Keep salt intake down to 3/4 of a
teaspoon per day: American Heart Association
A
simple measure that could go a long way in enhancing public health — limit salt
intake to less than 1,500 mg or about three-fourths of a teaspoon each day — is
the subject of an advisory to Americans. The American Heart Association (AHA)
has issued an advisory based on a thorough review of recent lab, animal,
observational and clinical studies. This advisory is meant not only for people
with medical conditions, but also for perfectly healthy people.
A
limited salt intake would significantly reduce the risk of high blood pressure
(BP), heart disease and stroke. ”Our recommendation is simple in the sense that
it applies to the entire US population, not just at-risk groups,” said Nancy
Brown, AHA’s chief executive officer, the AHA journal Circulation reports. BP affects
more than 76 million adults in the US alone and one billion people worldwide,
besides being a major cause of cardiovascular disease, globally, according to a
Tulane University statement.
“People
should not be swayed by calls for a change in sodium (salt) intake
recommendations based on findings from recent studies,” says Paul K. Whelton,
professor of global public health at the Tulane University School of Public
Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, who led the study. ”Our detailed
review of these studies identified serious methodological weaknesses, which
limit the value of these reports in setting or revising sodium intake policy,”
adds Whelton.
“Our
focus should be on finding effective ways to implement, not change, the
existing American Heart Association policy on sodium intake,” adds Whelton.
Yet, most US adults and children consume sodium far in excess of their
physiological needs and guideline recommendations — with an average daily
intake more than 3,400 mg per day.
Most
of the sodium consumed is hidden in processed and prepared foods. AHA advocates
improved nutritional labelling of sodium content and stringent limits on sodium
in all foods — fresh, processed and prepared.
Source: http://health.india.com
05.11.2012
‘Thin placenta at birth doubles risk
of heart failure’
Children
with a thin placenta at birth have double the chances of dying from a sudden
heart failure, warns a leading British physician. A thin placenta can hit the
quality of a baby’s foetal development by reducing the flow of nutrients
between mother and child, and this can affect the way the heart develops. David
Barker, physician and professor of clinical epidemiologist at the University of
Southampton, said it was crucial the characteristics of the placenta were
recorded.
“We
should routinely note the measurements after birth. We know the thicker the
placenta the better, and that a thin placenta is associated with sudden death,”
adds Barker, the Daily Mail reports. At a meeting in the Parliament coming
Tuesday, experts will discuss whether to introduce a national screening
programme to identify young people at risk of cardiac arrest.
Shadow
health secretary Andy Burnham said: “It feels as if more youngsters than ever
are being affected.”
Source: http://health.india.com
05.11.2012
Winners
don’t do different things. They do things differently
Shiv
Khera
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