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Era NUTRITION Jan A3 Heartrelated diseases skyrocketing experts Our inactive defective diet and technologyfocused lifestyles are wiping out five decades of health advances the Heart and Stroke foundations 2010 annual report on Canadians health warns Foundation and York Region health professionals arc startled by the reported perfect storm of risk factors converging to create a mas sive burden on our cardiovascular care system There is also evidence patients are becoming younger There are some alarming sta tistics York public health nurse Belinda said Between and rates of high blood pressure among Cana dians skyrocketed by per cent diabetes by 15 per cent and obesity by 18 per cent Moreover risk is also on the rise for younger age groups Among to 49yearolds high blood pressure has increased 127 per cent diabetes by per cent and obesity by per cent all of which are major risk factors for heart disease No one is exempt the study stat ed noting Aboriginal multiethnic people and women are falling victim too In a very short time the face of heart disease in Canada has changed to include groups that have historically been immune to the threats of heart disease cardiologist and foundation spokesperson Dr Belli Abramson said Acombination of new atrisk groups and unhealthy eating habits has increased the threat of disease and damaged decades of progress she added The foundations director of research Dr Marco Buono agreed We can no longer operate under the current stereotypes he said In this country heart disease is not just a disease affecting older Caucasian Young people are beginning their adult lives with multiple risk factors for heart disease the report staled It used to be thought that similar io heart disease and stroke 2 diabetes and high blood pressure were diseases of aging These increases will translate into an explosion of heart disease in die next generation There are more than 250000 young Canadians in their 20s and 30s with high blood pressure foun dation director of health policy Ste phen Samis said Thats something we could have never imagined a decade ago Its almost a doubling in 1 years The real tragedy is that this is largely preventable Southlake Regional Health Cen tre cardiac prevention and rehabili tation manager Terry Fair is taken aback by the report The shocking aspect is that age is shifting getting younger he said Projecting down the road it may- well be a perfect storm As the pop ulation becomes more sedentary young peoples generation may not live as long as this current older generation year Southlakes cardiac program helps 750 people who have suffered cardiac complications However there is already more demand than the hospital can accommodate Getting people to adopt healthier Doctors perform openheart surgery on a patient A report published this week by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario shows significant increase in heart disease among younger people lifestyles is a priority public health nurse linh Lee said Ms Lee points to the cellphone and culture as major con tributors because both lead to less physical lifestyles Ms agrees People are inactive she said Using cars instead of walking makes people stagnant Reversing the disturbing trends begins with healthy eating and exer cise the nurses said We know exercise is a cost-cfTec- health promotion strategy Ms Lee said Being sedentary is a risk factor for a lot of chronic diseases Baby steps lead io healthy leaps Ms Lui said Incorporating physical activity into daily routine helps she said Take minutes at a time Start slow and build Walk take the stairs bike stretch and motivate yourself with a reward A little is good more is better We are what we eat and therein lies many youngsters problems public health nutritionist Nana qua said With an epidemic of obesity we see more hypertension high Mood pressure and diabetes she said Were not naive anymore in that this is solely the responsibility of Canadians We know- people are influenced by their And health experts point an accusatory finger at sodium We should top our daily sodium intake at 1500 mg however most of ingest more than twice Fast and prepared foods pro cessed meat canned soup dress and salty snacks are loaded with salt Ms said here a direct link to sodium and high blood pressure kidney disease and stroke she said We have to make changes to food supply We have to reduce the amount of foods 1 he nutritionist recommends learning htm to read food labels and selecting items that have less than 1 5 per cent of the daily sodium value Go back to basics and prepare meals from scratch she said not ing Canadas Food Guide recom mends seven servings of fruits and vegetables daily High fibre helps lower blood pressure see report v SODIUM ITS KILLI YOU Use Canadas food guide and the nutrition facts table to help lower your sodium intake with Canadas Food Guide recommends fhoosing foods each food group that are lower in sodium and preparing foods with little or no added salt Read nutrition labels to make informed food choices Almost all prepackaged foods have a nutrition facts table making it easier to see how much sodium is in any given food The label will give you the amount of sodium in the specific amount of food listed Check the percentage of the dairy value for tells you at a glance if there is a lot or a little of a in that specific amount of food Use the dairy value guide to compare food products Since most people get more sod urn than is healthy from prepackaged foods and meals pur chased outside of the home reduce your sodium consumption by choos ing these foods less often Choose more fresh unprocessed foods to eat or prepare at home in place of prepackaged convenience foods and choose plenty of fruits and vegetables fruits and vegetables are also higher in potassium which is a factor in reducing the risk of high blood pressure look for foods with claims such as salt free less than of sodium pet serving low in sodium of sodium or less per serv ing in sodium at least per cent less than the regular product Remember there is no need to add salt to childrens food Check the facts table to help choose foods aimed at children that are lower sodium and When dining out order dressings and sauces on the side and use spar ingly Before you eat at a fast food restaurant ask for nutrition informa tion to see how much sodium is in the food Many chains now make nutntion information available online or post in their outlets Source Health Canada J to get JOIN FUR 2010 side of RETIREMENT CAREFREE LIVING Join us for an ANTIQUE APPRARtiBfltif