February 18, 2002 - Volume 1 Issue 6

Welcome to the February edition of the Wellness Insider! We welcome your feedback and questions. To contact us, please click here. Click for version PLEASE NOTE: We have recently updated our newsletter sign-up form to a quick pop-up window format. The window will appear on any page that you access through this newsletter. You can choose to turn off the message by clicking on the checkbox that reads, "Do not show this window in the future". A Message from Dr. Cooper As you probably know, cardiovascular disease continues to be our nation's number one killer. No one would like to find a magic treatment for this very complex problem more than me. Unfortunately, no such quick fix is available. CHELATION THERAPY Over the years, I have been asked by numerous patients with heart disease if they should consider chelation therapy. My response has always been, "There is nothing in the scientific literature that justifies that course of therapy." According to a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (January 23/30, 2002), that response is still appropriate. Chelation (pronounced "key-lay-tion") therapy was developed many years ago as an antidote for mustard gas poisoning during wartime. Chelating agents actually bind to toxic metals, like iron or lead, and carry them out of the body. more... Nutrition Lowering Cholesterol the Soluble Fiber Way Kathryn Miller, M.S.,R.D.,L.D. In addition to cutting back on fat - and cholesterol - containing foods, add foods with soluble fiber to your diet to help lower your cholesterol levels. No food is magic, but when these foods are added to a low saturated fat, low cholesterol diet, you get the greatest dietary effect possible in lowering your cholesterol. The National Cholesterol Education Program recommends 10 to 25 grams of soluble fiber a day from fruits, vegetables, beans, oats and psyllium (total fiber intake should be 20 to 35 grams a day). more... Vitamin Supplementation Fat-Soluble Versus Water-Soluble Vitamins Angela Marks,  Cooper Concepts, Inc. Vitamins can be grouped into two different categories depending on how the body absorbs them. Today we will review the two categories, which consist of fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins. This article will help you learn the difference between these vitamins, when to take them, and which ones can become toxic when taken inappropriately. What are Fat-Soluble vitamins? These vitamins require fat in order to be absorbed by the body. The fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins need to be taken with food to be absorbed readily. In addition, these vitamins are stored in the body and can become toxic if you take them in high doses. Last month's article discussed vitamin A and beta-carotene in detail, so we will just quickly review this particular vitamin and move on to the others. more... Physical Training It's Time for Some Time Management Jill Armayor, Cooper Ventures Raise your hand if you still have your Christmas lights fastened to your roof. Raise your hand if you don't think about what to cook for dinner until it's time to eat. Raise your hand if your desk looks like a hurricane came through and wiped out all of your file cabinets. If you are like most, you are probably fighting a losing battle of staying on top of things. You think, "Wouldn't it be terrific to get everything done so that I could get to the gym today?" The New Year is in full swing and you are already starting to skip workouts because of all the other activities that take precedence over exercise. more... Women's Health Getting to the Heart of the Problem Brought to you exclusively from the women physicians at Cooper Clinic February is Heart Month so we thought we would take this opportunity to bring you up to date on coronary heart disease in women. Make no mistake about it, coronary heart disease is an equal opportunity killer. In fact, more women die each year from cardiovascular diseases than do men. Whether you are African American, Hispanic or Caucasian, if you are a woman, your number one killer is cardiovascular disease. To put this in perspective, twice as many women die from cardiovascular disease than from all forms of cancer combined. Of these deaths, half will be from heart attack while the remainder will be from stroke, heart failure, high blood pressure and other forms of cardiovascular disease. more... Men's Health High Blood Pressure and Physical Activity Tim Church M.D., PhD., M.P.H. The Cooper Institute I can't tell you how many times I have heard, "Doctor I am being treated for high blood pressure. Is it safe for me to start exercising?" The answer is a resounding "YES". The Cooper Institute recently presented data in the American Journal of Cardiology showing that men with high blood pressure who participated in physical activity on a regular basis were much less likely to die prematurely than men with high blood pressure who did not participate in physical activity. In my opinion, if you have high blood pressure and it is properly controlled with medications, regular physical activity is the most important change you can make to improve or maintain your health. Of course with any new lifestyle change, it is best that you check with your doctor to assure increasing physical activity is right for your particular situation. But more than likely your doctor will be thrilled that you are considering increasing your physical activity. more... Click for version

Kid's Corner In a country where more than 10 million children ages 6 to 17 are considered overweight and almost half of these are severely obese, it's more important than ever to educate young people about the importance of physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. If you would like to receive periodic information on kid's nutrition and fitness, click here to automatically be added to the mailing list... Weekly Recipe Brownies De-Light Ingredients: 1 box brownie mix, any brand 4 oz. non-fat plain yogurt amount of water as shown on box chocolate packet, if included Directions: Omit eggs and 1/2 cup oil from recipe directions on box of brownies. Instead, add yogurt to brownie mix and blend together in a mixing bowl. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour mixture into a pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray; bake about 30 minutes, as directed on the brownie package. Per Serving: 120 Calories, 3 g Fat from: The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution  written by Georgia G. Kostas, M.P.H., R.D., L.D. Shop Online: The Polar Heart Monitor Keep track of your workout time and average heart rate with the Polar Heart Monitor! This is the ideal monitor for beginning exercisers. It features easy to use, single button operation. Heart rate is continuosly displayed along with a visual indicator of exercise time. Recalls both total exercise time and average heart rate for your workout.