fat

Triglycerides: What Fat and Sugar Have in Common

cheesecakeHoliday splurges can result in more than extra weight to shed in the New Year. Sweet cookies, pies, and candies all rich in fat, along with excess alcohol and calories can lead to a spike in triglyceride levels. This increase in triglycerides may put you at increased risk for heart disease.

In the Q&A section below, Lorraine Matthews-Antosiewicz, registered dietitian and author of 10 Days to Sugar Free: Sugar Detox Survival Guide, has answered questions regarding the relationship between triglycerides, sugar, and fat.

What are triglycerides?

Triglycerides are a type of fat that come from food, and your body also makes them. They are the most common type of fat found in the body. Triglycerides are continually circulating in the blood ready to be metabolized to provide a source of energy when needed, but their main function is to store energy for later use.  When you consume more calories than your body can use, it converts the excess into triglyceride and stores it in fat cells. Fat cells hold the triglyceride molecules until your body needs energy between meals. Hormones signal the fat cells to release the triglycerides for your body to use.

Why do triglycerides matter?

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5 Steps for Heart Health, Starting Now

On the road to heart health, start with weight control. Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight promotes overall health and prevents many diseases, including heart disease. Living with extra weight, puts an increased burden on your heart muscle. Being overweight or obese puts you at increased risk for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and other health

Here are five additional steps you can take for heart health:

1. Exercise more.

Being inactive is a major risk factor for heart disease. Regular exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, has many heart related benefits. For example, exercise will strengthen your heart, improves circulation, and lowers blood pressure.

2. Cut back on salt.

Salt can hide in places you may not expect. Read food labels. For some individuals, a high sodium diet is linked to high blood pressure. High blood pressure puts excess work on the heart and can lead to stroke and heart failure.

3. Avoid trans fat.

Trans fat increase LDL cholesterol, increase triglycerides and lowers HDL cholesterol. The FDA no longer recognizes trans fats as “generally recognized as safe” for use in food. Read food labels and select heart healthy oil when cooking, such as olive oil or canola oil.

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Common myths about cholesterol, foods and fats

Guest post provided by Rebecca S. Reeves, DrPH, RD, FADA

2013 is shaping up to be a year of prevention, which should have you thinking about how well you are treating your own heart. If you are trying to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, or your doctor has said that you need to lower your cholesterol, you are probably trying to keep a close eye on your diet.

This does not mean that you must avoid all your favorite foods. What it might take is substituting different ingredients in a recipe or stir-frying a food rather than deep fat frying it.

Learning the difference in the types of fat that we eat and where these fats are found in our food is also important to controlling the cholesterol levels in our blood. Taking precautions today could prevent a heart condition tomorrow.

Here are some of the most common myths and facts that you should know.
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How to Select a Bar that is Heart Healthy

It seems like we a constantly on the go, which makes quick and easy snacks a regular part of our daily routine. This is why bars are so popular; however, I don’t want you to assume a granola bar is automatically a heart healthy choice. Let’s cover what you need to look at when selecting a bar in a little more detail.

Carbohydrates

The high carb bars were originally intended for endurance athletes that require high energy food (i.e. high calorie food) to support there high levels of activity. This is not what you need to make it through everyday activities. Look for a bar that provides 40% or less of it’s calories from carbohydrates.

Protein

Find a bar that providers between 15 to 20 grams of protein per bar. Soy is frequently used as a protein source in bars. Due to the potential negative side effects of a diet high in soy, I encourage you to look for a bar that does not include soy. Instead, look for bars that utilize whey as the primary protein source.
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Marriage – Is it Making You Fat?

With the Valentine holiday just behind us, here’s an interesting bit of information on love and health.

Monitoring weight gain after marriage and divorce

Did you know Ohio researchers followed 10,071 individuals from 1986 to 2008 to evaluate weight gain during the two year period following marriage and divorce.

A variety of factors that impact weight gain were taken into account, such as pregnancy, education, and socioeconomic status.

Do men or women gain weight after marriage?

The study determined women are more likely to gain weight after their wedding day than men. This may be due to the larger role women play around the home leaving less time to devote to physical activity.

The study found men experience positive health benefits linked to married life and it’s divorce that leads to weight gain.

Interestingly, the study also found those who marry after the age of 30 years-old are more likely to experience weight shifts. . .up.

What do you think?

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Heart Fat – Is the fat around your heart increasing your heart disease risk?

You are probably familiar with the fact that an ‘apple’ body shape puts you at greater risk for heart disease. A new study published August 16th in the online edition of the journal of Radiology has found the fat around your heart may be an even stronger predicator of heart disease risk.

What is heart fat?

Heart fat, or pericardial fat, is hidden behind the rib cage in a pericardial cavity. It appears that pericardial fat releases proinflammatory markers which promote irregular build-up of plaque along coronary artery walls. This plaque build-up leads to atherosclerosis which can result in a heart attack.

Pericardial fat volume is linked to being overweight or obese. The more excess fat you carry, the greater your risk of having high levels of pericardial fat.

The 183 participants of this study were from the community-based Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). All participants were symptom free, meaning they did not show or experience symptoms of heart disease, but the majority of participants were overweight.

How is heart fat linked to heart disease?

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