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Three Daily Servings of Dairy May Help Reduce Your Risk of Stroke

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servings of dairy

Many people have recently adapted to diets low in dairy. However, if you’ve been taking this approach to dieting, you may want to rethink your nutrition. A recent study found a link between the consumption of whole-fat dairy and cardio health. More specifically, researchers are suggesting at least three daily servings of dairy may help reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke.

Previous Health Recommendations

Previously both the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Heart Association recommended that adults not exceed three servings of low-fat dairy each day. Both agencies believed the high levels of saturated fat found in dairy may raise bad cholesterol in your body.

The new research may challenge those guidelines because now researchers have evidence that fatty acids found in whole-fat dairy may help protect against heart disease and stroke.

The Latest Dairy Study

The latest study took a look at the dietary habits of 136,384 people across 21 countries and five continents over nine years. What they found was that the consumption of whole-fat dairy has a correlation with an overall lower risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.

Lead author of the study, Dr. Mahshid Dehghan, and his colleagues collected self-reported data via food questionnaires. Individuals surveyed were between the ages of 35 and 70 and consumed milk, yogurt, and cheese regularly. For the study, a portion of dairy was considered to be a glass of milk, a cup of yogurt, a 15-gram slice of cheese, or a 5-gram teaspoon of butter.

The team of researchers divided the study participants into four groups. The groups consisted of those who consumed no dairy, individuals who only consumed one serving of dairy each day, those who ate two servings of dairy a day, and people who consumed more than two daily servings.

What they found was that people with a higher dairy intake had lower mortality rates overall. They were also found less likely to die of cardiovascular disease or develop major heart disease. Individuals who consumed more dairy were also found to be less likely to have a stroke.

Full Fat vs. Low Fat Dairy

Furthermore, individuals who consumed full-fat dairy only had an even lower risk of mortality and cardiovascular health issues. This suggests that some saturated fats found in full-fat dairy products could be beneficial for cardiovascular health.

Should the Recommended Daily Servings of Dairy Change?

Previous studies with similar findings have suggested the guidelines need to be revised, especially to benefit individuals in lower-income countries.

“Our findings support that consumption of dairy products might be beneficial for mortality and cardiovascular disease, especially in low-income and middle-income countries where dairy consumption is much lower than in North America or Europe,” said Dr. Dehghan.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean we need to change the guideline across the board or load up on cheese right now. Jimmy Chun Yu Louie, at the University of Hong Kong, and Anna M. Rangan, at the University of Sydney in Australia, don’t think we should be so quick with the eraser.

“The results from the study seem to suggest that dairy intake, especially whole-fat dairy, might be beneficial for preventing deaths and major cardiovascular diseases,” they wrote. “However, as the authors themselves concluded, the results only suggest the ‘consumption of dairy products should not be discouraged and perhaps even be encouraged in low-income and middle-income countries.'”

Overall, this study simply suggests we not discourage eating or drinking dairy products. By no means, it is a doctor’s approval or recommendation that whole-fat dairy is healthier than low-fat products. Keep in mind, this is just a study that provides evidence that may be worthy of consideration.

Readers, how many servings of dairy do you eat a day? 

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More Than 1 in 10 Taking Aspirin for Their Heart Are Inappropriately Doing So

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study: 11% of patients taking aspirin for their heart shouldn't be
Many people have heard of the regimen of taking a daily low-dose aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to help ward off heart attacks, and for certain people, it’s a routine which has the potential to save their life. On the other hand, a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests that more than one out of every ten people taking a low-dose aspirin regimen is actually doing more harm than good to themselves. Another study last year from Japan indicated aspirin didn’t help older people avoid their first heart attack, but it might be beneficial in preventing some cancers.

According to the study, nearly 8,000 patients (7,972) of 68,808 patients being treated by cardiologists across the US, or 11.6%, were taking aspirin even though they had a low risk of having a stroke or heart attack over the next ten years. While some may say “better safe than sorry,” the problem is a daily aspirin can cause other health complications. Aspirin thins a person’s blood, which can cause excessive bleeding and even an hemorrhagic stroke. For this reason, it’s only recommended for people who have a significant chance of a blood clot related issue.

The study didn’t look at people who had already experienced a stroke or heart attack, but those who were attempting to prevent the first one from happening. They did this by using date in the American College of Cardiology’s PINNACLE registry.

Women were far more likely to be misusing aspirin than men. The study found only 5.3% of men were taking aspirin when it shouldn’t have been recommended, while 16.6% of women fell into this category. The study also found those who were incorrectly taking the aspirin were much younger than those who were properly taking it. Those who properly taking the aspirin averaged 65.9 years in age, while those who weren’t were an average of 49.9 years in age.

The number of patients not using aspirin correctly varied widely from cardiology practice to practice, In the worst case, 72% of patients were taking aspirin when the risk factors didn’t warrant it. On the other hand, there were also practices where 100% of patients were correctly taking aspirin in conjunction with their risk factors.

The study found only a slight regional difference in the percentages of patients incorrectly taking the daily pills, therefore concluding geography played no part in why patients weren’t taking it properly. 10.6% of those living in the West were taking aspirin inappropriately, while 11.3% of those in the South, 11.4% of those in the Northwest and 12.2% of those in the Midwest also did the same.

The big question the study fails to answer is why patients aren’t properly taking aspirin. The study isn’t able to ascertain whether the cardiologists are giving patients inappropriate directions to take the aspirin, or if the patients have taken it upon themselves to take the aspirin without consulting their cardiologist. Aspirin can be purchased over-the-counter, so there is nothing stopping patients from getting it on their own.

What the study does seem to imply is there should be better communication between doctors and patients when it comes to a low-dose aspirin regimen. Cardiologists need to make sure the patients they prescribe aspirin to will benefit from it, and even if they don’t prescribe it, they need to let patients know why they shouldn’t take it on their own.

(Photo courtesy of Keith Ivey)

New Cholesterol Drug Could Cut Strokes and Heart Attacks in Half

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Study: a new cholesterol drug can cut heart attacks and strokes in half
Good news has come to light for patients in the battle against cholesterol. An experimental trial by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has proven to cut the number of heart attacks and strokes almost in half. The clinical trial was analysed retrospectively, which means the results are not yet conclusive, but it’s still huge news for millions of patients that suffer from cardio-vascular risk — a disease directly linked to high cholesterol.

The injectable drug is called alirocumab. It targets a protein called PCSK9 and lowers LDL, which can simply be described as the bad cholesterol in our bodies.

Amgen and Pfizer are developing similar drugs which may be on the market as early as next year, netting the companies millions in profit if approved with patients lining up to lower their chances of heart disease. The study has been named Odyssey Long Term, and it’s still underway with 2,341 patients participating.

There will be a requirement for a larger clinical trial to determine efficacy, but Regeneron is reporting consistent results of LDL reduction in the nine large studies it has done this year. The research came to light back in July, but it was only presented on Sunday in Barcelona at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology. Thos participating in the study were less likely to develop serious cardiovascular issues, including heart attacks, cardiac arrest, stroke and chest pain which required hospitalization.

Researchers are understandably optimistic about the trial findings thus far. “To have this result emerge so quickly in this study is very encouraging,” said Jennifer Robinson, the study leader and a cardiologist at the University of Iowa. But the president of the American College of Cardiology, Dr Patrick T. O’Gara, has commented that although the results are “biologically plausible” it’s important to exercise caution due to the retrospective nature of the findings.

The best treatment for cholesterol at present is statin treatment, which is pill based. Should alirocumab be approved, it could be combined with this treatment as a bi-monthly injection for maximum effect. Alirocumab will be especially attractive to those who can’t take statins because they either don’t work properly, or they have negative side effects.

Big pharmaceutical companies will be working hard over the next year to get the drug approved and to market. And with cardiologists calling it “the best news we’ve had for cholesterol management for a decade,” patients can certainly be hopeful.

(Photo courtesy of Okko Pyykko)

50% of Americans Have a Chronic Disease: CDC Reveals the Cost of Unhealthy Living

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CDC: 50% of Americans have a chronic disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concluded chronic diseases and conditions are among the most common, and preventable, of all health problems. As of 2012, these diseases, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and arthritis affect about half of all adults living in the United States. It gets worse. A quarter of adults in the US have two or more of these chronic diseases. Obesity affects more than 33% of American adults, and 20% of American adolescents. Arthritis is the most common cause for disability, and diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure. These statistics are staggering, especially since there are many ways to prevent them from happening.

Many adults in the US admit to bad habits which lead to these chronic diseases. Not getting enough aerobic exercise or physical activity was common in over half of adults surveyed. The fruits and veggies your mom always told you to eat were reported to be consumed less than once a day in 30% of adults. Consuming too much sodium increases the risk of high blood pressure, and is eaten in large quantities by 90% of Americans. About half of American adults also have at least one of the following: uncontrolled high blood pressure, uncontrolled high LDL cholesterol, or are current smokers. All of these are a major risk factors for heart disease or increased chance of a stroke.

Smoking is also linked to more than 480,000 deaths a year, yet smoking is a daily occurrence for more than 42 million adults. Not only is it common in adults, but more than 3,200 children under the age of 18 smoke for the first time every day, and 2,100 youth and young adults become daily smokers as well.

Smoking isn’t entirely to blame for these deaths, as more than 88,000 deaths a year are caused by drinking too much alcohol. Binge drinking, the leading cause of these alcohol-related deaths, is common for the average American adult at least four times a month, with about 8 drinks per binge.

These highly preventable diseases not only cost lives, but there is a financial cost of billions in spending:

  • 84% of health care spending was for the 50% of the population with chronic diseases. That results in over $1.8 trillion spent for mostly preventable diseases (2006)
  • Heart disease cost an estimated $315.4 billion, and $193.4 billion of that was used only for direct medical costs (2010)
  • Cancer weighed in at $157 billion a year (2010)
  • The total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes was $245 billion, with $176 billion in direct medical costs (2012)
  • Nearly $81 billion was spent for direct medical cost for arthritis, where $128 was spent in total (2003)
  • Obesity’s medical costs were estimated to be $147 billion (2008)
  • $289 billion a year is the economic cost due to smoking (2008)
  • $223.5 billion of economic costs comes from excessive drinking (2006)

Unhealthy living is both costly to your wallet and your life.

(Photo courtesy of Tony Alter)

Strokefinder Cap is One Time You Want Your Brain to Be Microwaved

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StrokeFinder is a helmet made of microwave sensors to detect stoke cause
For anyone having a stroke, time is of the utmost importance. During a stroke, brain cells die at an alarming rate, and the quicker a patient can get diagnosed and receive proper treatment, the better chance they have of avoiding permanent brain damage. The problem is that before a doctor can prescribe the correct treatment for a stroke, he must first determine the cause of the stroke.

The majority of strokes are caused by a blood clot in the brain which cuts off blood flow. The recommended treatment for this type of stroke is to quickly use drugs (within 90 minutes) which help to clear the blood clot. This, however, is not the only way a stroke can occur. In about one in five cases, the stroke is caused not by a blood clot, but by a burst blood vessel. In these cases, if the medication to treat the blood clot were to be administered, it would cause catastrophic bleeding in the patient, which would likely result in death. This is why it’s so important for the doctors to quickly determine the correct cause of the stroke.

Currently the only way to determine what type of stroke has taken place is to use a CT scan. While there are a few of these devices which are carried by ambulances, they are extremely expensive, and it’s not practical for every ambulance to be equipped with one. That means the patient needs to be taken to a hospital, and given a CT scan which can waste a lot of precious time in determining the cause of the stroke. There’s a new device being developed in Sweden which may one day change how quickly a stroke diagnosis can be made.

The new device, which currently is only a prototype and has been nicknamed the “StrokeFinder” by researchers, has 12 antennas arranged around the head in the shape of a helmet. One at a time, each of the antennas sends a low-powered microwave signal through the persons skull while the other 11 antennas analyze changes which have occurred as the signal has passed through the patient’s brain. By looking at the microwave patterns, the device is able to detect bleeding in the brain. The best part is the device is portable and only takes a few seconds to work.

The microwave helmet isn’t perfect, but it shows a lot of promise. The first pair of clinical trials tested 45 stroke patients, and the results from the stroke finder were compared with CT scans. The findings from these trials were published online by IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

The trials showed the device was able to correctly identify all 19 patients out of the 45 who were suffering from cranial bleeding. While this was wonderful news, the device also gave a number of false-positives. The stroke finder indicated five patients who were suffering from blood clots might have cranial bleeding. The researchers plan to work on the algorithms to decrease the number of false-positive detections in future trials. The first trials with the device being used in ambulances are planned for this fall.

(Photo courtesy of Gunilla Brocker)