How To Cope With High Cholesterol

Cholesterol can be highly dangerous. Not in lesser quantities and not even all cholesterol, because there are two types. One is good for you, because it helps mop up the other one which is damaging for you in substantial quantities. HDL cholesterol is termed the good cholesterol and LDL the bad cholesterol, although we require some LDL in order to regulate some of our bodily functions

Too much LDL in our blood streams can cause clogging which in turn would lead to higher blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes. So what can you do about it? There are three prongs you can use to attack cholesterol: diet, exercise and medication. Some people do not want to be on tablets each day for life, but some do not mind.

So, the first thing to do is get into the habit of exercising every day. The minimum exercise you have to be doing is walking for thirty minutes every morning and every evening. You may think that you do not have an hour a day to give up, but you almost certainly do.

If you have a luncheon break, what do you do in it? Eat? Read the paper? Have a talk? OK, why not choose a greengrocer’s that is fifteen minutes walk away and go and purchase an apple each day? In the evening, you could go for a walk with your spouse or your dog. In that way, you have only thirty minutes to find in order to remain healthy.

How can food reduce your cholesterol? Well, there is cholesterol in practically everything we eat, so it is a question of remembering which sort of cholesterol is in which food and being discriminating. In general, this requires avoiding food that is high in saturated fats and trans or hydrogenated fats and eating more foodstuff that has mono- or poly-unsaturated fats.

This is not as difficult as it sounds anything you buy in a tin or a tub will or ought to have the sorts of fat written in the contents list. You will just have to learn which fresh food is healthy for you. In essence, red meat and dairy products are not particularly good for you. Try substituting skinless chicken and fish for beef and pork. Drink skimmed milk, if you have to drink milk and give up butter.

In fact, some margarines have been specially prepared to reduce cholesterol and, yes, they do work, it is not a rip-off. It is frequently said that liver and eggs are high in cholesterol, but according to the British Heart Foundation, our bodies cannot process this cholesterol, so it is OK to include them in a low cholesterol diet.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are the real allies in the battle against high cholesterol. Bananas are particularly good and so are citrus fruits. Nuts are also healthy for you and in particular almonds and walnuts. Tofu and other soya bean foodstuffs are useful and will even lower cholesterol.

Roughage and fibre are very useful for reducing cholesterol and one of the best meals you can have is a dish of porridge in the morning for breakfast.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on numerous topics, but is now concerned with lowering cholesterol without medication. If you want to know more, please visit our web site at What Foods Lower Cholesterol?

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A Balanced Nutrition Plan Should Include Neptune Krill Oil Supplements

With a thousand or more supplement products out there on the market, it is really hard to know what product to choose. One rising in popularity is krill oil. This supplements boasts a lot of the same benefits as it’s close cousin, fish oil. However, they are more potent.

It is a good idea to know exactly what krill is before getting into it’s fabulous benefits. Krill are crustaceans. They have been compared to miniature shrimp. Krill are found in the Antarctic ocean.

This supplement’s benefits have been studied for a long time. Benefits that can come from this tiny critter are so numerous, it would take a long time to name them all. What follows is a short list of the thousands of benefits one can have from taking this supplement. However, it is best to talk to a doctor before beginning any supplement that might interact with a drug he or she has prescribed.

Taking care of premenstrual syndrome, keeping diabetic patients in check with their blood sugar, and cognitive understanding are just a couple of benefits to start. They do not scratch the surface of what this mineral can do for the body. Let’s take an even closer look.

Teachers, and those who need to focus for a long period of time are advised to take this dietary pill. The reason is that it offers enzymes that help with focus and concentration. Though it has yet to be explored in depth, Krill supplements would work very well for those with ADHD. It could be substituted for a regular prescription.

The supplement advocates healthy brain function and development. A mother who is pregnant might take it daily throughout pregnancy. However, only do this with a doctor’s permission.

Something else that has been proven to improve with krill is joint health. A lot of people take it in conjunction with their arthritis medication. Taken daily, pain will seem to disappear.

Older women like to take it regularly because decreases the visual signs of aging. This can be a big turn on for those who want to remain young. It is a great nonsurgical alternative to face lifts, and Botox injections.

Weak immune systems are also strengthened. Those who are ill consistently may find solace if they take this supplement daily. In fact, some doctors may prescribe this in conjunction with another medication.

Perhaps one the most important benefits is that the supplement has been shown to help control cholesterol levels. It is proven to raise good and lower bad cholesterol. This, in itself, has made it more desirable than fish oil.

That is not the only advantage the krill has over fish. Krill also provides more antioxidants than fish. Antioxidants are a big deal right now in the health market, which means that the krill has increased in popularity.

The rate at which this pill absorbs into the bloodstream is another advantage. This means there are likely to be less side effects, if any. This is good news for those who need to be out and about in the world.

As you can see, krill oil has a lot more benefits than fish oil. They should never be taken together. The price of krill oil is a little steep. However, the benefits one can reap from it will be well worth the cost.

If you have quit buying fish because of safety worries, take a look at a quality krill oil supplement. You really have to be getting your omega-3 fatty acids, and high quality Neptune krill oil capsules can certainly fulfill that need.

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Do You Sabotage Your Weight Loss Program?

If you want to lose weight, you must have a plan, a route map to success. This is called a program or programme. There are thousands of programs, but many of them are just plain batty. If they sound foolish, they probably are. Have you heard of the ‘cabbage water diet’? It sounds daft and it is. You cannot only drink cabbage water all your life!

Although there is a lot of nonsense talked about losing weight, there are some truths that have a role to play in nearly any program you choose to follow. One of these truths is that it is better to eat many small meals during the day (about 5-6), than to go all day without eating and then gorging yourself at dinner in the evening. This is popularly called ‘grazing’.

Have you ever asked yourself why this might be so? Well, the fact is, that the average human body can only process about 250 calories per hour. If you eat more than that, you are almost certainly overloading your digestive system. This is why it is important, because if your body cannot use all the calories that you give it, it will stockpile them.

Your body can only use up what it requires to fulfill the job that it is busy with, that is, what you are putting it through. If you are watching TV, most of those 250 will be stored. If you are exercising, most will be burned up. It stores the residue as body fat. Your body has learned through evolution that tough times will come, so it prepares for them. It is like us putting excess money in a savings account or people hoarding food if a bad winter is forecast.

However, these days in the West, we seldom face those lean times anymore. So, that fat is never used up and we just keep adding to it until we resolve, by choice, to limit our intake of calories or increase our amount of exercise.

Knowing this information, what can we do with it? Well, if you were to want to lose weight, you ought to be consuming no more than 1,500 calories a day (or whatever your program tells you), so 1,500 divided by 250 is six. if you ate 250 calories every other hour, that would give you twelve hours.

Consequently, eating light but often would be a helpful strategy or program to follow, because first of all, you are only providing your body with what it needs, when it needs it and secondly, you are able to better maintain a consistent blood sugar level, which means that you level out the spikes and troughs you experience in a normal day’s cycle.

Two hundred and fifty calories does not sound a lot, but it is surprising what it will stretch too, if you take the trouble to investigate. It is true that you will have to severely restrict some foodstuffs, like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, but whoever honestly thought that you could lose weight by eating that stuff anyway?

If you do not have time to cook a number of times every day, look in your supermarket. There are loads of ’250 calorie’ microwave meals. You don’t want to eat that? I can’t blame you. so get a good cookbook, which shows calorie content. You are at work all day? OK, eat some fruit, but choose wisely. It can be done, it only requires a little will and planning.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with lose weight programs. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

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Problems With Laxatives And Substitution With Prune Juice

Over-the-counter laxative medication represents one of the largest markets for consumer medication in the United States. A few of these medications contain natural products but a large number have chemicals as active ingredients. In 1996 the FDA asked many companies to contact safety studies to find out whether these ingredients were a danger to humans after the same agency discovered troubling side effects in animals.

The animal studies were done on mice and rats, as is common with many safety studies. A high dose of the chemical in question is fed to the rat and then negative side effects are measured after some time. Of course, to see these effects the laboratories had to raise the ingested amounts to many fold over what a human takes in. Despite this, the side effects were still worrying as many people use constipation medication.

Over forty medical laxatives are sold over the counter (OTC) which have more than one of these chemicals that were part of the FDA warning: senna, aloe, bisacodyl, phenolphthalein, and cascara sagrada. As of now, senna, bisacodyl and phenolphthalein continue to be marketed as laxative products whereas aloe and cascara have been declared to be too dangerous.

These safety concerns have been echoed in the public sentiment by an increased interest in natural laxatives. Prune juice is one such natural laxative drink, derived from the dried prune. It is a wonder food as far as constipation is concerned due to its immensely high levels of dietary fiber, as well as the carbohydrate sorbitol that has been shown to have beneficial properties for people with constipation.

For patients seeking other natural remedies, a number of non-prescription strategies and a number of medicated methods are available. A first tactic that even doctors may put forth is the increase of dietary fiber. It consists of eating a lot of every day foods that are high in fiber or consuming nutritional supplements containing fiber.

There are those who will judge the effort to consume high fiber foods to be excessive. One solution to this issue is to try out psyllium supplements. Psyllium comes in the form of pulverized grain that are mixed with water to make on-the-go drinks. Doctors propose that the trial period given to this sort of intense fiber treatment usually requires around ten to fourteen days for its complete efficacy to kick in.

Still have questions ? It might be worth it to check out our resources about the remedies for constipation industry. The site discusses how to choose homemade laxative recipe.

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Free Weight Loss Diets

The march to health and fitness is on and plenty of people are getting in on the act. Some people do it in order to achieve a sexy body, some people do it because they are ashamed of their body as it is now, while others do it simply to remain fit and healthy. Because of this, there are hundreds of fitness programs on the Internet, in gyms, spas and fitness centres all over the world. Some are very – so expensive that you will lose weight quickly, just because you have to work hard to earn the money to pursue these fitness programs.

You might not need to go to the gym or the spa or any fitness centre and spend much just to slim down and obtain that longed for beautiful body. There are many books available in the bookshops offering diet programs which seem easy and free. However, the books are not cheap though. These diet plans are gaining increased popularity due to their publicity, testimonials and reviews and you might be confused as to exactly which one to follow. So before you pick which weight loss plan to follow, try reading the following precis of the most popular diet programs around today.

The Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins: This diet plan promotes a high protein diet and less carbohydrates. You can eat loads of vegetables and meat but must not eat bread and pasta. You are not restricted on your fat consumption so it is OK to pour on the (right) salad dressing and freely spread on the butter. However, during the diet, some people may find themselves lacking fibre and high on fat and cholesterol. Grains and fruits are also strictly limited.

The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Heller. This diet plan also recommends a low carbohydrate diet. It suggests eating meat, vegetables and fruit, dairy and grain products. however, warns against taking in too many carbohydrates. So-called “Reward Meals” can be very high in fats and saturated fats.

Choose to Lose: by Dr. Goor. It recommends restricting your fat intake. You are given a “fat” budget but you are given free reign on how to spend it. It does not force people to watch their carbohydrate intake. Eating meat and poultry as well as low-fat dairy and seafood is fine. You may also consume vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread and pasta. This weight loss plan is quite healthy, because it advises correct amounts of fruits and vegetables and saturated fats. Watch your triglyceride levels though. If they are high, cut down on the carbohydrates and eat more unsaturated fats.

The DASH Diet. Recommends eating a moderate amount of fat and protein but lots of carbohydrates. It was primarily designed to reduce blood pressure. The diet plan follows the pyramid food guide and encourages a high intake of whole wheat grains and fruit and vegetables and low-fat dairy. Some dieters think it advises too much consumption to create significant weight loss.

Eat More, Weigh Less: by Dr. Ornish. Primarily vegetarian fare and strictly low-fat. Advises to look out for low-fat dairy and egg whites. This diet plan is low in calcium and limits the consumption of healthy foods like seafood and lean poultry.

Eat Right for Your Type: This scheme is really interesting because it bases its recommendations on your blood group. For example, it advises plenty of meat for people with the blood type O. However, diet programs for some blood types are nutritionally unbalanced and very low in calories. Furthermore, just for the record, there is no proof that blood type can affect dietary requirements.

The Pritkin Principle: It is focused on trimming the amount of calories by eating watery foods that make you feel full. Eating vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, pasta, soups, salads and low-fat dairy is OK, although it limits protein sources to lean meat, seafood and poultry. It is healthy because it provides low amounts of saturated fats and large amounts of vegetables and fruits. However, it is low on calcium and limits lean protein sources.

Volumetrics: It provides for eating fewer calories. It recommends the same foodstuffs as Pritkin but restricts fatty or dry foods like popcorn, pretzels and crackers. This program is reasonably healthy given the high volume of fruit and vegetables as well as being low in calories and saturated fats.

The Zone: It is moderately low on carbohydrates yet fairly high on proteins. It encourages low-fat protein foods such as fish and chicken plus vegetables, fruits and grains. It is also a healthy diet but lacking in grains and calcium.

Weight Watchers: They recommend high carbohydrate meals, yet are moderate on fats and proteins. A fairly healthy diet plan and very flexible too. It permits the dieter to plan his own meals rather than offering recipes, although there are WW TV dinners in the shops.

Are you interested in a rapid weight loss diet? If you are, please visit our website entitled Quick Weight Loss

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