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BERWICK AREA HEART SUPPORT GROUP

JULY 2007 NEWSLETTER

Next Meeting WEDNESDAY 4^th JULY at the Day Hospital Berwick Infirmary 7.00 pm to    9.00pm  Guest speaker Mandy Thompson.  Mandy is a practice nurse at the Well Close Square Surgery, and is also the cardiac nurse working with the Cardiac Rehab group at the Swan Centre.

*****

Our meeting on the 6^th of June was also our AGM. By a unanimous decision from everyone present, all those with jobs to do which help to keep the Heart Club functioning, ie, Co-Chairmen, Phil Harris and Micheal Redican,  Treasurer, Andy Curthbert ,  Secretary, Terry French  and me Wally Selby  his helper [Editor comments: actually Wally  is Meetings Secretary as well as several other things.]and also Irene, Ann and Kathy, who make the tea, we all get to keep our jobs for another year. Obviously we must be doing something right.

Dr Higham  our Honourable  President wanted to come was unable to attend, but he will later in the year and give us the next installment of the CAT pictures.

Our speaker for the evening was Jenny Garland, who is the proprietor of            Solar-Plexus Alternative Therapy Centre, Main Street, Tweedmouth. The alternative therapies on offer include reflexology, massage, aromatherapy, reiki, toning table, Thai massage, counselling, life coaching, homeopathy and workshops to help life coaching techniques.

Jenny concentrated for the evening on Reflexology, first  giving a brief history both about herself and the therapy, and then demonstrating on a couple of willing helpers.

Jenny started her working life as a nurse and worked for 31 years in various departments and different Hospitals, including 12 years in Accident and Emergency at Berwick, two years at The Royal in Edinburgh, and  two years at The Nuffield in Newcastle, but maybe not in that order. During that  time she did become interested in some of the alternative therapies, and whilst not always recognised or condoned by mainstream Doctors, Jenny often saw noticeable  relaxing effects on some patients,

especially those awaiting tricky operations, or  facing some other traumatic episode. So during her nursing years she studied some of these therapies and became qualified in them, she is also a Reiki Master. She finally retired as a nurse earlier this year.

Just a very brief history of Reflexology, for once this is not a thousands of years old Oriental therapy. It is in fact quite young.   It was discovered by an American, named Williamson, who discovered that by massaging certain small areas of the feet, and incidentally the hands as well, that relief could be felt in various other parts of the body, and the same spot was the same for each person.

He spent several years ‘mapping out’ these areas, and together with 5 imaginary Meridian lines that travel from the soles of our feet right up our bodies and out the top of our heads, he produced  maps of our feet, and which spot refers to which part of the body. I have reproduced this map on page five/six.

Initially this was called Zone therapy, and first came to England in the 60s. It became popular in the 90s, and at sometime changed its name to Reflexology. It is good for relieving stress, tension, depression, heart rate and blood pressure, angina, and is good for giving your metabolic rate a kick start. By massaging the right areas Jenny is able to break up crystals (uric acid) this allows them to be removed by the lymph glands. After treatment it is necessary to drink lots of water otherwise these broken down crystals get lodged up in other joints causing pain. A session of treatment should also produce a    flush of the feel good chemicals and endorphins.

Jenny did demonstrate on two willing volunteers.

Thank you for your time Jenny, I found it very interesting.

1. Top of Head	15. Spine, Vertebra	29. Ascending Colon
2. Sinuses	16. Pancreas	30. Descending Colon
3. Pituitary Gland	17. Solar Plexus	31. Lumbar
4. Temporal Area	18. Stomach & Duodenum	32. Small Intestines
5. Neck, Cervical	19. Liver	33. Sacral
6. Upper Lymph Area	20. Spleen	34. Bladder
7. Parathyroid Gland	21. Spleenic Fixture	35. Ileo-Caecal Valve
8. Ears	22. Gall Bladder	36. Appendix
9. Eyes	23. Adrenal Glands	37. Sigmoid Flexure
10. Thyroid Glands	24. Hepatic Flexure	38. Hip & Lower Back
11. Shoulder	25. Kidneys	39. Coccyx
12. Lungs and Bronchi	26. Transverse Colon	40. Sciatic Area
13. Heart Area	27. Waist
14. Heart	28. Urethras

40. Sciatic Area 41. Rectum 42. Uterus 43. Prostate 44. Breast 45. Lymph Drainage 46. Fallopian Tubes 47. Lymph Nodes (Arm Pit) 48. Sacroiliac Joint 49. Ovary or Testicle 50. Lymph Nodes (Groin) 51. Maxilla/Sub maxilla (Jaw) 52. Tonsils

******

 Latest News 

From time to time Terry and Phil have tried to put a selection of latest research news on the website, (for example research that emphasises the dangers of passive smoking, which is especially dangerous for those who have heart or artery disease).

Here is a selection of some newsworthy research headlines this month:

1. Taking Co-enzyme Q10 has been shown to help alleviate the muscle pain that can be a side-effect of taking statins. Worth discussing this with your Doctor if you have a problem? [CoEQ10 is a natural substance made in the body that tends to reduce with age and is also halved when you take statins.]

2.The risk of cardiovascular mortality increases at the earliest mild sign of impaired glucose metabolism, researchers have reported.

"This confirms the clinical importance of pre-diabetic conditions and suggests the need to target glucose abnormalities with lifestyle interventions -diet and exercise- in order to prevent progress to frank diabetes," said the researcher. [Suggestion: get your blood sugar checked regularly.]

3. If you are trying to control high blood pressure, and you and your Doctor need to know how it is going, the following could be worth thinking about.

"Home monitoring is the best way of looking at changes over long periods of time" and provides the information needed for medication adjustments”, Dr. Pickering [researcher] commented.

Most patients are able and willing to track their blood pressures at home, "but there is a small group of patients who become very anxious, and compulsively keep taking readings," he cautioned. "It should be stressed that there will be some high and some low readings, and that what we are interested in is the average level. … Take 3 readings in succession each time (about 30 seconds between readings), one set first thing in the morning, and another at night before going to bed," said Dr. Pickering. "For someone just starting, we like to see readings over 3 days/week for two weeks. If the situation is stable...they can be much less frequent."

Phil

******

 Wally’s Yarn

Another story I heard whilst in Ireland.

Sister Susan, who was a Nun in a closed order convent, where they had very little contact with the outside world, had to go to the Mother Superior to confess that she thought she might be pregnant.

Once her pregnancy was confirmed, The    Mother Superior wanted to know how this could have happened. “Who did this to you” she asked Sister Susan.

Sister Susan replied “It was St. Michael”

Mother Superior said, “I can hardly believe that this is true, but tell me what happened”.

“St. Michael visited my room a few times a couple of months ago. He told me I was the chosen one and that I was not to tell anyone” said Sister Susan.

“And did he tell you his name”? Asked The Mother Superior

“No” said Sister Susan, “He said it had to be kept secret, but I was crafty, I noticed his name was sewed into the back of his underwear.”

******

 Fruit and Vegetables

Johns Hopkins is perhaps the most famous medical University in the USA and recently they have been issuing this advice.

Study after study reports that when your diet is high in fruits and vegetables -- which are the richest natural sources of vitamins, minerals, and fibre (fiber) -- you are doing the best you can to protect your heart and help prevent many diseases, including cancer.

An apple a day may “keep the doctor away,” but you’ll be doing your body a favour if you sometimes snack on other kinds of produce -- kiwifruit, blueberries, carrots, pomegranate juice, or dried apricots, to name just a few.

Consider the following tips:

Heart Health

• Stock up on fresh fruits and keep them accessible on your countertop or visible in your  refrigerator.
• Add fresh or dried fruit to your breakfast cereal.
• Thaw frozen berries and add them to plain or vanilla yogurt for a snack or dessert
• Have a six-ounce glass of 100% fruit juice with your breakfast.
• As thirst-quencher or at mealtimes, add 100% fruit juice to sparking water or seltzer.
• Enjoy a ‘fruit-smoothie’ made by blending low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or frozen fruits.
• Bring dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries, apple slices) to work for mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks.
• Add tomatoes, onions, peppers, and/or mushrooms to an egg-white omelette for a hearty breakfast or brunch.
• Chill small cans of vegetable juice to snack on at work.
• When dining out, start your meal with a salad.
• When making or ordering a wrap or sandwich, include sprouts, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and other raw vegetables.
• Add raisins, grapes, or apple slices to your salads
• Make a big pot of vegetable soup on the weekend and freeze it in single-portion containers to reheat for a quick weekday lunch or supper.
• Make your own pizza (you can buy ready-to- use dough [or make your own low salt version]) and top it with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, spinach, or eggplant.
• Double the portion of vegetables you already eat at lunch and dinner.

Phil

 Recipe of the month

Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients

• 3oz butter
• 3oz caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3oz self raising flour
• 1lb rhubarb
• 1tbsp demerara sugar for the topping
• 2 ½  oz butter
• 3oz plain flour
• 1oz caster sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 190 c.

Grease  a 8in round cake tin. Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the eggs, fold  in the flour and a pinch of salt.

Slice the rhubarb into 1in pieces and toss in the demerara sugar.

To make the topping, rub the butter into the flour and stir in the sugar

Pour the cake mix into the tin and arrange the rhubarb on top.

Sprinkle the topping over and bake for 40-45 mins.

Serve with a dollop of double cream

******

Berwick Area Heart Support Group

August 2007 newsletter

Next meeting Wednesday August 1^st at the day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm –      9.00pm Guest speaker:Katie Kennedy. Katie is a State Registered Dietitian based in the East Midlands, and is employed by Alpro Soya.  Katie will give a presentation on 'healthy eating for a healthy heart' - 'food for your heart', to include the science behind health claims for functional foods such as soya in heart health and cholesterol lowering.There will also be samples of soya foods for you to try if desired.

******

At our last meeting on 4^th July 2007, Mandy Thompson, Practice Nurse at Well Close Surgery, gave us deeper insight into aspects of her work, as Cardiac Rehab Nurse at the practice and working with the Cardiac Rehab. Unit at the Swan Centre.

Mandy did give us a talk in Jan. 2004 when things were very new. This time she told us how things had progressed and where changes had been made. Most of the following information is gleaned from the question and answer format the evening took.

Stroke victims are now within Mandy’s remit as strokes like heart events are mostly caused by a blockage in a blood vessel (artery) causing tissue to suffer beyond the point of the blockage/restriction.

Statins are proving very effective as they are very good at sealing or stabilising the risky plaque on the artery walls. Statins chiefly help reduce our cholesterol level, which incidentally is recommended at 5 or less, but a consensus of medical opinion suggests this figure may soon be 4

There are a large number, around 1200, of patients with vascular (blood vessel ) problems attached to the Well Close Surgery. Mandy did not know the numbers for Union Brae.

The Rehab Unit commenced in September 2003, and is held on Tuesdays and Thursday

The exercise programme involves and extends the exercises from the heart manual, which many of us might remember, although I think Mandy did say that some of it had changed. The programme includes both cardiovascular and more relaxing recovery type exercises, and the meeting on Thursdays involves a health talk. Referrals are still made by local Doctors, and hospital Chest Pain Clinics. It covers North Northumberland, and is now beginning to stretch up through the Borders, with referrals from the Borders General.

Mandy said that her work now includes all aspects of Cardiac enquiries, including the yearly ‘MOTs’, many of us already get in addition to the usual checks, ie checking medicines, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, (and that we have a pulse!). There are now kidney and liver function tests in order to ensure that both are working correctly. Kidneys, like the heart can be affected by blood vessel problems and the liver also needs a check because some of our daily pills, especially the ‘statins’ work directly on the liver to inhibit the enzyme releasing cholesterol. To prepare for the tests, when attending the surgery for your ‘MOT’ you will be asked to bring a urine sample, which is checked for any blood or protein, and other indicators used for the calculating of kidney function.

Angina is now included in cardiac rehab, with preventative and lifestyle advise. 

Running alongside this work is an Angina Support Programme, with preventative and lifestyle advice.

Mandy did read out a passage from the British Heart Foundation booklet, entitled “Cardiac Rehabilitation… recovery or bypass” this is a quote by a Professor Bob Lewin, of the European Society of Cardiology in Amsterdam.

“If there were a pill that cost very little, reduced cardiac deaths by 27%, improved quality of life, and reduced anxiety and depression, every cardiac patient in Europe would be expected to take it. There is no such pill, but taking part in a cardiac rehabilitation programme can provide all these benefits. In the UK only a small number of those in need are offered the chance to take part”

The booklet does go on to say that unfortunately it is a postcode lottery as which areas receive this. Berwick has therefore won the lottery because it is available here in Berwick

Four points raised in the booklet, but also asked in a slightly different way were.

Can it reduce direct costs and readmissions to hospital?

 Rehab. showed a cost saving of 30% in unplanned readmissions to hospital. This was dependant on the quality of the rehab.

How much does it cost per patient?

The National Audit Office of Cardiac Rehab. found in 2005/6 that the average cost was £413, which incidentally was cheaper than the average holiday for the same period.

How does the cost compare with other cardiac treatments?

A single day in coronary care costs £1400, an angioplasty £3000, and by-pass surgery £8000.

The booklet covers all aspects of Cardiac Rehab, with many, many more questions answered, if you want a copy they are available from British Heart Foundation. (If you want the Group to get some copies, let us know. Ed.)

******

 Healthy Eating for a Healthy Heart 

Raised cholesterol remains one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease. It is known that over 80% of men and women aged 45-64 have cholesterol above the recommended upper limit of 5mmol/L (British Heart Foundation statistics). However, the current dietary & lifestyle recommendations to promote a healthy heart are aimed not just at lowering cholesterol – instead they focus on a ‘cardioprotective diet’ – ie a diet that will keep the heart healthy from many different aspects. In addition to cholesterol-lowering advice, this includes advice to keep blood pressure and weight in check, improve the health of blood vessels and reduce clotting and narrowing of arteries. I use the word ‘diet’ loosely since it is often the case that those who have ever tried to follow a ‘diet’, feel defeated from the outset! Changes to what you eat should be gradual manageable and realistic if they are going to be maintained. Research tells us that the greatest improvement in health for people who manage to reduce their cholesterol is seen in those who maintain this reduction over at least 2 years.

So what do the experts recommend? Firstly you should aim to reduce your intake of saturated fat and replace this with unsaturated fats – either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as full fat dairy products – including full fat milk, cheese and butter, processed meat (e.g sausages, burgers, faggots and corned beef), and baked foods (e.g cakes, biscuits and pastry). Polyunsaturated fats are found in sunflower/ rapeseed/ soya and walnut oils and spreads made from these, nuts and seeds. Monounsaturated fats are found in olive oil and olive oil spreads. Therefore a practical way to follow this advice would be to choose low fat dairy foods – either skimmed or semi-skimmed milk/ soya milks, remove all visible fat from meat, use lower fat cooking methods (such as grilling or frying) and reduce the amount of biscuits and pastries eaten. Changing your spread and cooking oil to a healthier version based on unsaturated fat & using this in place of butter/ lard in baking is also a good idea. This change in the type of fat you eat will help to reduce the ‘bad’ cholesterol in your blood (called LDL cholesterol) which sticks in arteries to cause blockages (atherosclerosis).

Other changes you could consider making to your diet include increasing your intake of omega-3 fats – a type of polyunsaturated fat with extra heart health benefits. The names of these omega-3 fats are often shortened to ‘EPA’ and ‘DHA’. The richest source of EPA and DHA is oily fish. It is recommended that you aim to consume 2 portions of fish per week, one of which should be an oily fish such as Mackerel, sardines, pilchards or salmon. If you have suffered a heart attack you may benefit from additional omega-3 fats, eating 2-3 portions of oily fish per week or if this is not possible, taking a fish body oil supplement providing 0.5-1g EPA and DHA per day. Fish liver oil supplements often do not contain enough EPA and DHA in the doses recommended, therefore it is wise to consult a pharmacist or your doctor to advise on the best brand of supplement should you wish to take one. This advice has been shown to reduce deaths from heart disease as omega-3 fats can reduce blood clotting and swelling in the body.

Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables – at least 5 portions per day seems like a difficult task for some. A few simple steps to achieving this include; adding extra fresh or dried fruit to cereals, adding chopped peppers/ courgette/ peas/ carrots to casseroles and stews and using tinned fruit as a pudding (see recipe idea at the end of this article). Fruit and vegetables are rich in antioxidants which help to protect the heart and blood vessels from damage, they are also a good source of soluble fibre which can help reduce cholesterol levels.

Too much salt can increase your blood pressure which can damage your heart and blood vessels. Try to avoid adding salt at the dinner table and use herbs/ spices, lemon juice and garlic to flavour your food instead. Avoid eating too many processed or packet foods such as instant soups and sauces, and salted snacks. Read labels more often when you are buying your food – try to avoid foods that contain more than 0.5g sodium per 100g.

What about the ‘W’ word?! If there was a quick and easy way to help people lose excess weight, dietitians everywhere would delight. However, shedding extra pounds or simply keeping your weight stable requires motivation and effort. Some simple steps to get you started include: Reduce your portion sizes – try using a smaller plate and always fill 1/3 of your plate with vegetables or salad – these will fill you up and provide extra vitamins too! Including more high-fibre foods such as granary breads and wholegrain cereals will help to keep you feeling fuller for longer and also contain lots of vitamins and minerals that are good for your heart. Be as active as you can, whenever you can, enjoy regular walks, park further from the shops and use the stairs instead of a lift. For some people, increasing their activity level is simply impossible due to poor health. If this sounds like someone you know, investigate whether your local PCT employs an exercise co-ordinator or knows of any chair-based exercise classes or instructors that could help. Ask at your GP surgery.

So what about all the foods which have appeared on our shelves recently which claim to reduce your cholesterol? Are they really of benefit? Well, the evidence is that these foods can make a healthy addition to a cardioprotective diet, although they are no ‘miracle cure’, they offer extra help for people already following the advice I discuss above but who want/ need to reduce their cholesterol further. These foods include plant sterols/ stanol spreads and drinks (e.g Benecol/ Danecol/ Flora Proactive), oat fibre (from porridge oat cereal) and soya protein (from soya beans/ soya nuts and soya alternatives to milks, yogurts and desserts).

Plant sterol/stanol products are now sold in the form of spreads, yogurts and mini-drinks containing these natural plant compounds. If you choose the spreads and yogurts/ milks, you will need to consume 3 portions per day to lower your cholesterol. If you choose the new mini-drinks that many of these companies are now producing, one drink will provide all the plant sterol/stanol that you need.

Porridge oats contain a special type of soluble fibre which also helps to lower blood cholesterol, try having a bowl of porridge in the morning with chopped fruit, or adding oats into baking.

Soya foods are low in saturated fat and contain a plant source of omega 3 and 6 polyunsaturated fats. The protein found in soya foods has also been found to lower cholesterol*. You will need to consume on average 3-4 portions soya foods per day to reduce your cholesterol levels – try using soya milk on cereal and in tea/ coffee, a soya yogurt or soya nuts (roasted soya beans) as a snack and a soya dessert after your evening meal.

(Katie will be discussing each of these foods in more depth when she visit the group meeting on 1st August, She will also bring along some soya foods for you to taste. In the mean-time why not try out the healthy heart recipe idea below. Ed.)

*25g soya protein per day as part of a diet low in saturated fat can help to lower blood cholesterol levels JHCI 2002.

Katie Kennedy MNutr RD
Senior Dietitian
Alpro - A company of the Vandemoortele Group

******

 Recipe of the Month

Refreshing Summer Fruit Smoothie

Makes an ideal summer-time snack or after dinner treat

Ingredients

3 – 4 large strawberries

½ banana

Small handful raspberries

150ml Alpro Soya milk

Method

Cut strawberries and banana into large chunks

Place all fruit in a large cup or bowl and blend using a hand-held electric blender or mach using the back of a fork until smooth and ‘pulpy’

Pour in Alpro Soya milk and mix well

Serve in tall glasses with a sprig of mint and ice cubes

******

 NEWS THIS MONTH

(These snippets are  a selection of some of the more interesting research news that comes our way and that could encourage us to go in the right direction. We put them in the newsletter and on the website as an occasional feature.)

Look after your heart, look after your brain?

Although Simvastatin (Zocor) is only prescribed to lower cholesterol, it may protect the brain as well as help sustain the heart, according to researchers Wolozin Bet al in their article "Simvastatin is associated with a reduced incidence of dementia" BMC Medicine 2007 (in press). The older statin drug, Lovastatin, did not appear effective.

Exercise is an important help for diabetes.

An English review of research confirms the value of exercise for diabetics.Exercise programs, for example, included 20 minutes of low- impact aerobic exercise, joining an aerobic exercise group or a structured exercise program, or walking three miles a day three times a week plus other additional exercise.

Although diet and keeping weight down is believed also to be vitally important, the researchers say there is a shortage of really good studies.

Source: Nield L, et al "Dietary advice for treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults (review)"The Cochrane Library 2007; Issue 3.

Lentils help keep the weight down.

White bread (and similar food) is converted very rapidly during digestion to easily absorbed sugar and is called “high glycemic” because of the effect it has on blood sugar. Apparently such food also makes it harder to lose weight. Calorie for calorie, weight loss may be easier if diets are mostly foods with a low glycemic index, such as lentils, beans and ‘whole grains’, according to a systematic literature review. Compared with those on high glycemic index or conventional weight-loss diets, people who were overweight and obese lost a mean of 1 kg more on low glycemic index diets.

Source: Thomas DE, et al "Low glycaemic index or low glycaemic load diets for overweight and obesity (Review)"Cochrane Library 2007

Phil.Harris

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 Wally’s Yarn

Far away in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, two prawns were swimming around in the sea. One was called Justin and the other called Christian.
The prawns were constantly being harassed and threatened by sharks that inhabited the area. Finally one day Justin said to Christian, "I'm fed up with being a prawn; I wish I was a shark, and then I wouldn't  have any worries about being eaten."
A large mysterious cod appeared and said, "Your wish is granted"  Lo and behold, Justin turned into a shark.
Horrified, Christian immediately swam away, afraid of being eaten by his old mate.
Time passed (as it invariably does) and Justin found life as a shark boring and lonely.
All his old mates simply swam away whenever he came close to them. Justin didn't realize that his new menacing appearance was the cause of his sad plight.
While swimming alone one day he saw the mysterious cod again and he thought perhaps the mysterious fish could change him back into a prawn.
He approached the cod and begged to be changed back, and, lo and behold, he found himself turned back into a prawn. With tears of joy in his tiny little eyes Justin swam back to his friends and bought them all a cocktail.
The punch line does not involve a prawn cocktail (- it's much worse).

Looking around the gathering at the reef he realized he couldn't see his old pal.  "Where's Christian?" he asked.
"He's at home, still distraught that his best friend changed sides to the enemy & became a shark", came the reply.
Eager to put things right again and end the mutual pain and torture, he set off to Christian's abode.
As he opened the coral gate, memories came flooding back.  He banged on the door and shouted, "It's me, Justin, your old friend, come out and see me again."
Christian replied, "No way man, you'll eat me. You're now a shark, the enemy, and I'll not be tricked into being your dinner."
Justin cried back "No, I'm not. That was the old me. I've changed.".........
I've found Cod. I'm a Prawn again Christian".

Berwick Area Heart Support Group

September 2007 newsletter

Next meeting Wednesday September 5th at the day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm    – 9.00pm  Guest speaker: Dave Stephens from Northumberland Warm Zone

Northumberland Warm Zone is part of National Energy Action (NEA) a registered charity tasked with helping householders live in warm dry homes. They are a not for profit organisation and carry out free surveys for householders to assess suitability for insulation measures. They also have access to bespoke benefits advice and again this is a free service.

Clients who qualify under their "priority" service, have insulation works carried out completely free and all others qualify for grants under a similar scheme.

The funding comes as part of the government's energy efficiency commitment scheme (EEC).

Active partners are Blyth Valley Borough Council, Wansbeck District Council, Castle Morpeth Borough Council, Tynedale Council, Alnwick District Council, Berwick upon Tweed Borough Council, Northumberland County Council, Northumberland Care Trust and many voluntary sector groups such as Age Concern and local CAB's. The partners they have, all acknowledge the difference they make to clients in helping them into warm dry homes which helps reduce the risks of ill health as well as increasing household income.

*****

 Our speaker for August meeting held on Wed. 1^st August was Katie Kennedy. Katie is a State Registered Dietician, now based in the East Midlands and employed by Alpro Soya.

She has only relatively recently taken this post, having previously spent all her working life looking after the dietary needs of various age groups, from  children to the elderly within  the NHS.. One of the advantages of working in outside business is there is the opportunity to visit groups such as ours and, other public events where she can promote healthy eating options, based on a commonsense approach, without the mention of “the expensive option”, or “theorganic option”

As with many of our speakers now, Katie’s talk was based around a slide show (In computertalk this is now known as a Power Point display)and a lot of what she covered was in last months newsletter. She did cover the basics of a healthy balanced diet, which many of us try to live by, ie 5 fruit or vegetables a day, (thereis a train of thought that this may rise to8 in the near future),and about keeping saturated fats, salt and sugar to a minimum, and eating plenty of fibre, and the benefits of the different types of fibre. Oat fibre comes very near the top but all fibre is good.

Cholesterol levels were covered as were good and bad cholesterol. ‘Good’ cholesterol is HDL cholesterol, and we can improve our levels of this by including plenty of fruit and vegetables in our diet. This also includes things produced from vegetables and their oils. These are marked on the packet as unsaturated and poly unsaturated fats, whilst the ‘Bad’ Cholesterol is referred to as LDL cholesterol, and is the cholesterol contained in, and produce by our digestion of saturated fats.

I have never seen this chart printed anywhere before, so I thought I would reproduce it, it may help to understand the make up of cholesterol.

Katie did cover many aspects and benefits of soya, not just milk. Soya is a bean of which there are thousands of varieties. You can now buy a frozen soya bean (It looks like a small broad bean and you cook as if it was, but doesn’t taste as strong as a broad bean). I know Morrisons sell them, also Holland and Barrett have Soya bran that can be sprinkle onto food, but whatever form you take soya in it is,

•        Naturally low in saturated fat
•        Naturally low in cholesterol
•       Naturally contains Omega 3 and 6
•        Low in salt
•        Contains all 8 essential amino acids
•        Available with added calcium
•        Dairy and lactose free
•        Is used for dairy free probiotic yogurts.

Mentioned above is Omega 3 and 6. We all know that we need these fatty acids and that Soya is not the only source. As our bodies cannot produce these, and we can only get them from our diet, if you are not an oily fish fan, here is another alternative source.

Alpro soya have an online health check for you to find out how healthy you are currently and to help you track your progress as you make more healthy decisions. You can log on to www.alprosoya.com and look out for the life style check

Katie did bring some yogurts and milk (Non dairy drink) for every one to try. I quite enjoyed the yogurt, but the milk will be a bit of an acquired taste I think, (but then they told me that about Guinness when I was but an apprentice drinker) It has a sweet vanilla powdery taste as a drink but its tasty in cereals, (the milk not the Guinness)

Eating soya foods as part of a healthy balanced diet can help to reduce cholesterol. 25 g of soya protein daily as part of a diet low in saturated fats is sufficient; it is the protein on soya products that reduces cholesterol levels.

Thank you Katie for your time.

Wally

******

 A LITTLE BIT OF THEORY …

This is a kind of irritation you cannot feel: blood tests are needed to detect CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, but it is increasingly recognised as the link between various risk factors and the build-up of problems in arterial health. We are borrowing most of the following from a publication by a leading USA medical university, Johns Hopkins.

Researchers believe that chronic inflammation initiates and speeds the process of atherosclerosis. How does inflammation damage your body and how can it be detected? Read on …

When you read or hear the word "inflammation,” what comes to mind? An infected cut or scrape? Perhaps you think of swollen, congested sinuses or painful, arthritic joints? What about coronary heart disease? It probably wasn’t on the list. Yet a large amount of research now shows that inflammation plays a role -- possibly a major one -- in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, the build-up of fatty plaques that leads to coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes.

The inflammation we are talking about is not the short-term kind that the immune system produces to help the body fight an acute infection or heal a wound. Instead, it is low grade and chronic inflammation - present in the body at low levels day in and day out.

The inflammation - atherosclerosis story begins with risk factors: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, and smoking. These risk factors irritate and disturb the normal biology and activity of the arteries. This irritation in turn stimulates the production of cells and proteins that initiate and fuel inflammation. [Cells are the microscopic living units of our different tissues. Most types of cell multiply and die in a continuous process that renews tissues.]

Ongoing irritation and inflammation by these risk factors eventually injures the delicate tissues of the arteries. This injury stimulates the production of more inflammatory factors and attracts immune-system cells called monocytes that burrow into the arteries where they develop into other cells known as macrophages. Macrophages absorb cholesterol that enters the injured artery. As the cholesterol accumulates, the macrophages are transformed into foam cells, the earliest stage of plaques.

As plaque builds up inside an artery, inflammatory factors make the plaque unstable and prone to rupture or cracking. When a plaque becomes disrupted, its contents may spill into the bloodstream and come into contact with platelets and clotting factors that can produce a blood clot and ultimately a heart attack.

Bottom line – reduce those risk factors and you very promptly reduce the irritation!

 News snippet this month …

If you do not know your bloodsugar level or have not had it checked recently, see if your Doctor is willing to get it checked, especially if you have only recently had a heart attack (MI) or ‘event’.

It seems that not only can diabetes cause heart problems, but a heart attack can cause diabetes. It is worth emphasising that lifestyle changes can greatly reduce the risk of both heart disease and diabetes. What is new is that MI seems to be a risk factor for Diabetes

Myocardial infarction more than doubles the risk of new-onset diabetes in the 3 months after the heart attack and leads to a 15-fold increased risk of impaired fasting glucose, according to a study of more than 8,000 MI patients.

[For internet report seehttp://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/MyocardialInfarction/dh/6495

The Primary source is: The Lancet
Source reference: Mozaffarian D et al. "Incidence of new-onset diabetes and impaired fasting glucose in patients with recent myocardial infarction and the effects of clinical and lifestyle risk factors. Lancet 2007; 370: 667-675.]

Phil

*****

 Wally’s Yarn

A guy goes into a seafood restaurant and asks to see the dishes of the day. The waiter wheels over a trolley and the man examines the dishes.

”I'll have the little green squid with the hairy lip, please" says the man.
" O.K." replies the waiter and calls out "Gervais!"

A little French chef appears with a large knife, the waiter instructs the chef to kill the little green squid with the hairy lip.

Gervais is just about to slice at the poor squid when he notices a tear running down its face. Gervais is touched, and admits that he hasn't the heart to kill the squid.
”Not to worry" says the waiter, and calls out "Hans!" at which an enormous German bloke comes out of the kitchen.

”Sir", says the waiter, "this is Hans, the dishwasher. Hans kill that squid!"
The dishwasher wields a huge rolling pin and is just about to bludgeon the little green squid with the hairy lip when it cringes back and gives a little cry.
”I am sorry sir, I just cannot kill the squid," Hans admits, his lower lip trembling.
”Well sir," says the waiter, "it just goes to show...
That Hans that do dishes, can be soft as Gervais - with mild green, hairy lip squid!!!!!!"

BERWICK AREA HEART SUPPORT GROUP

OCTOBER 2007 NEWSLETTER 

Next meeting October 3^rd at the Day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm– 9.00pm Guest speaker:  Steven Young Development Officer forNorthumberland  FISHNETS

FISHNETS  stands for (Fitness, Involvement, Safety and Health Networks) which supports and promotes a healthy active life for older people. It is one of nineteen projects in England to have a share of the £60 million Partnerships for Older People (POPP)funding announced by the Department of Health in 2005.

Northumberland  FISHNETS is building on the success of several local schemes including

handyperson services for small jobs around the house,

 training and accreditation for staff and agencies,

and also  fitness schemes in centres across the community

******

 Our speaker for September’s meeting was Dave Stephens Network and Communications Manager for ‘Warm Zone’, based in Blyth, but responsible for creating warmer homes throughout Northumberland. Dave did say that all his fancy title meant was that he was the ‘dog’s body’ that got out to meet the people. He has been in his current job for five years having been made redundant. Warm Zone is supported by NPower as it has been since day one.

Northumberland is one of 5 areas in England taking part in a pilot scheme to create warmer homes. It involves Warm Zone representatives surveying an area, seeing what its needs are and then advising the best course of action. In practice a team visit an area, post literature through our letterboxes, return some days later after we have read it all and offer advise or professional advise survey, in creating a warm, comfortable and ventilated  home, and dependant  on what benefits the  householder is on depends on the  cost.

Dave’s talk was based on a power point display, but on paper. Without having some of the points he raised explained as he did, it could be unwise to quote some of them here so I will try to be very careful.

“People in Great Britain do not die from the cold, but they do die from the effects” and“More people die of the effects of cold in Britain than in Siberia”

Dave did try and explain these two statements.

40% of excess winter deaths    are from Cardio Vascular Disease………A 1% drop in living room temperature increases blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attack or stroke.

33% of excess winter deaths are from Respiratory illness…..

Coldness lowers resistance to respiratory infections and can trigger bronchial constriction in asthma

Cold homes make arthritis worse………Strength and dexterity suffer in cold damp homes increasing the risk of accidental injuries.

Damp cold homes increase the risk of mental health problems……….People can become socially isolated. It also affects children who suffer from not having a warm, quite area in which to do homework, which then fall behind at school.

A new expression “Fuel Poverty” kept being mentioned throughout the evening. This is not as straight forward as it may seem, it means that if you spend 10% or more of your income on heating your home you fall within this expression, for one or more of the following reasons.

Poor housing, Education, Health, or Debt.

Low house income, failure to access benefits entitlements.

Solid walls that cannot be insulated economically

Vulnerable households, including elderly residents, single parents, disabled, housebound, poor health or young children.                                 

I’ve left this to last because it can affect us all and is probably the easiest to rectify.

Lack of basic energy efficiency measures, poor heating, poor insulation and poor ventilation.

Statistics tell us that heat loss from our houses without effective insulation is calculated as follows

Roof – 25%

Doors and windows – 15%

Walls – 35%

Floor – 15%

Other places -10%

So what can we do? Some things are easy, and just need a change of habit whilst others need a bit of planning.

Cavity wall insulation can save 60% heat loss and can save you over £100 a year.

270mm (In old money that’s ten and a half inches)  can cut bills   by 20%

That’s the ones that require planning, but you can ring Warm Zone at 01670 356642, or contact them on the computer at www.warmzones.co.uk/zones/northumberland, or if you contact Terry at his contact address listed later in this newsletter, he may be able to help as there  were some spare handouts left with all manner of leaflets and advice.

Here are some simple facts that may just make you think and get you to change some habits,

Leaving a light on in a room overnight uses   enough energy to heat water for more than 1000 cups of tea.

Switching off TVs etc. at the wall can save £50 per year.

The UK wastes approx. £5 billion worth of domestic energy a year, and we waste £230 million by leaving appliances on standby.

Keep heating controls with moderate limits. 20 degs. Is a comfortable heat.

A 1 deg. Reduction can save 10% of your heating bill.

Unfortunately lowering it by 10 degs. Doesn’t save 100%, you have to remember to keep the temperature comfortable for you and the members of your house.

Close curtains at dusk, it will stop heat escaping through the glass.

Switch to low energy light bulbs.

Warm Zone do have the facilities not only to tell you which benefits you need to be receiving to qualify  for some of these measures to be fitted free, but which benefits you qualify for.

Thank you Dave for you time.

******

 Autumn weather is made for physical activity

Walking, running, biking, swimming are all fair game. They're excellent forms of aerobic exercise, which means they give the heart a good workout. Even when life is ultra-hectic, it's important to plan for exercise.

Exercise helps control blood pressure, and it helps your heart function optimally when you're under mental stress,. Additional benefits of regular aerobic exercise are: weight loss, improved cardiovascular fitness, lowered heart rate, healthier blood vessels, and a better-pumping heart.

During exercise, the brain produces endorphins — natural chemicals similar to morphine that cause a feeling of happiness. For maximum endorphin benefit, get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three to four times a week.

Yoga and tai chi also help with relaxation. While they won't produce a significant endorphin release, these timeless practices increase strength, flexibility, and balance control. Because they involve deep breathing and calming exercises, they also help in releasing stress.

******

 Seasonal Superfoods

Apples:

Apples have long been thought to be a healthy food, indeed many of us grew up hearing that they kept the doctor away! It is now known that apples contain the phytonutrient quercitin, which prevents the oxidation (damage) of LDL cholesterol thus lowering the risk of damage to our arteries and in turn, the risk of heart disease. They also contain pectin, a soluble fibre that seems to be very effective in lowering levels of blood cholesterol. Pectin also binds to heavy metals in our body, such as lead, and removes them from the gut

Beetroot:

Beets are not only low calorie but also packed full of nutrients. They contain high levels of carotenoids and flavenoids; anti-oxidants that help reduce the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, protecting our artery walls and reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke. It is one of the richest sources of folic acid, which helps to protect unborn babies from spina bifida, and is also thought to help lower homocysteine levels in the blood. Beetroot also contains the mineral silica, which helps the body to utilise calcium, so is therefore important for musculo-skeletal health and reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Many people juice beetroot for its cleansing and detoxifying properties.

Garlic :

Numerous clinical trials have shown garlic to be an excellent cancer fighter – studies suggest that it has the ability to prevent development of cancers of the breast, colon, skin, prostate, stomach and oesophagus. Garlic also helps stimulate the immune system by encouraging the growth of natural killer cells, which directly attack cancer cells. It also has the ability to kill the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of ulcers and stomach cancer.
A recent study at the University of East London claims that garlic has the ability to not only kill many of the antibiotic resistant strains of MRSA, the “hospital super bug”, but is also able to destroy the newer super-super bugs that are resistant against the most powerful antibiotics used against MRSA.
Finally, a new study has shown that eating raw garlic after heart surgery may help to limit the damage done to the heart, due to its strong anti-oxidant properties.

Ginger :

This root has long been thought to have medicinal properties and research is now confirming these suspicions. Ginger contains several antioxidant plant chemicals including gingerol and zingerone. In preliminary studies these antioxidants have been shown to fight cancer and heart disease. One study found that gingerol was as effective as aspirin at preventing blood clotting, making it a potential aid against heart disease (although it is not recommended for people who are already taking anti-coagulants). Ginger has effective antimicrobial effects on wounds and sores and is also thought to fight inflammation, cleanse the colon, and stimulate circulation

Oranges :

Oranges prove even ordinary foods can offer an array of disease fighting compounds. Hesperetin, the main flavonoid in oranges has been shown to help protect against cancer, heart disease, infections and inflammation. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a report connecting a higher intake of hesperetin with lower rates of heart disease. Oranges are also a rich source of pectin, which lower cholesterol, potassium, which reduces blood pressure, and folic acid, which reduces levels of homocysteine, according to studies

Sweet Potatoes:

These luscious orange tubers boast a wealth of antioxidants; phytochemicals including beta-carotene; vitamins C and E; folate; calcium; copper; iron; and potassium. The fiber in sweet potatoes promotes a healthy digestive tract, and the antioxidants may play a role in preventing heart disease and cancer.

The natural sweetness of a roasted sweet potato is delicious without any additional fats or flavour enhancers

Wine :

Whether you prefer red or white, drinking wine has been shown to be good for heart health in certain groups of people. White wine’s protection comes from tyrosol and caffeic acid, which reduces oxidative stress and inflammation. Red wine’s polyphenols appear to confer its heart benefits. Several studies show that red wine in moderation lowers homocysteine, platelet stickiness and LDL “bad” cholesterol. But before you get too excited, moderation means one or two glasses a day (and not those great big glasses in your cupboard either!), and you should also have at least one alcohol-free day a week as it must be remembered that alcohol is a toxin.

*****

 Wallys Yarn

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
Jim and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Jim suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there. Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled Jim out.
When the Head Nursing Director became aware of Edna's heroic act, she immediately ordered Edna to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered Edna to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good new and bad news .

The good news is you're being discharged. Since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of another patient I have concluded your act displays you have a sound mind.
The bad news is Jim, the patient you saved, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he is dead.'
Edna replied,'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?'

Berwick Area Heart Support Group

November 2007 newsletter

Next meeting November 7th at the Day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from 7.00pm     9.00pm Guest speaker: Jo Curtis, the Disability Sports Officer for Berwick upon Tweed Borough Council.  Jo is going to split her talk into three parts, I'll keep you all in suspense on the content until the night, I know you'll enjoy yourselves, so come along.

******

Firstly before I start, can I please ask everyone, in the nicest way possible, especially those who have not been to the meetings for a few months to please try and make the effort to attend.

I know there are lots of other distractions, ie holidays, the garden, various TV programmes, family and umpteen other reasons, but attendances have been low recently, and some of the recent speakers have travelled a long way, and it seems a shame when they only have a dozen or so people to talk to.

Secondly, Good luck to Irene Bruce, We have been thinking of you and glad you are home and on the mend. (A little bird has been keeping me up to date)

******

 At our last meeting on 3^rd. October, our speaker was Stephen Young of FISHNETS. If you look closely I have written of Fishnets, not in Fishnets.

It actually stands for Fitness, Involvement, Safety and Health Networks. Its one of nineteen projects throughout England, who has

60 million pounds to share between them from Partnership for Older People, and is all backed by Department of Health, and Northumberland NHS.

The ultimate aim of Fishnets is A) to stop people falling over, and B) stop people who do not need to from going into care.

As always there are facts and figures to back up the original reasons for setting up these types of Organisations. The total physical and emotional costs when an elderly person falls and breaks a hip / thigh bone, including ambulance and hospitalisation, exceeds £50,000, if this happens to an over 75 year old, 60% will lose their independence and 40% will  have to go permanently into care, then where do the true costs stop. Other facts and figures make even grimmer reading.

So what do they plan to do about it? They can’t stop people falling and breaking bones, but by trying to keep the slightly younger generation a bit fitter, they will hopefully have less falls as they get older. To help with this there are grants available to help start new clubs or activities    that encourage people to become fitter, with a view to any  such gathering being able to be self sufficient and continue after any such funding has stopped.

The four criteria expected are,

Promoting physical activity,

Promoting social inclusion,

Meeting a gap in local opportunities/services/

activities for older people, and

Promoting independence.

It does not have to be excessively hard exercise, like training for the London marathon, or The Great North Run. It can be any form of exercise. Stephen did give an example of carpet bowls. Even if you already attend a club or get together and you want to expand the activities to offer your members, get in touch with Stephen, he will do his best to keep you right, and keep you on the right track.

He also mentioned Arts and crafts, sport, Tai – Chi, exercise groups, gardening projects, and equipment for exercise projects.

Fishnets also have contacts through Northumberland Stars which offers to anyone over 60 or  has a disability, and needs the services of a younger/fitter person to help with Fixing curtain rails, hanging curtains, put in safety items, check and install fire alarms, fasten loose carpets, move furniture, put up shelves, unblock sinks, change light bulbs, repair gates, fit letter boxes, put up pictures, put  up mirrors, and  many more of these little jobs that would involve your feet leaving the ground, you can get these jobs done FREE.

There is a similar scheme being run by Berwick Borough Council.

If you wish to get in touch with Fishnets you can at.

Fishnets

Tweed House,

Hepscott Park,

Stannington, Morpeth,

NE61 6NF.

Tel. No. 01670 534477 /534499

******

 RECENT NEWS:

 statins safe and beneficial effect after more than a decade

Report of a follow up study.

Phil writes:

Statins and blood ‘cholesterol’ (lowering ‘LDL’) were still controversial after my heart attack in 1990. I remember, a couple of years later, being invited by a friend to a meeting of the Statistical Society in Edinburgh, to hear a presentation by Glasgow researchers detailing their forthcoming 5 years long study. They were going to use a statin to try to prevent death and heart attacks in men by starting before any disease had showed. (Glasgow was just about ‘world capital’ for heart attacks and the study was aimed at the typical Glaswegian male population). The care with which these researchers designed their study paid off. Five years later the results swayed the previously sceptical UK’s ‘medical establishment’, and ‘statins’ gradually became available on the NHS.

Now, a follow up study has showed that patients from the study got very long term (safe) benefits from their years of routinely taking the statin in the original trial. We are now about 15 years on from the start of the original study.

New statins have since come along. (We will keep you updated.)

Statins are a great help, but they do not solve, for most of us, all cardiovascular problems (stroke, MI, or other problems such as obstructions of the flow of blood in kidneys or legs or blockages in the flow to the brain) which is why we in our Group always stress the benefits of exercise and changed eating habits, lowering your blood pressure, losing weight etc… etc.. Stopping smoking, for example, appears to have a bigger and better effect on risk even than this statin.

******

Statin treatment prevents cardiovascular events and death in the long-term

(N Engl J Med 2007; 357: 1477-1486)

‘West of Scotland coronary prevention study’

Quote: “There was no excess of deaths from noncardiovascularcauses in the pravastatin group. We observed a 22 percent reductionin the risk of death from any cause in the pravastatin group^.

Conclusions: [in the original 5 years] Treatment with pravastatin significantly reducedthe incidence of myocardial infarction and death from cardiovascularcauses without adversely affecting the risk of death from non-cardiovascularcauses …”

"This result was presumably due to stabilization of existing plaque and a slowing of the progression of coronary artery disease."

“In this [2007] analysis, 5 years of treatment with pravastatinwas associated with a significant reduction in coronary eventsfor a subsequent 10 years in men with  hypercholesterolemia whodid not have a history of myocardial infarction.”

They add: "There was no evidence of an overall increase in the risk of death from non-cardiovascular causes or in the incidence of cancer."

Patients receivedpravastatin (40 mg each evening). A control group received an ‘empty placebo’.

Quote: “The reductions in death from CHD or nonfatal MI with pravastatin treatment, compared with placebo, were significant during each of the trial stages. Relative risk reductions for death from (or reductions in  hospitalization for) CHD were seen in patients treated with pravastatin during the trial, at 34%, and in the post-trial period, at 20%, compared with those receiving placebo.”

Phil

******

 Wallys Yarn

On the first day, God created the dog and said: “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.”

The dog said: “That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?” So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.”

The monkey said: “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?” And God agreed

On the third day, God created the cow and said: “You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.”

The cow said: “That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?” And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life For this, I'll give you twenty years.”  But man said: “Only twenty years?  Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?”

“Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.”So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next  forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone

Life has now been explained to you...

 Wally’s Yarn 2

A farmer on a remote Cheviot farm brings up his only son alone - they never leave the farm, he works the boy hard 20hrs a day 7 days a week...when the boy is 21 his father says "I dont want you thinking I am not generous or grateful, now you are 21 I am going to take you for your first visit to a big town called Wooler (tiny local village)"

The boy is excited, when they get there his father offers him whatever he wants in gratitude for his work on the farm - seeing his first ice-cream the boy asks for one and gets it....minutes later father says "you know I am not very sociable, lets get back to the farm"

He works him 20hrs 7 days a week until the boy reaches 60 - as before, the man says "I am not going to my grave you thinking I am not generous or grateful, you are now 60 and I am prepared to take you for a second treat to Wooler"

When they get there the 60yr son sees his first pint of beer and asks for one - whereupon his father slaps him over the head and shouts " after ice-cream?????!!@@@@"

 BERWICK AREA HEART SUPPORT GROUP

DECEMBER 2007 NEWSLETTER

Berwick Area Heart Support Group Next meeting Wednesday December 5th at the day Hospital, Berwick Infirmary from7.00pm – 9.00pm Guest speaker:  Philip Lindsay, Practitioner Specialist, Northumberland Care Trust. Phil will give a  talk and advice  on sleep management

As usual there will be no meeting in January 2008

******

 Our speaker for the November meeting was Jo Curtis, Disability Sports Development Officer for Berwick Borough Council. Her main areas of responsibility are all to do with long term health, involving participation in healthy exercise, and sporting activities.

I always seam to have an excuse lately for not making many notes, which then makes writing about it that much harder. Usually its because the speaker has a very involved power point (slide) display, which helps them get their subject across easier. But not so this time, honestly you cannot take many notes when you are doing the Can-Can, waving cheerleader pom - poms in the air. Talking of the Can-Can there were more than a few creaks and groans when doing the high kicks, by high I mean anything over 6 inches.

But I get ahead of myself; we didn’t just rush straight into the Can-Can, we did have a short warm-up session before we started, that alone told me personally, how not fit I was getting, and

I know a few others also felt the same way, they were making the same noises as me.

Then we had a short period of amusing exercise, the Can-Can being part of that. We then had a cooling down session; unfortunately this was shorter than it should have been. It was based on Chi-gang, (I hope that’s spelt right) which is the relaxing part of    Tai-Chi. (Again I hope that’s right).

Jo then introduced us to an indoor version of curling. Just like the ice  version, but these ‘stones’ run on recessed castors, and depending of the type of floor surface, I would imagine they could travel quite fast. They can be propelled in the traditional way, or if you have difficulty in bending, or maybe in a wheel chair, the can be pushed off with sticks, or for the very handicapped, they can be set off down a ramp.

Scoring is on a numbered target sheet at the other end of the floor.

Jo uses it a lot in some of the residential homes she visits and the residents get quite competitive amongst themselves, irrespective of what infirmities they may have.

Some people continued to play this game as the tea was being made and served, which brought the evening to a pleasant close. Thank you! Jo for your time, and my first attempt at the Can-Can, especially with pom-poms.

******

The next bit comes with a bit of a ‘health warning’. Please read it all, not just the beginning.

Well, I have to admit that I have hoped for a long time, that if I waited long enough, someone, somewhere would say that my all time favourite snack food, an excess of which probably got me into trouble in the first place, is infact good for you. What is this dreaded food I hear you ask. Is it chocolate? No! Anyway a little of that is good for you. Is it alcohol? No, again a little of that is also good for you. Is it thick jammie pieces, with raspberry jam on warm crusty bread? No again, that’s just my second favourite anyway. This time I’m talking about the dreaded, eat at your peril, bacon sandwich.

 According to today’s paper (Sun 15.11.07) a full English breakfast, has been called a heart attack on a plate, but now boffins believe it could infact boost your chances of surviving a cardiac arrest. Just last week we had all the warnings that bacon, sausages and all processed foods were the scourge of the earth,  as they caused  bowel cancer and we ate them at our peril, but Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Centre have found that nitrates in cured meat ** may help you survive a heart attack and speed recovery.

** Have you ever asked yourself, when the meat is referred to as cured meat, what was it cured of?  (Just Wally being silly)    

Back to the article,

Professor Nathan Bryan comments, “This is a significant finding given the fact simple components of our diet – nitrites and nitrates – that we have been taught to fear and restrict in our diet can now protect the heart from injury. During a heart attack nitrite forms a gas which reopens closed or clogged arteries. This reduces long-term damage to heart muscle”.

Of course when you read a headline like that you hope for miracles, but as you get to the end of the article so the words of wisdom and reality appear. The Suns resident Doctor adds “Pundits come out with these claims based on very narrow areas of research, but most GPs. would say that the message has always been the same – have a little of everything. Its all about balance, eat a variety of foods, particularly foods of different colours.

Now that last sentence opens up a total new subject, eating foods of different colours. I have read something about it and can remember some of them, I will have to try and find that article. Maybe if we can find someone who knows about it, it could be an evening’s talk sometime.

What I was going to say before I got sidetracked by the last paragraph is. I am not trying to undo everyone’s good work in trying to keep to a healthy diet which suits them, and as all the normal, sensible advice is guidance towards preventing heart attacks it makes sense to keep up your good work, why risk having one just to find out if a bacon roll is going to save you.

Wally

DISCLAIMER. Joking apart. Bacon sarnies are probably best taken on a very occasional basis! Just enjoy the wonderful smell! The nitrate that could relax your arteries is especially formulated in our 'Puffers'. If you think you need it, its quicker to take a safe PUFF

Phil

I’d be happy if someone could just capture the smell of them  it would smell better than some of the air fresheners

Terry

******

Some of you may have watched the programme  about  statins on ITV Thursday 22^nd November “Heart of the Matter”, there was  reference made to the “Portfolio Diet”. We have looked up the diet on the internet  (see below)  all of it confirms what previous speakers have advised us to eat

******

 Wally’s Yarn

An  Irish Ghost Story  

This  story happened a while ago in Dublin , and even though it sounds  like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.
John  Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road  hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a  storm.
The night was rolling on and no car went by. The  storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.  Suddenly, he saw a car slowly coming towards him and  stopped.   John, desperate for shelter and without  thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door; only to  realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't  on!!  
The car started moving slowly. John looked  at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching.  Scared, he  started to pray, begging for his life.  Then, just before the  car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the  wheel. John, paralyzed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly  came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.   Shortly  thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so,  gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to it.   Wet  and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody  about the horrible experience he had just had.
A  silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was  crying  And....wasn't drunk.
Suddenly, the door  opened, and two other people walked in from the stormy night.   They, like John, were also soaked and out of  breathe.
Looking around, and seeing John Bradford  sobbing at the bar, one said to the  other... 'Look  Paddy...there's that   idiot that got in the car while we  were pushing it!!!!'

 Recipe of the Month

War Time Pie

Ingredients:

½.lb diced potatoes

½.lb cauliflower

½.lb diced carrots

½.lb diced swede

3 spring onions

1 teaspoon vegetable extract

1 tablespoon oatmeal

A little chopped parsley

Method:

Cook everything together with just enough water to cover, stirring often to prevent it sticking to the pan.  Let the mixture cool.

Spoon into a pie dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Cover with a crust of potatoes or wholemeal pastry.

Bake in a moderate oven until golden brown.

Serve hot with gravy