Worksite Wellness/Health Economics
Bird Flu Update
Bird flu continues to spread to new countries each month. Cases have now been found in France, Germany, and Italy, as well as more countries in Africa. The first fatal case in Africa in humans has now occurred.
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Research Highlights
Alcohol Awareness
April 7 is "National Alcohol Free Weekend." Consider the following facts taken from the CDC General Alcohol Information site (see the Health Links section) about the potential health hazards of alcohol and general U.S. statistics. Be informed.
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Cocoa Intake and Cardiovascular Health
Cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, has been in the health news frequently. Cocoa is high in flavonoids, an antioxidant that appears to be protective to the cardiovascular system. A new study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine shows that a higher intake of cocoa is associated with lower rates of cardiovascular mortality and more.
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Coffee Intake and Risk of a Heart Attack
Coffee is a major source of caffeine and has often been linked to a variety of health problems such as irritability, anxiety, impaired sleep, heart arrhythmias, and occasionally with risk of a heart attack, although other studies have not indicated an increased heart risk. Thus coffee's effect on heart health has been controversial.
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Optimism and Cardiovascular Health
An optimistic outlook on life is a strong predictor of emotional and physical well-being. A new study reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine illustrates the positive benefit of a hopeful attitude on cardiovascular health.
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Diet and Breast Cancer
Research has found little effect of diet on breast cancer other than excess calories that contribute toward obesity. However, a report from the Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project did find some foods linked to a decreased risk of breast cancer, namely legumes (peas, beans, lentils, garbanzos, and soy), cabbage, and a low intake of mayonnaise and salad dressing.
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Vitamin D and Fall Prevention
The benefits of getting adequate vitamin D daily continue to grow. Past research has shown vitamin D to be helpful in preventing certain cancers, such as colorectal cancer, in helping build strong bones and preventing hip and other osteoporotic fractures, and to help maintain a healthy immune system. New research also finds that vitamin D helps prevent falls in older women.
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Quick Facts
Vegetable Protein and Blood Pressure
In a large 4-country study (4,680 persons), people who ate the most vegetable protein had lower blood pressures than those with a higher animal protein diet after adjusting for possible confounders such as weight. This finding is consistent with the recommendations that a diet high in plant-based foods be part of healthy lifestyle for prevention of high blood pressure and related diseases.
Reference: Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:79-87. Jan. 9, 2006.
Foods Likely to Cause Weight Gain
What foods are most closely associated with weight gain? That's a practical question in our current overweight society. 7,194 men and women ages 41 and older were studied to see what foods were linked to weight gain. After 28 months of follow-up here is what they found: The best predictor of weight gain was intake of soda pop. Persons drinking the most soda (top 20%) were 60% more likely to gain a significant amount of weight during the study compared to those who seldom drank soda pop. Other foods positively linked to weight gain were hamburgers, pizza, sausage, red meat, and sweetened fruit juices. This shouldn't come as a surprise, but it certainly explains why Americans are gaining excess weight, as these are favorite American foods.
Reference: Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;83:362-70-90. Feb. 2006.
Acupuncture and Back Pain: Is it Effective?
A large clinical trial investigated this question. 298 patients with chronic back pain were randomly assigned to acupuncture by a well-trained acupuncture practitioner or to a "minimal acupuncture" (or sham) procedure consisting of superficial needling at non-acupuncture points. Patients believed they all received normal acupuncture. Another group were assigned to wait for the next trial. They were controls with no treatment. They all rated their back pain outcomes at 8, 26, and 52 weeks. Those receiving regular acupuncture and the "minimal acupuncture" both had significant decreases in back pain compared to those on the "waiting list" who received no treatment. There was no difference, however, between regular acupuncture and the superficial needling at non-acupuncture sites. This study shows again that if you believe in a treatment enough, you always show improvement, even if nothing of physiological benefit is done. Hope is a powerful medicine (see article on optimism in this newsletter).
Reference:
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:450-457. Feb. 27, 2006.
All Quick Facts...
Health Links
These guidelines for helping children prevent dental decay and build healthy teeth are excellent guidelines for everyone.
Want to know more about vitamin D? Here is an excellent summary prepared by NIH.
World Health Day is celebrated April 7 this year. Visit the World Health Organization's World Health Day site for a perspective on health needs worldwide. Also check out their World Health Report.
April 7-9 is nationally set aside as "Alcohol Free Weekend." Check out the CDC General Alcohol Information website for enlightening information about alcohol and health.
April is Cancer Awareness Month. Learn what you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. Visit these reliable sites on cancer awareness and prevention:
Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation
CDC - Cancer Prevention and Control
Harvard's Cancer Risk Profile - Find out your cancer risk and how to lower it.
American Cancer Society - Prevention and Early Detection
American Institute for Cancer Research - This site features nutrition and cancer prevention.
Healthy Recipes
Think “C” for this month’s recipes: cabbage, cocoa, and chickpeas—though ceci beans and garbanzos are the same legume with different names.
Cabbage
Does your grocery’s produce section have one-pound bags of shredded cabbage? The small package is a lifesaver for working gals. It’s instant salad—simply pour shredded cabbage into a bowl, add a favorite dressing, mix, and serve. For piquancy, add extra lemon juice. For a more elegant salad and robust taste, add pineapple tidbits and a bit of brown sugar. Try shredded cabbage instead of lettuce in a pocket bread “sandwich”, or add shredded cabbage to vegetable soup.
Cocoa
The “recipe” idea is to add cocoa powder, as appropriate, to products that call for chocolate. For example, when making hot cocoa, add an equal amount of additional cocoa powder to a little milk, bring to a boil for a minute or so, then add the remainder of the milk for a drink rich in chocolate flavor and less sweet. The goal is flavor—and increased flavonols. Cocoa powder is nearly 30% fiber, a carbohydrate, so cooking releases flavors. Dark chocolate, unsweetened, and semi-sweet chocolate are up to 75% cocoa—the last 2 with no or little added sugar. Milk chocolate has about 1/2 as much cocoa.
The Cadbury website says chocolate was a drink until the 1600s. Maya Indians drank a bitter, frothy “chocolatl” made from roasted cocoa beans, water, and a little spice. The Aztecs consumed chocolate in large quantities as a drink “described as ‘finely ground, soft, foamy, reddish, bitter with chili water, aromatic flowers, vanilla and wild bee honey.’” The drink is mentioned as being bitter, so it must not have been sweetened much. The cacao bean and its bran contain the most flavonols, a type of antioxidant. The chocolate, not the cocoa, has the fat—36% is monounsaturated (like olive oil), and 4% is polyunsaturated. The triglycerides (fats) in chocolate protect the flavonols in cocoa from breaking down due to oxidation. Of course fats mean “calories”—healthy in moderation.
Chickpeas
Try 2 five-star rated chick pea recipes from VegWeb.com:
MMMMM Chickpeas is good in pocket bread.
Moroccan Chickpea Salad with Cumin and Garlic is a quick and flavorful salad—go easy on the spices at first.
For a more “American” flavor, try the Ceci Bean Salad from the YankeeMagazine.com site.
None of the bean recipes is an ordinary chickpea/garbanzo dish, but all legumes are nature’s richest source of fiber and plant proteins, and are high in vitamins, minerals, and other phytochemicals. For the recipes above, use black olives out of a can if you have no others. Lemon juice is an alternative to vinegar, though it changes the flavor. Garam masala is a hot blend of herbs and spices of India that varies by region and personal taste. It often includes cardamom, cloves, mace, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, peppercorns, and fenugreek. Make your own bright blend or look for garam masala in the international section of a large grocery store or in an Indian or South Asian store.
Reference:
Carol Marlow, MPH, MS, wrote this based on topics in this Newsletter.
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What's Next at Wellsource?
Successful Health Management SystemsT Seminar
The Successful Health Management SystemsT Seminar by Wellsource, Inc. will teach health professionals and others how to develop and market wellness programs or improve an existing program. The next seminar will be held May 8-9, 2006 at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The seminar provides professionals in the healthcare and wellness industry with the opportunity to network with peers and share successes and challenges. The learning experience is facilitated with interactive workshops that encourage participation.
Program schedule and registration form
For further information on the Wellness Marketing Seminars, call a Director of Business Development at 1-800-533-9355, or email mailto:well@wellsource.com.
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