Fitness Level Important in Preventing Heart Disease, a New Study Shows

A new large study has reinforced the importance of maintaining our level of fitness in preventing deaths from heart disease. This study looked at exercise capacity by treadmill test. The investigators found that the men in the top 25% in fitness level had a 70 % lower death rate over 7 years than did the least fit group. This study showed these findings for both whites and blacks and after taking into account risk factors like cholesterol, blood pressure, and BMI. So remember to keep your level of fitness high with 5-6 days per week of 30+ minutes of regular activity for you and your kids. This activity does not have to be strenuous, a good walk is fine.

RED YEAST RICE ALERT

Many parents have asked me what I think of red yeast rice which is sold as a dietary supplement to lower cholesterol. I personally don't feel RYR is a sensible thing to take and I never recommend it for children. Here's why. RYR contains a mixture of statins which are the active ingredients of drugs like Zocor, Lipitor, or Crestor yet because RYR is sold as a supplement, there are less stringent controls on dose and contaminants then they are with drugs. So you can't be sure what your getting. Because the active component of RYR is a stain, if you're taking it, you need your liver and muscle enzymes checked regularly as well but this is not commonly done with supplements. I am aware of no scientific studies testing RYR for safety or efficacy in adults or children. Whereas the Statin drugs have been studied extensively for over 20 years in thousands of patients and have proven safe and lifesaving. If you want more information, check out this link to the Mayo Clinic Site

Meanwhile if you want a dietary supplement which has been proven to be safe and effective in lowering cholesterol, consider plant sterols and stanols in products like Smart Balance, Benechol, Cholestoff or Promise Activ.