Keep Your Heart Healthy

Submitted by Amy Sercel MS RD CD

Edited By Marcia Bristow MS RDN CSSD CD

February is National Heart Health Month!  During this month every year, we are reminded to take care of our hearts and take steps to prevent heart disease.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death for Americans, but it is considered a “silent killer” because people often aren’t aware they have it until it starts to cause serious problems.¹ For this reason, it’s really important to have regular visits with your doctor where you get your blood pressure, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels checked.  At the same time, maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, and following a heart-healthy diet are valuable ways to slow or prevent heart disease from developing in the first place.

A heart-healthy diet is full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish, legumes, vegetable oil, and nuts, and lower in sweets, sugar-sweetened beverages, processed red meats, and sodium.  If you’d like a more specific meal plan, both the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet have been shown to reduce the risk for heart disease.² You can also modify your current diet to incorporate some heart-healthy elements; the first step could be to eat more fruits and vegetables.  Studies have shown that eating more than five servings of fruits and vegetables every day improves blood pressure and the health of your small blood vessels, and eating more than seven servings of fruits and vegetables each day can reduce your risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 31%.³ One possible explanation for this is the high fiber content in fruits and vegetables.  Fiber can keep you full for longer so you won’t be tempted to snack later in the day, make you absorb sugar more slowly so your blood sugar stays even, and reduce the amount of cholesterol you absorb from food.  Vegetables seem to have a stronger impact on heart disease risk than fruits,³ so consider adding an extra serving of vegetables to your lunches and dinners.

It is also important to limit the amount of saturate fat you eat, and choose unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats whenever possible.  Unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and are found in vegetable oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, and avocados.  Saturated fats are solid at room temperature and are found in full-fat dairy, red meat, animal fat, and coconut oil.⁴ Reduce the amount of saturated fat you eat by choosing lean meat, vegetable oil, and low-fat dairy instead.  Low-fat dairy in particular has been shown to help reduce blood pressure, possibly because it contains a lot of potassium and calcium.³

In addition to modifying your diet, the American Heart Association recommends at least 2½ hours per week of moderate-intensity physical activity, or 1¼ hours per week of vigorous activity to reduce your risk for heart disease.² Studies have shown that active people are about 30-35% less likely to develop heart disease than inactive people.  Among active people, spending less time sitting every day further lowers your risk for heart disease. Among inactive people, even small amounts of activity can help you reduce your risk for heart disease – there is no “minimum threshold” where activity becomes helpful.  In general, though, the more active you are, the lower your risk of heart disease gets.⁵ 

The American Heart Association says the entire population would benefit from eating a heart-healthy diet and engaging in regular physical activity.² In addition to protecting you against heart disease, following these recommendations can help you maintain a healthy weight, lower your risk for Type 2 Diabetes, and keep you healthy as you age.  It is never too soon to start working to prevent heart disease.  This National Heart Health Month, make one change that will benefit you for a lifetime!

References:

1.         The Heart Foundation. http://www.theheartfoundation.org/heart-disease-facts/heart-awareness-month/. Accessed February 21, 2017.

2.         Millen BE, Wolongevicz DM, Jesus JM de, Nonas CA, Lichtenstein AH. 2013 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Guideline on Lifestyle Management to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk: Practice Opportunities for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2014;114(11):1723-1729. doi:10.1016/j.jand.2014.07.037.

3.         Berciano S, Ordovás JM, Berciano S, Ordovás JM. Nutrition and Cardiovascular Health. Rev Esp Cardiol. 2014;67(9):738-747. doi:10.1016/j.rec.2014.05.003.

4.         Saturated fat, regardless of type, linked with increased heart disease risk. The Nutrition Source. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2016/12/19/saturated-fat-regardless-of-type-found-linked-with-increased-heart-disease-risk/. Published December 19, 2016. Accessed February 21, 2017.

5.         Shiroma EJ, Lee I-M. Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health. Circulation. 2010;122(7):743-752. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.914721.

Nutrition for Peak Performance

 

Submitted by Amy Sercel MS RD CD

Edited by Marcia Bristow MS RDN CSSD CD

Between the Australian Open, the Super Bowl, and the World Alpine Ski Championships, there are a lot of major winter sports competitions.  While the physical demands of these sports vary quite a bit, the athletes that play them all have something in common: their careers depend on their athletic performance, making it even more important for them to properly fuel up to achieve their maximum potential.

It’s crucial for an athlete to be well nourished going into an event.  The nutritionist for the Atlanta Falcons stresses that an athlete can’t correct a “low-energy and/or poorly hydrated state” right before a game, so instead the athlete needs to focus on meeting his or her calorie, protein, and carbohydrate needs every day.¹

Within these guidelines, there are many ways to create a nutritious diet.  For example, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says he largely avoids any white flour or sugar, instead focusing on whole grains and consuming a plant-based diet where vegetables make up around 80% of his meals.  On the other hand, his rival Matt Ryan of the Falcons eats a variety of fruits and vegetables, striving to make his plate as colorful as possible, while still enjoying the occasional slice of cake.  Like Brady, the fat in Ryan’s diet primarily comes from vegetable sources.² Each quarterback has a unique eating plan that meets his energy, carbohydrate, and protein needs and provides some healthy fat.

No matter what the sport, athletes depend on carbohydrates stored as muscle glycogen for energy while they’re in a competition.  If an athlete doesn’t eat enough carbohydrates throughout each day, he or she will fatigue more quickly and not perform as well during a competition.^3,4 Before an event, a meal should be high in carbohydrates such as pasta, rice, bread, and fruit, contain a good source of lean protein, and be lower in fiber and fat to promote easy digestion.^1,4

During an event, it’s important to keep muscle glycogen stores high and maintain blood sugar levels in the normal range.  The nutritionist for the Falcons suggests that his athletes eat every 3 hours so they never get hungry.² Blood sugar can drop within 30 minutes of vigorous activity, leading to difficulty concentrating and decreased neurological function.  To combat this during events, athletes eat fast-digesting sources of carbs, such as sports drinks that also help with hydration.¹ Athletes usually avoid high-fat and high-fiber foods during prolonged exercise, as these are digested more slowly and may sit in the stomach and slow the athlete down.

After exercise, an athlete should strive to replenish muscle glycogen as soon as possible so his or her stores will be full for the next competition.  Within 90 minutes, the athlete should eat about 1 gram of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight.  Consuming protein right away will also help keep muscle glycogen stores high and aid in muscle repair.⁴ The New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons will usually be seen eating a recovery snack on the field immediately after a game.¹ These recovery foods ensure that the athlete will be properly fueled and will achieve peak performance at every competition and practice!

References:

1.         Atlanta Falcons’ Team Nutritionist Dr Dan Benardot On Super Bowl Nutrition. http://www.cleanplates.com/know/people-places-know/atlanta-falcons-head-nutritionist-reveals-game-day-secrets/?utm_source=My+Sports+Dietitian+Connect&utm_campaign=4be72f173d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_02_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c3aed6e419-4be72f173d-128820021. Accessed February 10, 2017.

2.         Doheny K. Dueling Quarterback Diets: Matt Ryan vs. Tom Brady. WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20170201/dueling-quarterback-diets-matt-ryan-vs-tom-brady. Accessed February 10, 2017.

3.         Baranauskas M, Stukas R, Tubelis L, et al. Nutritional habits among high-performance endurance athletes. Medicina (Mex). 2015;51(6):351-362. doi:10.1016/j.medici.2015.11.004.

4.         Klossner D. Nutrition and Performance Resources. NCAA.org - The Official Site of the NCAA. http://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/nutrition-and-performance/nutrition-and-performance-resources. Published November 22, 2013. Accessed February 10, 2017.

Flex Your Self Control

Submitted by Amy Sercel MS RD CD

Edited By Marcia Bristow MS RDN CSSD CD

Whether you realize it or not, you exercise self control throughout the most of the day, every day.  You use willpower to get up in the morning when you’d rather sleep in, to act cheery at times when you might not feel very friendly, or to motivate yourself to work out.  You also use willpower to make over 200 food choices every day, especially when you’re deciding between a less-healthy but quick snack and something that will take longer to prepare but might be lower in calories.² It just happens that you might not have an unlimited supply of willpower.  When you use it repeatedly, you might not have any left over to make a healthy choice later on.

Researchers believe that willpower is like a muscle – early on, you can use it easily, but after repeated use you’ll experience something called “willpower depletion” where your willpower runs out and it’s harder to resist temptations.^2–4 When this happens, your desires feel more intense than usual and it can be more difficult to stop or hide your natural response to a stimulus.⁴ For example, if you spend all day using willpower to keep yourself on track at work, by the time you go to the grocery store you may crave a chocolate bar more strongly than usual, and you will find it more difficult to stop yourself from buying it.  Willpower depletion isn’t related to physical fatigue, but you do tend to have more willpower earlier in the day, and willpower depletion will occur more slowly if you're in a good mood.³ In several studies, people who were put into a good mood through receiving a gift or through watching a pleasant film showed more willpower when faced with a complicated task than the people whose moods were neutral or unhappy.  It’s apparent that being in a good mood will help you maintain willpower over a longer period of time, but it’s not clear whether the good mood actually replenishes willpower, or whether it just gives you the extra energy you need to exert willpower even when your willpower reserves are low.⁵

Lots of studies have looked at the impact of willpower depletion on food choices.  In one study, people were brought into a room with a bowl of radishes and a plate of cookies on a table and asked to solve a puzzle.  Some people were offered the radishes, and others were offered the cookies.  When people were offered the cookies, they worked on the puzzle for about 19 minutes.  On the other hand, the people who were offered radishes and therefore had to use willpower to stop themselves from eating the cookies gave up on the puzzle after about 8 minutes.  In another study, people who were told to hide their emotions while watching a sad movie ate about twice as much ice cream as the people who were not trying to restrict their emotional response.³

Does this mean that we’re all doomed to make poor decisions after we’ve been using self-control to get through our day-to-day responsibilities?  Not necessarily.  For starters, people who are strongly motivated by an internal goal or an external reward are able to resist willpower depletion.^2,3 This suggests that setting a meaningful health-related goal that you are driven to achieve will make it easier to stick to your original plan when you’re faced with a tempting, less healthy, alternative.

Lastly, your environment plays a huge role in your choices, even when your self-control is running low.  In one study, people who had their willpower depleted still made nutritious food choices when they believed the nutritious option was more popular than the calorie-dense option.⁶ For this reason, going grocery shopping with someone who is strongly motivated to choose nutritious foods may influence you to make similar choices.  Making your health-related choices earlier in the day when you have the most willpower, instead of in the evening after you’ve been using a lot of willpower, may also help you keep on track with your goals.⁴ Finally, keep a bowl of fruit out in your kitchen or office, and rearrange your cabinets so the less healthy items are at the back, so you will need less willpower to make a healthy choice.

References:

1.         Image Source: Brain Science Secrets to Increasing Leadership Willpower. Empower Bus. May 2014. http://www.empoweredbusiness.com/brain-science-secrets-to-increasing-leadership-willpower/. Accessed February 1, 2017.

2.         Salmon SJ, Adriaanse MA, Fennis BM, De Vet E, De Ridder DTD. Depletion sensitivity predicts unhealthy snack purchases. Appetite. 2016;96:25-31. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2015.08.027.

3.         Weir K. What You Need to Know about Willpower: The Psychological Science of Self-Control. The American Psychological Association; 2012. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/willpower.aspx. Accessed January 26, 2017.

4.         Baumeister RF. Self-regulation, ego depletion, and inhibition. Neuropsychologia. 2014;65:313-319. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.08.012.

5.         Tice DM, Baumeister RF, Shmueli D, Muraven M. Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2007;43(3):379-384. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.05.007.

6.         Salmon SJ, Fennis BM, D T, Adriaanse MA, de Vet E. Health on impulse: When low self-control promotes healthy food choices. Health Psychol. 2014;33(2):103-109. doi:10.1037/a0031785.