American Heart Month and the Benefits of Fiber

By Mary Jane Dittmar

February is American Heart Month. It is a good time to get to those things you’ve been meaning to get to relative to improving and maintaining your heart health and general well-being. Pay more attention to what and how much you eat. Don’t sit for long periods. Get up now and then to walk around. If you don’t have a regular exercise regimen, start one. Learn more about foods. “Make friends” with those that offer nutrients that fortify your body and build good health. Engage in activities that help to alleviate stress. If you smoke, see if you can kick the habit.

One tool that can help in your quest for a more healthful lifestyle is the National Volunteer Fire Council’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program (http://www.healthy-firefighter.org/).  The Council also offers assistance for those wanting to give up smoking. Visit www.healthy-firefighter.org/putitout.

Fiber. Another heart- and overall health-positive strategy is to incorporate more fiber in your diet. A study reported in a local newspaper this week had this headline: High fiber may lead to a long life: Study links diet to lower risk of death. The article explains that the link between high-fiber diets and lower risks of death apply not only to heart disease but to infectious and respiratory illnesses as well. An added benefit for men is that a government study has found a lower risk of cancer deaths in men who eat a high-fiber diet (the statistic didn’t hold for women in this particular area in this study). The fiber from grains seems to yield the greatest health benefits. As I poured cereal into the bowl this morning at breakfast, I noticed that the box “screamed”  “35 percent of your daily fiber intake” (food companies latch on to the greatest food health benefit and promote it to death; always check the label to verify that the packaging messages are true).(HERALD NEWS, Bergen County, NJ; Carla K. Johnson, the Associated Press, Feb. 12, 2011)

The daily recommendation for fiber consumption is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. More than 388,000 adults, ages 50 to 71, participated in the diet and health study conducted by the National Institutes of Health and AARP.

It’s not that difficult to increase your fiber intake. Fiber content is listed on food labels. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Eat more whole grains and legumes. Look for whole-grain bread, pasta, cereal, baked foods. Oatmeal—the “cook five-minute version,” not the instant variety, which also has more sodium—is a good choice for fiber and the heart. The packaging on some foods bear the American Heart Association logo with a checkmark, which indicates that the food has been approved as a whole-grain food and contains at least 51 percent whole grains.

 The American Heart Association Web site [(www.heart.org); search for Fiber, then click on Fiber – American Heart Association] contains information on whole-grain (higher fiber) foods, including the following:  
– Do not use the color of the food as an indicator that it contains whole grains. Molasses or other ingredients, for example, can cause bread to look brown. Read the ingredient list on the food label. For many whole-grain products, you will see the words “whole” or “whole grain” before the grain’s name in the ingredient list. The whole grain should be the first ingredient listed.
– Choose foods that contain one of the following ingredients first on the label’s ingredient list: whole wheat, graham flour, oatmeal, whole oats, brown rice, wild rice, whole-grain corn, popcorn, whole-grain barley, whole-wheat bulgur, and whole rye. These are all whole grains.
– When grocery shopping, an easy way to identify whole-grain products is to look for the American Heart Association Whole Grain heart-check mark on food labels (see above). It means the food contains 51 percent or more whole grains by weight and it is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
– Dietary fiber consists of plant components your body can’t digest. Fiber is classified as soluble or insoluble. When you eat it regularly as part of a diet low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, soluble fiber has been associated decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Oats have the highest proportion of soluble fiber of any grain. Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries, and apple pulp.
Insoluble fiber has been associated with decreased cardiovascular risk and slower progression of cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals. Dietary fiber can make you feel full, so you may eat fewer calories. Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole-wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, rye, rice, barley, most other grains; cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower; and apple skin.
– Note: Many commercial oat bran and wheat bran products (muffins, chips, waffles) contain very little bran. They also may be high in sodium, total fat, and saturated fat. Read labels carefully.

– The recommended amount of grains you should eat daily is expressed in terms of “ounce-equivalents” but is commonly referred to as “ounces” (or servings). Based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy body weight, an individual could eat six to eight servings of grains (at least half of the servings should be whole-grain foods) and eight to 10 servings (about ½ cup each) total of vegetables and fruits.  Try to get about 25 grams of fiber each day.
– Examples of one-ounce servings (= one serving) of grains include the following:
 * 1 slice whole-grain bread (such as 100% whole-wheat bread) 
 * 1 ounce ready-to-eat, whole-grain cereal (about 1 cup wheat flakes)
 * 1⁄2 cup cooked whole-grain cereal, brown rice, or whole-wheat pasta
 * 5 whole-grain crackers
 * 3 cups popped popcorn (make sure it is free of saturated and trans fats)

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FDA advises women on breast implants; “very small but increased risk of cancer.” If a member of your family or a friend has breast implants or is contemplating undergoing the procedure, refer her to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Consumer Advisory “FDA Advises Women with Breast Implants.” http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm240985.htm. The FDA conducted “an intensive review of known cases of a rare form of cancer in breast implant recipients” and says “women with implants may have a very small, but increased risk of developing anaplastic large cell lymphoma.” The FDA is recommending that women with implants monitor the area around saline and silicone gel-filled implants. In the cases reported, the cancer was typically diagnosed years after the implant surgery; in most of these cases, the women observed changes in the look or feel of the areas surrounding the implant. The FDA will provide updates as new information becomes available. More information on the topic is available also by calling (1-800) 638-2041. The article appears on the FDA’s Consumer Updates page: /ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/default.htm.

Warning: JANTOVEN® Warfarin Sodium, USP, 3mg Tablets. This is for the information of those who may be taking this medication (commonly referred to as a blood thinner). Lot #284081 of this anticoagulant is voluntarily being recalled as a precautionary measure. A single bottle labeled as Jantoven® Warfarin Sodium, USP, 3mg Tablets was found to contain tablets at 10mg strength before it was dispensed. To date, the company has identified no additional mislabeled bottles. This dosage would represent more than a triple overdose and “could be expected to result in life-threatening hemorrhage,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The 3mg tablet is tan, and the 10mg tablet is white. Additional information can be obtained from Upsher-Smith Laboratories at (1-888) 650-3789.

It is always a safe practice to check your medications when you have them refilled. Verify that the color, size, quality, and dosage are correct. If the pharmacist substitutes a generic version of a brand medication, you should be advised of this.