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BREAK THE STRESS-FAT CONNECTION!

1. Quote Worth Remembering
2. Welcome from Dr. Peeke
3. Mind/Mouth/Muscle: News You Can Use
4. Schedule of lectures and appearances: log onto www.drpeeke.com for a complete list of Dr. Peeke's media appearances

- Henry David Thoreau

WELCOME FROM DR. PEEKE

Greetings to everyone.

I invite you to join me and the Peeke Performance team for the Spring 2008 Peeke Week Retreat at Red Mountain Spa, from May 12th through May 18th. Give us a call at 301-407-0467 ext. 112 and speak with Torne, who will answer your questions and get you signed up. This is an extraordinary opportunity to make new friends (many people come alone) or to bring along a friend, partner or family member. You’ll be surrounded by the unimaginable beauty of Snow Canyon, the Zion and Bryce National parks, as well as the Grand Canyon. This is a time of rest, relaxation, and spa pampering after a day of hiking, biking, swimming, horseback riding and kayaking.

MIND

Make the Anger-Heart Disease Connection

Most studies linking anger and hostility leading to a greater risk for heart disease have been based on studies of men. Now we finally have some intriguing data based on women’s unique biology. The Journal of Women’s Health has published a study that suggests there is a relationship between anger and heart disease in women. Researchers found that women who tended to outwardly express their anger had a higher risk of artery blockages if they also had one of several other heart risk factors: older age, diabetes or high cholesterol. Other measures of hostility, like suppressed anger and hostile temperament in general, were unrelated to the risk of coronary artery disease.

But there’s more. It's not clear that anger actually contributed to the development of their heart disease. In fact, the study found that the highest levels of anger and hostility -- expressed or not -- were seen in women with more severe symptoms but no evidence of blockages in their heart arteries. It's possible that this finding reflects the women's frustration at not having a diagnosis for their chest pain and other symptoms, according to researchers. Only expressed anger was linked to the risk of showing objective artery blockages on an angiogram, but women who had more symptoms scored higher on all measures of anger and hostility than women with fewer symptoms.

A better understanding of how anger and other emotions affect heart health could eventually aid in diagnosing coronary heart disease, according to the researchers. Moreover, they add, the findings suggest that women with unexplained chest pain may need help in dealing with the psychological effects of remaining undiagnosed.

MOUTH

Toxic Waistlines lead to Cancer

The new American Cancer Society Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention and they are a call to arms to all Americans to pay attention to their expanding waistlines.
The chief recommendations:

* Maintain a healthy weight throughout life.
* Adopt a physically active lifestyle.
* Eat a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant sources.
* Limit alcohol, if you drink it at all.

The new guidelines place a much stronger emphasis on weight control than previous versions. Few people associate excess weight with cancer, but being too heavy is known to raise a person's risk of developing certain types of the disease, including breast cancer in women past menopause, and cancers of the colon, endometrium, esophagus, and kidney. Being overweight may also be linked to cancers of the pancreas, gallbladder, thyroid, ovary, and cervix, as well as multiple myeloma, Hodgkin disease, and aggressive prostate cancer. In the US, anywhere from 14% to 20% of cancer deaths are thought to be related to excess weight. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight, including 30% who are obese.

But if being overweight increases one's risk of cancer, does dropping those extra pounds lead to a drop in risk? For at least one very common cancer---post-menopausal breast cancer---, the answer is yes, and it's likely true for other cancers, too.

That's why keeping weight at a healthy level is now the top ACS recommendation for cancer prevention. The guidelines use BMI, or body mass index, to define healthy weight. BMI takes height and weight into account; a healthy BMI is generally between 18.5 and 24.9. People with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered overweight, while those with a BMI over 30 are considered obese. Portion control is one way to maintain a healthy weight, according to the guidelines. Exercise is another.

The recommendation for daily physical activity has changed in the new guidelines. Previously, 30 minutes of cumulative activity -- including everyday things like walking from the parking lot to the mall or climbing the stairs at home -- at least 5 days a week was thought to be enough for adults.

But it's not enough, the new guidelines point out. The new recommendation is for adults to get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity in addition to those everyday activities, and to do so at least 5 days a week. More activity -- 45-60 minutes -- is even better.

For children, the recommendation is for 60 minutes of moderate or vigorous activity (and that includes everyday activities) at least 5 days a week. Moderately intense activities include things like walking, dancing cycling, skating, golfing, and mowing the lawn. Vigorous activities are things like jogging or running, weight training, aerobics, swimming, soccer, or racquetball . Exercise is also important because it helps keep weight in check. People who want to lose weight should try to get 60-90 minutes of exercise each day. But calories are probably a more important factor in weight loss than exercise. That's because many typical meals -- say a fast-food burger, fries, and soda -- have more calories than the average person is likely to burn off in an exercise session.

People can also keep calories under control by replacing high-calories foods with more fruits and vegetables, which are low-cal but nutritious and filling. The new guidelines, as did previous ones, recommend eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. These foods may reduce the risk of lung, esophagus, stomach, and colorectal cancer -- plus, they're good for you in a number of other ways as well. The guidelines also say people should limit red and processed meat in favor of fish, poultry, or beans, and trim refined carbohydrates like white bread, rice, and pastas in favor of whole grains.

If alcohol is consumed, it should be limited to 2 drinks a day for men and 1 for women. Women who are at high risk of breast cancer might want to consider cutting out spirits entirely, the new guidelines say, because drinking alcohol is known to increase breast cancer risk, especially in women who don't get enough folate in their diet.

MUSCLE

The Truth about Fitness and Fatness

The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that women who are otherwise healthy, but have low levels of physical activity and high levels of weight, generally have less favorable heart health than their leaner, more active counterparts, The message, therefore, for women who want to protect themselves from having a heart attack, the number one killer of women, is to get out and walk, be active 30 minutes each day most days of the week, and lose those 10 lbs or more if you need to, if you want to protect yourself against heart attack and stroke. More than half of the US population falls short of recommended levels of physical activity and 65 percent are overweight or obese, with women outnumbering men. Both increased body weight and a sedentary lifestyle are strong predictors of heart disease, as well as diabetes and death.

Among 27,158 apparently healthy US women, researchers found that lower levels of physical activity and higher levels of body weight were independently associated with adverse levels of nearly all of the 11 lipid and inflammatory biomarkers measured. These biomarkers are related to cardiac risk and may play a role in the development of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. For example, inactive overweight women had higher levels of potentially harmful C-reactive protein, a blood protein that signals ongoing inflammation, and higher levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.

Compared with normal weight women, women who were overweight or obese had 2 to 10 times increased levels of risk factors that increase women's risk for heart attack and stroke, such as cholesterol and inflammation. Women who were physically inactive, whether they had normal weight or elevated weight, also had 5 to 50 percent higher levels of these risk biomarkers. A high body weight was more strongly related to adverse cardiovascular biomarker levels that physical inactivity. However, within body weight categories, physical activity was generally associated with more favorable cardiovascular biomarker levels than inactivity.