Go out in the sun, get milk, eat oily fish

My wife has been telling me for some time about the benefits of Vitamin D. She has been keeping up to date with evidence that Vit D is beneficial to young children (important since we have 3 of them) -- turns out that the American Pediatric Association recommends at least 200-400IU of Vit D daily for children. The Flinstones vitamins we give our kids contains just that.

This got me interested in the data that exists with Vit D and heart disease.

There is a growing body of evidence that patients with Vit D deficiency have higher rates of heart disease. 

Vit D defiency is common and appears to affect as many as one-third to one-half of otherwise-healthy middle-aged to elderly adult world-wide. Increasing age, female gender, nonwhite race/ethnicity, diabetes, current smoking, and higher body-mass index (BMI) have all been shown to have higher rates of Vit D deficiency. 

It is NOT known yet if Vit D defiency causes heart disease or does the heart disease cause Vit D deficiency. There do appear to be biological reasons for why Vit D defiency may cause heart disease, including anti-inflammatory properties.

It is NOT yet known if patients with low levels of Vit D can dreduce their risk by taking viVit D supplementation.

The ARE some possible dangers in getting TOO MUCH Vit D.

The only way to know for sure if you are Vit D deficient is to test your blood levels. 

In the mean time, it appears that the best way to ensure that you have enough Vit D is to get at least 10-15 minutes of sun every day and consume vitamin D rich foods like drinking fortified milk and eating oily fish (salmon, mackeral, herring, sardines).

Eat "oily" fish at least once a week

A new study out of Sweden has shown that compared with men who ate no fish, those that ate oily fish (herring, mackerel, salmon, whitefish, and char) once time a week were less likely to have heart failure. Interestingly, the authors found there was no benefit from eating 2 serving of fish compared with one serving.

For now, I will continue to tell my patient, following the recommendations of the AHA, that there appears to be a cardioprotective effect from eating oliy fish 1-2 x week. If you do this, there is probably no added benefit from taking Omega-3 supplements.

I will continue to update you on this as more data is available

Bigger and Bigger

We just keep getting bigger and bigger

• 3/5 adults are overweight
• 1/5 adults are obese
• a child born in 2000, has a 1/3 chance of becoming diabetic
• 1/3 children in America eats "fast food" every day
• Diabetes has reached such an epidemic that it it no longer confined to adults, hence the name change from "Adult-onset Diabetes" to "Type-II Diabetes"
  

This really gets we thinking:

• we eat to much or the wrong stuff
• eating healthily costs too much
• we are a sedentary society

I we do not make some drastic changes to ourselves and our kids, its terrifying to me to think of what the future will look like.

We are what we eat!!!!!

If the saying "We are what we eat" is true, then have become corn and fossil fuel.



I am in the middle of listening to a fascinating book called "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. As the desciption of the book from his website states, the author "follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating."



It is truly an amazing account of who we are and what we eat. I had no idea just how "industrialized" are food and food habits have become and just how much corn has infiltrated into almost everything we eat.


I recommend this read.


I would love to hear your thoughts

Dr Portnay’s Guide to Healthy Living

I am frequently asked for diet recommendations from my patients. I routinely educate them that over and over again the most "heart healthy" diet has been shown to be the Mediterranean Diet. This consists of simply eating olive oil, red wine, fruits, veggies, nuts, and fish.

Our activity level, is just as important as what we eat -- I can not stress this enough.

To further assist my patients, I assembled and reworded recommendations from the American Heart Association for them in the form a a simple handout.

The following is my Guide to Healthy Living

• Use up at least as many calories as you take in.

• Be physically active.

• Aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week, if not all.

• Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods.

• Eat a diet rich in vegetables and fruits.

• Choose whole-grain, high-fiber foods.

• Eat fish at least twice a week.

• Eat less of the nutrient-poor foods.

• Limit how much saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol you eat.

• Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.

• Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products.

• Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet.

• Replace butter and cream were replaced with margarine high in alpha-linolenic acid or olive oil.

• Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol.

• Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars.

• Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt.

• If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation.

*Adapted from the American Heart Association 2006 Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations
For more info visit: www.americanheart.org