BT Calgary Blogs

It’s Heart Month. And there are many things you can do to protect your heart which we will discuss throughout the month. Today we’re going to talk about the best foods to keep your heart healthy.

First up, fish.  This is all about eating omega three fatty acids or “good fat.” Omega 3s permeate the arteries and make them more flexible and they also reduce plaque build-up in the arteries. Good fat also helps to reduce blood pressure and prevent inflammation. It even helps maintain a regular heartbeat. Doctors usually recommend eating fish at least twice a week. Good examples include salmon, tuna and pollock.

Next, whole grains. Whole grains contain the entire kernel, where refined grains have been milled to remove the bran and germ. Removing those two items takes out the iron, fibre and B vitamins. You want to eat fibre because it acts like a brillo pad in your arteries, scrubbing out the bad cholesterol before it has a chance to stick around. Examples include oatmeal, whole grain bread and cereal and brown rice.

Legumes. Now you want to avoid canned beans here. We’re talking about fresh beans like black beans, kidney beans, edamame or soy beans and chick peas. These lovely little legumes contain no cholesterol, lots of fibre and protein and are fat free. A good example would be to swap out your beef burger for a soy option or eat some hummus.

Nuts. They are a great source of good fat. So again, they help boost your good cholesterol, which takes the bad cholesterol to the liver so it can get filtered out of the body. Nuts are also packed with flavonoids which are antioxidants that also raise your good cholesterol. Your best choices for your heart are almonds and walnuts. Just make sure they’re not covered in salt or sugar. Eat them raw and only a handful a day.

Alcohol. Yes, that’s right. Though there are many conflicting studies on this, many doctors will agree one glass of red wine is good for the heart. Alcohol makes the blood less likely to clot, and those clots can clog the arteries in the heart. It also boosts your good cholesterol and helps reduce the “c-reactive protein.” This protein is  sign your arteries are inflamed. Again, let’s make this very clear. Alcohol in moderation which means one glass for the ladies, two for the men. And red wine is best. Doctors do say if you don’t already drink, do not take it up as a way to protect the heart.

Those are the top five heart healthy foods. Now, there are some bonus foods you can eat to protect your heart.  Consider putting back some blueberries, spinach, flaxseed and all those high in colour veggies.

In the coming weeks, I”ll be speaking with cardiologist Dr. Ann Gillis about women and heart disease. Stay tuned for that conversation!!

In Health News today, another warning about delaying child bearing.  The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada says waiting until over the age of 32 to have kids increases the risk of infertility, pregnancy complications and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Babies don’t learn how to talk just from listening to you. New research suggests they’re likely reading your lips! Scientists out of Florida Atlantic University say at around 6 months of age babies shift from that intense eye gaze of early infancy to studying mouths when people talk.

And, are you having trouble losing weight? Try changing your dishes. Research published in the in the journal Appetite says people who ate off of red plates ate 40 percent less food.

The countdown is on to Christmas and a lot of people are buying last minute presents, doing last minute party preparations and getting the house ready for guests.

It can be very stressful.

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‘Tis the season for new parents to show off their newborns to visiting friends and relatives. But, we just want to make sure those aunties and uncles are feeling well. That’s because not only is it the holiday season, it’s RSV season. (more…)

Tis the season for the holiday party and often a few too many cocktails. So I thought I’d do some research into hangovers and what you can do to deal with some of those annoying symptoms.

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The human being is not efficient when it comes to reproduction. Even young women only have a 10-15 percent chance of conceiving each month. So let’s be clear, 40 is not the new 30 when it comes to reproduction. By the time women hit 40, there’s only a 2-5 percent chance they’ll get pregnant each month.

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I have interviewed Dr. David Hanley, a specialist in the area of osteoporosis many times over the years. And while we always think of osteoporosis as a disease for little old ladies… in fact, it is not.  One in three women will suffer a fracture in their lives from osteoporosis, one in five men.  And yes, osteoporosis is associated with the normal aging process of the bones. But, we build our bones and the strength of our bones before we’re teenagers!

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This is another story about the amazing medical research underway in our city. University of Calgary Professor Paul Kubes has just won Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the government’s funding arm for health research. This award is one of the most prestigious in the country, giving Kubes and his team half a million dollars!

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Tis the season for germs to be floating around that will make us sick. There are a few hot spots in the house that are notorious for bad bugs.

I spoke to Microbiologist, Professor Glen Armstrong from the University of Calgary, and he says yes, there are bad bugs out there but there are also good bugs. And, we need the good bugs to help us fight off the bad bugs. Professor Armstrong also says we have these good and bad bugs living in and on us all the time… on our skin, in our mouths in our intestines.

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We don’t want to think that our children experience stress, but they do. Some experts say they experience as much stress as we do. But they will manifest stress in different ways.

So, I spoke to Ruby Lecot, Senior Director Client Services with the Canadian Mental Health Association. She says it’s up to parents to know our children and understand what’s typical of them so we can see when it’s atypical. Most commonly in children, she says, you’ll see changes in behaviour. So your child might have trouble sleeping, they might eat excessively or have a lack of appetite, they might lose interest in activities that used to make them happy and they might act out more. Children may also manifest stress with physical symptoms. They might complain of headaches, or tummy aches or their immune system may not function as well resulting in more colds or flus.

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