Salt and Public Policy

The research and debates continue....

Health / Fitness & Nutrition
Big Benefits Are Seen From Eating Less Salt
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: January 21, 2010
Scientists writing in The New England Journal of Medicine conclude that lowering the amount of salt people eat by even a small amount could reduce cases of heart disease, stroke and heart attacks.

Health-ifying Restaurant Food

I know a lot of people are against the idea of a "mommy state" politically, but I am all in favor of this kind of government reform. I know just how hard it is to battle obesity and lifestyle diseases. I'll take all the help anyone wants to offer. Here's a NYT article about a new NYC voluntary plan to make restaurant food hold the salt:

Business
New York Seeks National Effort to Curtail Salt Use
By WILLIAM NEUMAN
Published: January 11, 2010
The broad new health initiative sets a goal of reducing the salt in packaged and restaurant food by 25 percent over the next five years.

Gotta DASH!

I'll work on doing more of a background post about hypertension itself sometime soon, maybe over the upcoming long weekend. But for now, I will share the doctor-recommended approach towards addressing hypertension through diet. It's called the DASH Diet, as in Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The DASH Diet is a variation of the usual food pyramid we've all gotten used to, and until now I haven't really made much of an effort to adjust to its recommendations. But, as T and I are sharing with you all, this is the first week of the rest of our lives or something like that. So, I'm going to start by making a very strategic trip to the grocery store this weekend. I've also just bought the book that's on the linked web site (call me a sucker, I'll buy the book...) which hopefully has tips on how to stick to the reshuffled DASH plan.

For a 2000-calories-a-day lifestyle (which sure will feel like a diet), DASH recommends you choose:

Grains - 7-8 servings, at least 3 of which are whole grains
Fruits - 4-5 servings
Veggies - 4-5 servings
Dairy, low-fat or non-fat - 2-3 servings
Lean meats, fish, poultry - 2 or less servings
Nuts, seeds, legumes - 4-5 servings per week
Fats and sweets - limited

I probably won't have a problem with the grains part. While I probably have more than 7-8 servings on most days (I LOVE pasta, rice, chips and bagels), I make a point to have whole grain stuff at home and I try to order the same whenever it's an option out. So I'll work on making smarter grain choices and fewer of them. I have to up my dairy intake, make sure I have lean protein once a day on average, keep eating beans but make sure they're in low sodium meals, buy some unsalted nuts to have on hand, and really cut back on fats and sweets.

I *know* the hardest thing will be to incorporate 4-5 servings EACH of fruits and veggies every day. I love fruits and veggies, don't get me wrong. But it requires more planning, more cooking, more trips to the store, and just more commitment overall to make sure that either fresh produce or well-seasoned frozen veggies are a big part of my day.

And, this is a post for another day, but another one of the - ahem - health issues that I inherited from my Dad sometimes has a dramatic reaction to, shall we call it, roughage. But that can be managed too, with planning, so there's really no excuse for not upping my fruit/veggie consumption.

I know, I've gotta just do it. Like Nike says. (But if I ever do win the lottery this is totally why I would hire a nutritionist and personal chef.)

Stef's Story

So.... here's my scenario.

I'm 33 and overweight, and I have been pretty much my whole life. I love food - I'm one of those people that can feel rapture from a good meal, and food is my comfort when I'm stressed, sad, happy, bored, or otherwise feeling *anything* - and I don't like exercising. I prefer napping. You can see wherein the problem lies.

Up until the last year or so, though, all my usual health stats were pretty good. But, in the summer of 2007, my Dad had a surprise health emergency as routine tests revealed that he'd had a silent heart attack and had almost complete blockage of his arteries. So he very quickly went in for a triple bypass - at age 59 - and came through with flying colors. He's now lost a lot of weight, is incredibly active, and just a few weeks ago climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. Go Dad! So, he's become both an inspiration and a bit of a cautionary tale in my life.

Following his health scare last year, I went in for a complete physical and found out that I had officially reached the level of hypertension (aka high blood pressure) and my cholesterol was too high. My doctor put me on medication to control the hypertension, and it's been doing a good job. But -- I'm not all that comfortable mentally knowing that I'm relying on a drug to keep my health in check. I was able to lower my cholesterol significantly last year through diet, so I know that I *can* make positive changes when I really focus.

I know the things I need to do:

- Lose weight.

- Exercise more.

- Eat more nutritiously - with fruits, veggies, and lean proteins.

- Reduce sodium overall - which is hard, cuz my favorite snacks are salty, and I don't cook much so most of my meals are either purchased or come from a box.

- Cook more. (See the previous two.)

- Cut back on portion size. (I grew up in a house where dinner came on a platter, not a plate.)

- Reduce stress. (Any ideas????)

I have found that I'm much better at accomplishing a goal when I intellectualize it, so for me it's been helpful to learn more about the science behind health and nutrition. Understanding causes helps me produce the desired effect, or something like that. And that makes it easier to take a lot of the sometimes overwhelming emotion out of all of this.

I'm looking forward to having a buddy as I start this new adventure, so I'm really grateful to T for coming up with this idea!

My next goal: I have my annual physical and blood work ONE MONTH from today. I hope to lose a little weight and have my cholesterol at a healthy level by then.