Women and Cardiovascular Disease
-It's not just a man's disease!

Cardiovascular disease (heart disease, hypertension, and stroke) is the number one killer of women, according to the American Heart Association, killing half a million American women each year.

Yet when women are asked which disease they are most afraid of, the vast majority will say breast cancer. Heart disease is more often thought of as a disease that affects mostly men, however, the condition is more often fatal in women than in men, and is more likely to leave women severely disabled. More women than men die of cardiovascular disease, and more than 1 in 5 women suffer the consequences of cardiovascular disease. Most doctors speculate that this is because women are typically older and their heart disease more advanced by the time they are diagnosed.

Even though men's and women's hearts are physically identical, once heart disease strikes, major dissimilarities become apparent. Women tend to experience heart attacks ten to twenty years later than men; their first heart attack more likely to be fatal. The warning signs in women are often missed or ignored, because the most common signs, which usually start developing in women's 60s, are not the common chest-tightening pains and shortness of breath. Women tend to feel a dispersed pain, particularly in the back, along with swollen legs and ankles.

And on top of all that, bypass surgery and angioplasty often fail for women, when they typically work for men.

Smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, excess weight, and physical inactivity are the top causes of cardiovascular disease, for both men and women. However, women tend to be more overweight, less likely to exercise, and more negatively affected by stress; thus, increasing women's chances for cardiovascular disease. In summary, the causes of cardiovascular disease are smoking, poor diet, and too little exercise - all personal choices, not outside, unavoidable factors.

But there is good news! You can choose health.

By simply choosing not to smoke, or to quit smoking; by choosing to eat healthy foods as opposed to processed foods; and by being more physically active - you can decrease your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, and excess weight, thus, decreasing, if not eliminating, your risk of heart disease.

Interesting facts:

•  Women account for 52% of the U.S. population.

•  Women make 3/4 of the health care decisions in American households and spend almost two of every three health care dollars, approximately $500 billion annually.

•  Over 59% of physician visits are made by women, 59% of prescription drugs are purchased by women, and 75% of nursing home residents over the age of 75 are women.

To show your support for bringing awareness to heart disease and women, check out the Heart Truth Campaign's Red Dress Pin.

The primary goal of The Heart Truth campaign is to raise awareness that heart disease is the #1 killer of women. To support this goal, The Heart Truth campaign launched the Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease in February 2003. The Red Dress Tack Pin symbolizes the message that "heart disease doesn't care what you wear, it's not just a man's disease."

Resources:

The Heart Truth Campaign

Womancando.org – Some things only a woman can do.

Medical Microbiology – Neal Chamberlain's look at the microbial world.

American Heart Association

Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
State Fact Sheets About Heart Disease Among Women

Deaths - Leading Causes

The Top Ten Low-Carb Cities
Which US cities are the most low-carb friendly?

Low Carbiz – The Magazine, recently spent several months compiling data to determine the top 10 low-carb US cities. It was no easy task. They had to ascertain which cities purchase the most low-carb products, according to manufacturers and distributors. They then adjusted those figures to account for population density.

They counted low-carb retail outlets and low-carb bakeries, along with low-carb selections in supermarkets and convenience stores. They even gauged overall public awareness by monitoring local media coverage and internet chat rooms.

All to determine which US cities had the most resources for learning, sharing, and eating low-carb. And when all the data was collected and reviewed, they decided that rather than placing one city at the top as the number one low-carb city and another city at the bottom of the top ten, they instead decided to publish their findings geographically.

So here they are, the top ten low-carb cities, from East to West:

New York , New York
Miami , Florida
Indianapolis , Indiana
Dallas/Ft. Worth Texas
Phoenix , Arizona
Las Vegas , Nevada
Los Angeles , California
Seattle , Washington
Portland , Oregon
San Francisco , California

These days, most every restaurant you walk in to offers some low-carb options on their menu. Whether they've simply changed their salad menu heading and eliminated the bread from their sandwiches, or if they've added new items, you can rest easy knowing that you'll be able to retain your low-carb lifestyle even when on the road. From major restaurant chains such as TGI Fridays and sandwich shops like Subway, to convenience stores who stock Hershey's 1 Carb chocolate bar – the low- carb revolution is in full swing.

There are hundreds of thousands of websites promoting the low-carb lifestyle – offering everything from carb blocking supplements to books, low-carb meals and drinks to low-carb programs; not to mention tv commercials, print media advertisements and word of mouth. With so many low-carb followers and so many success stories, it's hard to imagine that the low-carb lifestyle is possibly just another dieting fad gone global.

It is important to note that six of those same top 10 low-carb cities also fall within the top 25 fattest cities, according to Men's Fitness Magazine (Jan. 2004). The following cities are in order of ranking:

3. Dallas
6. Ft. Worth
15. Miami
16. Las Vegas
17. Indianapolis
18. Phoenix
21. New York

It could be a mere coincidence. These seven cities have huge populations, making the number of low-carbers versus the over weight citizens a close call. After all, there are still 4 low-carb top ten cities that don't fall under both rankings: San Fran, L.A. , Portland , and Seattle. On the contrary, those four cities all fall within the top 25 fittest cities; with San Fran at number 2, Seattle at number 6, Portland at number 8, and L.A. at number 25.

When thinking of adapting a low-carb lifestyle, or even if you are already dedicated, remember, carbohydrates are an important part of a healthy, well-balanced diet. Carbs supply the body with the energy it needs to function. They are the main source of blood glucose, a major fuel source for all of the body's cells and the only source of energy for the brain and red blood cells. If you eliminated carbs entirely, you would deprive your brain of its only source of energy.

Carbohydrates are converted into glucose which is either used immediately for energy, or stored in the liver for future use. If you consume more calories than your body is using, a portion of the carbohydrates may be stored as fat. As with any food, moderation is important. Overloading can cause fat build up and weight gain, but under-loading starves your brain.

So choose your carbs carefully, it's much easier to do than you might think. Instead of refined, processed foods that are loaded with bad carbs, such as soft drinks, desserts, candy, white bread, and sugar, choose unrefined foods such as fruit, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain products.

Making simple changes in your everyday diet will make a difference in your health. Choose whole wheat bread for lunch instead of white, have fruit as a snack instead of candy, eliminate soft drinks and drink fruit juices, and enjoy your low-carb lifestlye!

Resources:

Men's Fitness

Low Carbiz - The Magazine. Volume 1, Number 1. Spring 2004.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Balch, Phyllis A. and James F. New York . 2000.

Glucomannan – Natural Carb Blocker?
The Skinny on the effects of Glucomannan.

Glucomannan is derived from konjac flour, which comes from the tuber of the various species of amorphophallus plants (related to the common philodendron). Konjac flour has a long history in China and Japan where it has traditionally been used as a food substance to thicken foods, much like guar and xanthan gums, and as a general health aid for skin care.

Glucomannan is a unique herb, also classified as a soluble dietary fiber, providing dietary fiber with no calories. On its way through the body, glucomannan collects and removes fat from the colon wall, thereby promoting bowel elimination; while absorbing intestinal toxins and helping to normalize blood sugar.

Glucomannan has been receiving more attention lately due to its potential role in weight loss. Although further studies are necessary, it is believed that the expansion of glucomannan in the gastrointestinal tract is a major contributing factor to weight loss. Glucomannan expands up to sixty times its own weight. This swelling may cause the subject to experience a feeling of satiety; and they therefore consume less food.

According to PDR Health online, in an eight-week double-blind study, 20 obese subjects received 1 gram of glucomannan or placebo daily. The overweight subjects were instructed not to change their eating or exercising habits. The average weight loss of the subjects who received the glucomannan supplements was 5.5 pounds. Their serum cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly reduced as well.

Glucomannan may also play a potential role in normalizing blood sugar. This could give glucomannan the ability to improve glycemic control in Type 2 Diabetes. This is due to the delaying of the absorption of carbohydrates. By increasing the gastric-emptying time and/or the decreasing small intestinal transit time, your body has less of an opportunity to store those carbs as fat.

Aside from glucomannan's role in normalizing blood sugar and promoting weight loss, it provides your body with a good source of fiber, which the typical American diet is lacking. Fiber helps to lower blood cholesterol levels and stabilize blood sugar – helping to prevent colon cancer, constipation, hemorrhoids, obesity, and many more disorders. It also helps to rid the body of toxic metals. Because most diets are deficient of fiber, it is important to start supplementing in small doses. Too much fiber may decrease your absorption of zinc, iron, and calcium.

Fiber supplements, such as glucomannan, combined with high-fiber foods, such as whole-grain cereals and flours, brown rice, bran, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, etc., are an essential part of a healthy, well-balanced, low-carb diet.

*Glucomannan is considered non-toxic, but anyone suffering from any blood sugar-related disease should check with their physician before using the supplement.

PDR Health – The Science Behind the Supplements: Glucomannan

Doctor's Guide to Natural Medicine. Barney, M.D., Paul. Utah . 1998.

Prescription for Nutritional Healing. Balch, Phyllis A, and James F. New York. 2000.