Entries from September 2009 ↓

Omega 3 fish oils have received some negative publicity recently. There were scares over potential contamination in fresh oily fish by mercury, though this has been refuted as an overly exaggerated issue. And more recently, a meta study, which is a ‘study of studies’, was published online that seemed to suggest that omega 3 benefits for heart health and cancer were not true.

There is an abundance of scientific data to support the health benefits of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are found in fish oils, from oily fish such as salmon, and of course, good quality (non rancid) fish oil supplements.
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The body needs cholesterol for digesting dietary fats, making hormones, building cell walls, and other important processes. The bloodstream carries cholesterol in particles called lipoproteins that are like blood-borne cargo trucks delivering cholesterol to various body tissues to be used, stored or excreted.

But too much of this circulating cholesterol can injure arteries, especially the coronary ones that supply the heart. This leads to accumulation of cholesterol-laden “plaque” in vessel linings, a condition called atherosclerosis.

When blood flow to the heart is impeded, the heart muscle becomes starved for oxygen, causing chest pain (angina). If a blood clot completely obstructs a coronary artery affected by atherosclerosis, a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or death can occur.

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. More than 90 million American adults, or about 50 percent, have elevated blood cholesterol levels, one of the key risk factors for heart disease, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s National Cholesterol Education Program.

Cholesterol lowering supplements containing Policosanol or Red Yeast Rice are known to assist in lowering cholesterol levels.

Policosanol
Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane. It is a mixture of eight higher primary aliphatic alcohols isolated and purified from sugar cane wax. One of the newest and more successful substances that benefits those suffering from high cholesterol is Policosanol, which is a safe and natural extract from sugar cane wax. It works by helping the liver control production and breakdown of cholesterol. Policosanol promotes healthy platelet function and helps to maintain cholesterol levels that are already within the normal range.

Red Yeast Rice
Red Yeast Rice is the product of yeast ( Monascus purpureus ) grown on rice, and is served as a dietary staple in some Asian countries. It contains several compounds collectively known as Monacolins, substances known to inhibit cholesterol synthesis. Red Yeast Rice is proposed to be a mild aid for gastric problems (indigestion, diarrhea), blood circulation and spleen and stomach health.

It’s well accepted that reduced physical activity and fast food are linked to obesity. But the evidence that these are the main causes of obesity is largely circumstantial. To stimulate debate, experts suggest 10 other possible causes of obesity, outlined in the International Journal of Obesity.

1. Sleep debt. Getting too little sleep can increase body weight. Today, many get less shut-eye than ever.
2. Pollution. Hormones control body weight. And many of today’s pollutants affect our hormones.
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Ischaemic heart disease is a serious health condition that affects millions of people in the whole world.  Numerous researches have revealed that it affects people of every gender and race, and it often occurs before the person hits 20 due to a number of risk factors.

Ischaemic heart disease is also known as coronary artery disease.  In layman’s term, it is caused by the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that carries blood and oxygen to the heart.  Medically, the ischaemic heart disease is known as an atherosclerotic disease of the epicardial coronary arteries as it is deemed as the end result of the accumulation of the atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries which blocks and slows down the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.  When the oxygen supply is completely blocked, the heart muscles will tend to die, resulting to chest pain and heart attack.
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Promise not perfunctory diet?  The right choice.  In addition to unhealthy diet like this impossible in the long run, weight gain was reduced too quickly rose again.  But it was behind a series of fad diets bad there are lessons that can be learned, are as follows:

1. Choose Your Carbohydrates

The method of cutting dietary intake of sugar (sugar buster diet) recommends replacing carbohydrate glycemic index (GI) High (potatoes, cornflakes, white bread) to a low GI carbs (sweet potatoes, otmeal, and bread wheat). The fact is that if the food had a high GI cause an increase in blood sugar more quickly, resulting in more fat storage is still debated. (many pros and cons of the truth of foods with low GI can lose weight). But low GI foods tend to have higher fiber so it can be more nutritious choices.

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It seems as though many Americans are living a life that leads to high blood pressure or hypertension. As people age, the situation gets worse. Nearly half of all older Americans have hypertension. This disease makes people five times more prone to strokes, three times more likely to have a heart attack, and two to three times more likely to experience a heart failure.

The problem with this disease is that nearly one third of the folks who have hypertension do not know it because they never feel any direct pain. But overtime the force of that pressure damages the inside surface of your blood vessels.
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Everybody has confused at some point which cardio exercise is more effective.  To commit it in simple terms, both low and high intensity exercises will help you to burn up body fat.  The question here is which is the best to burn up more body fat.

When scientists first discovered that during  intensive exercises, your body burns glycogen, which is a form of stored carbohydrates that are stored in your liver and muscles for energy.  During low intensity exercises, your body will burn a lot of fat.

If your wondering whether or not it works, the answer is no because there are so many obese people still around.  Even though they are working out with low intensity routines, it still makes you  wonder how it can be.
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Among the highest risk factors are male sex, age over 35, cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, high levels of certain blood fats, and a family history of cardiovascular disorders.

Other researchers have added to this list another risk factor: the compulsive, hard-driving, highly anxious personality. The greater the number of severity, the greater the person’s overall risk.

These threats to the heart can be divided into two main categories: those beyond individual control, such as age, sex, and heredity, and those that can be controlled, avoided, or even eliminated. Among those in the second category are what cardiologists call “the triple threat.” These are the high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol levels in the blood.
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Did you know that if you have diabetes you have a greater chance of dying from heart disease or stroke and it doesn’t make any difference if you are a woman or a man? One reason is high blood levels of sugar make the walls of your blood vessels thicker and cause them to lose their elasticity, which in turn makes it harder for blood to pass through.

Type 1 diabetes is know as juvenile-onset diabetes and usually affects children and young adults and is genetically-linked. The following are some conditions that are typically found in people with type 2 diabetes, which is know as adult-onset diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

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Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart does not pump the blood through the body properly. When the blood is not properly pumped throughout the body, the oxygen that the blood carries is not appropriately dispersed to the muscles and other places that require oxygen. At this time in medical technology, Congestive Heart Failure is not curable.

However there are medical treatments for the condition and adhering to these treatments helps patients with CHF to live as comfortably and as normally as possible. There are ways to cope with CHF.
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