HEALTH FIRST and Weight Loss Blog Posts

Breast Cancer Prevention: Become empowered!

March 17, 2015 By Steve Hirsch

In North America, a woman has a 1 in 8 life-time risk of developing breast cancer. The medical literature and media are filled with articles on early detection of breast cancer through screening and on various treatments for the management of breast cancer. Advances in treating breast cancer have been remarkable, and early detection using mammography has been a huge success, especially for post-menopausal women.

However, there has not been enough emphasis on the prevention of breast cancer. Unfortunately, at present, there are no guaranteed ways to prevent breast cancer, but there are a number of strategies that can significantly reduce one’s risk. Let’s explore these:

1. Weight:

According to the National Cancer Institute in the United States, many studies have shown that excess weight and obesity are associated with a modest increase in breast cancer for post-menopausal women. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation states that post-menopausal women who have higher body weight may have a greater risk of breast cancer. Higher body weight is also associated with an increased risk of recurrence of breast cancer in both pre- and post-menopausal women.

2. Menopause and Weight Gain:

Is it inevitable?

Most women gain some weight once they enter the menopausal years. Some of the weight gain is due to a lack of estrogen, but there are additional reasons for weight gain that can be addressed and altered.

a) Muscle Mass:

With age, muscle mass decreases, which, in turn, decreases metabolism. This can have a significant effect on one’s ability to prevent weight gain and also to lose weight.

Solution: Strength training, twice a week. This will help to increase muscle mass.

b) Physical Activity and Exercise:

Many studies have shown that physical activity and exercise can reduce the incidence of breast cancer and recurrence by up to 20%. Studies also report up to a 40% reduction in death due to breast cancer in women who are physically active.

How much exercise, and how often?

The recommendation is 150 minutes or more per week of moderate aerobic exercise (for example, 30 minutes, 5 times a week or 40 minutes, 4 times a week) or vigorous aerobic exercise for 75 minutes per week. Adhering to this recommendation will also help to reduce the amount of weight gain that women may experience with menopause.

Increasing physical activity is critical to help reduce weight as well as the risk of breast cancer (and many other diseases). Most experts recommend 5,000-10,000 steps per day. A pedometer really helps to achieve this goal.

3. Alcohol and Breast Cancer:

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation highlights alcohol intake as a risk factor for breast cancer.

But how much is too much?

The accepted amount of alcohol consumption for a woman is 1 drink per day. But a recent study from Harvard Medical School showed a 13% increase in breast cancer risk for women who consumed 3-6 drinks per week.

I believe the message here is – be mindful of your alcohol consumption, keeping it to a maximum of 7 drinks per week, and remember that less is always better, when it comes to reducing breast cancer risk.

People seem to be consuming more alcohol than was the case in previous years, and this appears to increase as individuals move into retirement years. Excess alcohol also leads to weight gain, with both of these being risk factors for breast cancer.

To reduce the risk of breast cancer:

If you are at a healthy weight – focus on staying at that weight
If you are in the overweight or obese category:
- work on reducing to a healthier weight
- be mindful of engaging in sufficient physical activity and exercise, and
- pay careful attention to your alcohol consumption.

For detailed guidance and a step by step plan to help you improve your diet and overall health, you might be interested in my book, HEALTH FIRST: Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness.

Prevent prostate cancer through nutrition and exercise

December 4, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 24% of all new cancer cases among Canadian men will be prostate cancer.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation in the United States says that after age 69, the chance of developing prostate cancer becomes more common than any other cancer in men or women.

Both organizations note that men with African and Caribbean ancestry are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Age and family history of prostate cancer are two other risk factors that cannot be changed.

However, there are a lot of things that are well within our control that can be done to help minimize our chances of developing prostate cancer.

Prevent prostate cancer through diet and exercise

The Prostate Cancer Foundation notes that Asian men living in Asia have the lowest risk of developing prostate cancer, but when they migrate to North America and northern Europe, their risk actually increases. Many studies suggest that one major reason for this increase is diet.

We all know that a healthy diet and plenty of physical activity are two of the most important things we can do to maintain good health.

Let’s take a look at some of the foods you can incorporate into your diet on a regular basis that may help prevent prostate cancer.

Vegetables

Eat your veggies, especially cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, spinach, kale and bok choy.

Cooked tomatoes are an excellent source of lycopene. Lycopene is an important anti-oxidant that is found in significant quantities in tomatoes. Anti-oxidants help to prevent cell damage, which in turn may help prevent prostate cancer. The power of lycopene increases when cooked, so cooked tomatoes, tomato sauces and soups are great to include in your diet.

Note: When using store-bought tomato sauces and other tomato products, be mindful of the amount of sugar they contain.

Good fats and bad fats

Eating more fish and other foods high in essential fatty acids, or “good fats”, can also help improve your overall health and may prevent many illnesses including prostate cancer.

Eating less “bad fat”, especially fat from red meat and dairy products, and avoiding trans fats and saturated fats that are found abundantly in processed foods and packaged goods also helps to prevent prostate cancer.

Alcohol

Excessive alcohol consumption is thought to be a significant risk factor for developing prostate cancer. You should definitely be limiting alcohol to no more than 14 drinks per week. If you are trying to lose weight as discussed in the HEALTH FIRST Program, you should limit alcohol to 7 drinks per week.

Get active

Staying physically active is important for a number of reasons, and one important benefit is it’s role in helping to prevent prostate cancer.

Cardiovascular exercise 3 to 4 times per week for 30-45 minutes per session is what you should aim for. I also recommend 5,000-10,000 steps per day, so having a pedometer is very helpful. Remember it’s okay to start small and work your way up to this goal.

Resources

For more information about how you can prevent prostate cancer through diet and exercise, take a look at the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s free guide called “Nutrition, Exercise, and Prostate Cancer”.

Talk to your doctor about your risk factors for prostate cancer, and ask about the risks and benefits of screening. They can help you assess your risk factors and discuss whether screening is something you should consider.

For detailed guidance and a step by step plan to help you improve your diet and overall health, you might be interested in my book, HEALTH FIRST: Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness. For years, I have been leading my patients through my Health First program to help them achieve a healthy weight, feel great, and incorporate exercise into their lives.

Breaking the Link: Exercise & Weight Loss

November 20, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

Let’s address a common myth about exercise (physical activity) and weight loss.

Myth: Just be more physically active, exercise a great deal, and you will lose all your desired weight.

The 80/20 rule dispels this myth, I believe 80% of weight loss is achieved by decreasing what and how much you eat, and 20% of weight loss is due to physical activity and exercise.

I recommend viewing physical activity and exercise as a way to improve your health, and dramatically reduce your risk for so many diseases, such as Diabetes, High blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, breast cancer, prostate cancer and Alzheimer’s.

Physical activity (5,000-10,000 steps per day) and exercise (cardio and weight/resistance training) will significantly improve your energy, sense of well–being, sleep, and yes, it will also help with weight loss.

Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. – John F. Kennedy

We all know that we should be more physically active and do more exercise! So why doesn’t everyone do it?

The most common reason that I hear is … Not enough time!

“Life gets in the way”, we all have very busy lives.

I recommend following 2 simple rules:

Book an appointment every week in your calendar (30-45 minutes of cardio exercise, 3-4 times a week) Do what you like and ideally find an “exercise buddy”.
Never cancel that appointment.

These 2 simple rules have resulted in many people exercising regularly and sticking to it. In my opinion, it is better to begin by just doing it. Don’t worry about how many days in between, or time of day, just do what works for you each week.

Every Day Physical Activity:

If we become more mindful every day, we can truly increase our physical activity quite easily. Here are some simple suggestions:

Park your car at the back of the parking or a block away from your destination
Get off the subway or street car or bus one or two stops earlier and walk the rest
Walk up escalators instead of just standing on them or use the stairs
Use the stairs instead of the elevator when possible
Take a walk at lunch time or after dinner
Take short 2-3 minute walks throughout your day
Never use drive-thru, walk into and out of the store
Go for a bike ride

These are just a few suggestions, being mindful daily will permit you to come up with all kinds of creative ways you can increase your physical activity.

As winter is approaching in northern countries, outdoor activities frequently diminish for many. I recommend thinking about outdoor activities like snow-shoeing, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, skating, walking with appropriate foot wear and clothing.

Also, winter is a good time to join a community center, or a gym for a few months. One can use the treadmill, bikes, and elliptical machine or attend an aerobics or spinning class. If you have a machine at home, then winter is a great time to use it.

I would also recommend getting a pedometer, and try to work up to 5,000-10,000 steps per day.

The Power of Moving. You will be surprised how much more energized you will feel. (Your health will be better and it does help with weight loss as well.)

Join our community and find out how others are finding ways to add regular exercise to their lives.

Buyer Beware…your cereal may contain more sugar than a dessert!

October 28, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

“No fat”, “oat fibre, “multigrain flakes, “ helps lower cholesterol”. Cereal boxes make all kinds of claims to get you to pick them for your health.

Buyer be ware… even cereals that include lots of fibre and whole grains usually have 3-4 teaspoons of sugar per cup of cereal.

In fact, worldwide we are consuming about 500 extra calories a day from sugar. That’s just about what you would need to consume if you wanted to gain a pound a week. – Kristin Kirkpatrick, M.S., R.D., L.D, Manager of Wellness Nutrition Services at Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute, wrote in the Huffington Post Article – 10 Things You Don’t Know About Sugar (And What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You)

Cereal #1 – Protein and Fibre

A protein and fiber cereal with a name that suggests “healthy!”

All natural ingredients
7 whole grains
9 grams of protein
8 grams of fibre

Sounds healthy right? But the nutritional facts tell a different story:

Would you put 4 teaspoons of sugar on your cereal in the morning?

Cereal #2 – Whole Grain and Oat Fibre

Made whole grain and oat fibre that “helps lower cholesterol”. Again this sounds like a food that will enhance your health, but take a look at the sugar in the nutritional facts:

This is not as healthy as the food company wants you to believe.

Don’t be fooled by these so-called healthy cereals. Read the nutritional labels first. With some searching at the grocery store, you can find an oat –fiber, bran or whole grain cereal with no added sugar, or one with only one or two grams of sugar per cup. Add your own fruit and have a more honestly healthy breakfast cereal.

Oatmeal

Made the old-fashioned way, oatmeal is an ideal breakfast cereal. (you could even add your own quarter to half teaspoon of brown sugar if you wanted to or 1 portion of fruit and some cinnamon). Oatmeal in instant packs with the food company adding the “fruit” contains 3 teaspoons of sugar per pack. If you want to use the instant pack, use the plain packs and add your own fruit or small amount of brown sugar or cinnamon.

Granola Bars: Watch Out!

Like cereals, granola bars often boast of their “high fiber and whole grains”, but they, too, can include far more sugar than you might suspect. Depending on the variety, the sugar content in a granola bar can be greater than that in a serving of cookies.

Granola and cereal-based bars often claim to be composed of 100% all-natural ingredients such as rolled oats, roasted nuts, dried fruit, and yogurt. They are advertised as wholesome treats, but don’t be conned!

Granola Bars and Cereal bars generally are sweet snacks that serve only to give you lots of sugar, that can be addictive. As with all products, you need to read the nutritional labels carefully and be very skeptical of products “claiming to be very healthy”.

So in the examples above of granola bars, 13 grams of sugar = 3 teaspoons of sugar.

If you cannot forgo the convenience of a snack bar, look for a low sugar variety (that are not easy to find), maximum of 4 grams of sugar, ( = 1 teaspoon of sugar). Keep in mind though, that you’re always better off making your own trail mix with nuts, seeds, and some dried fruit. Also, don’t overlook other options for that mid morning or mid afternoon snack, such as fresh fruit, low or zero fat plain yogurt, or hummus and fresh vegetables.

Desserts

Once you wean yourself off the excess sugar incorporated into many of the foods around you, your craving for sweat foods will most likely diminish. Or, at the very least, many of the foods you once craved will taste unpleasantly sweet to you. This is a good thing. Of-course, you’re going to want a dessert every once in awhile, (once you have reached your goal weight on the HEALTH FIRST program), you can have one dessert a week. The key is to make healthier choices, be very mindful of portion size of the dessert and consider sharing a dessert. “caring is sharing”.

Think Before you Eat

Here are some examples of the sugar content in some desserts.

Watch out for Food Labeled as Low Fat

I recently saw a box of ice cream drumsticks at a grocery store that proclaimed:

“Vanilla and Chocolate Cone, 95% fat free, low fat.”

A look at the nutritional label shows 19 grams of sugar. Divided by 4, that equals nearly 5 teaspoons of sugar to compensate for the low fat. The moral here is that “low fat” doesn’t necessarily been healthy.

Don’t be Fooled by Misleading Marketing

As with “low fat”, other beneficial ingredients such as “high fiber”, “whole grains”, “natural ingredients”, just to mention a few, can be accompanied by unhealthy amounts of sugar. I encourage you to read the Nutritional Label, and make a healthy choice for yourself.

Yogurt

Be mindful of the sugar content in yogurt. I encourage you to read the nutritional labels with each yogurt purchase, either the small snack size or the larger containers. Most have the “fruit” added by the manufacturer, but most of that added “fruit” is mainly added sugar in the form of syrup. For example, I recently saw a snack size blueberry yogurt at a coffee shop, it had 0% fat, but when I read the nutritional facts, I discovered that it contained 18 grams of sugar per container. As you now know, that is 4.5 teaspoons of sugar.

Therefore, choose low fat yogurt, plain and add your own fruit.

Becoming mindful of budgeting of food types through daily/weekly diet plans; decreasing our diet of sugar, salt, and fat are all part of the HEALTH FIRST and Weight Loss program. We encourage you to take 3 simple steps towards controlling your health and wellness:

Read the HEALTH FIRST: Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness Book
Download the free App
Join our community today

You can say goodbye to the diet fad of the month and say hello to an easy-to-follow program with wonderful, long-lasting results.

Sugars: Become an Expert Sugar Detective

October 10, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

The media has been full of articles about the massive amount of sugar that children and adults are consuming. Most of this added sugar consumed, comes from sweetened beverages – soft drinks, energy drinks, bottled green tea and ice tea, sweetened bottled water, and water with added vitamins. Special coffee drinks such as Lattes, iced cappuccinos are full of sugar.

Shocking Amounts of Sugar

The American Heart Association (in a survey conducted between 2001-2004) concluded that on average, Americans were consuming 22 teaspoons of sugar per day. I suspect that it is much higher today. A more recent report by Statistics Canada (2011), concluded that adults and teenagers consume on average, 26 teaspoons per day.

In a recent You Tube video, Sugar: The Bitter Truth”, by Robert Lustig, MD, reinforces our understanding of the toxicity of added sugars in our diets. The recent documentary film, Fed Up, is a must see film about the food industry and the sugar in our foods.

All this excess sugar is a major contributor to the obesity epidemic, which, as you know, is a leading cause of diabetes, heart disease and various cancers.

Be Mindful, Read Labels, and Pay Attention to Sugars

Interpreting food labels is not always easy, but one simple tool will suddenly make grams of sugar more meaningful and will probably shock you.

The simple tool: 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar

Beverages

How much sugar in that soft drink or soda?

Here is the nutrition facts label from a 591 ml (20 fl oz US) bottle of cola. Let’s calculate the number of teaspoons of sugar in this popular drink.

Imagine putting 17.5 teaspoons of sugar on a bowl of cereal or in your tea or coffee. The thought is enough to make anyone feel nauseated, but this is the amount of sugar that you consume when you quench your thirst with a bottle 591 ml (20 fl oz ) of cola.

Soda and Pop

Other soft drink varieties may vary in terms of sugar content. I found a 591 ml (20 fl oz US) bottle of ginger ale that contains 54 grams of sugar per bottle.

Now imagine yourself drinking 13.5 teaspoons of sugar!

Also, look at the serving size on the Nutritional facts label and sometimes, the serving size is only for example 250 ml (8 fl oz) of a 591 ml (20 fl oz) soft drink bottle. The Sugar in grams in this example is 27 gm, which sounds like only about 7 teaspoons of sugar (27 divided by 4), but the whole bottle really has almost 17 teaspoons of sugar. So be mindful of labelling tricks to fool you.

Beware of soft drinks, sodas, at restaurants, grocery stores and movie theatres.

Bottled Tea

Tea has many health benefits, green tea has many antioxidants. Commercially available green teas however can be a real sugar trap. Let’s take a look a bottle of green tea, made with “natural lemon flavor”.

Bottled Water with Vitamins

Even water with added vitamins, the beverage industry’s latest marketing innovation, has an unconscionable amount of sugar.

Many people have been lead by the beverage industry, that this beverage is very healthy, so they consume two or three bottles a day of this water with added vitamins. They are really consuming 16-24 teaspoons of sugar per day, and on a weekly basis, 112 to 168 teaspoons of sugar per week.

My advice, is to stay clear of water with anything added to it. Choose ordinary water and get your vitamins from fresh produce. Consider flavouring your water with slices of lemon, lime or oranges instead. Leave it overnight in the refrigerator for a refreshing drink to enjoy all day long.

Sports Drinks

Sports drinks were first developed for professional college football players. They are intended for those participating in endurance sports like long distance running, football, soccer, prolonged cycling, long distance power walking etc, as well as prolonged exercise in hot weather. These sports drinks are very high in sugar and electrolytes. This makes them effective in rehydrating your body, but they are not advisable at all, as a everyday beverage, due to their sugar content.

Here is an example of one popular sports drink and its sugar content.

Fruit Juice

Juice most often lacks fiber, includes too much sugar, and undermines you eating real fruit. Even juice made with 100% fruit, and no added sweeteners, should be avoided. It takes about 8 oranges to make 473 mls (16 fl oz) of orange juice. This is more than I suggest for your daily fruit budget (4 portions of fruit per day), and you are giving the body a very large sugar load (8 orange equivalents) all at once. You also miss out on fibre that you get from real fruit.

“Eat real fruit, not as a juice”.

What About Smoothies?

With all the important about beverages, can smoothies be considered healthy? The fruit and fiber are good for you, right? Well here again, you have to be a cautious consumer. Some commercially available products are not made with whole fruit. In fact, these should be avoided completely due to their sizeable amounts of sugar.

Even products made with fresh fruit are problematic. The quantity of fruit they incorporate (6-12 pieces) can send you way over your daily limit of 4 fruit portions on the HEALTH FIRST Program. I observed one commercially available smoothie that contained two and a half mangoes, fifteen cherries and one a half apples in a 15 fl oz bottle. Way too much fruit.

If you wish to enjoy a smoothie, make it yourself, with a maximum of the 4 fruit portions in the daily fruit budget, and low fat, plain yogurt. Unfortunately, you will lose out on using fruit strategically throughout the rest of the day for snacks. However, once in awhile this make your own smoothie can be a wholesome option.

Have your downloaded our free app from the App Store or Google Play yet? This will assist you with becoming mindful of your daily consumption of the various food groups? We invite you to join our community by filling out this form to learn more about how to take charge of your wellness by putting your HEALTH FIRST and Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness.

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Keep It Simple

September 22, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

Most weight loss programs, in my opinion, are difficult to follow and are often very restrictive, requiring a great deal of discipline, which makes them unsustainable over the long term. Fad diets almost always fail. They are not realistic for healthy living, and they are focused on the “quick fix”.

We are constantly bombarded with the latest “theme of the month”: fat is bad for you, …. fat is good for you, …. too much salt is bad …. salt is not bad for you….. eat fruit and vegetables, …. fruit is bad for you…. All this information overload breeds confusion.

We often hear, “keep it simple”. Keeping things simple leads to success. A few simple “rules”, some educational tips, and your weight loss goals can be achieved.

Keep it Simple: It Works!

Make healthier choices
Be mindful of portion size
Budget your food groups

o   Unlimited vegetables, 4 fruit portions a day
o   Unlimited healthy chicken and turkey
o   3 or 4 healthy starch “portions” a day (woman 3, men 4)
o   3 low fat dairy products a day
o   3 meat “portions” a week
o   3 cheese “portions” a week
o   3 fish “portions” a week
o   4 eggs per week
o   handful of nuts and seeds per day
o   3 meals a day (protein with each meal)
o   4 snacks a day, “strategically placed throughout the day” to avoid hunger.
o   Alcohol: 4 drinks per week for female, 7 for a male.

This is the core material of the HEALTH FIRST Program, Achieving a Healthier Life

Why is this approach simple? You never have to count calories, and there is no keeping track of points. The material in the HEALTH FIRST book is easy to read, the free App is very simple and easy to use, taking only seconds to click a + to keep you focused and on ‘budget” with portion size and the food groups.

Our lives are becoming more hectic ,with work demands increasing, more commuting and travel time and for many, greater family responsibilities. However, I believe that becoming more mindful of portion size, purposefully making healthy instead of unhealthy food choices, you will achieve your weight loss goals.

My next blog will focus on sugars, and I will give you some great tips on where bad sugars lurk in foods that are marketed as being “healthy”. Some great pictures and easy math will turn you into an awesome “sugar detective”. Then stay tuned for myths about exercise and weight loss, and some great hints on how to incorporate physical activity and exercise into your life permanently.

For a more information and detail, and to get started, read the HEALTH FIRST: Winning at Weight Loss and Wellness book, and use the free App, HEALTH FIRST, from the App store for iphone and Google Play for Android devices. The app serves as a “coach” for the program. Join our Community for education and motivation.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. – Goethe

Why HEALTH FIRST: Weight Loss and Wellness?

September 8, 2014 By Steve Hirsch

What do you need to know? The Good and the Bad

The Not so Good News:

Our society is now plagued with lifestyle diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and many others. Our risk of many cancers such as breast, colon, and uterine cancer is also increased due to obesity.

Our lack of physical activity and exercise increases the risk of dementia, diabetes, breast and prostate cancer.

These chronic lifestyle diseases are taking a huge toll on us as individuals and on society as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, (WHO),

“Chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes, are by far the leading cause of mortality (death) in the world, representing 60% of all daths. Out of 35 million people who died from chronic diseases in 2005, half were under 70 years of age, and half were woman.”

Having identified the link between obesity and the risk for these chronic lifestyle diseases, this WHO quote confirms the magnitude of this societal challenge.

What happens to people who have these chronic diseases?

In one study, Diabetes was found to almost double the risk of developing Dementia.
Type 2 Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and leg amputation. The American Diabetes Association revealed that adults with diabetes die from heart disease two to four times more frequently than adults without diabetes. The risk for stroke among diabetics is also two to four times higher.
The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation web site (www.cbcf.org), states, “research shows that post-menopausal women with a higher body weight have a higher risk of breast cancer. Excess weight gained during adulthood increases the risk for breast cancer later in life, particularly women who continue to have a higher body weight after menopause. Higher body weight has also been associated with a higher risk of breast cancer recurrence in both pre and post menopausal woman.

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success. – Norman Vincent Peale

Now the Good News

By getting to a healthier weight, one can dramatically reduce the risk of all these life style diseases. Additionally, a healthier weight results in more energy, feeling revitalized and feeling a sense of empowerment over one’s health. Even when people develop one of these lifestyle diseases, such as type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, losing weight, exercising and becoming more physically active will reduce the complications of many of these diseases, or create the possibility of reducing or stopping some medication (under your Physician’s guidance.) There are no absolute guarantees, but I believe that a deep desire to be healthier will make it easier to lose weight, and become more physically active and ultimately become a happier person. I have seen so many of my patient’s lives become truly transformed.

Stay tuned, over the next several weeks, several simple ideas will be included in this blog, to help you achieve your weight loss goals, incorporate physical activity and exercise into your life and become a healthier and more energetic person.