wellness weekly

The News:

Triglycerides: Having high triglycerides can be an independent risk factor for heart disease. Heart disease can of course lead to premature death. Unfortunately, there is a growing prevalence of this condition in America which is associated with the obesity problem that we have. There has been a push by some, I am guessing the pharmaceutical industry, to use statin therapy to lower triglycerides, but a recent study does not support that recommendation. Instead, when a person’s level of this blood fat is between 150 and 500, known as hypertriglyceridemia, changes in diet and activity level should be recommended by the treating physician. This is a serious issue. I have not had blood work since 2005, but I had it today! So stay tuned for the present. My last level was in the 80s.
What? With sales slumping at most clothing stores, eclectic boutiques are looking for ways to get customers in and to keep them around for a while. I read in the WSJ last week that several were offering beer, wine and cocktails. My first and continued reaction is this, the LAST thing I want to do before I try on a pair of jeans is drink a beer!
High or Low Fat,Carbs,Protein: Instead of a randomized clinical drug trial, researchers who published their study in a peer reviewed journal, Cardiosource, placed over 800 overweight and obese persons into 3 separate diet groups. What they found was weight loss occurs when less calories are consumed (everyone sure hates to hear that), but cholesterol levels were lower in the group that ate less saturated fat.
Garadasil: One of my list serves contained an article on recommendations for this vaccine. Because Gardasil is new and in my opinion controversial, I read the article. There were a few points that I would like to iterate. There are 4 strains of HPV addressed by this vaccine. Two of them are responsible for 70% of the HPV that can lead to cervical cancer and two are responsible for 90% of the strain that may lead to genital warts. If a person has been exposed to part of these four strains (there are many more strains) but not all, there may be some therapeutic benefit from getting the vaccine. There is no benefit if a person has been exposed to all four. Thus the vaccine is best for persons not yet sexually active. HPV is the most common of the sexually transmitted diseases with current prevalence at about 26%. The article that I read was written by pharmacist Laurie Briceland. BTW, vaccine or no, Pap Smears can prevent cervical cancer.
Readmissions: The Government and it’s Centers for Medicare Services or CMS, did some research into costs of care for its Medicare recipients. Of concern is readmission to the hospital within 30 days of discharge. The study found that billions of dollars could be saved if this rate of readmissions could be lowered from the current 20%. What is considered the main cause of these unplanned readmissions is lack of adequate follow up care. Discharge planning was one of my roles in a past career and at my hospital every patient had to be scheduled with their PCP after discharge. Many patients did not keep their appointment and the cause of that warrants further investigation. Some issues of which I am aware is availability of doctors, long wait times, transportation issues, and Medicare visit costs. I must add that at many hospitals there is pressure to “get the patient out of there.”
Obesity Epidemics Main Cause: I have seen this before but when I saw it on Sunday I thought, you know, that is it right there. Electric Bicycles. No not mopeds, bicycles with engines. Now General Motors, whom I thought could not make any more mistakes, wants to expand its relationship with Segway Co. A new vehicle is being produced that can pretty much obviate walking. This new rideable device will be called PUMA. That stands for Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility. I cannot swallow this. We are overweight and our environment is polluted for one very significant reason… we do not walk anywhere. So for those of us who are able to walk, i.e. not paralyzed, here is the personal mobility device I would like to promote; LEGS.



Okay, let’s do some cooking.


Whole Wheat Pancakes:

Spices: cinnamon and sugar free vanilla syrup
Grains: 56 g of whole wheat flour, ¾ cup of loose oat bran
Liquid: ¼ cup no sugar added apple sauce, eighth cup egg beaters, ¼ cup skim milk
Sweetener: ¼ c splenda
Other: Baking Powder
Topping: Walden’s Farms Sugar/Calorie Free Syrup

(this recipe has 420 calories, on the video i mistakenly say 400 at one point)
Non fat spray and water is also needed.

Calorie content explained in video. BTW, whole wheat flour is a protein source!

Live Well
Deirdre