Archive for the ‘Recent Health News’ Category
As sodium is the new “hot button” in the health and food arena today, you – and your hospital’s patients – are likely well aware that eating a lower sodium diet can be one of the most important lifestyle changes to help manage hypertension.
Yet a recent survey shows that only one-third of people with hypertension actually follow the guidelines of eating less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium daily (that works out to be about 1 teaspoon of table salt). Even more surprising — most of the study participants were eating more than 2,600 milligrams … while thinking they were reducing the amount of sodium in their diet by not adding extra salt to their food. This is an opportunity for hospitals to reach out to the community and offer valuable advice and information, “localizing” a national awareness effort that we’ll all be hearing plenty about in the weeks and months to come.
What’s the message?
Nutrition experts warn that simply leaving the salt shaker off the table is not enough because 70% of the sodium in the American diet comes from processed foods such as hot dogs, sausage, bacon, lunchmeat, frozen dinners/pizza, fast food, canned soups and salad dressings.
You can shake the hidden sodium out of your daily diet by making small changes:
• Look for low-sodium options of your favorite foods like canned soups and frozen meals.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables at every meal – they’re naturally low in sodium.
• Make your own salad dressings and pizzas so you can control the ingredients.
• Challenge yourself to pack lunch/make dinner one more day a week vs. visiting the fast food drive-thru.
American Heart Association’s 10th Scientific Forum on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research in Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke in Washington, D.C.
This blog entry was written for Balance Health Communications by Guest blogger – Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD of Teaspoon Communications.
Teaspoon Communications is a food-first nutrition communication group, founded by three registered dietitians. Teaspoon nutritionists consult with a variety of health and food organizations, specializing in nutrition message development with a culinary twist. Visit www.teaspooncomm.com for services, spicy stories and more!
The Mammography Debate….
There isn’t a woman I know who hasn’t raised eyebrows – voices, some of us – at the advice given a few weeks ago that women don’t need to begin having annual mammograms till after they turn 50. For one thing, most of us have known women far younger than 50 who have died of breast cancer … and we’d do just about anything to reduce the odds this could happen to us or another woman we care about. It all got even more confusing when media outlets began to publish stories advising women not to do breast self-exams … too anxiety-provoking, it was said. All this will lead to more testing, radiation exposure and unnecessary procedures, due to false positive results … not to mention misplaced confidence in a negative mammogram that fails to detect cancer that is, in fact, already growing.
Okay … and we’re not going to be anxious about doing nothing?
I’m in the business of disseminating health information – I edit several online health letters and also create educational consumer content for healthcare organizations – and I am confused about what I should do.
I appreciated this clear and direct advice on what doctors and healthcare providers can say when women ask for guidance. It puts into context what women really want to know: should I get a mammogram? I will, I know that.
