New Year, New You on NBC

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures.  While there is a belief that osteoporosis is a “women’s disease,” more than two million American men have osteoporosis with 12 million more at risk.  Osteoporosis is significantly under diagnosed and undertreated in men.  Osteoporosis in men is expected to increase nearly 50 percent in the next 15 years.  One third of men over the age of 50 will experience a fracture due to osteoporosis, and men are twice as likely to die after a hip fracture than a woman.   The National Osteoporosis Foundation has not established a standard screening procedure for men before age 70. In 2008, the American College of Physicians issued new clinical guidelines that recommended performing individualized risk assessment to determine who should be screened.  Testing is critical. In my practice, 63 percent of men screened over the age of 45 had osteopenia, the early stage of bone loss, and 12 percent had osteoporosis.

 What can men do to offset their risk for osteoporosis?

1.   Get enough Vitamin D, vitamin K, vitamin C and Vitamin B
2.  Eat calcium-rich foods or take calcium pills
3.  Eat adequate protein
4.  Avoid excessive alcohol consumption
5. Don’t smoke
6. Regularly perform weight-bearing, resistance Exercise
7. Check your medications – some medications are hard on bone density
8. Get tested – Osteoporosis is a preventable disease, but there are no symptoms. Testing is critical.

Ray Hardman pays a visit to Alternity Healthcare’s West Hartford office to experience, first-hand, part of a Comprehensive Health Assessment.   Click the link above to hear about his encounter and what he found out about his own health…

Healthcare reform is a hot topic.  Dr. Ebanks provides his perspective on the critical need to emphasize  prevention in whatever reform is undertaken of our healthcare system.  We cannot afford to continue to close the barn door after the horse is gone.

February is National Heart Month.  Dr. Ebanks discusses the myths and facts of heart disease and how heart disease can be reversed and prevented.  

In 2009, the cost of cardiovascular disease in the U.S. was $475.3 billion (AHA), more than 20% of the entire healthcare system expenditures.  The mean lifetime cost for an individual that has suffered a stroke is $140,000.  Average yearly costs for an individual with diagnosed with some form of cardiovascular disease is $5936.  In addition, 80-90% of cardiovascular disease is preventable (Institute of Medicine).

 MYTH # 1:  High cholesterol causes heart disease.

High cholesterol may be a risk factor but does not cause heart disease.  In numerous studies it has been demonstrated that >60% of those having a heart attack have normal cholesterol.  Emerging evidence implicates chronic inflammation in the etiology of heart disease.  Recent science has revealed that statin drugs provide their benefit by their anti-inflammatory properties rather than the cholesterol lowering properties.

 MYTH #2:  Heart disease primarily affects men.

To the contrary, half of the 1 million deaths due to cardiovascular disease occur among women in the United States. Cardiovascular disease kills nearly ten times more women each year than breast cancer. 

 MYTH #3:  With current medical advances, surviving a heart attack is not as bad as it once was.

80 million Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease.  For many people, the first symptom of heart disease is a heart attack.  We underestimate the risk, but one out every four first time heart attacks results in “sudden death!”  

 FACT #1:  Heart disease is an epidemic.   

Undetected cardiovascular disease is the greatest health risk facing Americans.  It is the number one killer of Americans, killing more people each year that the next five leading causes combined, including cancer.  CVD incidence has increased 33% over the last seven years.

 FACT#2:   Early detection can save lives.

In 2006, the Screening for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE) Task Force recommended coronary artery calcification score (CACS) determined by CT scan and carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) evaluation to reduce the burden of unpredicted cardiovascular events (acute coronary syndromes and sudden cardiac death) in the apparently healthy population.  CIMT was found to be superior to CACS in a 2009 Mayo Clinic study.

 Heart disease can be prevented and even reversed. If you are over 40, have any known risk factors, have a concern about your cardiovascular health or learn that you have heart disease, a comprehensive lifestyle change can drastically reduce your chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Risk factors can be managed.

 Alternity Healthcare provides health assessments and tests, such as the HeartSmart IMT,  to detect heart disease and identify risk factors. The HeartSmart IMT, which was used to analyze last season’s contestants of The Biggest Loser, tests for the thickness of the carotid artery, which runs from the heart to brain. The HeartSmart IMT detects heart disease in its earliest form, long before there is a buildup of plaque in the arteries.

(WSFB – 12/28/09) According to CNN Health, approximately 100 million people make New Year Resolutions every year. Unfortunately, most people don’t succeed because they haven’t made their resolutions attainable or specific enough. Losing weight and getting in shape is one of the most common New Year Resolutions.

What can people do to make good on their New Year resolutions and turn them into lifestyle changes? Set realistic New Year Resolutions and be specific about what you want to accomplish. Below are some tips to help you achieve and maintain good health and stick to those New Year Resolutions.

TIPS

• Eat a well-balanced diet
  We all know that this is important to achieve our goal of weight loss but HOW do we do it?
  Your best chance of success is to develop an eating plan that you can follow. Building a healthy diet is not about restriction. If you take away all of the things you love you’re doomed to fail.
  When developing a healthy diet create an individualized diet plan that works for you around foods you like to eat.
  If you can, seek out a Registered dietitian to help you develop a diet based on your body type, metabolism and the foods you like to eat you’ll have the highest rate of success.
  The Mediterranean style diet has proven to be successful. It is made up of 40-50 percent carbohydrates from veggies, fruits and whole grains, 20-30 percent healthy fats and 30 percent protein.
  A 2007 study found that both men and women who consumed a Mediterranean diet lowered their risk of death from heart disease and cancer.
  There is a myth that healthy food doesn’t taste good. Today, we’ve brought in two healthy meals from Tambourine Catering to demonstrate how healthy food can taste good and be good for you.

• Get active
  This is where we lose a lot of people. They buy their gym memberships to force themselves to exercise but they don’t like the gym.
  We can be active every day doing things that we like. Whether it’s walking, ice skating, playing tennis, joining a soccer league. There are so many different options.
  Resistance training is critical to building muscle mass which will help us burn fat, maintain a healthy body composition and live independently longer as we age.
  People who do progressive interval training are healthier individuals. Think about the marathon winners. How do they look compared to sprinters? Sprinters are healthier looking. Marathoners burn muscle and fat during exercise while interval trainers burn fat in between exercise bouts.
  The core is one of the most important parts of our bodies to strengthen but a lot of people don’t know how. Michelle is going to show us one great core exercise and all you need is a ball.

• Sleep
  We all know we’re supposed to sleep 7-9 hours a night but as we age we are susceptible to sleep disturbances starting in our early to mid 30s.
  Sleep hygiene is critical in achieving good sleep. It is important to sleep in a cool dark room.
  Just like you do with your children it’s important to have a bedtime ritual that calms you down like meditation, a bath, reading or prayer.
  It’s also important to stay away from stimulants like coffee and coke

• Participate in activities that release endorphins
  Endorphins make you feel healthier, happier and they can last up to 12 hours.
  They have been associated with controlling persistent pain, feelings of stress and frustration, regulating the production of growth and sex hormones and reducing symptoms associated with eating disorders. Growth hormones increase muscle mass, decrease body fat and increase exercise capacity.
  Exercise releases endorphins into your system as does dark chocolate, hot chili peppers, meditation and orgasms.
  It’s also very important to take vitamins – specifically a multi-vitamin, vitamin d and fish oil and anti-oxidants.

(WTNH 9-12-09) September is Healthy Aging Month and Dr. Desmond Ebanks of Alternity Healthcare in West Hartford tells “Good Morning Connecticut” that “it’s not too late to start getting serious about your health.”

Following these healthy aging tips could very well take years off of your appearance and give you more energy. Excessive sun exposure can lead to skin cancer, however Dr. Ebanks says it’s important to get your daily dose of sun that contributes to heightened well-being and is essential in producing active vitamin D3 content in the body.

It is also important to eat nutritious foods and balance your diet. You can easily do this by eating fewer processed foods and if you’re not sure about whether or not it’s processed, just take a look at the label.  Buy organic whenever feasible.

Exercising your brain and your body has proven to add years to your life as well; lifting weights is something that you must incorporate into your workout routine. Studies also show that playing mental games like crossword puzzles help fight off cognitive diseases such as Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. And finally you’ve heard it over and over again, get more sleep and be positive; don’t let negative thoughts get you down.

(WTNH 5/5/09) Are you at risk for a heart attack? Dr. Desmond Ebanks of Alternity Healthcare joined GMC Weekend to demonstrate a new cardiovascular screening device, HeartSmart IMT plus, that helps prevent heart attacks by detecting the earliest signs that heart disease is developing before symptoms occur.

Undetected cardiovascular disease is the greatest health risk facing people today. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US and claims more lives than the next five causes of death combined – including cancer. Ten times more women die of heart disease than breast cancer each year. While cholesterol is a factor in heart disease and arterial plaque, current scientific evidence suggests that chronic silent inflammation plays a significant role in the development of cardiovascular disease. Standard cholesterol tests may be inadequate alone to determine an individual’s risk of having a heart attack.

The American Heart Association estimates more than 80 million American adults have some form of cardiovascular disease. Coronary artery disease affects 16 million Americans and leads to 8.1 million heart attacks in the US each year. For many people, the first sign of heart disease is a heart attack; and 25% of those first time heart attacks are fatal. Knowing your cholesterol numbers is a start but nearly 60% of people that have a heart attack have a normal cholesterol profile. Data from the landmark Framingham Heart Study revealed that 80% of those that had a cardiovascular event had a similar cholesterol profile as someone that was event-free. Other conditions and/or lifestyle choices increase your risk of developing cardiovascular disease, such as: diabetes, hypertension, erectile dysfunction, obesity, inactive lifestyle, and smoking.