The simple answer is no. You have to consider your objective for going on a diet. Is it to lose weight, or is it for other medical reasons. In my case, I was diagnosed with some hardening of the coronary arteries. Not obstructive, so no cause for surgical action.

So, I asked the doctor what kind of diet I should be on? Maybe a vegan or vegetarian diet. Our local supermarket has a dietitian on staff who said a Mediterranean diet would work best for me.

So, cut out processed food, eat less red meat, more fish, make sure I eat more fruit and vegetables. Most importantly, she considered my then current diet and said that I was not getting enough fiber. A lot of gluten-free breads don’t contain any or enough fiber. So, now it is time to eat oatmeal every day. A few weeks later, I have lost 12 lb, and feel good – apart from the pain in my lower back, but that is another story!

I think the key thing is not to lose weight too quickly, and make sure you check with your doctor before you start going on a crazy diet! Also, try and find a dietitian who can provide guidance and point out where in your store the good stuff can be found. Once you have done that, find some good diet recipe books and get cooking!

Last night I made an awesome dish that contained beans, mushrooms, vegetables, onions, soy sauce – only took me a short time to produce, but even less time to eat it!

Recent research from the University of Pennsylvania shows that if you listen to what your doctor tells you, it may help you have a better outcome. The study, which is published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing in the July/August issue, looked at several markers of cardiac stress and general inflammation. Patients with heart failure who took their medications as directed, ate a low sodium diet, and exercised, as well as monitoring their symptoms, had low levels of cardiac stress and general inflammation.

This is important information because lower levels of cardiac stress and inflammation markers have been shown to be associated with a lower risk of death, less need for insertion of a device to help the heart beat, and less need for heart transplantation. the heart failure is a difficult disease to treat, so something as easy as doing what the doc tells you is going to be very helpful.

Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing press release.

An interesting story broke this week in the news – I saw it on Yahoo! News, but it has been on other web sites as well. The story reports a study from the highly respected British Medical Journal with the title: “Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events: meta-analysis”.

The researchers took a look at the effect of calcium on the chances of heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems. They did this by looking at the results of 15 large studies in which the patients had taken calcium supplements for more than a year. There had to be more than 100 patients in the study, and the patients were older than 40 years. Altogether more than 11,000 patients were studied.

There was a small  increase in the risk of heart attacks, but the increases in risk of stroke, a combined endpoint (included stroke, heart attack, and sudden death) and death did not reach statistical significance.

I read the article and saw that the authors noted that “Calcium supplements (without coadministered vitamin D) are associated with an increased risk of MI” [heart attacks]. They also say in the methods that trials were only included if vitamin D was given to all patients in the study. They say that the risk of death is reduced with vitamin D supplementation.

So, what does this mean? Calcium is an important mineral for a healthy body. If we are not eating a healthy, balanced diet, we may need supplementation. However, those supplements need to be balanced and in the correct amounts, just like the rest of our diet. Calcium on its own may not be the healthiest way to take calcium.

Clinical trials often report on the use of one supplement on its own, yet we should not be taking supplements in that way. Here at Rodshealth I believe in taking a balanced, healthy dietary supplement and have been taking the same one for years. Not to say they are for everyone, but my holistic medicine physician agrees that the one I am taking is good. During my recent visit to hospital the docs could not find anything wrong in my blood work, so I figure that the vitamins and minerals (including calcium with vitamin D) are not doing me any harm.

Can you say the same about your dietary supplements?

*In the interests of full disclosure, I am a distributor for the dietary supplement mentioned on this page.