Easy Ways to Fight Allergies

"Itching, sneezing, sore or irritated eyes, and a runny nose – these are all common symptoms of hay fever and other allergies. Take anti-allergy medication or try one of the natural antihistamines suggested below. You’ll also want to
tackle pollen, dust mites in the home, pet dander and other
microscopic menaces that send your immune system into
overdrive."

What’s wrong?
Allergic symptoms are signs that the immune system is overreacting to normally harmless substances such as pollen (which causes hay fever), dust, pet dander (tiny flakes of dried saliva, skin and hair from pets) or mould. Usually, the immune system ignores these ‘triggers’ and focuses on protecting you from real threats, such as viruses or bacteria.

But when someone has an allergy, the immune system cannot distinguish some harmless substances from dangerous ones. Triggers can be ingested (such as wheat and peanuts), absorbed through the skin (such as plants or base metals), inhaled (such as mould or pollen) or received by injection (such as a penicillin jab). Sensitivity to allergens tends to be inherited.

Nature’s antihistamines
• Nettle contains a substance that works as a natural antihistamine. Capsules of the freeze-dried leaf are available from most health food shops and some supermarkets. Take the capsules according to manufacturer’s instructions.

• Ginkgo biloba has become renowned for its memory-boosting properties, but it can also be an effective allergy fighter. Ginkgo contains substances called ginkgolides, which can halt the activity of certain allergy-triggering chemicals (platelet activating factor, or PAF). Choose a supplement that is standardised for content of ginkgo flavones (the active ingredient) and take according to manufacturer’s instructions.

• Quercetin, the pigment that gives grapes their purple hue and puts the green in green tea, also inhibits the release of histamine. Take according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Caution Do not take this if you are already taking nettle capsules, as nettle contains quercetin.)

• Eyebright is an astringent herb that helps to strengthen mucous membranes and relieve irritability and inflammation, and plantain is rich in a soothing substance called mucilage, which helps soothe sore, dry eyes and relieve sneezing. They can be taken together as a tea or a qualified herbalist can make up a tincture of them for you.

• Vitamin C, readily available from supermarkets and pharmacies, is known to have a natural antihistamine effect in the body and there is some evidence to suggest that it can help control unpleasant hay fever symptoms. Take up to 500 mg a day in tablet or capsule form while symptoms persist, or more if professionally prescribed.

Try something fishy
• Omega-3 fatty acids help to counter inflammatory responses in the body, such as those triggered by allergies. Salmon, sardines, fresh tuna and trout are good sources of these fats. If you prefer the idea of taking fish-oil capsules, take a supplement that provides 1000 mg combined EPA/DHA (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids) a day.

• Flaxseed oil (or linseed oil) is another excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Take 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil a day. You can add it to salad dressings or a glass of juice, or blend it into a smoothie, but avoid heating it.

Try these simple soothers
• To soothe red, itchy, swollen eyes, simply dampen a face washer with cool water and place it over your eyes as often as you wish. Always use a clean face washer each time to avoid the possibility of introducing infection into your eyes.

• Saline nasal sprays have long been used to clear nasal mucus and can also help keep your nasal passages moisturised. But a recent study has shown that overuse of some nasal sprays can actually damage the cells of your sinuses, so it may be safer to make your own. Dissolve half a teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of warm water. Fill a bulb syringe, lean over the sink and gently squirt the saline into your nose.

• A quick and easy way to relieve pain and encourage drainage of mucus is by applying a hot compress to your sinuses. Eucalyptus, tea-tree and peppermint essential oils all help to clear congestion and have antiseptic and antiviral properties into the bargain. Add 2–5 drops of the essential oil of your choice into a bowl of steaming hot water, tent your head with a towel and inhale the vapour.

Protect yourself from hay-fever symptoms
• Shelter indoors before a thunderstorm – and for up to 3 hours afterwards. Storms are preceded by high humidity, which makes pollen grains swell, burst and release their irritating starch, triggering a hay-fever attack.

• Protect your eyes from pollen when you’re outdoors.

• If you don’t mind how you look, wear a face mask when you know you might be exposed to pollen. Hardware shops sell small air-filter masks for people in dusty environments.

• Keep the car windows closed and use the ‘recirculate’ airconditioner setting so as not to draw pollinated air into the car. En\quire whether your car can be fitted with a pollen filter.

• Wash your hair before going to bed so you don’t transfer a headful of dust and pollen to your pillow.

Deal with dust mites
• Dust mites – minute flesh-eating insects too small to be seen by the naked eye – inhabit your carpets, curtains and bedding. Their faeces can be a significant cause of allergies. To starve mites of the dust they eat – which is mostly made up of old skin cells – cover your mattress, bed base and pillows withcovers made specifically to repel allergens. These covers are sold in most department stores or through the Asthma Foundation.

• Vacuum your carpets regularly. Buy a vacuum cleaner that uses a double bag and a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, which filters out microscopic allergens. If you have a wood or tile floor underneath your carpets, think about getting rid of the carpets altogether. Wear a mask while vacuuming, and then leave the house for a few hours afterwards, if possible.

• Change your sheets once a week and wash them in very hot water – at least 60ºC – to kill the mites.

• Clear away clutter, which can gather dust and harbour dust mites. Remove any soft toys from the bed.

• If you don’t have a dehumidifier, it’s a good idea to get one. Keeping the air in your home dry will significantly reduce the population of dust mites, which die when humidity levels fall below 45 per cent.

Reduce reactions to animal allergens
• Keep your pet out of the bedroom. Allergic reactions can be triggered by animal fur, dead skin, dried saliva and dander – particles from the coats of animals. All of these allergens linger.

• Some dogs are perfectly happy in a traditional outdoor kennel. If you are allergic to your dog, that might be the kindest solution for both of you.

• Give your pet a bath once a week. Bathing can remove up to 85 per cent of pet dander. You can use plain water or aproprietary pet shampoo.

Clear the air
• Modern air filters capture air-borne allergens and may bring some relief from allergies to mould, pollen and pet dander, though one study showed that they only significantly reduced cat allergens in uncarpeted homes. HEPA filters tend to work best. If you use a HEPA filter in your bedroom, keep the door closed so that it can filter just the air in that room.

• Studies show that vigorous household cleaning significantly reduces dust, mould, dander and other common allergens. So give your home a thorough clean twice a year. Wash every scrubbable surface with diluted bleach. If your allergies are severe, you may want to pay someone to do the cleaning.

• Avoid places where moulds can be found, for example garages, old sheds, barns and rubbish areas or rubbish dumps.

• Laundries and bathrooms are havens for moulds, mildew and dust mites, because of damp and humid conditions. Wipe away any obvious mould using a solution of diluted bleach (make sure the room is adequately ventilated).

• Make sure the tumble dryer’s hose is properly sealed and that it vents outdoors, so it doesn’t send out masses of lint.

Five Allergy and Asthma Myths

1 Some dog breeds, such as Chihuahuas, are better for people with asthma and allergies
Reality: it’s the protein in the pet’s saliva, dander and urine that causes allergies, not the hair. Since all dogs have dander, saliva and urine, there are no particular breeds that are better for people with asthma and allergies.

2 Asthma can be cured
Reality: there is no cure for asthma. However, with the proper diagnosis and treatment, people with asthma can lead normal, active lives with little disturbance to quality of life.

3 Moving to a different area will cure asthma and allergies
Reality: moving to the coast or an upland area may relieve allergies for a few months but new allergies – to new local plants, for instance – can develop within a short period. Moving house does not offer an escape from allergies and asthma.

4 Children outgrow asthma
Reality: asthma is a chronic state of hyper-responsiveness. Some children have asthma symptoms that clear up during adolescence, while others worsen, but the tendency towards over-sensitive airways remains. Unfortunately, there is no way to predict a child’s clinical progress.

5 Allergies are a harmless problem
Reality: allergies are serious and should be treated effectively. Left untreated, they may lead to poorer quality of life, including impaired sleep and learning ability, and absences from school and work. Untreated allergies may also result in chronic respiratory problems, such as asthma and sinusitis, and skin disorders, such as eczema and urticaria (hives). Some allergies, such as those to foods, drugs and insect stings, may even lead to life-threatening anaphylaxis – an allergic reaction affecting major body systems that can be fatal.

Take Action Against Asthma

"For severe asthma attacks – the kind of tightness, wheezing and shortness of breath that can be really frightening – most people do as their doctor recommends. Often, that means quick action with a prescribed inhaler. If this is what you do, and it works, don’t give it up. If you use a preventer inhaler,
you should continue to use it as prescribed, as this will cut
down your risk of having an asthma attack. There is no cure
for asthma, but there are lots of ways to reduce or even
eliminate the symptoms. Certain simple lifestyle changes
can help most asthma sufferers to breathe more easily."

Ease breathing during an attack
• When an asthma attack occurs, try to stay calm. Panic can make your symptoms worse. This visualisation trick may help. Close your eyes. As you inhale, see your lungs expand and fill with white light and feel your breathing become easier. Repeat this exercise twice more, then open your eyes.

• In an emergency, drink a strong cup of coffee, two 375-ml cans of cola or a Red Bull (all of which are high in caffeine). Caffeine is chemically related to theophylline, a medication for asthma. It helps to open the airways.

Combat constriction with supplements
• Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have been using the herb ginkgo to treat asthma for centuries. One recent study suggests that this herb interferes with a protein in the blood that contributes to airway spasm. If you want to try it, buy supplements containing a standardised extract of ginkgo flavones, and take according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

• Magnesium may make you feel better. Research suggests that magnesium relaxes the airways and reduces cardiovascular risk. The dose is 300 mg a day for men and 270 mg for women.

Counter inflammation
• Omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as tuna, salmon and trout, work much like a class of asthma drugs called leukotriene inhibitors. These drugs stop the actions of body compounds that cause inflammation in the airways. (Talk to your doctor first if you are taking anticoagulant drugs.)

• Evening primrose oil is rich in an essential fatty acid called gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is converted by the body into anti-inflammatory substances. Take 1000 mg three times a day (with meals, to enhance absorption).

• Bioflavonoids – compounds that give fruit and vegetables their bright colours – have powerful anti-inflammatory and anti-allergenic properties. Quercetin is one of the best-known bioflavonoids and inhibits the release of histamine. Take 500 mg of quercetin three times a day, 20 minutes before meals.

• Turmeric, the yellow spice commonly used to flavour Indian curries, is a powerful anti-inflammatory. The compounds it contains inhibit the release of COX-2 prostaglandins, hormone-like substances involved in inflammation. Mix 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder – found in supermarkets – in a cup of warm milk and drink it up to three times a day. Turmeric capsules and tablets are also available from health food shops.

Keep a record
• Make a note of everything you eat for a month, along with your asthma symptoms. Although food allergies are rarely associated with asthma, occasionally there is a connection.
Check your record against your symptoms to see if anything
you’re eating increases the frequency or severity of your attacks.

• If you take asthma medication, get a peak-flow meter, available from pharmacies or on prescription from your doctor. This device measures the speed at which air leaves your lungs – an indication of how well you’re breathing. By reading your ‘peak flow’ at certain times, you can tell how well a medication or remedy is working. You can also use it during an asthma attack to determine its severity and decide whether you need to seek immediate medical attention.

The power of prevention
• Don’t smoke, and stay away from people who do. Tobacco smoke irritates the airways.

• Don’t huddle around a fireplace or wood-burning stove.

• In cold weather, wrap a scarf around your nose and mouth to help warm up chilly air before you inhale it.

• Be alert for unusual asthma triggers, such as highly scented foods or the strongly perfumed sample strips bound into magazines, and do what you can to avoid them. It’s also a good idea to open the kitchen window, if possible, when cooking with strong smelling foods such as garlic or onions.

• Try eating smaller, more frequent meals, and don’t eat before you go to bed. The upward migration of stomach acids that cause heartburn can also trigger asthma attacks.

• About 5 per cent of people with asthma are allergic to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen. For these people, taking the drugs can trigger an attack. If you are one of them, use an aspirin-free pain reliever such as paracetamol instead.

• Consider the Buteyko method, which is a complementary therapy for controlling the symptoms of asthma and other breathing-related disorders. It is based on the belief that breathing-related disorders result from chronic over-breathing (hyperventilation). It involves very specific breathing exercises as well as dietary and lifestyle changes. (Visit the Australasian Buteyko Association for more information.)

Should I call the doctor?

If you experience asthma symptoms for the first time, you must consult a doctor. Get someone to take you to the nearest hospital A & E (casualty) if you can’t speak without gasping for breath, develop a bluish cast to your face or lips, find it extremely difficult to breathe or become confused or exhausted.

If you are already being treated for asthma, you probably have medication that you can take at the onset of an episode. Even so, see your doctor if you notice that you need to use your medication more often, or if your symptoms worsen even after taking medication.

Weight Loss Facts and Advice

Steven Blair is, in his own words, a “short, fat, bald guy”. But at 165cm and 91kg, he may very well be healthier than men much taller and leaner. He runs 40km a week, eats six to eight servings of fruit and vegetables a day and avoids processed and fatty foods. A professor of exercise science and epidemiology at the University of South Carolina, Blair is a living example of how fat doesn’t play fair. And thanks to advances in his field, he is beginning to understand why.

Genes, hormonal imbalances and even viruses are now acknowledged to play a role in obesity. Eating less and working out more, in fact, don’t have nearly as much to do with weight loss as you might assume. “This is all counter to what people think they know,” says Blair. “You can see obesity, so it’s easy to say, ‘Well, that person must not be trying. He must be lazy.’ But that’s often not the case.”

The RD team pored over the latest studies, interviewed the top clinicians in obesity science and listened to the real-life experiences of people struggling to maintain their weight. Here are the results: the latest (and often unexpected) thinking behind size and thighs, fatness and fitness.

1. Honestly, it really is genetic

When scientists first discovered it in certain chubby mice, they called it simply the “fatso gene”. Years later, when they scoured the human genome for markers that signalled increased vulnerability to type 2 diabetes, the fatso gene (now more politely called FTO) showed up there too. It turns out that people with two copies of the gene were 40% more likely to have diabetes and 60% more likely to be obese than those without it. Those with only one copy of the gene also weighed more.

Scientists now suspect that there are lots of “fat genes”. “There could be as many as 100 of them,” says Dr Claude Bouchard, executive director of Pennington Biomedical Research Centre at Louisiana State University System, “each adding a couple of pounds here and a pound or two there. That’s a noticeable difference when it comes to how much more fat we need to burn off.”

As much as 16% of the population have two copies of the FTO gene, and half of us have one copy. So far, scientists suspect that the other possible obesity-promoting genes have a small effect compared with FTO. The good news? “A genetic predisposition isn’t necessarily a life sentence,” says Bouchard. Exercising regularly can offset the risk.

2. Some people just have more fat cells

And the range is enormous, with some people having twice as many fat cells as others, says Dr Kirsty Spalding, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Even if you’ve lost a few kilos (or gained some), your fat-cell count remains, holding tight to the fat already inside and forever thirsting to be filled up with more. (To add insult to injury, the fat cells of overweight and obese people hold more fat, too.)

New fat cells emerge during childhood but seem to stop by adolescence. Those of us destined to have a lot of these cells probably start producing them as young as age two. The cells’ rate of growth may be faster, too – even if kids cut way back on kilojoules.

Strangers have written to Spalding, telling her how depressed they are by her research. But she says her news isn’t all bleak. You’re better off with more fat cells, she says, than with fewer fat cells that become overstuffed and enlarged. (New research suggests that the overstuffed group are more vulnerable to obesity-related health complications.) So while you can’t reduce your total number of fat cells, there are things you can do to keep them small. (See next point.)

3. You can change your metabolism

Another Scandinavian team looked into what happens at the cellular level when you gain weight. Dr Kirsi Pietiläinen, an assistant professor of nutrition at Helsinki University Central Hospital, studied sets of twins where one was fat and the other thin, and learnt that fat cells in heavier twins underwent metabolic changes that made it more difficult to burn fat. Pietiläinen’s team suspects that gaining as little as 5kg can slow the metabolism and send you spiralling into a vicious cycle: as you gain more fat, it becomes harder to lose it.

How to get back on track? “The more I learn on the job, the more I’m convinced we need physical activity,” Pietiläinen says. Once a chubby child herself, she now runs regularly and is at a healthy weight.

4. Stress fattens you up

The most direct route is the food-in-mouth syndrome: stressful circumstances (your bank account, your boss) spark cravings for carbohydrate-rich snack foods, which in turn calm stress hormones. (When researchers in one study took away high-carb food from stressed mice, their stress hormones surged.)

Stress hormones also ramp up fat storage. For our prehistoric ancestors, stress meant drought or approaching tigers, and a rapid-storage process made sense; we needed the extra energy to survive food shortages or do battle. Today we take our stress sitting down – and the unused kilojoules accumulate in our midriff.

To whittle yourself back down to size, in addition to your usual work-out routine make time for stress relief – whether it’s a yoga class or quality time with family.

5. Mum’s pregnancy sealed your fate

A mother’s cigarettes increase the risk of low birth weight, and alcohol can damage her baby’s brain. So why wouldn’t unhealthy foods have similar negative effects? A growing body of science suggests that sugary and fatty foods, consumed even before you’re born, do exactly that. A Pennington study on rodents reports that overweight females have higher levels of glucose and free fatty acids floating around in the womb than normal-weight ones do. These molecules trigger the release of proteins that can upset the appetite-control and metabolic systems in the developing brain.

What’s true for mice is often true for humans too. Doctors from State University of New York Downstate Medical Centre compared children born before their mothers had gastric bypass surgery with siblings born later. Women weighed less after the procedure, as expected, but their children were also half as likely to be obese. Because siblings have such similar genetic profiles, the researchers attributed the weight differences to changes in the womb environment. Mums-to-be, take note: you can give your kids a head start by eating well before they’re born.

6. Sleep more, lose more

When patients see Dr Louis Aronne, past president of the Obesity Society and author of the forthcoming book The Skinny, they’re as likely to have their sleep assessed as their eating habits. If patients are getting less than seven to eight hours, Dr Aronne may prescribe more shut-eye rather than the latest diet or drug. With more sleep, he says, “they have a greater sense of fullness, and they will spon­taneously lose weight.”

Why? Researchers at the University of Chicago researchers have reported that sleep deprivation upsets our hormone balance, triggering both a decrease in leptin (which helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (which triggers hunger). As a result, we think we’re hungry even though we aren’t – and so we eat. Indeed, sleep may be the cheapest and easiest obesity treatment there is.

7. Your spouse’s weight matters

When Jodi Dixon’s 188cm, 163kg husband lost 57kg, she had mixed feelings. She was the one who always watched her weight and exercised; she was always the one trying to get her husband to be more active. Mort, a medical sales rep, was always the life of the party, says his wife, a 43-year-old mother of two. But when he lost the weight, it was different.

“Men and women would flock to him, drawn to his charisma,” she recalls. “I felt jealous.” Dixon comforted herself with food, and gained 9kg before she decided to take action. She began cycling with her husband and enrolled in a diet programme. Eventually she trimmed down as well, shedding 13.5kg, and now has her sights on losing more.

Dixon credits the weight gain, and the loss, to her jealousy. But research shows that weight gain and loss can be, well, contagious. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if one spouse is obese, the other is 37% more likely to become obese too. The researchers concluded that obesity seems to spread through social networks.

As in Dixon’s case, slimming down seems to be catching – at least within the family: when Dixon launched her weight-loss plan, her eldest daughter, also overweight, followed her mum’s healthy habits and lost 18kg.

8. Achoo! A virus can cause obesity

Adenoviruses are responsible for a host of ailments, ranging from upper respiratory tract problems to gastrointestinal troubles. The link to fat was uncovered when researchers at the University of Wisconsin injected chickens with the viruses and found that certain strains fattened them up.

Stem cells, with their chameleon-like abilities to transform, also turned into fat cells when infected with the viruses. “The virus seems to increase the number of fat cells in the body as well as the fat content of these cells,” says Dr Nikhil Dhurandhar, an associate professor of infections and obesity at Pennington.

Human studies, including comparisons of twins, suggest that obese people are indeed more likely to harbour antibodies for a particular virus known as adenovirus-36.

We have flu shots; could an obesity vaccine be the next step? It may sound far-fetched, but “that’s what they said about cervical cancer, too”, says Dhurandhar.

9. Biscuits really are addictive

While food is not addictive the way cocaine or alcohol is, scientists in recent years have found some uncanny similarities. When subjects at Monell Chemical Senses Centre in Philadelphia were shown the names of foods they liked, the parts of the brain that got excited were the same parts activated in drug addicts. It may have to do with dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and pleasure, say researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US. If obese people have fewer dopamine receptors, then they may need more food to get that pleasurable reaction.

10. Ear infections can taint your tastebuds

For many years, the team at Linda Bartoshuk’s taste lab at the University of Florida had wondered why people who tasted food less intensely than others seemed more likely to be fat. Researcher Derek Snyder had a theory: could an ear infection, which can damage a taste nerve running through the middle ear, be the missing link? After tabulating 6584 questionnaires, the team discovered that those over 35 who had suffered several ear infections had almost double the chance of being obese.

Responses to additional questions provided clues as to why. Former ear-infection patients were a little more likely to love sweets and fatty foods – perhaps because the damaged nerve causes them to have a higher threshold for sensing sweetness and fattiness. Even a small increase in kilojoules from bad food choices adds up over time.

Childhood ear infections are as hard to avoid as the colds that tend to bring them on, but limiting passive smoke seems to drive down incidents of ear infection. If you’re an overweight adult who suffered a severe ear infection as a child, it may be worth paying attention to the taste and texture of your food. Simply finding healthier substitutes, such as fruit instead of lollies, or olive oil instead of butter, may help drive you towards eating better and weighing less.

11. Antioxidants are also anti-fat

Free radicals are now blamed not only for making you look old but also for making you fat. Dr Zane Andrews, a neuro­endocrinologist at Monash University, says these oxidising molecules damage the cells that tell us we’re full. Free radicals emerge when we eat (something even the keenest dieter must do to survive), but they’re especially prevalent when we gorge on confectionery, chips and other carbohydrates. With every passing year, these fullness signifiers suffer wear and tear – causing the “stop eating!” signal to get weaker and appetites (and possibly our stomachs) to get bigger. The best way to fight back? Avoid the junk and load up on colourful, antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables.

12. Pick a diet, any diet

As established diet books constantly reinvent themselves to sell copies and win converts, a curious phenomenon has emerged: Ornish, Atkins and everyone in between are sounding remarkably similar. The low-fat gurus now say that certain fats are OK, while the low-carb proponents are beginning to endorse wholegrains. With every new guideline and selling point, each diet acknowledges that there are really four basic rules to healthy eating (drumroll, please):
• Consume carbs in the form of wholegrains and fibre.
• Avoid trans fats and saturated fats.
• Eat lean protein.
• Fill up on fruit and vegetables.

The low-carb South Beach Diet, for example, now espouses the virtues of eating the Mediterranean way – including lots of carbohydrate-rich fruit and vegetables. The latest Atkins book also emphasises the “good carb” message. WeightWatchers, a champion of the points system, is now offering a “no-counting” option based on healthy choices like those above; Jenny Craig, meanwhile, is pushing the high-volume, low-kilojoule Volumetrics strategy. And everyone gives a thumbs-down to processed and sugary carbohydrates, which cause insulin to spike and can lead to more fat and even diabetes.

Low-fat-diet guru Dr Dean Ornish says, “It’s the end of the diet wars.” His most recent book, The Spectrum, even offers recipes that can be prepared in various “degrees” – from a vegetable chilli served plain (low-fat) to one served with olives (more fat) to still another served with turkey breast sausage (still more fat).

The key to all of this, of course, is moderation rather than deprivation – eating in a way you can live with. And for some people, an important side effect of eating more plant-based foods is that it’s better for the environment.

13. You can be fat and fit

A growing body of literature suggests that size doesn’t matter when it comes to your health. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine surveyed 5440 American adults and found that 51% of the overweight and almost 32% of the obese had mostly normal cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and other measures of good health.

Further defying conventional wisdom, the article also reported that 23.5% of trim adults were, in fact, metabolically abnormal – making them more vulnerable to heart disease than their heavier counterparts.

The latest US Department of Health and Human Services report corroborates what our doctors have said all along: you need about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days a week for health. And you don’t even have to do your exercise in one fell swoop – ten-minute stints of walking are just as effective. That means if you forgo the lift for the stairs, get off one station or bus stop earlier and park your car a few blocks away, chances are you’ll be good for the day.

Remember Steven Blair, the self- described short, fat, bald guy? At age 69, his blood pressure is in check, his cholesterol levels are normal and his heart is strong. What’s more, he may have even more positive vital signs, according to his recent study in the journal Obesity: men who are fit (determined by their performance on a treadmill) have a lower risk of dying of cancer than out-of-shape guys, regardless of their body mass index, waist size or percentage of body fat.

The news is heartening, says Blair: “We don’t have great tools to change people’s weight, but we know we can change their fitness levels.”

Tame Your Blood Sugar - Forever !!!

Like most people, you’ve probably never given your blood glucose a second thought, unless you have diabetes. But researchers now know that whether or not you have diabetes, a diet loaded with foods that send blood glucose on a roller-coaster ride can increase your risk of heart disease by damaging your blood vessels and raising your cholesterol. It may even chip away at your memory and increase the risk of certain cancers.

This realisation is nothing short of a revolution in the way we understand diet and health. Fortunately, none of the damage happens overnight, and even modest changes in the foods you eat every day can start you on a healthier path and make you feel more alert, alive and energised immediately.

The lure of ‘fast-acting’ foods

When you need a quick pick-me-up, what do you reach for—lollies, a sugary doughnut, a gooey Danish or a packet of biscuits? These ‘fast-acting’ foods are handy (they’re called convenience foods after all), and they take no time at all to dissolve in your stomach. They race into your bloodstream, flooding your body with blood glucose and you’re raring to go! The trouble is the surge doesn’t last long, leaving you feeling worse off than before—and hungry again well before your next mealtime.

Unfortunately, our diets are chock-full of foods that send us for a wild ride on the blood glucose roller-coaster. It’s no wonder that most of us have less energy than we’d like and feel listless too often. It’s also no wonder that most of us weigh more than we want to. Yes, eating too much and exercising too little get the lion’s share of the blame, but the blood glucose roller-coaster contributes by setting in motion a chain of events that eventually sends you shopping for bigger jeans.

Sound bad? Low energy and weight gain are only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what happens when your blood glucose swings high and low.

Why blood glucose matters

For most of us, even when our blood glucose skyrockets after a large meal, our body can bring it back to normal in a few hours with no problem. Only people with untreated diabetes have blood glucose levels that stay quite high most of the time. For a long time, doctors thought that only those people needed to be concerned about the effect of food on their blood glucose level. Now we know that even in healthy people, high blood glucose after meals can, over time, damage the body, even if it never causes diabetes.

By now you’re wondering, ‘How can I get off the roller-coaster?’ Take heart: it’s not that difficult.

The Seven Secrets to Better Blood Glucose

1. Choose low-GI carbs and keep carb portions moderate

By choosing ‘slow-acting’ (low-GI) carbs instead of ‘fast-acting’ (higher GI) carbs, you can help keep blood glucose low and steady. You’ll also want to keep an eye on portions no matter what kind of carbs you choose.

2. Make 3 of your carb servings whole grains

Make sure that the carbs you do eat count by choosing whole grains, which help prevent heart disease and diabetes independently of their effects on blood glucose.

3. Eat more fruit and vegetables

Aim for at least 2 serves of fruit and 5 of vegetables a day. Most fruits and vegetables have little carbohydrate and are packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and health-protective compounds, with few kilojoules. Eating fruit or adding vegetables to carbohydrate-rich dishes helps make your diet blood glucose–friendly.

4. Eat protein at every meal

Protein lowers the overall GI of meals and helps curb hunger, making weight loss easier.

5. Favour good fats

‘Bad’ saturated fats can interfere with your ability to control blood glucose, but ‘good’ unsaturated fats help your body control it better. Good fats also lower the overall GI of meals.

6. Add acidic foods to your meals

It’s an amazingly simple way to blunt the blood glucose effect of a meal.

7. Eat smaller portions

We’re talking not just about carb-rich foods here but about all foods. Even when you eat a low-GI diet, kilojoules count. Cutting kilojoules can help you fight insulin resistance - and, of course, along with exercise, it’s still the way to lose weight.

Pucker Power

Wouldn’t it be terrific if there were a simple ingredient you could add to your meals that would act like an anchor, keeping blood glucose from rising too high? As it turns out, there is. It’s acetic acid, the sour-tasting compound that gives that characteristic tang to vinegar, pickles and sourdough bread.

The effect can be quite dramatic. In one small study, people who ate a buttered high-GI bagel and orange juice—a breakfast that packs a glycaemic punch—saw their blood glucose shoot up in the next hour. But when they also drank about a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (with artificial sweetener added to improve the taste), their blood glucose levels after the meal were 50 per cent lower! A similar 50 per cent reduction in blood glucose happened when they had the vinegar along with a chicken-and-rice meal.

How does acetic acid make it happen? Scientists aren’t sure, but they do know that it interferes with the enzymes that break apart the chemical bonds in starches and the kinds of sugars found in table sugar and milk. This means it takes your body longer to break down those foods into blood glucose. Other researchers believe acetic acid keeps foods in the stomach longer so they aren’t digested as quickly. Acetic acid may also speed up the rate at which glucose is moved out of the bloodstream and into muscle cells for storage.

No matter how it works, it does, and taking advantage of it is as easy as adding vinegar to salads and other foods and having a pickle with your sandwich at lunchtime. Lemon juice also has ‘pucker power’ and seems to help control blood glucose.

More Ways to Add Acids

Go beyond vinegar with these tips for adding bite to your meals.

Use mustard, which is made with vinegar, instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches, as a base to coat chicken and meats and in bean dishes.

Eat that pickle with your sandwich. It gets its sour taste from vinegar.

Go beyond pickled cucumbers and try pickled tomatoes, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower florets and red and green capsicums (sweet peppers). If you’re at a Japanese restaurant, ask for oshinko (pickled vegetables).

Don’t throw out the pickle liquid! It makes an excellent marinade, especially when mixed with a little olive oil and chopped fresh herbs.

Eat sauerkraut, which is pickled cabbage. Look for low-sodium varieties.

Squeeze lemon juice, which is also acidic, over fish and seafood. Fresh lemon juice can revitalise a lacklustre soup or stew, and it livens up green vegetables, rice and chicken.

Try lime juice on fish, turkey, avocados, melon, sweet potatoes and black beans.

Eat citrus fruit such as fresh grapefruit, which, as your tongue has already told you, is somewhat acidic.

Ask for sourdough bread. As the dough ferments, it releases lactic acid, which, like vinegar, has a beneficial effect on the food’s GI.

Cook with wine. It’s acidic, too, and gives a tasty tang to sauces, stews, soups and roasts. Try cooking fish in wine: pan-fry garlic (and onions if you want) in olive oil, add seasoning, then pour in some wine and reduce the heat. Add the fish and cook in the simmering liquid. Squeeze in a little lemon juice at the end.

Drink wine with your dinner. It’s another way to include an acidic liquid with your meal. Drinking wine (as well as other alcoholic beverages) in moderation—a glass a day for women, up to two for men - can help keep blood insulin levels low and is linked with a lower risk of developing diabetes. Moderate alcohol consumption also raises ‘good’ HDL cholesterol levels and helps protect against heart disease. (If you have diabetes, check with your doctor first.)

10 Steps to a Healthier Heart

"Even if you follow just the first seven tips below (and don’t smoke, of course), you’ll reduce the chance of having a heart attack by as much as 90% compared to a typical person your age!"

1. Walk for 30 minutes a day every day, no matter what – then phone someone. Walking for half an hour a day decreases the risk of having a heart attack by about 30%. I’ve found that if you succeed at walking daily, you can also succeed at doing other things to improve health. If you start missing days, you’ll start compromising health in other ways, too. Phoning someone every day is crucial; that’s the real commitment. Find a person who’s supportive and who will not nag, but will call if you haven’t phoned her. And by the way, it usually is a “her”. Men tend to be terrible at doing this!

2. Know your blood pressure and do whatever it takes to get it down to 120/80 or below. Your blood pressure number may be even more important than your cholesterol. And you can lower it yourself. The best way? Getting a little exercise and losing some belly fat. Why belly fat? The omentum is what hangs over the stomach. The fat that’s stored there feeds the kidney, liver and other vital organs. Here’s the hypothesis: when you gain weight, you add fat inside the relatively rigid “kidney capsule”. This fat pushes on the kidney, so it says, “Hey, I need more blood pressure to drive blood through because I’m getting squeezed by the fat.” So it releases hormones that cause increased blood pressure. When you lose a little of that fat, even with just a couple of kilograms of weight loss, your blood pressure goes down really fast. Cutting back on salt may help, but for some people reducing sugar and saturated fat in the diet may help even more. Recently I coached a patient whose blood pressure started at 160/100, but he didn’t have any arterial disease. In seven weeks, he had his blood pressure down to 115/75 with just weight loss, walking and decreasing sugar and saturated fat in his diet. However, if your blood pressure is over 140/90 and you’re not going to do these things reliably, then you should probably go on blood-pressure medication. New drugs can reduce blood pressure without major side effects.

3. Eat 30g of nuts a day. This tip is easy to follow. Nuts raise HDL (“good” cholesterol) and decrease inflammation. But they have a heart benefit independent of those, too. We’re not sure why. Nuts have healthy omega-3 fatty acids, healthy protein and some fibre. Nuts that are raw, fresh and unsalted have the most benefit. But if you want to roast, say, (shelled) walnuts, put them in the oven at 180C for about nine minutes. If you do your own roasting, bad fats and dangerous chemical acrylamides won’t form.

4. Learn your HDL number and do what you can to raise it to 50mg/dL. For women, some think a high HDL is more important than a lower LDL (bad cholesterol). We have no idea why, but study after study shows that the higher the number, the better – 50mg/dL (or 1.28mmol/L) is fine. There are easy ways you can increase it: exercise; have one alcoholic drink a day; and eat healthy fats such as olive and canola oil and nuts. Also talk to your doctor about niacin, which raises HDL but can have side effects. Ask, too, about pantothenic acid – also known as vitamin B5 – which may also help. While the main function of statin drugs is to lower LDL, some also raise HDL.

5. Eat ten tablespoons of tomato sauce a week. This is one of my favourite tips. Tomato sauce is loaded with blood-pressure-slashing potassium. Note that we’re not talking about salty, fatty sauces, or serving with a huge portion of pasta. Keep it all simple and healthy, and get a great benefit.

6. Floss your teeth regularly. By avoiding periodontal disease you prevent inflammation in the arteries, which helps you head off heart disease. Most people don’t know that your oral health affects all your arterial health, and that includes blood flow to the heart and sexual organs. It may even affect wrinkles on your skin.

7. Eat no more than 20g of saturated fat a day and as little trans fat as possible. Saturated fat and trans fats lead to inflammation in the arteries. A cinnamon roll may have 7g of saturated fat, whereas a 115g slice of roast pork tenderloin will contain about 4g of saturated fat. Trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils) are probably at least as bad as saturated fats, and quite possibly a little worse.

8. Read labels and reject food that lists sugar as one of the first five ingredients. Don’t be fooled by foods that are low in fat but high in sugar. The sugar causes inflammation. And if you eat more sugar than you need, it gets morphed into omentum fat, that dangerous fat around the belly. For a while in the 1990s, many people used “low fat” salad dressings that turned out to be loaded with kilojoule-laden sugar. And those dressings didn’t contain any good fats such as olive oil, which are beneficial. Healthy fats are better than sugar kilojoules. (Because the sugar contained in fruit is in a complex carbohydrate, it’s usually fine.)

9. Have a glass of wine or beer today. We’re not sure why – there may be an anti-inflammatory effect. But it’s a consistent finding that teetotallers have a higher risk of heart disease than people who drink a little, and people who drink a lot have little heart disease but tend to die of cancer. Seven drinks on Friday night is not the same as one every night! We know there are serious dangers to drinking but, still, any kind of alcohol in moderation is good for arteries.

10. Eat nine servings of colourful fruit and vegetables a day. That comes with a lot of fibre, and you shouldn’t increase to that amount all at once – otherwise people won’t want to stay in the same room with you! But your digestive system should adjust in a few weeks. Make sure you wash fresh produce thoroughly. There are farmers’ markets all over the place now. If you try locally grown vegetables, you’ll be amazed at how good they taste.

Four Numbers to Track Every Day

"So you’ve decided to do your heart a favour a live a healthier
life. The fact is that old habits die hard, and the route is
packed with unhealthy temptations. It is so easy to order a
large portion of chips, watch a late-night film instead of going
to bed at 10pm, or buy that huge bacon, lettuce and tomato
baguette and eat the whole thing."

So what is the best way to find out whether you’ve adopted enough new, healthy habits to make a difference? That’s easy – just use this simple, daily tracking system. This is how it works: every evening, take a few moments to ask yourself four questions about your day. Your answers will make it perfectly clear whether you are staying true to the path towards improved health, or if your good intentions are not being matched with much-needed good actions. 1 Fruit and Vegetable Consumption If you make just one change to your lifestyle, let it be adding fruit and vegetables to every meal you eat. Both lower heart disease by pumping your body full of soluble and insoluble fibre, flooding your bloodstream and cells with artery-protecting anti-oxidants, and delivering vitamins and minerals that help to control blood pressure and keep arteries flexible. Ask yourself Did I eat at least seven portions of fruit and vegetables today? Your goal A total of two fruit and at least five vegetable servings a day if you can. Tracking trick For women: wear seven bangles on the same arm. Each time you have a fruit or vegetable, move one bracelet to the other arm. For men: keep seven paperclips in your trouser pocket. Move one to another pocket for each serving of fruit or vegetables you consume. Added bonus Aim to put lots of colour on your plate every day – green broccoli, purple grapes, yellow capsicums, red tomatoes and orange peaches, for example. How to catch up If you’ve had breakfast and lunch with little or no fruit or vegetables, make up lost ground with an apple, orange or pear in the afternoon, a big salad for dinner, and another fruit snack in the evening. 2 Fibre Consumption Fibre at every meal keeps blood sugar levels steady. This controls cravings, helps you to feel full and stay full longer, and lowers your risk of diabetes and heart disease. But the benefits don’t stop there: getting soluble fibre (from porridge, rye bread or pulses) drastically cuts blood cholesterol levels. High-fibre foods are less processed, too, so you get a complete package of naturally balanced, heart-healthy nutrients at the same time. Whole grains also provide vitamin E and other anti-oxidants. High-fibre nuts give you monounsaturated fat to preserve “good” HDLs and, if you choose walnuts, omega-3s to keep your heart beating at a steady rate. Ask yourself Did I have three whole grains plus some nuts and/or beans today? Your goal Two to four servings of whole grains and one or two servings of nuts and/or beans every day. Tracking trick Think 3-2-1. That’s three whole grains, two of pulses and one serving of nuts every day. Added bonus Make at least one of your fibre-rich grains a soluble-fibre powerhouse such as porridge oats. How to catch up If you’ve eaten a low-fibre breakfast and lunch, try snacking on nuts during the afternoon and having beans in your main dish at dinner, along with a slice of wholemeal bread. Take a soluble fibre supplement if you’re not getting enough fibre.

3 Relaxation Time

Consciously relaxing doesn’t mean taking an hour out of
your busy day to meditate or have a massage (although if
you can do either, you’ll feel great). There are dozens of
ways to relax without stopping what you’re doing.

You can practise mindfulness – being fully aware of what you’re doing at any given moment – or take a few minutes to focus on your breathing. You can let go of irritable or impatient thoughts before they double your risk of high blood pressure and heart attack. And don’t underestimate the calming health benefits of having a laugh with your friends, listening to music, walking and playing with your dog, or enjoying nature. Ask yourself Did I give myself at least 15 minutes quiet time to unwind today? Your goal Give yourself that feeling of relaxation every day. Tracking trick Think about how you are feeling inside several times a day. You will know if you are tense or agitated. Added bonus Once a week, spend at least an hour doing something you really love: bury yourself in a good book, play some sport, disappear into the garden – do whatever gives you pleasure. How to catch up In the middle of a stressful day, remind yourself that you’ll be far more productive if you give yourself a few minutes to breathe deeply and unwind. 4 Movement Time Physical activity controls weight, burns off abdominal fat, lowers high blood pressure and helps to control rising cholesterol levels. It even soothes inflammation and helps your cells to absorb more blood sugar, cutting the risk of Type 2 diabetes. Ask yourself Did I get on my feet for fun or exercise today? Your goal Sit for 1 hour less per day. Fit in a brisk, short stroll or two during the day. Tracking trick Before lunch and midafternoon, ask yourself how long you’ve been sitting without a break. Then move. Added bonus When walking, swing your arms energetically or stride quickly up a hill. March on the spot when on the phone. How to catch up At the end of a sedentary day, take the stairs, not the lift. Stroll around outside for a few minutes before getting into the car. Once home, take the dog for a walk or drag the kids out for a game of tip.