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December 25th, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

People of Far East countries like India, China,and Japan have used herbal remedies and teas for medicinal and health purposes for centuries. Green tea is one of the most powerful of the herbal treatments and drinks. Just like the acai berry, green tea is a greathealth supplement. Now you too can harness this power to improve your health with green tea fat burner pills.

There are three main types of tea: black tea, oolong tea, and green tea. Black tea is probably the most popular tea outside the orient. Fully fermented tea leaves are used to make this type of tea. Oolong tea is starting to become popular and is made from partially fermented tea leaves. The variety of tea that is probably the healthiest and contains the highest concentration of antioxidants is green tea. It is made from non-fremented tea leaves.

Polyphenols, the antioxidant that is so prevalent in green tea, have been the topic of many scientific studies and are thought to be very beneficial. In general, antioxidants are beneficial because they neutralize free radicals in our body. If left alone, free radicals attack healthy cells and may cause or contribute to numerous diseases. Green tea, and the antioxidants in them, have been the focus of numerous studies for treatment of many diseases including inflammation caused by Crohn’s disease, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease, and even general weight loss.

The studies on weight loss being improved by green tea are very encouraging for anybody that is looking to lose some extra weight. Studies suggest that supplementing with green tea can boost metabolism and help you burn fat. One study specifically showed that green tea supplementation helped overweight and moderately obese people lose more weight. It is speculated that the fat burning effect is caused by polyphenols, specifically the catechins, in the green tea. Even if they don’t know what the reason is, it works.

There are lots of published studies regarding the health benefits of green tea. The information in this article were taken from a report published on the University of Maryland website. It is very long report and details many studies on the benefits of green tea. You can see the specific article at umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm.

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November 29th, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

When you decide to gain control over your food habits to shed pounds and body fat, it is crucial to avoid two ingredients : high-fructose corn syrup and trans-fats. These two health-robbing chemicals are present in a wide-variety of prepared foods, including baked products, soft-drinks and salad dressings.

High-fructose corn syrup ( HFCS ) is a common replacement for more dear cane sugar in a multitude of products. The fact that high-fructose corn syrup is a diet-killer is that it causes havoc on blood-sugar levels. High blood-sugar levels are linked to lots of the conditions that plague modern life : pre-diabetes ( diminished fasting blood-sugar levels ) type II diabetes,and coronary heart-disease. One of the first sources of HFCS in our diets is soft drinks. Did you know that one 48-oz.”super-size” soda can contain as much as 550 calories, not to mention equivalent to over 13 spoons of sugar? If you drink one of these each day for a week without reducing your caloric intake or burning off an equivalent quantity of calories through exercise, you can gain a pound a week–a whopping 52 pounds a year! Replace any beverages containing HFCS with cold, refreshing water or unsweetened ice tea as a most important step to lose healthy weight. If you’re a regular consumer of soda, you’ll lose weight by following this straightforward step alone.

Trans-fats are commonly found in baked goods like pies, cookies, crackers and also as oil for frying goods like french-fries or potato chips. Trans-fats were developed to guarantee a long shelflife for these sorts of products, but their negative health effects were not known at the time of their development. Trans-fats are created by taking a mono-unsaturated ( liquid ) fat and reacting it with hydrogen gas. The ensuing fat from the reaction is solid at 70 degrees. When we consume trans-fats, they build up in our arteries just as grease clogs a drain. Ultimately, this increase of fat in our arteries could cause coronary heart disease and stroke, and is also assumed to make a contribution to dementia in the old.

So how can we avoid all of these lethal ingredients in our foods? Our first and best line of defense is just by reading the labels on food products. Both high-fructose corn-syrup and trans-fats are required to be listed on labels. Also, be cautious of fast-foods such as fried chicken, fish sandwiches and fried pies. Ask if these foods have been prepared with trans-fat free oils or not. If the restaurant staff can’t tell you if the food is fried in oil containing trans-fat or not, it’s best to avoid it altogether. So educate yourself as a customer and harvest the health benefits of your due diligence.

To learn more about what is nutrition, visit Fit4LifeClub.com

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November 25th, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

It is regrettably true that as yet we do not know everything about vitamins, but we do know quite a lot.

The trouble is that knowing “quite a lot” is often a dangerous place. Why? Well imagine if you were about to undergo a routine surgery. You are very confident that the outcome will be a success.

But how would you feel if the surgeon who was about to perform this surgery were to inform you that although they had performed quite a few surgeries and “knew quite a lot” about what they were about to do, they didn’t know everything about this particular procedure?

There are those who would suggest that vitamin supplementation can be used in therapeutic doses to cure a wide range of health problems including atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

So here is what we do know about vitamins for certain:

Our bodies are unable to make vitamins. Vitamins are vital to our health as they serve or assist with functions in almost all bodily processes and therefore we must obtain them from our food or from vitamin supplements.

Lack of sufficient vitamin content in the diet does cause illness and decline in the human body and does result in poor development and debilitation in the young.

There are thirteen vitamins in total. These are classified as either water soluble or fat soluble, and in one case – both.

Fat Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed, together with fat from the intestine and because of this can be stored in the body and can exert an influence for much for longer periods of time than water soluble vitamins. This also makes it possible to “over dose” if supplementing and great care should always be taken if supplementing.

Vitamins A, some forms of C, D, E and K are fat soluble vitamins. They are largely processed in the liver and then distributed throughout the body’s fatty tissues where in some cases they may also be stored.
The fat soluble version of Vitamin C is Ascorbyl Palmitate.

Ascorbyl palmitate is an amphipathic molecule, which means one end is water-soluble and the other end is fat-soluble. This dual solubility allows it to permeate the extra-cellular aqueous environment of the cell and the interior cellular environment, as well. When it is incorporated into the cell membranes of human red blood cells, ascorbyl palmitate is believed to protect them from oxidative damage and is also believed to help protect vitamin E from oxidation by free radicals.

Some forms of Vitamin C – including ascorbic acid – and the B complex group make up the nine water soluble vitamins. These water soluble vitamins are not readily stored in the body and need to be consumed on a very regular daily basis.

The B complex group comprises of vitamins:

B1 – Thiamine
B2 – Riboflavin
B3 – Niacine
B5 – Pantothenic acid
B6 – Pyridoxine
B7 – Biotin
B9 – Folic Acid
B12 – Cyanocobalamin

There are two differing and largely misunderstood value recommendations for vitamin intake.

One is the RDA which simple means recommended daily amount and is the amount of vitamins that an average weight healthy individual needs to consume to support normal bodily functions.

Then there is the Therapeutic Daily Amount. This is a suggested (and often speculative) amount of vitamins or vitamin combinations that a person of average weight would need to consume in order to address or influence a curative effect upon a disease or illness.

There is much argument as to whether vitamin supplementation is useful or not and there are many surveys and studies that support both sides of the argument, but on balance, there is a very large body of evidence which tends to support some therapeutic use of certain vitamins, and the necessity to supplement poor or unbalanced diets.

It is overwhelmingly agreed that the best source of vitamins are those obtained by a varied and well balanced diet, but to gain sufficient amounts of vitamins for therapeutic purposes solely from dietary sources would be impossible.

The following is a list (not exhaustive) of which foods can be consumed to obtain dietary amounts of each vitamin.

Vitamin A
Liver, Sweet potatoes, Carrots, Mangoes, Spinach, Cantaloupe, Dried apricots, Milk, Egg yolks, Mozzarella cheese.

Vitamin B1
Quorn, Brewer’s Yeast, Bovril, Wheat germ

Vitamin B2
Marmite, Liver, Kidneys

Vitamin B3
Peanuts, Cereal, Tuna, Chicken, Beef liver, Turkey, Lamb, Beef

Vitamin B5
Broccoli, Avocados, Meat, organic unprocessed grains

Vitamin B6
Wheat germ, Wheat bran, Liver, Fatty Fish, Hazel nuts, Peanuts

Vitamin B7
Organ meats, Barley, Brewer’s yeast, Corn, Egg yolks, Milk, Royal jelly, Soy, and Wheat bran

Vitamin B9
Spinach, Asparagus, Turnip greens, Lettuce, Beans, Peas, Sunflower seeds, Liver

Vitamin B12
Liver, Sardines, Kidneys, Rabbit, Fatty Fish

Vitamin C
Rose hip extracts, Blackcurrant, Guava, Strawberry, Peppers, Spring greens, Curly Kale, Brussels sprouts, Lemon, Orange

Vitamin D
Cod liver oil, Salmon oil, Herring, Kippers, Canned Salmon, Mackerel

Vitamin E
Sunflower oil, Cottonseed oil, Safflower oils, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Wheat germ, Cod liver oil

Vitamin K
Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Broccoli Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Cabbage, Alfalfa, Liver, Fish oils, Yogurt, milk, Soya bean, Sea kelp

So it would seem to be the very best policy for the healthy individual to maintain a varied and balanced diet that contains at least one of the water soluble vitamins in each meal and at least one of the fat soluble vitamins each day.

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November 22nd, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

This article is intended to be an introduction to dietary health supplements and is not in any way intended to be, nor should it be taken as, medical advice. If you have a health issue, you should always seek the advice of a health care practitioner.

To ensure that we start off correctly, I think that it is important to understand the difference between dietary health supplements and vitamins.

The term ‘vitamin’ first became popular in the early nineteenth century as a combination of the words ‘vital’ and ‘mineral’. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by the body, and must be obtained from the diet. The term vitamin does not include other essential nutrients such as dietary minerals, essential fatty acids, or essential amino acids, nor does it encompass the large number of other nutrients that promote health but are otherwise required less often

There are an almost infinite amount of dietary supplements and we shall be covering only the ones that:

a) Claim to be heart healthy or curative
b) Are very popular or widely acclaimed

Omega-3 Fatty Acids
These healthy fats have emerged as the runaway heart-helpers, with numerous studies showing they can help reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and atherosclerosis and subsequently the need for heart bypass surgery. If you’ve had a heart attack, omega-3s appear to reduce the risk of suffering another one. Fish oil is by far the best supplement source of omega-3s.

CoQ10
At this point, there are no complete, sure bets with CoQ10. It is suspected to be beneficial in numerous applications, most notably heart-related damage, but until additional larger, longer and better-controlled studies are performed, no one can say for sure.

Currently, however, CoQ10 has shown the most definitive benefits in treating hypertension, or high blood pressure. People with high blood pressure have been shown to have less CoQ10 than normal, and CoQ10 has been shown to reduce high blood pressure in early research. The treatment of hypertension is the only CoQ10 application that has so far received a “B” rating, meaning there is good, solid scientific evidence that Co Q 10 may be helpful.

Green Tea
There are claims that the benefits of green tea include a lot of healing and preventive processes that cater to diseases like cancer, heart disease,rheumatoid arthritis, infections, impaired immune functions, and cardiovascular diseases.

The claims also suggest the benefits of green tea also help to alleviate problems with high cholesterol and improve the overall cholesterol level in the body.

It is further claimed that by drinking recommended amounts of green tea, the human body is cleansed from toxins that may cause a lot of health problems.

In 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent.
University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound found in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the cholesterol ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, high cholesterol levels, cardiovascular disease, infections and impaired immune function.

Alpha-Lipoic Acid
According to State Canadian researchers in the November 2003 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, Alpha-lipoic acid has been identified as a powerful antioxidant that is found naturally in our diets, but it appears to have increased functional capacity when given as a supplement in the form of a natural or synthetic isolate. They also noted that Alpha-Lipoic Acid supplements may help to prevent cardiovascular risk factors such as LDL oxidation and high blood pressure.

Aged Garlic
Garlic has been found to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, blood pressure, and plaque formation. One study at the University of California found that 200 mg of aged garlic extract taken daily lowered heart attack risk by 65%.

A study from December 2008 examined the effects of a standard garlic supplement versus a placebo in 42 men with hypercholesterolemia. By the end of the 12 week trial, the garlic supplement group reduced total cholesterol levels by a mean average of 7.6% and 11.5% more than the placebo group.
The LDL (”bad”) cholesterol fell by almost 14%. The participants HDL (”good”) cholesterol rose by almost 12%. The dosage found to be most effective was 600 mg a day.

A 2007 experiment examined the effects of garlic supplementation in a total of 112 volunteers. Half of the men and women were diagnosed with heart disease, the remainder were described as having at least “one or more risk factors of cardiovascular pathology”. The exact figures of this Russian study weren’t available, but the summary states that 6 months of garlic supplementation resulted in a “moderate hypolipidemic” (cholesterol lowering) and “antioxidant effect”.

The researchers concluded that people with pre-existing cardiovascular disease would likely benefit in both the short and long term from a dosage of 600 mg daily. 300 mg was the recommended dosage for those with at least one risk factor, but who lack clinical diagnosis of heart disease.

In April 2009, a review of garlic’s role in the management of high cholesterol was published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics. This meta-analysis looked at 13 clinical trials that included over 1,000 participants. The authors of the study summarized their findings in the following way: “The available evidence from randomized controlled trials does not demonstrate any beneficial effects of garlic on serum cholesterol”.

Resveratrol
Resveratrol is claimed to be a key ingredient that helps prevent damage to blood vessels, reduces “bad” cholesterol and prevents blood clots.

Most research conducted with resveratrol has been conducted on animals, not people.
Research in mice given resveratrol has indicated that the antioxidant might also help protect them from obesity and diabetes, both of which are strong risk factors for heart disease. However, those findings were reported only in mice, not in people. In addition, to get the same dose of resveratrol used in the mice studies, a person would have to consume 100 to 1,000 bottles of red wine a day, which is why supplementation would be required to achieve such benefit.

Some research shows that resveratrol could be linked to a reduced risk of inflammation and blood clotting, both of which can lead to heart disease, but more research is needed before it can be confirmed whether resveratrol was the cause for the reduced risk.

Here is a summary from The Linus Pauling Institute:

Resveratrol is a polyphenolic compound found in grapes, red wine, purple grape juice, peanuts, and some berries.
When taken orally, resveratrol appears to be well-absorbed by humans, but its bioavailability is relatively low because it is rapidly metabolized and eliminated.

Scientists became interested in exploring potential health benefits of resveratrol when its presence was reported in red wine, leading to speculation that resveratrol might help explain the “French Paradox.”

Moderate alcohol consumption has been consistently associated with 20-30% reductions in coronary heart disease risk, but it is not yet clear whether red wine polyphenols, such as resveratrol, confer any additional risk reduction.

Although resveratrol can inhibit the growth of cancer cells in culture and in some animal models, it is not known whether high intakes of resveratrol can prevent cancer in humans.

Resveratrol administration has increased the lifespans of yeast, worms, fruit flies, fish, and mice fed a high-calorie diet, but it is not known whether resveratrol will have similar effects in humans.

At present, relatively little is known about the effects of resveratrol in humans.

The French paradox does seem to lend some weight to the argument. The paradox is the observation that the French appear to suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. The term French paradox was first coined in 1992 by Dr. Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University in France.

Nattokinase
Nattokinase has been the subject of more than 17 studies, including two small human trials.

Researchers from Biotechnology Research Laboratories and JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. of Kobe, Japan, have tested its ability to dissolve a thrombus in the carotid arteries of rats. Animals that were treated with nattokinase regained 62 percent of blood flow, whereas those treated with plasmin regained just 15.8 percent.

Researchers from JCR Pharmaceuticals, Oklahoma State University, and Miyazaki Medical College tested nattokinase on 12 healthy Japanese volunteers (six men and six women, between the ages of 21 and 55). They gave the volunteers 200 grams of natto before breakfast, then tracked fibrinolytic activity through a series of blood plasma tests. The tests indicated that the natto generated a heightened ability to dissolve blood clots. On average, the volunteers’ ELT (a measure of how long It takes to dissolve a blood clot) dropped by 48 percent within two hours of treatment.
Volunteers also retained an enhanced ability to dissolve blood clots for two to eight hours. As a control procedure, researchers later fed the same amount of boiled soybeans to the same volunteers and tracked their fibrinolytic activity. These tests showed no significant change.

Conclusion:
Nattokinase is a particularly potent treatment because it enhances the body’s natural ability to fight blood clots in several different ways.
Additional benefits Include the convenience of oral administration, confirmed efficacy, prolonged effects, cost effectiveness, and the fact that it can be used preventatively. It is a naturally occurring dietary supplement that has demonstrated stability in the gastrointestinal tract.

The properties of nattokinase closely resemble those properties of plasmin in that it also dissolves fibrin directly. More importantly, it enhances the body’s production of both plasmin and other clot-dissolving agents.

Nattokinase may actually be superior to conventional clot-dissolving drugs such as recombinant tissue plasminogen activators (rt-PA), urokinase, and streptokinase, which are only effective therapeutically when taken intravenously within 12 hours of a stroke or heart attack.
Nattokinase, however, may help prevent the conditions leading to blood clots with a dose of only 2,000 fibrin units or 50 grams, of natto per day.

Terminalia Arjuna
Terminalia arjuna is a medicinal plant of the genus Terminalia, widely used by Ayurvedic physicians for its curative properties in people with heart problems including angina, hypertension and deposits in arteries.

Research suggests that Terminalia is useful in alleviating the pain of angina pectoris and in treating heart failure and coronary artery disease.

Terminalia may also be useful in treating hypercholesterolemia. The cardio protective effects of terminalia are thought to be produced by the antioxidant nature of several of the constituent flavonoids and oligomeric proanthocyanidins, while positive inotropic effects may be caused by the saponin glycosides.

There are documented studies on humans which appear to be sufficient enough to confirm the theraputic benfits of this dietary health supplement.

Pycnogenol
The extract has four basic properties – it’s a powerful antioxidant, acts as a natural anti-inflammatory, selectively binds to collagen and elastin, and finally, it aids in the production of endothelial nitric oxide which helps to dilate blood vessels.

There is a large amount of clinical trial information that appears to support the efficiency of this dietary health supplement with particular emphasis on heart health.

Supplements often undergo clinical trials and more so as they become more popular. This will mean that although every care has been taken to detail the current information accurately, as new trials are undertaken, some of this information may become redundant.

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October 31st, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

Having a high cholesterol level has become a very serious problem for many people today. This has been credited to a majority of the population getting accustomed to a diet rich in fats, bad habits such as smoking and leading a sedentary lifestyle. And because of high cholesterol levels, more and more people are finding themselves at an increased risk of developing coronary heart disease as well as stroke and heart attack.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for most people in the developed countries around the world. Having a high level of blood cholesterol has been linked to the increase of the incidence of heart disease and has become a grave cause of concern.

The only good news to this fact is that developing heart disease is highly preventable. All it takes is for one to be able to follow a healthier lifestyle. The path to such a lifestyle is trying to lower one’s cholesterol level. Although there are already several drugs available that will help an individual reduce body cholesterol levels, this is usually reserved for more high risk patients in need of drastic decreases in their cholesterol levels. There are also natural ways readily available for anyone looking forward to lowering their own cholesterol to normal and healthy levels.

One of the natural ways of lowering cholesterol levels is through diet. Following a low cholesterol diet day in and day out can be very effective in trying to control and maintain a normal cholesterol level. This would mean eating low cholesterol foods such as soy products, vegetables and fruits.

High fiber foods are also known to help in the fight to lower cholesterol. Regular exercise is also a good habit to develop if you are really intent in trying to lower your cholesterol levels. Exercise helps in increasing HDL or “good” cholesterol in the body as well as strengthens your heart muscle, helps keep your blood pressure at normal and even helps you in shedding of those excess pounds.

There are also several natural supplements that will be able to help you lower your cholesterol levels. Taking B-complex vitamins, specifically Niacin, has been known to help lower blood cholesterol in the body. supplements fortified with Lecithin can also help in lowering your cholesterol as it enables excess fat and cholesterol to be dispersed in the water instead of building up in the arteries.

There are other natural ways of lowering cholesterol levels available today. All it will take is some research and talking to your doctor about how to effectively follow a lifestyle that will enable you to lower cholesterol the natural way.

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October 31st, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

Sixty percent of Americans say they’d like to lose 20 pounds, according to a new 2006 survey. If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans looking to take a few inches off your waistline, protein may help your weight loss program.

Protein, an important nutrient and fuel for the body, also aids in weight loss, according to researchers who have found a link between protein and hunger. French scientists from Lyon University found a potential new target for the treatment of eating disorders. “It is well known that protein feeding decreases hunger sensation and subsequent food intake in animals and humans,” said study author Gilles Mithieux. Protein not only provides satiety, but aids in maintaining lean muscle mass while losing unwanted fat.

Another recent study demonstrated the beneficial impact of protein. People following lower-carbohydrate/higher-protein diets lost more weight than those on a low-fat/low-cholesterol/low-calorie diet over a six-month period, although differences in weight loss after one year were similar for both diets. Improvements in some risk factors for coronary heart disease were seen in the low-carbohydrate/higher-protein diet group, including greater decreases in triglycerides and greater increases in HDL cholesterol (also referred to as good cholesterol) levels.

Including lean meat and poultry in your diet can be healthy as well as convenient. “Certain cuts or parts of beef, chicken, pork and turkey are all packed with protein, low in fat and saturated fat, and have an excellent nutrient profile,” notes nutrition expert Michelle Tuttle, R.D. Look for lower-fat meat and poultry choices such as:

• Lean beef cuts such as round steaks and roasts (round eye, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin, and chuck shoulder and arm roasts.

• Lean pork such as pork loin, tenderloin, center loin, and ham.

• Extra-lean ground beef. The label should say at least “90% lean.” You may be able to find ground beef that is 93% or 95% lean.

• Ground white meat turkey (99% fat free).

• Skinless poultry-chicken or turkey-or take off the skin before eating.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets or turkey tenderloins are the leanest poultry choices.

• Choose lean turkey, roast beef, ham, or low-fat luncheon meats for sandwiches instead of luncheon meats with more fat, such as regular bologna or salami.

While there are both animal and plant sources for protein, meat products such as lean meat and poultry offer essential vitamins and minerals that are often lacking in the American diet. Mix in some physical activity and you have a great recipe for a healthier lifestyle in 2006. Bon Appetit!

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October 31st, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

Eating more fish is good for your health. That’s the finding of research conducted by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA) at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The study, “A Quantitative Analysis of the Risks and Benefits Associated with Changes in Fish Consumption,” analyzed the potential impact of consumer reactions to federal advisories that warn about the effects of mercury exposure from fish. Advisories could be misinterpreted and keep people from eating fish and seafood.

On average, Americans consume less than half the weekly intake of fish recommended by the federal government, in part due to fears of mercury exposure. However, the immense health benefits of fish and seafood far outweigh the minute risk of mercury contamination from commonly consumed fish.

“Fish are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which may protect against coronary heart disease and stroke, and are thought to aid in the neurological development of unborn babies,” said Joshua Cohen, lead author and senior research associate at HCRA. “If that information gets lost in how the public perceives this issue, then people may inappropriately curtail fish consumption and increase their risk for adverse health outcomes.”

Since the body cannot manufacture omega-3 fatty acids, people rely on fish to provide this essential compound.

Eating less fish was also linked to a significant increase in the risk of heart disease and stroke.

The study concluded that pregnant women, who are at far greater risk for mercury exposure, could increase the cognitive development benefits for their unborn child by eating the recommended servings of fish per week and choosing from a variety of fish and seafood low in mercury. The benefit from fish consumption during pregnancy could amount to an increase in IQ level for the newborn.

“There is no debate within the scientific community that the fatty acids in fish are essential for human health. Study after study demonstrates that from birth to old age, omega-3 fatty acids confer important health benefits, from optimal brain function and the reduced risk of heart attack and stroke to improved eye health,” said Joyce Nettleton, D.Sc., R.D., author of “Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Health.” “Fish is a healthful food for people of all ages.”

Clear messages resulting from studies such as this encourage people to continue to enjoy fish and seafood as part of a healthy diet.

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October 31st, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

THE FAT TYPES AND THEIR EFFECTS

High consumption of fat or of the combination fat and carbohydrates causes obesity, heart disease and other health problems. However the different types of fat have very different effects on the health. Here is a survey of the different fat categories and their effects:

Mono-unsaturated fat – This type of fat prevents heart disease and circulatory disease in moderate amounts.

Omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat – This fat type prevents heart disease if you do not consume too much of it. However it causes inflammatory reactions. This type of reactions are benign when they are moderate and when they are provoked to fight disease. But a constant high inflammatory response is dangerous, and can cause rheumatism, heart trouble and cancer. A very high consumption of this type of fat is therefore dangerous.

Omega-3-poly-unsaturated fat – This type of fat prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore it also reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations and rheumatism.

Omega-9-poly-unsaturated fat – This type of fat also prevents heart disease and reduces inflammatory reactions in moderate amounts. Therefore it reduces the risk of cancer, intestinal inflammations and rheumatism.

Saturated fat – This type of fat is probably not dangerous in small amounts. In higher amounts, saturated fat gives high cholesterol levels, causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease and increases the risk of infarct of the heart and other organs.

Cholesterol – Cholesterol is a fat-like compound found in the food, but also synthesized from saturated fat by the body. High intake of saturated fat or of cholesterol itself therefore elevates the cholesterol level in the body. Cholesterol is a necessary compound, but in higher amounts it causes clogging of the blood vessels, causes coronary heart disease and increases the risk of infarct of the heart and other organs.

Trans-fat – This type of fat is produced by chemical processing to yield specific mechanical properties. Margarine often contains this type of fat. This type of fat is dangerous, and is a probably a causal component for heart disease and cancer. There is however one exception: Some amount of fat containing the trans acid conjugated linoleic acid seem to be benevolent for the skin health and may help reduce weight. Conjugated linoleic acid is found in milk and butter.

COMMON PROBLEMS OF THE AVERAGE DIET

The average American and European diet generally contains too much fat and carbohydrates combined. The fat consumed is generally a mixture of trans fat, saturated fat and omega-6-poly-usaturated fat. This bad fat consume causes overweight and is probably a major contributing component for the incidence of heart disease, cancer, intestinal inflammatory diseases, rheumatism and other inflammatory conditions.

RECOMMENDED AMOUNT OF FAT IN THE DIET:

A common advice is to let 25-30 % of the energy needed be covered by fat and the rest by carbohydrates. However, experts do not agree at his point. Some recommend a low carbohydrate diet with more fat, and others recommend a high carbohydrate diet with a low fat amount.
In either case, the combined intake of fat and carbohydrates should not be much higher than your daily energy consumption if you have a normal or wanted weight. If you want to loose weight, this combined amount must be lower. If you want to gain weight, it should be higher.

THE RIGHT MIXTURE OF FAT TYPES

The right mixture of different fat types is as important as the amount of fat in the diet to keep good health. However, you must not take the percent ratios given here too literally, since there is little agreement about the exact ratios that should be recommended. Furthermore, if you have an active lifestyle that demands much energy, this is best achieved by increasing the amount of carbohydrates and mono-unsaturated fat.

Mono-unsaturated fat – Ideally as much as 35% of the fat consumption should be from this type of fat. You can find this fat in olive oil, raps oil and walnut oil.

Omega-6-poly-unsaturated fat – 30 % of the fat consumption should be from this fat type. You find it in soy oil and corn oil.

Omega-3-poly-unsaturated fat and omega-9-poly-usatureted fat – 20 % of the fat consumption should be this type. You find it in fish oil and in fat fish. If you suffer from inflammatory conditions like rheumatism and intestinal inflammation, you will probably benefit from increasing the amount of this fat type, and reduce the amount of other fat types.

Saturated fat – Not more than 15 % of the fat consumption should be saturated fat. Saturated fat is found in fat from mammals, coconut fat and in milk.

Cholesterol – The cholesterol level in the body depends upon the combined amount of consumed cholesterol itself and saturated fat. To keep the cholesterol level right, you should not consume too much saturated fat, and not very much of food containing cholesterol, like eggs and spawn.

Trans-fat – This type of fat should ideally not be a part of the diet at all. Margarine, cookies, snacks and often also bread contain this type of fat. It is therefore important to reduce consume of margarine, cookies, snacks, and to check the composition of the bread you consume.

Conjugated linoleic acid – This is perhaps the only trans fat acid that is benevolent in some amount. It is found in natural milk fat, and you can buy dietary supplements of this substance. A small amount of this substance may help keep your skin healthy and may help you to reduce weight.

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July 27th, 2009 | in Health and Fitness | Leave a comment

What in actuality are the causes of heart disease? Several Americans suffer from the disease but a lot of of them don’t comprehend the causes. There is almost as various myths and misinformation about the causes of heart disease as the real triggers.

Anything from fatty foods, to high cholesterol, to lack of exercise is included in the list of causes of heart disease. Yet, what are in truth the causes of the disease?

The Causes of Heart Disease – A Rational Look

The first thing to comprehend is that the coronary heart disease is not one singular disease. It is rather a combination of aspects that results in a possibly fatal situation that can result in cardiac arrest. It is true that diet and exercise play a vast role in the illness. Yet, this role may not be almost as vital as general practitioners and scientists stated more than 30 years or so.

One of the most vital and most hazardous causes of heart disease is damage to the heart muscle or a congenital defect. Damage can be triggered by a viral, bacterial, fungal, rickettsial or parasitic disease. These dangerous diseases+ailments can trigger a severe weakening of the heart muscle which finally leads to heart disease.

Each of these high risk factors for heart illness is triggered by conditions not related to exercise or diet. That is not to say that food and exercise are not vital to cardiac health. Yet, blaming all causes of heart disease on those aspects alone is unwise as well.

There are precisely various causes of heart disease. The most generally cited ones are high blood cholesterol, smoking, and lack of exercise, stress, and being overweight. Of the causes, the strongest link between to a direct cause is smoking. The other causes of heart disease do have vital. Yet, no cause is as sturdy as smoking. While numerous people say that most smokers will exhibit the other qualities in addition to smoking, if you look at the raw data and factor out the additional causes smoking still carries the strongest correlation to heart disease.

Stress is another vast aspect in heart disease. general practitioners have stated that heart attacks strike in the months after severe emotion trauma. Highlighted traumatic situations include death, bankruptcy, layoff, and relationship failure. In each of these conditions the risk of cardiac arrest is drastically progressed.

While diet is vital in the causes of heart disease, there are other factors that will have effect on the likelihood of increasing heart illness. It is best to try get rid of or lower as a lot of of the aspects as you can to stay away from being a high risk candidate for a heart attack.

Does that answer your question? For further explanation about causes of heart disease you can find the complete guide here!

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