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Heart Smart Part 1
By Sarah Marshall, HBSc, CPT


Cardiovascular diseases are diseases affecting the cardiovascular system (the heart and blood vessels throughout the entire body). Heart disease and stroke are both examples of CV disease. It is estimated that 1 in 4 Canadians suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease. CV disease is the leading cause of death in Canada. In 1999, 35% and 37% of all male and female deaths, respectively, were due to CV disease.

Prevention of Heart Diseases includes a healthy diet and nutrition habits. The Canadian Food Guide presents nutrition and healthy lifestyle information as simple guidelines to healthy eating. The amount and content of food you’re body needs for optimum health is dependant an a number of factors including age, height, weight, gender, and level of activity. Your physician can suggest some appropriate and specific changes to your diet, including suggestions on sodium, fat, caloric intake. Here are some suggestions for altering the fat content of your food.

Altering the way food is prepared:
1. Trim all visible fat from meats before it is prepared
2. Cook with non-stick pans and cooking spray rather than using butter/oil
3. Add vegetables or extra pasta to meat dishes to decrease the amount of meat you consume.
4. Cook with sharp cheese and reduce the amount of cheese that you add (because the flavour is stronger, you
on’t have to use as much)
5. Cook with non-fat cheeses or mix non-fat with regular cheese. (Sometimes non-fat cheeses don’t melt very well, if you mix them with regular cheese, the texture is better when melted.
6. Make marinades with chicken stock rather oil.

Altering the cooking method:
1. Grill meat or roast it on a rack so the fat can drip away.
2. Steam vegetables.
3. Sauté using water, broth, wine or cooking spray.
4. Try stir-frying in chicken stock rather than oil.
5. Brown meats, drain the excess fat by tilting the pan and spooning it out (you can also use paper towels to soak up the fat. After the fat is removed, rinse the meat with water and then reheat it.
6. Microwave foods rather than fry – you don’t have to add any fat or liquid during the cooking process.

Steps to altering the recipe:
1. Use applesauce or fruit purees or plain yogurt in place of butter and oil in baked goods. (I’ve tried this in cookies and bread recipes – works great)
2. Use skim milk instead of whole milk.
3. Replace heavy cream with evaporated skim milk or low fat plain yogurt.
4. Sour cream can be replaced by low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese. (try yogurt in beef stroganoff)
5. Substitute 2 egg whites for one whole egg (3 egg whites for 2 whole eggs).
 

Healthy Hair Vitamins

There a number of different specific hair vitamins and minerals that can play a major role in helping a person have a healthy head of hair. If a person does not have sufficient hair vitamins then the deficiencies can lead to thinning hair or even total baldness in the most severe cases. The fact is that the state of a person's hair reflects the overall condition of their body. Extra hair vitamins are likely to be needed if a person is generally unwell or is undernourished as their hair will show damage too and may even stop growing.

Some of the most important hair vitamins that a person needs to have healthy hair include B6, biotin, inositol and folic acid. The best way to ensure that a person receives enough of these essential hair vitamins are for them to be taken as vitamin supplements. It is not just hair vitamins that are necessary for healthy hair though as there are a number of minerals that are essential, including magnesium, sulphur, silica and zinc.

The most essential hair vitamin is vitamin a but the best form of this is to include in the diet is beta-carotene. This is because the hair vitamin A can be toxic if consumed in large quantities but beta-carotene has no such problems and is converted by the body into vitamin A that can be used to promote healthy hair. Of course, vitamin A is not just a hair vitamin, it is also needed for a number of other functions including normal growth of bones, skin, nails and the protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres.

Protein is another essential hair vitamin. This is because hair itself is essentially protein. The amount of this hair vitamin that a person consumes in their diet can affect the hair directly. If a lot of protein is included in a person's diet then this hair vitamin will lead to improved hair growth and a far fuller head of hair. However, a person who has a diet that is lacking in this hair vitamin will suffer from thinning hair and slow hair growth.

Of course, it is not just hair vitamins and minerals that are needed to ensure that a person has healthy, strong hair. There are a number of researchers who have found that there are direct links between the overall health of a person and the condition of their hair. If a person is under a lot of stress or suffers from a lack of sleep then their hair is also likely to suffer and it is likely that their diet will not provide enough hair vitamins to counter these effects. Hair vitamin and mineral supplements can be the solution to weak and damaged hair.