Happy National Registered Dietitian Day to all my fellow RD’s and bloggers…!!!

Gina of Candid RD
Estela of Weekly Bite
Melinda of Nutrition, Food, Travel, and More
Rebecca of Chow and Chatter
Kristen of Eating RD
Kristen of Swanky Dietitian
Nour of Practical Nutrition
Georgie of Ask Georgie
Nicole of Nicole Geurin, RD
Anthony of From a Dietitian’s Perspective

I hope I’m not missing anyone! RD’s, chime in! Happy RD Day to you, too!

This is my 2nd National RD Day as I became a dietitian last March! March 8th to be exact! I passed the RD exam just in time to celebrate last year! Dietitians are the registered (and licensed in most states) professionals in diet and nutrition. I urge you to check out the above bloggers and learn lots from them just like I do! Nutrition is a forever evolving field and we are constantly learning together. If you saw my post from Monday on “real food” you know there are some extremists out there who have no credentialing to back up their claims. As wonderful as the Blogosphere is, always be weary and cautious of any off-the-wall posts or ideas. Anyone can be a blogger, but not everyone is a Registered Dietitian!

If you ever think of a nutrition-related question, send it on over to PreventionRD@gmail.com. My weekly Q&A’s help give accurate and helpful nutrition information to topics YOU want to know more about! Never hesitate to ask!

So, Happy RD Day to all the dietitians out there! Cheers to a wonderful and rewarding career committed to making people healthier and happier one bite at a time!

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I must also update you on my garden! This past weekend I planted all my seedlings in starter kits (which are toasty under our bed).

…And painted my garden….WHITE. I was going for red, but the fencing to keep Miss Lily out only came in white. And I can’t have an un-stylish, mismatched garden!!! I’m really happy with the final product!

Total Cost: $343 (ahhh!)

I purchased a large planter and soil for basil after a recommendation from a reader to keep the basil out of direct sunglight some of the day. I feared the Oklahoma heat would just smolder the basil and I need basil to support my love of pesto which is currently costing a small fortune to buy in stores! I also picked up paint, fencing, and steaks to make where my vegetables are growing.

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Today’s NNM Topic: Hypertension

Stoke is the 3rd leading cause of death and is often exacerbated by the “silent killer”: hypertension (high blood pressure). Blood pressure refers to the force of blood agansty artery walls. Over time, too much force on the arteries can cause hardening of the arteries.

There are a lot of ways to control high blood pressure through diet and lifestyle changes, including:

Limiting sodium in the diet to 1,500 milligrams a day (2,300 milligrams in non-hypertensive individuals)
Smoking cessation
Exercise
Stress management
Potassium, magnesium, and calcium
Eating a high-fiber diet containing lots of fruits and vegetables
Reduce cholesterol, trans fat, and saturated fat intake
Reduce red meat intake
Limit simple sugars and sweets

Hi from Lily!!!

Happy RD Day to those celebrating! And Happy Hump Day to everyone!

Q&A on Friday — send in those questions!

Be well,

1. Stress can cause you to ‘numb out’ and become insensitive. This is a natural survival instinct in an emotionally painful environment and could cause you to become an ineffective customer service representative or an insensitive manager. (David Lee, Training Scene)

2. Stress can stifle your creativity and innovation in the workplace due to the high physiological and psychological effects it can have on you. It causes your thought process to narrow and could make it harder for you to excel at thinking out of the box. (David Lee, Training Scene).This can be detrimental to your job security because in today’s harsh economic environment, “innovation is the best source of competitive advantage” according to Professor Larry Smith at the University of Waterloo.

3. Stress can cause accidents because your mind is often occupied elsewhere creating what David Lee author of “Managing Employee Stress and Safety” calls ‘tunnel vision’.

4. Stress can cause conflicts between you and your co-workers. In fact it could potentially lead to violence. According to the “Attitudes In The American Workplace VI” Gallup Poll in 2000: 14% of respondents had felt like striking a coworker in the past year, but didn’t; 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job stress, 10% are concerned about an individual at work they fear could become violent.

5. Stress is can make you less productive as it might cause you to miss work, quit or change jobs. Northwest National Life reported in 1993 that one million absences each day in the workplace are stress-related and it is estimated that 40% of worker turnover is due to job stress.

6. Stress can cause memory loss. The renowned brain researcher, Robert M. Sapolsky, has shown that sustained stress can damage the hippocampus, the part of the limbic brain which is central to learning and memory. The culprit is Cortisol a hormone secreted from the adrenal glands during stress.

7. Stress can affect your problem solving abilities. In a study done by Thomas D’Zurilla and F.Collette Sheedy in 1990, they measured specific components of the problem-solving process (e.g., problem orientation, problem-solving skills). The results of the analysis showed that general problem-solving ability was negatively affected even years later when the stress/problems have disappeared.

8. Stress can cause weight gain. Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than normal. You may also experience more cravings as the hormones released during stress cause carbohydrate cravings by lowering levels of serotonin, the calming hormone (Psychology Today, August 2007).

9. Stress can elevate your cholesterol levels. Studies of medical students near exam time and accountants during tax season showed significant increases in cholesterol levels during stressful events, when there was little or no change in diet. (Rosenman, 1993)

10. Stress can increase your risk of stroke even 50 years down the line. In a study of 556 veterans of WWII, the rate of stroke among those who had been prisoners of war was eight times higher than among those not captured. (Page and Brass, Yale Medical, 2001).

Co-written by Sumayya Sattar

In Asian cultures, the ability to tolerate pain within whining and seeking much attention is a virtue, but one that is working against people’s health these days.

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The Asian Value vs Common medical knowledge

It is an Asian virtue to NOT complain or run to the doctor over any tiny little pains and ailments.  Save money over the little ailments that you can bear with, so that you have more money for your family, or for bigger unbearable ailments. Don’t be wimpy, don’t be such a princess. Pain builds character.

These are the values I’m sure most of us have grown up with within the Asian culture — Indian, Chinese, Malay etc.

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At the same time, most people would intuitively and instinctively agree with these statements too:

-          Small illnesses are easier to treat and cure than serious illnesses

-          Serious illnesses tend not to happen overnight, most start off as small illnesses that grows more serious over time

-          If left untreated, small illnesses can either get cured by the body naturally, or it can develop into bigger illnesses

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I wonder how many people have realised the contradiction between their values of “bearing with small ailments” , and knowing that “small ailments are easier to treat and cure than serious ones”.

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Early-stage small ailments is easier to treat and cure than late-stage serious ones

Because it is easier to treat and cure illnesses while they are small, before they become serious, it is actually very very important to run to the doctor over very small pains. In fact, screening works very well, because you’re detecting illnesses even before the pain begins, when the illness is at a very early stage.

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This is backed up by very strong medical data. Most common cancers in Singapore and other developed countries, like colon cancer, breast, cervical cancer has a 90% survival rate at the stage where there are NO symptoms or when the pain is so minor you don’t feel it if you don’t think about it.  But the survival rate quickly drops to 50% at the next stage, 20% at the next and so on.

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In the early stage of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high blood cholesterol etc, it is easy to control with medication, a good diet and exercise.  There is almost no pain for these conditions. Yet, ignoring these problems will lead to diabetes, kidney failure, blindness, limb amputations, stroke, heart attack etc. You don’t have to be a doctor to know that a few pills a day to control high blood sugar is a lot better than having to amputate your leg, or recover from a stroke.

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So what should you be doing?

Firstly, stop putting up with pain silently. Seek medical help when the pain is very small and minor, because that’s the easiest to cure, cheapest to cure stage. Costs in terms of money and pain will only increase.

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Second, go for regular health screening. But how regular is regular? I know some people who do unnecessary expensive tests because of they were sold unethically, or because they forgot what they already screened for and did repeated tests whenever there was a promotion.

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How do you know what health screening you need?

The solution is to start a “health booklet”.

Remember in primary school we had these blue health booklets that recorded all your vaccinations and health screening information?

Start one.  Go buy a blank exercise book from the bookshop.

 Ask your GP or polyclinic doctor to write down what screening you need on a yearly, 2-yearly, 5-yearly interval.

Everytime you go for a screening, get the clinic nurse to write down the test you did and the date you did it. If possible, write down if the results were normal, or if they recommended follow up treatment.

The next time a health screening promotion is on, get the nurse or doctor or health-promoter to check against your book to see if you really need it. I think in Singapore, most of these people are still ethical enough to tell you if you don’t need the test, especially since more health-promoters are charities!

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Why the Asian Value was once good, but no longer applicable today?

Just 100 years ago, health screening tests were not invented. Antibiotics were not even common. People died young, of filthy water and common infections. People didn’t grow old enough to get cancer or chronic or heart diseases. When you’re young and antibiotics are not available, and what you have is an infection, the Asian virtue of not whining over small things is useful. There simply wasn’t anything that could be done if you whined!  Stop making a mountain out of a molehill was sensible good advice.

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Today, the medical technology landscape has changed fundamentally. We can detect diseases and cure them before we start to feel the pain. Screening is important. Small pain is a critical warning sign. These days, we can get rid of molehills before they grow into mountains. We can cure diseases when detected early, but not when it is too late.

I’ve been in battle for 1038 days.  Here are my daily stats:

Oh yeah…it took me a couple of hours researching HTML code to figure out how to insert the table above…I’m pretty proud of myself .

It’s not just about the number on the scale… Yes! I agree seeing a lower number on the scale always makes me feel good but it’s not the end all of why getting fit is important. There are much more important numbers to consider when it comes to wellness.

What numbers am I referring to? Cholesterol. There are other numbers to consider too, but today is all about Cholesterol. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that someone I know or close to someone I know has had a stroke or heart attack and guess what? Yep! Cholesterol is a direct contributor to cardiovascular disease, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

When you see my numbers below, you’ll understand why my first blog title was: “saving my life – how it started”. Yes, I love the physical results, but the real prize for all of my hard work is my numbers, Cholesterol numbers that is. The good news…my numbers are great now. They weren’t so great 3 years ago…check ‘em out.

What does this mean…well my Cholesterol number of 201 is down 19% from 3 years ago. The other great results…my Good Cholesterol is up (yes this is good) and my Bad Cholesterol is down (yay). I accomplished this through nutrition and exercise. This was an important battle to win in my fitbattle and as a result I have significantly reduced my risk of heart disease.

Are you hungry for more info on what these numbers mean and the risks of having high cholesterol? I’ve provided some links below to webmd.com.

Understanding Cholesterol Numbers

High Cholesterol Risks: Top 2 Dangers

Until tomorrow! Kathi

Video update from Liberation Wellness

• Oatmeal and Oat bran
• Walnuts and Almonds
• Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
• Olive Oil
• Foods fortified with plant sterols or stanols

Mayo Clinic

The good news — or the bad news, depending on what you’re snacking on — is that “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is sensitive to diet, though less sensitive than triglycerides and good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

Sunflower seeds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, pine nuts, flaxseeds, and almonds are particularly high in plant sterols, which can help reduce LDL.

Research shows that eating two apples a day can slow down the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and help prevent plaque buildup.

An important source of water-soluble fiber, oats have long been recognized as a potential cholesterol-lowering dietary component. The soluble fiber in oat bran binds with bile acids in the intestine to block the absorption of cholesterol by the body.

Studies show that the phytochemicals called liminoids in pink and red grapefruit make them powerful LDL busters. Also, all types of beans are great for lowering your LDL, but I don’t know to many people eat them for snacks.

Here is the acceptable levels of Good (HDL) and bad Cholesterol(LDL):

Total cholesterol levels: 

• less than 200 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L) is considered desirable
• 200 mg/dL – 239 mg/dL (5.17 mmol/L – 6.18 mmol/L) – borderline-high
• 240 mg/dL and above (6.21 mmol/L and higher) is considered high.

LDL-”bad” cholesterol levels: 

• less than 100 mg/dL (less than 2.6 mmol/L) is considered optimal
• 100 mg/dL – 129 mg/dL (2.6 mmol/L – 3.35 mmol/L) – near optimal or above optimal
• 130 mg/dL – 159 mg/dL (3.35 mmol/L – 4.10 mmol/L) – borderline high
• 160 mg/dL – 189 mg/dL (4.12 mmol/L – 4.88 mmol/L) – high
• 190 and above (4.90 mmol/L and greater) is considered very high.

HDL-”good” cholesterol levels: 

• 60 mg/dL (1.56 mmol/L) or higher is considered desirable (it reduces the risk of heart disease, even if total or LDL cholesterol is high)
• 40 mg/dL – 60 mg/dL (1.04 mmol/L – 1.56 mmol/L) – acceptable
• below 40 mg/dL (1.04 mmol/L) is considered low (it increases the risk for coronary artery disease in people who also have high total cholesterol levels).