hypertension are falling. Rates rose from 23.9% of adults in the 1988-94 study period to 28.5% in 1999 and 2000. But, hey, then they held fairly steady through 2007 and 2008. That’s … something.

Way to go, people who could’ve become hypertensive and didn’t!

The researchers note that the improvements are not, repeat not, because people are exercising and eating right. Ha. They write:

“Healthy lifestyles are an unlikely explanation for lower [blood pressure] and better control among patients with hypertension, because eating patterns became less “DASH-like” and obesity increased over time.”

Think, instead, ”blood pressure medication.”

The improvements in the overall blood pressure picture can be traced in no small part to increased awareness and treatment, the researchers conclude. Some groups need more assistance in getting the awareness message; others need more help in getting the treatment message:

“Data suggest that initiatives to improve [blood pressure] control among Hispanic individuals should emphasize screening and referral to a primary care medical home, whereas more emphasis on treatment effectiveness is needed for black individuals.”

The report offers much data — by ethnicity, age, gender … and you can peruse it all. Here’s the full blood-pressure study, published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Oh, and here’s more information on the aforementioned DASH diet; a guide from Mayo Clinic on choosing blood pressure medication; and our recent, helpful-if-I-do-say-so-myself advice on controlling blood pressure.

It’s not unusual for children to have bad diets, unfortunately. When they’re little and we can control what they eat, we can ensure they’re eating healthy foods. As they grow up, however, they develop their own tastes as far as food is concerned. They may only like to eat macaroni and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. How do you get them to eat fruits and vegetables, too?

Children learn by example in almost everything. If they see parents, siblings, and friends eating potato chips and drinking soft drinks, they’ll want to eat those as well. The reverse is true; if they see everyone eating fresh fruits and vegetables they’ll be more likely to follow suit. So, if you want your children to become healthy eaters, the adults in the family will want to set the pace.

Offer your child healthy foods for snacks. Rather than giving them cookies or candy for a snack, offer fresh fruit like apples, oranges, or grapes, depending upon your child’s age. If you don’t have junk food in your home, your child won’t learn to eat it.

Experts say to offer your child a new food at least twenty times before they’ll eat it. If you’re introducing a new food, put just a bite on their plate. Ask them to taste it; if they don’t want to try it immediately, don’t push them. Each meal you serve that food, continue to put a bite on their plate and ask them to taste it. Before too long they’ll do at least that.

Be sure you’re not introducing too many new foods at once. In fact, it’s better if you only introduce one new food at a time until your child starts eating it. This means that if you’re trying to get your child to eat peas, wait until you’ve had success with those before you introduce Brussels sprouts.

If the food is on their plate, let them play with the food. They may roll the food around on their plate, make faces in it by putting other food into it, or some other creative idea. If you allow them to play with the food, it won’t seem so intimidating.

Even though you might be tempted, don’t hide vegetables in something you fix. This might backfire on you. Although your intention to get your child to eat vegetables is good, they may decide to stop eating whatever you’ve hidden the vegetables in from now on.

Your own parents probably made you finish everything on your plate “because there are poor, malnourished children all over the world.” You don’t have to follow in your parent’s eating style. If your child doesn’t want to eat anymore, don’t make them finish their plate.

Give them what they like, to a point. If they like eating hot dogs, look for ones that have lower fat content. If they want ice cream buy the single serving sizes so they won’t be tempted to eat more than they need.

It’s not easy having a child who’s a picky eater, but you can survive it. Follow these do’s and don’ts of encouraging children to become healthy eaters. It may not happen overnight, but if you’re persistent it will happen.

– “Mario Salcedo”

A. What you have in mind is certainly sensible because the initial step in lowering blood cholesterol level especially in people like you whose cholesterol level is only borderline (normal is less than 200 mg/dl) consists simply of lifestyle modifications. Besides, pravastatin along with the other statins, although very effective in lowering blood cholesterol level, are not exactly innocuous.

A high blood cholesterol level is, very often, simply the result of eating food that is rich in cholesterol and saturated fat. Consequently, a high cholesterol blood level can sometimes be brought down to normal by just adhering to a low-fat diet.

However, hypercholesterolemia is not merely a dietary problem. There are other factors associated with the condition including advancing age, genetic make-up, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, excessive alcohol consumption, certain diseases such as diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, liver disease, and the intake of particular drugs such as birth control pills and thiazides. Thus, often, hypercholesterolemia cannot be controlled by diet alone, other lifestyle modifications and drugs may have to be employed. In your case, maintaining your weight at the present normal level, engaging in a regular exercise program (which you intend to do) and refraining from alcohol will certainly help. But if the lifestyle changes you intend to adopt do not work, you could consider taking cholesterol-lowering drugs.

At present, the most widely used cholesterol lowering drugs are the statins, and pravastatin is one of them. The other members of this group of drugs include atorvastatin, fluvastatin, lovastatin and simvastatin. The statins block the production of cholesterol by the body and facilitate the removal of low density lipoproteins or LDL (bad cholesterol) from the bloodstream.

Statins are routinely prescribed for people who have known heart and blood vessel disease secondary to atherosclerosis because scientific research has already established that regular intake of statins reduces the mortality and cardiovascular morbidity rates in these patients. They are also now being increasingly given to people with high blood cholesterol and other risk factors for heart disease even if these people do not have heart disease.  This is because more recent studies have shown that statins improve survival and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events in these people.

Statins though, are not harmless. They have adverse effects and should thus be taken only under the supervision of a physician. The more severe of these adverse effects include myopathy (i.e., muscle disease), hepatotoxicity (liver damage), peripheral neuropathy, impaired heart contraction and autoimmune diseases.

Likewise, statins can decrease blood cholesterol level to below normal and studies indicate that people with low cholesterol level have higher risk for cancer (lung and blood), respiratory and digestive diseases, violent death (suicide and trauma), and hemorrhagic stroke.

Lastly, it is certainly good that you intend to talk to your physician about how you intend to bring down your blood cholesterol level. Surely, he is the person who is in the best position to advise you on how you can bring and maintain you blood cholesterol to a normal level.

By EDUARDO GONZALES, MD

“The problem is global and is steadily affecting many low- and middle-income countries, particularly in urban settings…Globally, in 2010 the number of overweight children under the age of five, is estimated to be over 42 million. Close to 35 million of these are living in developing countries.”

Isn’t it unbelievable that the poorer countries should have more overweight and obese children than the developed countries? One might be quick to challenge these statistics but this would be inadvisable for if you did a round of schools in Kampala, you would find a number of obese children.

Unfortunately, there has been no countrywide research on obesity in Uganda; but research was carried out in a school in Kampala and Kamuli and it was found that children in Kampala are more obese. It was also found that obesity was on the rise.

Why is this?

Mbabazi Muniirah, a Human Nutrition Consultant with Nutrisat Uganda attributes obesity in children to unregulated eating and an alarming reduction in physical activity. Today’s typical child watches a lot of TV, does a lot of homework and when they play, they engage in indoor games that do not require a lot of activity. Video games are the norm.

Meanwhile, their middle class parents can afford to buy them food when they demand it and so they do. Even when children demand food that is in excess of what they require, they buy it for them.

She tells of a primary school child who eats 10 eggs, six chapattis and drinks three litres of juice in one sitting. This excess consumption of food, especially, the energy giving foods (carbohydrates) coupled with low levels of physical activity is likely to result in obesity.

Why is it necessary to curb obesity?

Obesity predisposes an individual to conditions like: diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, bone and joint problems, depression and a host of other cardiovascular diseases. There is an increase in the numbers of children suffering from these diseases globally yet these conditions were initially common in adults after the age of 40.

Childhood obesity also may be a factor leading to premature death and disability in adulthood. Studies show that 70% obese and overweight children become obese adults. An obese parent is also likely to give birth to an obese child.
Obese and overweight children suffer from low self esteem because their contemporaries tease them. They call them names like ‘jajja’ and ‘fat bombola’.

Treatment

As the saying goes, “Prevention is better than cure.” You can control your child’s weight if you train them to eat sufficient food instead of encouraging them to overindulge. It is possible to train children from a tender age such that they do not become gluttons.

This can be done by feeding children on small amounts of food at particular times of the day. A certain amount (Mbabazi advises that children should not be fed till their bellies are distended because a distended belly means a child is overly satisfied), at a certain time and not feeding them when they demand to be fed.

With this training, a child is conditioned to eat enough and at the proper time and eventually becomes a disciplined eater.

It is also important to encourage children to play. Sixty minutes of vigorous or moderate play are sufficient. One wonders why parents enrol children in a gym yet they can play soccer, run about or even swim and acquire similar benefits. Schools need bigger playgrounds and longer break periods to allow play for their pupils.

A balanced diet, rich in fruit and vegetables and low in sugars and fat is also advisable.

At some point in our lives, cancer will rear its monstrous head — either to us directly or to the people we love.

With 40% of Americans expected to get some form of cancer, the threat is a disarming and harrowing one.

And according to a new report, American are swimming in a deadly, toxic stew of carcinogenic chemicals which threaten to drag ever more of us into cancer’s waiting jaws.

Who could have guessed that industrial chemicals and pesticides could do such serious damage to the human body?

While this news may not be a shocker to Green Chip Living readers, what you might find shocking is that this report didn’t come from an environmentalist organization, a natural health guru, or an organic farming committee… It came from one of the most mainstream medical coalitions in the country: the President’s Cancer Panel.

The report is called “Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now” and its content echoes the title…

Environmental Hazards

A dividing cancer cell

The crux of the report is that Americans are exposed to around 80,000 chemicals, most of which are either unstudied or understudied in terms of cancer risks. Currently, many chemicals are thought to be safe until proven otherwise — at which point, the damage has already been done.

Chemicals like Bisphonal-A (BPA) have been linked to cancer, but only after years of ubiquity. Just this year, the FDA finally recommended that children limit their exposure to it.

Recommendations in the report explicitly calls for chemical companies embrace “green chemistry” and turn to non-toxic alternatives to existing risky chemicals. It goes on to outline the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry, like designing chemicals using methods that possess little-to-no toxicity to human beings.

At this point, research support for green chemistry is rather limited, but the study cites Michigan’s Green Chemistry Drive as a positive development; the initiative expands education in green chemistry to chemists and chemical engineers.

Who is Most At Risk?

The report stresses that both children and pregnant women are the most susceptible to these carcinogenic chemicals.

Children are particularly at risk for a few reasons:

• Since they’re smaller, exposure to toxins is disproportionately high. Plus, they are slower to metabolize, detoxify and excrete environmental chemicals.

• Children also have lower levels of a chemical binding protein, leaving an open clearing for toxins to reach the vital organs and a child’s blood brain barrier is more porous than adults, opening up their developing brains to carcinogenic chemical exposure.

What Can Regulators Do?

The study recommends that on way in which the government protect consumers is to establish a national database containing all known information on chemicals and their resulting hazards, so people can do their very best to avoid them. This might resemble something of a beefed-up version of the Household Products Database, maintained at the National Institute of Health.

The President’s panel also champions setting appropriate exposure limits, based to the predicted effect of a toxic material.

Historically, many chemical exposure limits were based on “Reference Man” — a hypothetical man, 5’7” and weighing in at 157 pounds. This standard is flawed for obvious reasons: children and woman, who are most at risk, are usually significantly smaller than “Reference Man,” skewing the levels of toxins that an average person could safely handle.

While the EPA states that the organization moved away from the “Reference Man” standards years ago, a new set of appropriate standards has yet to be created. The report suggests quick action on exposure limits.

What Can You Do?

While you’re waiting on regulatory agencies to implement some of the reports systemic recommendations (and considering the government’s glacial pace, that will probably be a while), you can make some personal changes right now.

Here’s a list of the reports suggestions:

1. Eat organic food, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers;
2. Use glass or ceramics to heat food in a microwave oven, as harmful plastics can leach into your food;
3. Filter your tap water and avoid drinking from plastic bottles;
4. Avoid processed meats, and avoid cooking or charring meats to well-done temperatures;
5. Cut back your cell phone use, or use a hands-free device to reduce exposure to radiation;
6. Reduce exposure to radiation from medical procedures like CT-scans;
7. Check your home radon levels;
8. If you work somewhere containing hazardous chemicals, remove your shoes upon entering your home and wash work clothes separately from the rest of your laundry.

This type of mainstream report is just what the green movement needs to legitimize some of the claims that we’ve been making for years.

It may seem obvious that avoiding pesticides, plastics, and other chemical compounds would reduce the risk of diseases like cancer; but until more studies like this emerge, companies like DOW and Monsanto will keep denying these charges — all the way to the bank.

As Michael Lerner, President of the Commonweal health research agency, noted in the report:

A simple way of thinking about moving to a healthy and sustainable world is that it requires green energy and green chemistry and green products.

And that’s pretty much our motto at Green Chip Living.

We urge you to read the entire report here.

If you’re living a green lifestyle, keep on doing what you’re doing… and in dealing with something as devastating as cancer, it’s worth taking any extra precautions you can.

Be Well,

Jimmy Mengel

Researchers pooled the results of 25 clinical trials that involved 583 participants over all. The study reported that eating just 2.4 ounces of nuts of any kind was associated with declines of 10.2 milligrams per deciliter in bad cholesterol, a drop of about 7.4 percent, and 10.9 milligrams in total cholesterol, or 5.1 percent.

The study, which appeared in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, was partly financed by a nut-industry foundation, and two of the authors receive research money from other organizations representing the nut and peanut industries.

But the authors noted that some of the trials they analyzed had no corporate financing, yet came to similar conclusions.

“Nuts are rich in unsaturated fats, and that is a main driver in lowering cholesterol,” said the lead author, Dr. Joan Sabaté, a professor of nutrition at the School of Public Health at Loma Linda University in California. “They are the richest source of protein in the plant kingdom, and they also contain fiber and phytosterols, which compete with cholesterol to be absorbed. All these nutrients have been demonstrated to lower cholesterol.”

The effect was most pronounced among people with higher LDL cholesterol to begin with and among those who were not obese. The more nuts they ate, the greater the effect

Losing It with Jillian premieres on NBC this June 1 at 10pm, but while it hasn’t started, the waterworks have. “I don’t think that I have cried so much in my entire life,” the star added.

It’s simply because she really tries to connect with the families she deals with on the show. She hands out fitness advice, from eating habits to exercise routines, and tries to change lives. It’s a difficult job to undertake, making it look as though she’s losing it along with these people.

“I become very empathic with the families, I think, so I can understand them and get in their heads and try to help them implement solutions that work for them,” Jillian Michaels went on.

That means, the trainer is with the clients practically 24/7. She observes their lifestyle and makes her adjustments accordingly through whatever means and resources that are available.

“Life is an ongoing journey, so we’re coming back to see if they’ve utilized these tools and rebooted their lives,” the Losing It with Jillian star said. Even so, it’s her life that’s changed because of it all as well.

On Losing It with Jillian, fear isn’t exactly what this lady will use to motivate these families. There won’t be as much yelling and forcing people to do what she wants at all.

“Me being in a very different environment automatically makes me kind of vulnerable in a totally different way — being around kids and being a fish out of water,” she explained. “It’s definitely going to present a different side.”

An obviously suspicious Abby Graham scrunched up her face, sliding one between her teeth. The 5-year-old chewed slowly, then grinned.

“It’s okay,” she said, reaching for another.

Chalk up another win for the garbanzo bean.

Such unconventional menu items at the Waterford Village Elementary School drew a visit today by Audrey Rowe, deputy administrator for U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Nutrition Programs.

Rowe came to push the Obama administration’s efforts at a $10 billion bill that would boost the Child Nutrition Act, increasing the number of kids who receive meals, upgrading school kitchen equipment, training school staff, and helping schools add fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat and fat free dairy products to their menus.

At Waterford, they’ve begun those efforts, in part, by a $15,000 grant from Hidden Valley, which produces dressing. Now basil and tomato plants are commonplace in Waterford’s hallways, and four student-grown vegetable gardens supplement the cafeteria menu.

Already, the results are surprising, said Principal Steve Garrison.

Students have been introduced to foods they might not otherwise see — kohlrabi and arugula, for example. And the veggie pizza? “A huge, huge hit,” Garrison said.

In heels and suits, Rowe and other Department of Agriculture staff squished through the muddy schoolyard to look at the sprout-filled gardens, and dropped by the cafeteria, where they chatted with students over whole-wheat pasta and a salad with garbanzo beans.

“Your school rocks,” Rowe told a table of fourth- and fifth-graders before breaking into jumping jacks with them.

Visits like these, she said later, underscore the importance of expanding and reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act. Congressional hearings feature nutrition experts and statistics, but only in a school cafeteria can you see that boosting nutrition may not be as difficult as it sounds, she said.

“It takes hold and becomes part of the school’s health DNA,” she said.

When you’re recovering from an injury, one thing your muscles definitely need to help them rebuild and grow strong is some high-quality protein.

Here’s a quick, flavorful recipe for tuna steaks that are high in protein and low in fat. * 2 12-oz. fresh tuna steaks (each 1 inch thick) * 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, fresh * 2 Tbsp. rosemary leaves, fresh * 2 to 3 tsp. lemon zest (about 1 lemon’s worth) * 2 cloves garlic, crushed * Salt ( to taste) * Ground black pepper (to taste) * 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Preheat grill, grill pan, or skillet. Rinse tuna and pat dry. On a cutting board, pile parsley, rosemary, lemon zest, garlic, salt, and pepper together and mince until combined. Drizzle both sides of tuna steaks with oil and rub herb mix into fish. Set aside for 5 minutes to let flavors marry.

Grill steaks 2 minutes on each side for rare or 5 minutes on each side for well done. Cut each steak into two pieces. Makes 4 servings. Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 4 to 10 minutes

Nutritional Information (per serving): Calories Protein Fiber Carbs Fat Total Saturated Fat 244 38 g 0 g 1 g 9 g 2 g

In a detailed plan presented to President Barack Obama this month, more than 70 recommendations are outlined by task force members to help meet the goal of reducing the present childhood obesity rates of 20 percent to a level of 5 percent by 2030. Priorities include strategies to help empower parents and caregivers to guide children toward healthier food and fitness habits with specific suggestions on everything from building school gardens to adding neighborhood sidewalks to improving children’s menus at restaurants.

Recommendation from the task force document: Restaurants should consider their portion sizes, improve children’s menus and make healthy options the default choice whenever possible. The improvements are particularly important because one-third of meals are consumed in restaurants.

What do some Atlanta parents — who just happen to be in the restaurant business — think about “the state of the union” for kids dining out?

Father of a boy and girl, Ian Winslade, formerly of Spice Market and chef of soon-to-open Bottle Bar Buckhead, says, “I think restaurants need to do more with kids menus. And I found if you introduce kids as toddlers to a variety of foods, you’ll have a better go of it when dining out.”

Winslade admits that even chefs who make it a career to please customers’ palates can have a tough time with their own kids.

“At about 5 years old you can get some serious push back, but hang in there because after about 8 they roll back in and become more adventurous,” Winslade said.

Ford Fry, executive chef of JCT Kitchen and father of two boys, believes good eating embraces all foods in moderation. “Hey, I’m a chef famous for my fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, but our menu focuses on great farm fresh vegetables, too. At home we eat healthy six days a week and one day a week the boys can eat whatever they want,” he said.

And to up the ante on interest in healthy menu choices and further community support of farmers who grow organic produce for Atlanta’s restaurants, Fry and friends organize a vegetable festival each August — the JCT Killer Tomato Fest.

Selling good nutrition to kids takes on many forms. At Ted’s Montana Grill, cook Otto Calvert at the Luckie Street location says a restaurant can be the best place to get kids excited about healthy foods. “We start with lots of really fresh vegetables, and we know how to season them, and we don’t overcook them. We can help parents because kids eat their vegetables here when we ask them to!”

Catering to smaller appetites

Skip the sodas. Ask for low-fat or nonfat milk. Or make your own special “soda” by asking for a combination of fruit juice with sparkling water.

Good things in small packages. Children are not just small adults, especially when it comes to nutrition. Every bite counts and every bite should be delivering healthy nutrients. Filling up on tortilla chips or fried appetizers is a bad habit for two reasons: They’ll often consume too many calories and they won’t have room for the healthy items. Get a side order of fruit or cut-up vegetables right away to keep them occupied.

Don’t clean your plate. An important lessons in nutrition is recognizing when you are full.

By Carolyn O’Neil

For the AJC