Category Archives: heart disesase

Does Eating Fish Reduce Cancer Risk?

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Most of us are aware by now of the cardiovascular benefits of having fish in the diet.  Eating omega-3-rich fish, like salmon, reduces blood pressure and fat accumulation in the arteries.  The recommendation from Heart associations is to consume at least two portions of oily fish per week.  Is there anything else that is healthy about eating fish?  Apparently there is.

Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City conducted a review in 2014 of

red fish isolated on white background

Italian studies that strongly suggests that eating oily fish twice-per-week can also help to prevent the development of cancers of the breast, colon, intestine and esophagus.  The authors also emphasized the importance of how you prepare the fish for eating.  The low risk of developing the afore-mentioned cancers was only apparent when prepared using olive oil and wasn’t fried or preserved with salt.

This makes you wonder, of course, whether there were other factors involved besides the omega 3 in the fish itself creating the lower cancer risk.  This being said, the benefits of consuming fish are undeniable on the heart and circulation, and lowering the risk of cancer would certainly be a welcome perk.

Until next time…

Dr. Gatis

Walking Is Better For Your Heart Than Running

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Good news for all sedentary middle-aged people!  A recent study from the Mayo Medical School in Minnesota analyzed the effect of a three month interval-walking program on peak aerobic capacity (the amount of oxygen consumed per unit of work).  Compared to the non-training group, the training group – over three months – increased their peak aerobic capacity by an average of 28 percent.  The regimen involved five or more sets of three-minute, low-intensity walking alternated with three minutes of high-intensity walking cobblestone street walkfor an average of four days per week.

Running can also be good for you, but, as the scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found out, although running reduced the risk of heart disease by 4.5 percent in individuals between 18 and 80 over a six-year period, walking reduced the risk of heart disease by 9.8 percent (almost double).  So it is safe to say that you “should walk, not run, when you cross the street”.  A walking interval-training program is apparently the way to go…so get going!

Until next time…

Dr. Gatis