Adult Reading & Functional Literacy Instruction Online

Teaching Adults Reading Skills

Evelyn Smith

Revised December 9, 2014

MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Ph.D. in English, Texas Christian University (1995)

Reference librarians have a new duty—acting as public health care advisers.  Since a large percentage of Americans lack the reading skills necessary to take an active informed role in their health care decisions, an ALA continuing education course in medical reference instructs librarians to draw the patron aside and discretely ask if he or she has trouble reading technical information whereupon the librarian ideally will find simplified sources to answer the patron's health care questions.   This crisis underlines the necessity of learning to read proficiently. 
 
Learning to read takes time and lots of effort.  That’s why repetition and regular practice are necessary.  So if early childhood education experts recommend that parents should start reading aloud to children starting while they are babes in arms for at least 20 minutes daily, is it any wonder, that adults seldom find enough time to perfect their reading skills?  (Fielding, n.d., para. 8).

Adults who need to master reading, however, can learn a lot from the kids:  It takes time and  motivation to really read well.  This can be accomplished in several ways.  Adults who have always struggled with reading can find a friend or colleague who can listen  to them them read aloud for thirty minutes a day from the newspaper or a library book, gently correcting their mistakes and quizzing them on what they have read—just like a Mom or Dad might do.

Struggling readers can also listen to text being read aloud on the computer. Replaying a audio selection as many times as necessary, adults and older students who have trouble understanding the meaning of what they read can listen free-of-charge to classics like Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a narrator reads the a passage aloud (http://www.audiobooks.org/free-book-list.html) while they follow along by accessing a title through Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/collection/topselling_free

Learn Out Loud also has numerous free titles that users can listen to while they follow along in a printed text:  http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video

Internet users can also take advantage of some of the Online Websites that teach reading skills to adults that appear later on this Webpage.

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United States & Texas Functional Illiteracy Statistics

• Adults who can't read: 14 %

• Adults who read below the 5th--grade level: 21%

• Functionally-illiterate high school graduates: 19%

• Prison inmates who can't read: 63%

      (Statistic Brain, 2013)

• Texas residents who can't read: 19%

      (NCES, 2003) 

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References

Fielding, Lynn. (n. d.).  Opening the reading door. Children’s Reading Foundation.  Retrieved from http://www.readingfoundation.org/Opening-the-Reading-Door.jsp

If elementary school students can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade, they fail to learn half the material presented, so by high school, they are five years behind grade level (Fielding, n.d., para. 2 & 4).  Thus, “proper parenting” should include a parent’s reading to his or her child for 20 minutes a day from the time the child is born (Fielding, n.d., para. 8)

.

Literacy statistics. (2013). Begin to Read. Write Express Corporation.  Retrieved from http://www.begintoread.com/research/literacystatistics.html

Adults perform—or under perform—at four levels of literacy: below basic, basic, intermediate and proficient.  Yet proficient reading skills are necessary to perform complex activities (Literacy statistics, 2013, para. 2).  Children, however, essentially “inherit their level of reading skills from their parents.  Therefore, not being able to read perpetuates crime, poverty, and unemployment (Literacy statistics, 2013, para. 4).

National Center for Education Statistics. (2003). Institute for Educational Services. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspx

Website visitors can access literacy statistics by state and county; for example, NCES notes that 19 percent of Texas residents can’t read beyond about the 5^th-grade level.

Statistic Brain. (2013, April 28).  Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/number-of-american-adults-who-cant-read/

The U.S. Department of Education’s National Literacy Institute has released the current abysmal statistics on the number of adult Americans who don’t possess functional literacy skills.

The U.S. Illiteracy rate hasn’t changed in 10 years (2013, September 16).  Huffington Post.  Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/illiteracy-rate_n_3880355.html

 

The literacy rate in the United States hasn’t changed in 10 years (U.S. illiteracy, 2013, September 16, para. 4).

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How to Teach Adults &

Secondary School Students to Read

Cullinan, Bernice. (2000). Independent reading  and school achievement.  School Library  Media Research, 3. American Association of School Libraries.    Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol3/SLMR_IndependentReading_V3.pdf

Independent or voluntary reading that middle and high school students select for themselves correlates with success in school.  Those students who frequently read as a leisure activity score higher on achievement rests and master more general content knowledge (Culinan, 2000, pp. 2-3).  Accordingly, proficient middle school readers spend more time engaging in recreational reading than those who struggle with reading (Culinan, 2000, p. 6).  Reading in mid-adolescence dips, but increases in the junior and senior year of high school, and some evidence exists that light reading serves as a stepping stone to reading that enables higher-level thinking skills (Culinan, 2000, p. 8).  However, unfortunately, not reading during the summer means that many lower-level  young adult readers loose from six months to up to a year reading performance skills during vacation if they skip reading regularly during the summer (Culinan, 2000, p. 8).

Curtis, Mary E. & Kruidenier, John R. (2005).  Teaching adults to read.  Partnership for Reading.  Washington, D.C. National Institution for Literacy, pp. 1-13. Retrieved from http://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/teach_adults.pdf

Curtis and Kruidenier summarize the process of teaching adult learners how to read.  To accomplish this task, the learners need to be very motivated because learning to read fluently is a complex process that requires many skills that learners master at different rates (Curtis, 2005, p. 1-2).   Learning to read English or any other language that uses an alphabet starts with learning to associate spoken sounds with letters (Curtis, 2005, p. 5). This has to occur before both children and adults can read with ease and speed.  Whether readers are 5 or 55, reading proficiently takes hours and hours of repeated practice (Curtis, 2005, p. 6). Building a large vocabulary is also critical for finding meaning within a text (Curtis, 2005, p. 8).

Francisco, Irene, et al.  (n.d.). How to teach someone to read.  WikiHow.  Retrieved from http://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Someone-to-Read

While this WikiHow article probably wouldn’t appear in an academic paper, it does an excellent job of summarizing exactly what it takes to teach reading fluently.  All beginning readers need to first learn the alphabet and practice blending sounds to form words, next move on to learning short one syllable words and then gradually start to read longer words.  That means learning sight words by memory is important (Francisco, n. d., para.1-5). All readers, whether they are preschoolers or adults, build vocabulary by association.  Fluency comes through reading and if necessary rereading, and then by asking questions about the material and summarizing it (Francisco, n.d., para. 6-8).

So what is the difference between teaching young children how to read and helping functionally illiterate adults to read difficult texts with ease?  Children learn to read fluently long before they start to school when mothers and dads read to them as often as possible.  Later a parent can ask beginning and struggling young readers  to read aloud while the parent asks questions about a passage as they go along. Preschool and early elementary school children also build their vocabularies when they associate words with pictures in picture books. 

Parents act as role-models when their children see them reading.  Additionally, moms and dads can use creative ways to teach reading skills: Acting-out stories and not only reading together from children’s books, but also from ads, newspapers, and magazines as well as helping kindergarten and nursery school children form shapes of letters from different materials helps them learn how to read (Francisco, n. d., para. 9-13).

Adults and middle school and high-school students master reading if they have realized that learning to read is a difficult task that will take time to learn. However, this means they need to truthfully assess their current reading skills.  They then must commit themselves to the task and subsequently gain the self-confidence to admit finally that they need to work on reading fluently. It also helps if they select relevant and enjoyable things to read (Francisco, n. d., para. 9-20).

Sufficient motivation, frequent short lessons, interesting subject material, and trying a combination of methods if one doesn't work thus help both old and young learners read proficiently. Adults should also understand that commercial reading programs, like Hooked on Phonics, work better for some learners than others (Francisco, n. d., para. 21-22).

Taniersley, Karen. (2014).  Literacy strategies for grades 4-12.  Books. ASCD.  Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/1-4428/chapters/The-Struggling-Reader.aspx

Since children who don't achieve reading proficiency by third grade need between 150 to 300 hours of intensive instruction over a three-year period to catch up, older struggling readers first need to start at the beginning with phonomes (the smallest units of language), word families, and prefixes and suffixes, before dissecting the text, checking the answer before asking for help, and trying the dictionary (Taniersley, 2014, para. 65).  She also provides several ESL Websites that prove helpful for all students learning to read English. 

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Online Reading Instruction: Tutorials

for Adults & Teens
 

Use your spare time to improve your literacy skills.

Goodwill Community Foundation (GCF). (2013). Your free learning source.  Retrieved from http://www.gcflearnfree.org/

 Users can learn or review computer basics, reading, and math skills.

 

Reading Instruction: Users first click on either “I already speak English” or “I’m learning English” before choosing a tutorial.  Clicking on different pictographs, they then choose a subject they want to learn more about and decide how they want to learn it.  Lessons teach practical topics like office terms, finance, and health information.

Math Instruction:  Online tutorials teach addition and subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percent.

Technology:  Users can take free online classes in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Access.

Literacy Link. (2001). PBS.  University of Pennsylvania.  Retrieved from http://litlink.ket.org/learn.aspl

Users can take a GED practice test, try interactive exercises that help them master the GED skills necessary to pass a GED test, and practice answering GED questions.  Online lessons are available for English as a Second Language classes.

Proliteracy Education Network. (2011). Proliteracy.  Retrieved from http://www.proliteracyednet.org/articles.asp?mcid=3

Both mature adults and young adults struggling with reading problems can practice reading, writing, and math skills, learn vocabulary words, and practice speaking English.

Tune into Learning. (2013). TV411. Education Development Center.  Retrieved from English as a Second Language Online Instruction.   Retrieved from http://www.tv411.org/

TV411 introduces adults to basic reading, writing, math, and science skills.  A moderator responds to topics following discussions, and videos teach important practical concepts necessary for daily living.  Since most of the videos are short, secondary teachers can use them as introductory videos in classes that mainstream instruction for special education students and/or include ESL learners.

Reading instruction videos teach practical skills like summarizing, using a glossary, understanding legal jargon, studying, and test preparation while a category entitled “Libraries and Books" teaches topics like using a card catalog and picking out a book from a library.

Writing skill videos include writing a complaint letter and editing a check list.  Grammar and rhetoric videos cover topics like using apostrophes, figures of speech, and avoiding sentence fragments. Vocabulary videos explore subjects like finding misspelled words in a dictionary and learning how to expand vocabulary.

Math videos cover basic math skills like budgeting, measurement, interest rates, averages, and exponents, fractions, decimals, percent, and basic geometry. Users can also learn about personal finance since the videos cover topics like credit card interest, renting to own furniture, TVs, appliances, or computers, and saving and investing. 

Science videos that are available in both English and Spanish cover life science topics like bacteria, photosynthesis, and carbohydrates.

We all can read.  (2013). Online phonics reading program.  Retrieved from http://www.weallcanread.com/Online.html

This self-paced program uses videos to teach reading skills in order from the easiest to the hardest skill.  The first 28 lessons are free, so Website visitors can survey them to see if they might help without pulling out a credit card.  The program claims it teaches struggling readers from the third-grade level upward to phonetically sound out words, using audio, video, and text.  However, watching a few minutes of the first lesson shows that adults are clearly the target audience.

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Tutorials that Teach

Reading Skills to

High School &

  University Students

  

 Users don't need to be citizens of  the United Kingdom to take advantage of British Open University courses.  These online tutorials can help high school, college, and university students with reading academic writing in context, critically evaluating argumentative editorials and essays, paraphrase, summarize, and pick out key concepts in a text while questioning what they read.

English grammar in context. (2011, June 11).  Open Learn. Open University.  Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/educational-technology-and-practice/educational-practice/english-grammar-context/content-section-0

Tutorial helps users discover the difference between written and spoken English.

How to be a critical reader. (2011, July 11).  Open Learn. Open University.  Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/how-be-critical-reader/content-section-0

Tutorial guides users in learning how to distinguish between facts and opinions, to compare supporting claims to an argument, and to read academic texts critically.  Both high school and first-year university students can benefit from this course since reading selections and teaching methods at the university level are different from high school-level classes.

Paraphrasing text. (2011, May 10).  Open Lean.  Open University.  Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/paraphrasing-text/content-section---learningoutcomes

One-hour tutorial teaches users how to put what they have read in their own words while activities present paraphrasing strategies.

Reading. (2011, July 18).  Open Learn. Open University.  Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/literature-and-creative-writing/reading/content-section-0?name=GSG_3

Online tutorial teaches users how to question what they read, pick out key concepts, and how to emotionally detach themselves from articles that present ideas different from their own.

Summarising text. (2011, May 12).  Open Learn.  Open University.  Retrieved from http://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/english-language/summarising-text/content-section-0

One-hour tutorial reviews what a summary does—it reduces, rejects, reproduces, and repackages. The lesson then gives users practice in turning notes into a summary.

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Free English as a Second Language

Online Learning Websites

 

Ask a friend or co-worker listen to you read.

 ESL learners from the beginning to the advanced level can try out these Online resources that will help them learn English. Some of these Website target adults just beginning to learn English while at least one course helped international students attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology perfect their lecture listening skills.  Thus, adults struggling with basic English as well as foreign students prepping to study at prestigious universities can brush up on their reading comprehension skills.

Alison.com. (2013).  English-Language Skills.  Retrieved from http://alison.com/subjects/11/English-Language-Skills

Users learn to read intermediate-level English, covering such topics as meeting people, shopping, banking, asking directions, checking into a hotel, and ordering meals.

Online lessons are also available in French, German, Irish, Arabic, and Swedish. (http://alison.com/subjects/27/Languages).

English for all. (2003). http://www.myefa.org/login.cfm

English for All is a free Online program specifically aimed at adult ESL learners.  Visitors can access the first five stories, each of which has four parts.  They then must register to receive additional materials.

ESL Kids Stuff.  (n. d.).  Retrieved from http://www.eslkidstuff.com

Adult ESL students might also benefit from this Website  that furnishes lessons, flash cards, work sheets, and song downloads as well as teacher resources, games and activities and ESL online games.  Membership costs $25 to join, but some materials are free. 

Erichsen, Gerald. (2013, February).  Which online translator is best?  Spanish Language.  About.com.  Retrieved from http://spanish.about.com/od/onlinetranslation/a/online-translation.htm

While the English Starter Kit (1994) advocates using Freetranslation.com, Erichsen compares five translation websites—Google Translate, Bing Translator, Babylon, PROMT, and FreeTranslation.com—and ranks them from best to worse depending on three test runs. Google and Bing on average are the most proficient translators.

Google Translate: https://translate.google.com/

Bing Translator: http://www.bing.com/translator/

Help! They Don’t Speak English Starter Kit for Teachers of Young Adults. (1993, June). Eastern Stream Center on Resources and Training.  Sate University of New York at Oneonta.  Retrieved from http://employees.oneonta.edu/thomasrl/YaPart1.pdf

This English Starter Kit focuses on teaching adult ESL students survival English  by helping them internalize the language as they learn what they need to know.  The text ends by offering a sample lesson sequence that approximates the first year textbook in any foreign language class. 

Learn English free. (n. d.).  USA Learns.  Retrieved from http://www.usalearns.org/index/welcome.cfm?CFID=7945694&CFTOKEN=15385569&jsessionid=3c3079e8da22d905b8d659818d765e5c4f5c

Beginning ESL users can learn English by watching videos and answering multiple-choice questions. A sample link, “Rooms in the Home”, for example, uses photos to test vocabulary words: http://usalearns.org/fb.cfm?activity=-750777974.  A Facebook page acts as a forum to allow users to comment on the instruction.

Learning English.  (2013). Voice of America (VOA).  Retrieved from http://learningenglish.voanews.com/

This easy to navigate Website organizes informative videos into two skill levels. A daily feature, “English in a Minute”, teaches American English. On Tuesday and Friday, users can join a Gooogle+ Hangout from 1600 to 1645 UTC to practice speaking English.

Won Ho Yoo, Isaiah. (2004). Listening, speaking, and pronunciation. MIT Open Courseware.  Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Retrieved from http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-223-listening-speaking-and-pronunciation-fall-2004/

Video Webinar teaches ESL students at the high school or university level necessary listening comprehension and oral skills, and it also introduces common American English expressions and idioms.  Users will need to purchase the course’s reading materials through Amazon.com, but lectures 18 to 21 are free online as are the pdf handouts and articles. 

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Free Online English Grammar

Lessons for Adult Learners

These Websites help adult learners improve how they use English grammar:

English Club. (2014). Grammar. Retrieved form https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/

English grammar guide. (2014). Learn English Grammar. LEO Network. Retrieved from http://www.learnenglish.de/grammarpage.html

Lowe, Alexandra. (2013, May 17). Great grammar websites for adult ELLS. TSOL International. Retrieved from http://blog.tesol.org/great-grammar-websites-for-adult-ells/

Pulvacyskaya, Alexandria (n. d.). Learn English. Lesson Paths.  Retrieved from http://www.lessonpaths.com/learn/i/learn-english/english-grammar-lessons-for-adults

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Audio Bible/Bible Online

Follow along in the text while a narrator reads Bible passages aloud.

Biblical passages guide Christians in their daily life as they strive to live up to Christ's teachings, but following a written text which a narrator reads biblical scriptures aloud also can help functionally illiterate adults learn to read. 

Bible Gateway furnishes audio readings of the Bible. (2014). Bible Gateway. Retrieved from

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/audio/ 

Listeners can choose the version of the Bible as well as the language they wish to listen to while they can simultaneously click on a link that gives the written text. 

See: http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/

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Everyone in today's society needs a high school diploma!

G.E.D. Classes

in Texas

GED classes in Texas.  (2013).  GED101.com.  Retrieved from http://ged101.com/ged-classes-in-texas.html

Web page directs users to free G.E.D. classes, online practice for the G.E.D., Online G.E.D. classes, and G.E.D. practice tests.

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Your Child Needs a Library Card

Functional literacy in adults begins when children learn to love reading.  Visit the Library this week and get your own preschooler his or her very own library card. 

The Breast Cancer, High LDL Cholesterol, & Trans Fat Connection

The Skinny on Avoiding High LDL Cholesterol, Breast Cancer, & Trans Fats

Evelyn Smith, MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)

Good News/Bad News

Two recent news items inspire this blog since on November 29th,  the Duke Cancer Institute announced that high cholesterol levels contribute to breast cancer, and on November 7^th,  the United States Food and Drug Administration took the first step towards completely banning artificially-manufactured trans fats, including shortening and margarine, or hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated fats, from American food products.  Since trans fats are high in cholesterol, all this news should propel the wise to adopt a Mediterranean-style diet as well as a sensible exercise plan.  This might also mean that Southern cooks in particular might need to rethink their menus, emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables and grilling chicken and fish instead of frying them.

This news should also propel Americans to learn exactly which foods are high in cholesterol as well as which foods contain trans fats.  At this point, they will also need to adapt their tastes, so they learn to like foods low in cholesterol.  Indeed, an evolution in eating habits will have to occur for Americans not only to trim down their waistlines but also their insurance premiums. That means ridding trans fats and high cholesterol foods from the diet, or else  be taxed (in the form of more expensive insurance policies) for the privilege of making this life-style choice.  

How cholesterol increases breast cancer. (2013, November 29).  Nature World News. Retrieved from http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/5125/20131129/cholesterol-increases-breast-cancer-risk.htm

Researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute have found that a molecule produced by cholesterol helps breast cancer grow and spread because this small molecule mimics the estrogen hormone (How cholesterol, 2013, November 29, para. 1-2).  This finding explains why cholesterol-lowering drugs also reduce the risk of breast cancer (How cholesterol, 2013, November 29, para. 3). Previous researchers have proved that a connection exists between obesity and breast cancer, but until now, medical science hasn’t discovered how this happened (How cholesterol, 2013, November 29, para. 4).  Thus, when the Duke researchers gave the mice anti-estrogen drugs, this stopped the spread of breast cancer (How cholesterol, 2013, November 29, para. 5). Women, therefore, can reduce their risk of both breast cancer and cardiovascular disease by maintaining a healthy weight, keeping to a low-cholesterol diet, and exercising (How cholesterol, 2013, November 29, para. 6). 

Now for a summary of the abstract of the actual published report:

Nelson, Erik R., et al.  (2013, November 29). 27-Hydroxycholestrol links hypercholesterolemia and breast cancer pathophysiology.  Science, 342: 162, pp. 1094-1098. doi: 10.1126/science.1241908.  Retrieved from http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6162/1094

A specific molecule, of cholesterol, 27-hydroxycholesterol (27HC), promotes tumor growth and the spread of breast cancer from the breasts to other parts of the body in mice by serving as a chemical that binds to a protein embedded in a cell that triggers an estrogen response.  Thus, lowering cholesterol levels or interfering with the conversion of cholesterol to 27HC may help prevent and/or treat breast cancer.

Now for the Cure

Cholesterol: Top 5 foods to lower your numbers.  (2013). Mayo Clinic.  Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cholesterol/CL00002/

Tweaking your diet as well as exercising may help lower cholesterol: 

Oatmeal, oat bran, and high-fiber foods:  The soluble fiber in oatmeal reduces low-density lipoprotein, or high cholesterol, so eating a serving of oatmeal provides about six grams of fiber, and if the dieter tops the cereal with bananas, this adds four more grams of gram. Foods like kidney beans, apples, pears, barley, and prunes also contain soluble fiber (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 1). 

Fish and omega-3 fatty acids:  Regularly eating fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids reduces blood pressure and the risk of developing blood clots.  It also reduces the risk of sudden death in those patients who have already suffered from a heart attack.  The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of grilled or baked fish high in omega-3 a week (mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, Albacore tuna, salmon, and halibut).  Those who don’t like fish can take a fish-oil supplement, but this won’t help them receive some other nutrients that they need like selenium (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 1).

Walnuts, almonds, and other nuts:  High in polyunsaturated fatty acids, walnuts, almonds, and other nuts can help reduce LDL cholesterol. Thus, eating a handful of unsalted almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, or walnuts may reduce heart disease.  Since nuts are high in calories, that doesn’t mean that a pecan pie or chocolate-covered pecans make for a healthy snack, but go-ahead and add a small serving of nuts instead of cheese or meat to a salad (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 1).

Extra-virgin olive oil: Olive oil’s antioxidants can lower “bad” cholesterol. To add olive oil to the diet, sauté vegetable in it, mix it with vinegar in a salad, baste meat with it, or use it as a dip for bread.  However, since olive oil in high in calories, consume only about two tablespoons per day (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 2).

Foods with added plant sterols or stanols† [for use only by those already diagnosed with high cholesterol]:  Some brands of margarine, orange juice and yogurt drinks have added plant sterols that may help reduce LDL cholesterol by ten percent (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 2).

†Warning: Such products should only be used by individuals who have high cholesterol: http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/EU-slaps-plant-sterol-stanol-products-with-warning-from-2014

The Mayo Clinic also counsels that these foods can only lower cholesterol if the dieter also makes other changes in diet and lifestyle, cutting back on high cholesterol foods and total fats like meat, full-dairy products, and oils, trans fats found in margarine and store-bought cookies crackers, and cakes, exercising daily, not smoking, and keeping a healthy weight (Cholesterol, 2013, p. 2).

Freeman, David. (2011). 11 Tips to cut your cholesterol fast: Got high cholesterol? Learn what you can do to lower it quickly -- starting today. WebMD, pp. 1-3. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/ahrq/11-tips-to-cut-your-cholesterol-fast?page=1

Because cholesterol levels rise with age, everyone over 20 should have his or her cholesterol checked every five years (Freeman, 2011, p. 1).  Most individuals can lower their cholesterol significantly within six weeks with simple life-style changes—and if necessary medication (Freeman, 2011, p. 1).

1. Set a target: How much the cholesterol level needs to be lowered depends upon a patient’s personal and family history of heart disease along with other risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking.  Most physicians will aim for a LDL target of less than 70 if the risk is high while if the risk is moderate, they will aim for a LDL target of less than 130 (Freeman, 2011, p. 1).
2. Consider medication: If a patient’s cardiovascular risk is high, he or she may also need to take a cholesterol-lowering drug while at the same time working to get rid of other risk factors Cholesterol-lowering medicines include niacin, bile acid resins, and fibrates, but most people take statins, which can lower LDL, (or bad) cholesterol by 20 to 50 percent (Freeman, 2011, p. 1).
3. Get moving:  Regular physical exercise can lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL (or good) cholesterol by 10 percent.  Accordingly, Robert Harrington, a professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine asks his patients to take a 45-minute walk after supper.  Another solution to getting enough exercise would be to buy a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps daily, which means daily walking around for five minutes every hour (Freeman, 2011, p. 2).
4. Avoid saturated fat: Saturated fat is what really raises cholesterol. This means switching canola oil or olive oil for vegetable oil, butter, margarine, lard, or shortening and eating fish instead of meat (Freeman, 2011, p 2).
5. Eat more fiber: Fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains perform a double duty as “heart-healthy antioxidants” and cholesterol-lowering dietary fiber, soaking up cholesterol like a sponge.  Dried beans, oats, and barley are good sources of soluble fiber (Freeman, 2011, p. 2).
6. Go fish*:  Fish and fish oil contain cholesterol-lowering omega-3 fatty acids. If a patient is taking an anti-clotting medication, however, he or she should check with the doctor before taking a fish or krill-oil supplement.  Try to eat servings of omega-3 rich fish, like salmon or tuna, three times a week.  Omega 3 protein also comes from soybeans, canola, flax seeds, and walnuts (Freeman, 2011, p. 2).  
7. Drink up: One drink of alcohol a day for women and up to two drinks a day for men can raise “good cholesterol by 10 percent. However, this isn’t a license to drink (Freeman, 2011, p. 3).
8. Drink green:  Green tea contains compounds that help lower LDL cholesterol (Freeman, 2011, p. 3).
9. Eat nuts:  Although nuts are high in calories, regularly eating walnuts and almonds can modestly reduce cholesterol (Freeman, 2011, p. 3).
10. Switch spreads:  Use a “margarine-spread” that contains stanols (Freeman, 2011, p. 3). To avoid the consumption of trans fats, look for healthy substitutes for mayonnaise like olive oil, mustard, salsa, roasted garlic, and just a little bit of avocado since it is high in calories. Meanwhile, consider buying produce labeled “100 organic”.
11. Don’t smoke:  Smoking lowers “good” cholesterol and thus is a major risk factor for heart disease (Freeman, 2011, p. 3).  

* Poach, steam, broil, microwave, or bake fish instead of frying it:

*For healthy ways to cook, see the following links:

• http://allrecipes.com/howto/healthful-ways-to-cook-fish/

• http://www.southbeachdiet.com/diet/how-to-cook-fish

• http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/cooking-ideas/5-healthiest-wayscook

15 tips for lowering your cholesterol naturally. (2009). Harvard Medical School Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/HB_web/15-tips-for-lowering-your-cholesterol-naturally.html

Although genes and gender contribute to the chances of heart attack and stroke, what people eat plays an important part as well.  Accordingly, the Harvard Medical School offers 15 tips for fighting cholesterol through diet (15 tips, 2009, para. 1).

1. Eat meat sparingly:  Make meat a side item instead of the major part of the meal, trim off fat and skin, avoid fatty cuts of beef, pork, and lamb, or substitute fish or skinless while poultry.  When eating out, choose the smallest portion available or a fish dish.
2. Opt for low-fat dairy product: Avoid whole milk or cream.
3. Watch the snacks:  Choose low-fat homemade popcorn, carrots, dried or fresh fruits over potato chips and candy bars and store-bought bakery products.
4. Cut down on saturated fat in cooking: Use liquid cooking oil over butter or margarine, and instead of frying, bake, broil, roast, steam or stew.  Don’t make gravy with the drippings; instead baste with wine or broth.
5. Avoid palm and coconut oils: Cook with canola, sunflower, safflower, corn, soybean, olive or peanut oil.
6. Reduce dietary cholesterol:  Limit consumption to less than 200 mg. per day.  That means no more than four egg yolks per week and limiting meat, fish, and poultry to no more than six ounces per day—a three ounce serving is about the size of a deck of playing cards.  Also, steer clear of organ eats like liver, brains, and kidneys.
7. Increase complex carbohydrates and fiber:  Fruits and vegetables, whole-grain, and legumes, or dried beans and peas, are low in calories and high in fiber.  The water-soluble fiber found in dishes like oatmeal can significantly lower cholesterol when it is part of a low-fat diet.
8. Eat fruits and vegetables: These foods protect the heart.  [Evelyn’s Hint: Buy fresh fruits and vegetables rather than those canned or frozen.  Take advantage of local farmers’ markets.]
9. Go for nuts:  Studies associate the consumption of [unsalted] nuts with a lower risk of heart disease; but since they have lots of calories, “go easy on them”.  [Evelyn’s Hint: Buy a package of nuts used for cooking instead of canned nuts.]
10. Add fish to your diet:  Countries with high fish consumption have a lower risk of death from all causes as well as heart disease.  Both fish and nuts contain the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 that the body doesn’t manufacture.
11. Reduce salt intake:  Diets high in salt increase the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension), and high blood pressure substantially raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. 
12. Avoid trans fat: Trans fats raise “bad” cholesterol and lower “good” cholesterol, so avoid or eat only very small qualities of food that list hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil.
13. Drink alcohol only in moderation: Heavy drinking cancels out the health benefits of moderate drinking.  Women shouldn’t drink more than one alcoholic drink per day, and men shouldn’t drink more than one or two drinks.
14. Read labels carefully:  Avoid food products that list these foods as their first ingredients: Meat fat, coconut or palm oil, cream, butter, egg or yolk solids, whole milk, hydrogenated fat, or partially-hydrogenated fat, or oil.  Eat fast foods sparingly. [Evelyn’s hint: Products labeled with a five-digit number beginning with 8 contain genetically-modified foods while products labeled with a five-digit number beginning with a 9 are organic.]
15. Change strategies [if necessary]:  If three months of eating healthy food doesn’t bring down LDL cholesterol levels, consult your physician.  If cholesterol levels are sufficiently lowered in six months, a patient with high LDL cholesterol might need to take medication.

(15 tips, 2009, para. 2-16).

Trans Fats, Genetically Modified Organisms & the Move to Certified Organic Foods

Early last month, the FDA announced that there foods prepared with trans-fat additives were unsafe, thereby taking the first step in banning trans fats, like margarine and shortening, completely.  This also means that cooks need to look at their recipes and come up with safe substitutes for these products that also have a lower cholesterol and calorie count than butter, thus continuing America’s move to a more Mediterranean diet*, replacing  butter and margarine with olive oil, for example.

Lipsky, Michael. (2013, November 30). In the FDA’s actions on trans fats, are there lessons for GMO labeling? Grist.  Retrieved from http://grist.org/food/in-the-fdas-actions-on-trans-fats-are-there-lessons-for-gmo-labeling/

The Food and Drug Administration announced on November 8, 2013, that it would no longer consider trans fats “safe”—a step that will lead to a total ban on trans fat foods (Lipsky, 2013, November 30, para. 1). Trans fat and been part of the diet for over a century, but medical science has only regarded them as unsafe for two decades; however, Americans can learn a lesson from the trans fat story (Lipsky, 2013, November 30,  para. 2).

For example, Monsanto and other “big chemical-seed companies succeeded in defeating a Washington-state referendum that would have required the labeling of genetically modified  foods, arguing no evidence exists that genetically modified organism (GMO) are unsafe (Lipsky, 2013, November 30, para. 3).

When butter became scare in World War II, margarine, which is a trans fat, became an inexpensive substitute that authorities recommend as healthier than butter.  Until the turn of the Millennium, the public believed that trans-fats were safer than other fats until research started to suggest otherwise, leading to the recommendation that the FDA require food products to list trans-fat content on their labels (Lipsky, November 30, para. 4-5).

Then in 2002, the Institute of Medicine ruled that “no safe levels of trans-fat acids” existed: and in 2006, the Food and Drug Association required companies to list trans-fat contents in their packaged foods, making eating foods containing trans-fats very much a life-style choice like smoking (Lipsky, 2013, November, para. 6). This November, the FDA has taken the first steps at banning trans-fats from the American diet (Lipsky, 2013, November 30, para. 7).

Admittedly, banning dangerous consumer products takes a long time.  For example, the U.S. Surgeon General in 1964 warned of the effects of smoking; and since 1966, each package of cigarettes has carried a warning label.  Nevertheless, it takes a life time of smoking to succumb prematurely from lung cancer, so this latest warning leaves Americans questioning what harm a diet of margarine and doughnuts has done  (Lipsky, 2013, November 30, para. 8-9).  Meanwhile, the European Union has labeled GMO foods so consumers can exercise caution (Lipsky, 2013, November 30, para. 10).

Hayes, Ashley. (2013, November 13).  Put down that doughnut: FDA takes on trans fats. CNN.  Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/07/health/fda-trans-fats/

“So long, margarine”: November 7, 2013, The Food and Drug Administration announced its findings that partially hydrogenated oils are no longer “generally recognized as safe”, thus taking the first bureaucratic step in banning foods with trans-fat additives (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 1-2). Once this process is complete, stores and restaurants can no longer legally sell foods containing partially hydrogenated oils.  Currently, desserts, microwave popcorn, frozen margarine, and coffee creamer all contain foods with trans-fat additives (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 3-4).

Trans fats, like margarine or shortening, form when hydrogen is added to liquid oils, turning them into solid fats.  While this process adds to a product’s shelf life and flavor, it also can raise the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of heart disease (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 5).
  

Processed foods made with partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils include crackers, cookies, snack foods, fried goods, and some baked goods (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 6).

Recently, American food companies have started to limit or eliminate trans fats from to their foods; for example, McDonald’s stopped cooking french fires in trans-fat oils over a decade ago; and in 2007, New York City banned partially hydrogenated-vegetable oils and spreads from restaurants.  Today, the life expectancy of New York City residents is far higher than the national average (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 7-10 & 12).

The level of trans fats intake in the American diet has decreased from 4.6 grams daily in 2003 to a gram perhaps because since 2005, food manufacturers have voluntarily reduced the amount of trans fat in their products by 73 percent (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 13-15; 17-18).  Public policies in Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, the Netherlands, and South Korea have similarly reduced trans fat in their food supplies (Haynes, 2013, November 8, para. 19). 

Trans fats occur naturally in milk, butter, cheese, beef, lamb, pork, chicken and is not as harmful as artificial trans fat, but hidden trans fats can be found in pancake mixes, flavored coffee creamers, microwave popcorn, pie crusts, gravy mixes, shakes or creamy drinks, buffalo or barbecue sauces, croutons, fried foods, hot chocolate, cereal (Haynes, 2013, November 8, sidebar 2 & 3).

Yokoyama, Y., Nishimura, K., & Barnard, N. D., et al. (2014, April). Vegetarian diets and blood pressure: a meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Association/Internal Medicine, 174(4) 577-87. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.14547. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24566947

Reviewing Medline and Web of Science articles published in English from 1946 to October 2013 and from 1900 to November 2013 respectively researchers found that vegetarian diets were associated with lower mean systolic blood pressure as well as diastolic blood pressure in comparison with omnivorous diets.

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Mediterranean Diet

For additional information on the Mediterranean diet, which really should be relabeled the Mediterranean lifestyle, consult the following links:

• Janis Jibrin, & Gensler, Tracy Olgeaty. (2013). Mediterranean meal plan week 1. Good Housekeeping.  Hearst Corporation.  Retrieved from http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-plans/mediterranean-mpwl

• Mediterranean diet. (2013). Health & wellness. U.S. News & World Report.  Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/mediterranean-diet

• Mediterranean diet: A heart-healthy eating plan.  (2013). Nutrition and healthy eating. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mediterranean-diet/CL00011

• Zelman, Kathleen M.  (2013). The Mediterranean diet.  Foods & recipes.  WebMD.  Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/the-mediterranean-diet

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Macmillian, Amanda. (2013). The 22 worst foods for trans fat.  Health.  Retrieved from

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20533295,00.html

Macmillian list the foods most likely to contain trans fats:

1. French fries: Burger King, Jack-in-the-Box, McDonald’s & Dairy Queen have removed trans fats;
2. Anything fried or battered;
3. Pies and pie crusts:  McDonald’s and Burger King have removed hydrogenated oils from their fried pies;
4. Margarine sticks: Opt for whipped, reduced-fat, or fat-free soft spreads;
5. Shortening;
6. Cake mixes 
7.  Frostings;
8. Pancakes and waffle mixes: Opt for Bisquick complete, gluten free, and heart smart mixes;
9. Fried chicken:  Unless you know a restaurant doesn’t use hydrogenated oils, steer clear;
10. Ice cream:  Read the list of ingredients;
11. Non-diary creamers;
12. Microwave popcorn (or rather its butter flavoring”);
13. Store-bought and frozen slice-and-bake cookies: Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Nilla Wafers, and Girl Scout cookies have removed the trans fats;
14. Biscuits: Burger King, McDonald’s and Popeye’s  biscuits don’t contain any trans fats;
15.  Sweet rolls: Most Cinnabon locations have removed the trans fats from their sweet rolls;
16. Breakfast sandwiches;
17. Frozen or creamy beverages;
18. Meat sticks;
19. Crackers: Read the ingredients list before looking at the nutritional label;
20. Asian crunchy noodles;
21. Canned chili:  Choose turkey instead of beef;
22. Packaged pudding.

(Macmillian, 2013, p. 1-24)

Of  course, since corporations often respond to consumer pressure, it's best to read the labels.  Also, just because a restaurant chain has removed trans fats from one item on its menu that doesn't mean that it has removed the trans fats from all items on its menu.

Zelman, Kathleen M.  (2013). Avoiding trans fats in restaurants.  WebMD.  Retrieved from

http://www.webmd.com/diet/featres/avoiding-trans-fat-in-restaurants

New York City, Chicago, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, New Hampshire, and New Jersey have all banned trans fats while Wendy’s, Starbucks, and Disney have joined the trans-fat-free bandwagon (Zelman, 2013, p. 1). 

However, while consumers need to avoid foods containing trans fats, they also need to balance this with a healthy lifestyle.  This means exercising regularly, limiting portion sizes, and including lean meats, poultry, and cold-water fish, non-fat or low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes (peas and beans), and natural plant stanols (nuts and wheat germ) in their diet (Zelman, 2013, p. 2).

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Check Out These Cookbooks

• More Healthy Homestyle Family Favorites You’ll Make Again & Again. (2000) -- Evelyn Tribole.

• The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook.  (2004) – Donald D. Hensrud & others.

• Southern Living Slim Down South Cookbook. (2013) – Carolyn O’Neil and the staff from Southern Living.

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Bottom Line:  

When shopping for groceries, read the labels and then avoid those packaged and frozen foods that contain hydrogenated fats and partially hydrogenated fats.  Also, unless a restaurant notes that certain items are trans fat free, opt for different items.   Eschew fried foods for broiling or baking, roasting, steaming, or stewing.  Favor natural ingredients over packaged and frozen foods.  

The links furnished on this Web page as well as its editorial content  represent the opinions of their authors, so they complement—not substitute—for your physician's advice.