Trimming Dietary Fat Down to Size
Cutting dietary fat to 30% of total daily calories may help minimize risk of disease, many nutritionists believe. But translating that advice into action is often no picnic. Here are their suggestions for becoming an effective fat-buster:
-- Don’t think in terms of giving up all fatty foods. Instead, limit total fat consumption by controlling portions of fat-containing items, such as salad dressing, avocados, nuts, olives and cream, the California Dietetic Assn. suggests.
-- Make smarter food choices, advises Dr. David Heber, chief of the division of clinical nutrition and professor of medicine at UCLA School of Medicine. Some examples: Avoid egg yolks that contain not only cholesterol but fat. Don’t consider bread a forbidden food, he adds. Many “are only 10% fat or less.” Drink milk that’s 1% fat or nonfat instead of 2% or whole milk.
-- Beware of hidden fats. Among the most frequently overlooked sources: baked goods, crackers, doughnuts and lunch meats.
-- Consider devices and educational programs to help you reduce fat consumption. These include:
A free eight-week nutrition-education program for women that begins monthly at the UCLA School of Medicine Division of Clinical Nutrition. For information call (213) 476-6367.
A Fat & Cholesterol Counter with instructions on how to compute daily calorie and fat intake. To obtain a free counter write Kellogg Co., Department 0-8, 1 Kellogg Square, Battle Creek, Mich. 49016-3599.
A Fat Finder calculator, a small plastic disc that helps you compute the percentage of fat when total calories and grams of fat are known. Send $4.95 to Vitaerobics, 41905 Boardwalk, Palm Desert, Calif. 92260.
Relief for Menstrual Cramps
Drug-free relief of menstrual cramps is the promise of a new prescription-only device called Optenz.
Manufactured by 3M, Optenz is a type of TENS unit. Short for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, TENS devices deliver low levels of electrical current and have been used for several years to treat chronic pain and more recently dental pain.
The battery-operated Optenz, designed to be worn under clothing, includes a unit that attaches to the waist or the bra and three electrode pads that are placed in a triangular arrangement around the abdomen. Intensity of the current is controlled by the user.
Optenz is believed to work by overloading the nerves with nonpainful stimuli, thus preventing painful stimuli from getting through to the brain. In clinical studies, one-third of the 32 women who used Optenz eliminated the use of painkillers for menstrual cramps, according to a 3M spokeswoman, and another third reduced their painkiller use.
Expected to cost $400 to $600, Optenz is now available on a limited basis in Denver, Pittsburgh, Seattle and San Antonio, and will be available nationally in January. 3M anticipates reimbursement by major insurance carriers.
“It might work for some people,” said Dr. Donald Weir, a pain-control specialist at Casa Colina Hospital in Pomona. But the device is best used for short periods of time and never longer than three days continuously, he advised. “Overuse may lead to diminished effectiveness.”
Peripheral Vision Loss
Peripheral vision loss in migraine headache sufferers is more common than previously believed, according to a UC Davis researcher.
In a study conducted by Dr. Richard A. Lewis, assistant professor of ophthalmology and director of the glaucoma service at the UC Davis School of Medicine, 28 of 100 eyes studied had peripheral vision loss.
He emphasized, however, that results are preliminary, vision losses were mild to moderate and most subjects were not aware of the visual defects.
Migraine patients should not be alarmed by the study nor think their headaches will lead to blindness, Lewis said. Still, “migraine may not be as benign a condition as we thought,” he added, noting that previous reports of migraines accompanied by vision loss have not been scientifically studied. The vision loss may be associated with the decreased blood flow that accompanies a migraine, he speculated.
Migraine patients might “may want to speak with a doctor about the type of migraine treatment (you’re receiving),” he said. “The newer treatments--calcium channel blocker and beta-blocker drugs--may be more effective in reducing visual complications than the ergotamines traditionally used.”
