General Article

Use and Consume Oil With Care

Oil is necessary to maintain health and beauty but too much of it can lead to the destruction of the body. There are a wide variety of oils available but do they contain the same properties? Most of the oils used for cooking are vegetable-based. Fish oil is another type of edible oil which is commonly used as a supplement.

1. Health benefits

One can benefit greatly from edible oils if they know how to use it the right way. Most vegetable and fish oils are rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs). There are two types of essential fatty acids namely omega-3 and omega-6. Essential fatty acids are essential to life. However, they are not produced by the human body. The good news is they can be found in certain foods.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish and olive oil. So how is it able to benefit one’s health? Omega-3 fatty acids is said to be able to lower cholesterol and improve heart functions. Omega-6 fatty acids has been found to crucial for proper brain functioning. It can be found in vegetable oils such as peanut and sunflower oils.

A good balance between the two fatty acids will bring about a significant improvement in heart health.

2. Good versus bad fats

Oils are high in mono-unsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Mono-unsaturated fats help to increase good cholesterol while polyunsaturated fats aid in decreasing the bad cholesterol. However, one need to be cautious as some oils also contains a high percentage of saturated fat such as coconut and palm oil. Saturated fats are known to increase bad cholesterol which leads to the clogging of blood vessels. It is hence best to avoid the intake of coconut and palm oils.

3. Limit your oil intake

Oil has its health benefits but if over consumed, they can cause destruction to the body. This is because oil is high in calories yet easy to over consume because they make food taste better. Consuming too much fat can lead to weight gain which bring about health problems like heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

4. Say no to trans fats

So what are trans fats? Trans fats are man-made and are produced from high temperature treatment, pressure and hydrogenation. Hydrogenation is a process which hydrogen is add to oil and allowing them to solidify at room temperature. Trans fats is dangerous to heart health as they increase bad cholesterol and decrease the good ones.

It is hence important to understand what type of oils and fats we are consuming daily and maintain a balance not to over consume.…

How To Reduce Cholesterol The Right Way

Many are looking for fool-proof ways on how to reduce cholesterol without subjecting themselves to medications. Cholesterol is actually of two types, there’s the good one and the bad one. When the good one is down, you can almost always expect the bad cholesterol peaking up. Yet this should not be a reason for others not to be too concerned about their heart health when their good cholesterol levels are within the normal values because there are instances wherein the good cholesterol is normal and still the bad cholesterol levels are going up. Thus, when going to the lab to have your blood analyzed, you’re not just after your total cholesterol levels, but both your good and bad cholesterol levels.

You might be wondering why it’s such a big deal to know how to reduce cholesterol, and why there is such a clamor for natural methods of doing it. Too much bad cholesterol in the body, if you must know, can choke up your arteries, and when that happens, strokes or heart attacks cannot be far behind. There are medical treatments available to reduce bad cholesterol levels, but besides being costly, chemically-formulated cholesterol reducing drugs usually have undesirable side effects. While it is always a smart decision to consult with a heart specialist (who is likely to prescribe medications), going for alternative means to lower cholesterol levels may also be a good idea, especially if the levels are not dangerously high (slightly above 100 mg/dL) and the good cholesterol levels are normal or just a bit below the normal level.

If you happen to consider taking the traditional route to reducing bad cholesterol levels, you can start by having a resolution and sticking to it. Lowering the numbers is not at all difficult once you have set your mind to it. Next, empty your refrigerator and pantry of everything that has saturated fat. Junk foods, cakes, ice cream, macaroni and cheese, and foods with preservatives have to go, whether you like it or not. Try to keep away from fried foods also, especially those that are deep fried in animal fat. While these food choices do taste good and are very tempting to eat especially when it’s close to midnight, these can also lead you to your deathbed if you are not careful.

When doing your groceries the next time, pick foods that have high fiber content. Why fiber? Because fiber has the capability of absorbing the bad cholesterol from the digestive system, so instead of it going around in the blood stream and rounding up in the arteries, it goes right out of the body. Fiber rich foods include oatmeal, beans, and fruits like apple, pear, and prunes. Also recommended to snack on to reduce bad cholesterol levels are walnuts because walnuts have high polyunsaturated fatty acids which are actually good in maintaining heart health.

Fish, especially the oily kind, can help reduce the risk of heart attacks that may result from …

General Information About Natural Cholesterol Reduction

There are ways for natural cholesterol reduction. Currently, the number one cause of death in the USA is cardiovascular disease.

A high cholesterol level can cause this. Believe it or not, millions of Americans face the problem of high cholesterol. Hence, it is important to perform regular checks of cholesterol levels. The National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Heath recommends that every individual who is over the age of 20 years check his or her cholesterol level at least once every 5 years.

In the case of those who are suffering from heart diseases or other cholesterol related ones, a more frequent check might be necessary. There are two types called as LDL or bad cholesterol and HDL or good cholesterol. Generally, medical practitioners recommend a total cholesterol level of less than 200mg per desiLiter or dL. The recommendation for LDL is below 130 dL while HDL of more than 40 is recommended.

Hence, if you are facing the problem of high cholesterol, try some of the ways for natural cholesterol reduction. Being overweight is one of the reasons for such a problem. Overweight people tend to have an excess of fats. So, try to reduce the amount of food intake without compromising on essential requirements of vitamins and minerals, protein and others.

While you cut down on food, you can increase the amount of drinking plain water. Drinking lots of plain water makes up for your hunger and helps you to reduce weight. Plain water also plays a vital role in flushing out toxins in the body for better health. A balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, protein, carbohydrates and fats is necessary for good health immaterial of your weight.

As you may have noted, some people who seem to be of average or below average weight face a cholesterol problem as well. Hence, a balanced diet is important. Generally, doctors advise their patients to cut down on the intake of fatty food as a means of reducing the level of cholesterol. Overeating foods, which are rich in cholesterol like egg yolk and liver, is not a good idea.

Too much of oily food is not a good thing as well. Other than food, exercise plays a vital role in reducing the problem of cholesterol. Excess fats and calories are burned and turned into the form of energy during exercise. If you do not have the money or inclination to visit the gym, simply practice walking, running or jogging are forms of exercise on a regular basis.

Indeed, it is possible to use natural ways for reducing high cholesterol.…

Consume These Foods to Lower Your Cholesterol

Thousands of people from all over the world die each year from cardiovascular disease. The causes of the most dangerous ones like heart attacks and strokes are many, but one of the most serious ones is the high cholesterol. This substance blocks the arteries and reduces the normal blood flow through them. The blood vessels become narrower and actually less elastic as well. You can always take medications to deal with this problem, but you can effectively reduce your cholesterol easily by eating specific foods.

Scientists have discovered that fiber can effectively battle the LDL or the bad cholesterol. This nutrient is contained in a number of foods, but some of them have it in larger quantities and have other health and heart benefits in particular. The black beans are rich in fiber, but also in antioxidants. Having these tasty legumes cooked in a different ways can improve the condition of your blood vessels and reduce the effects of aging on cellular level. You can also have tofu and soy dishes. The whole grains can also be abundantly present on your table. The oatmeal in particular is extremely beneficial.

You can have a great salad with some carrots that contain plenty of soluble fiber. The walnuts and almonds also contain large amounts of this cholesterol lowering nutrient. The essential thing that you have to keep in mind is to eat them raw. These nuts are great for a snack as well as for salad dressings. There are some fruit that can also be plentiful in your diet like the apples, oranges and kiwis that contain fiber pectin in sufficiently large amounts. Generally, almost all types of fruit do, so you can readily have them for breakfast, as snacks or as delicious desserts.

The way you cook your food is also important for the effective lowering of cholesterol. This substance is less likely to build up if you use oils that contain unsaturated fats for preparing your meals. The extra virgin olive oil is considered to be the most beneficial for you, but the flaxseed and canola ones are quite good as well. In any case, it is best to reduce the use of these ingredients when cooking.

You can also have specific drinks that reduce the LDL. The green tea has been proven to have such a positive effect plus it is rich in antioxidants. A glass of red wine a day will increase the level of the good HDL cholesterol and supply your body with resveratrol. This chemical compound is known to have beneficial anti-aging effects.…

Cardiac Diet Plan – 5 Tips to Try

Did you just find out that you have high cholesterol? Not sure what LDL or HDL means? Did your doctor just tell you to stop eating salt and red meat? And you don’t know how that can happen because you love meat? And you don’t ever put salt in your food at the table!

If you have a need for heart healthy meal plan, you can use these five tips to get started in the right direction.

1. Write out a daily meal plan. Just knowing what you’re going to eat every day means that you’re on the right track. You will have thought out how much salt and fat is in the foods that you’re going to make. It’s best to plan your daily meals a week in advance, so that when you go the grocery store you purchase everything you need to have that heart healthy meal plan in place. Dedicating 1 to 2 hours one day a week to find recipes and make a plan will definitely improve your chances of success.

2. Limit your intake of high-fat foods. What are high-fat foods? Whole milk, regular cheeses, and fried foods. Many times you can take foods that you previously fried and with minimal modification you can bake them in the oven and still have a very tasty meal. If you still drink whole milk, over the period of 1 to 2 months move from whole milk to reduce fat milk to low-fat milk to skim milk every couple of weeks. Many times in the grocery store you can find skim milk that has added protein to improve the taste. Look for things like skim deluxe on the label to show it’s been altered to improve the taste.

3. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables and eat them. You can buy frozen vegetables as well but a lot of times fresh vegetables are very good in the raw state. Make sure not to over cook them and use minimal amounts of liquid to keep from losing too many vitamins and minerals. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of vitamins such as C and A. These are heart healthy nutrients that can help your health.

4. Eat less processed foods. What do I mean by processed foods? These are prepackaged foods that you can microwave at home or foods that you get out eat at restaurants or work. These foods typically are higher in fat and sodium. People choose them because they feel they are more convenient, but if you write out your meal plan you will find it easy and almost fun to make your meals when you have all the right pieces already at home.

5. Eat 30+ grams of fiber per day. Read your labels and under the carbohydrate section is a line called dietary fiber. When you’re choosing between two products choose the one with higher fiber. Fiber improves fullness as well as helping your digestive tract …

Is There a Direct Link Between Alcohol and Cholesterol?

Too much of anything can ruin your life but a little of it may give you a lot of benefits. Desiring to drink a couple of wine is good but being addicted to it is bad. Experts have said and have even proven that wine can protect your heart. But when you lose control and drink too much then your drinking will probably cause you more harm than good.

Then there is this other controversy when you look at alcohol, cholesterol and heart disease. Most of you would say that red wine is the only alcoholic drink that is beneficial to your health. And this is supported by many studies.

However, there have been many other studies that show that when you drink small amounts of any type of alcohol whether it is white wine, liquor or beer your heart will benefit. In other words, they say that what is important is the amount not the type of alcohol you drink.

Although there have been no studies made to prove that alcoholic drinks can lessen the ldl (bad cholesterol), the benefit of drinking is to increase the hdl or the good ones in our body. However, red wine in particular prevents the ldl from getting into the blood vessels, and blood vessel blockage is the root cause of heart ailments. It also lowers triglycerides.

Regarding red wine, it has been said that a couple of drinks a day can lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It has many beneficial compounds. It contains a lot of antioxidants compared to other kinds of liquor. In particular the substance resveratrol is known to be good for the heart. Other powerful antioxidants found in red wine are the procyanidins and proanthocyanidins.

Alcoholic drinks such as beer and other kinds of wines have the same properties, although they have lesser amounts of antioxidants. For people who want an option, red and purple grape juice also contains the same compounds so it can be used as a better and more natural substitute for a glass of wine.

Ask yourself why you must subject yourself to the toxicity and addictive qualities of alcohol if you can get resveratrol in red grape juice? So always bear in mind that whatever health benefits you may derive from drinking alcohol don’t let it become an addiction. It can actually cost you more trouble because drinking problems can lead to serious illnesses and problems.

For drinkers, The American Heart Association recommends just one glass for women and two for men. But if you are not yet a drinker it would be better not to get started. It would be better to look for other alternatives rather than to push yourself into trying the alcohol-cholesterol remedy.

For more information and ideas, please visit us on the web at alcohol and cholesterol.…

Fish Oil and Cholesterol – Discover the Positive Correlation Between the Two

Recently, there has been a significant change in the way people think about natural and organic products thus causing a higher demand for it. One such product that’s at the forefront of this change would be fish oil. These days, it has really caught everyone’s attention especially after studies have shown that including it in our daily diet can actually be very beneficial to us.

To be more specific, people are thrilled by the fact that taking it on a daily basis can actually help lower our cholesterol and keep our heart healthy. However, despite the fact that many people have already started using it, there are still those who remain doubtful about its actual effects.

So in this article, I’m going to talk about the effects of fish oil and how it helps us in our fight against bad cholesterol as well as what makes it good for our hearts and body. To get started, let’s first look at the 3 things associated with cholesterol. These 3 are HDL which is the good cholesterol, LDL which is the bad cholesterol and the Triglycerides which are fat. Now, with that done with, let’s look at what happens when fish oil and cholesterol levels are put together.

Studies have indeed shown that increasing our intake of fish oil subsequently causes the HDL or good cholesterol levels in our bodies to rise and at the same time, causes our Triglyceride level to go down. These triglycerides often creates blocks in our arteries which can cause heart attacks so if we can eliminate them early on, we basically reduce any chances of heart attacks.

In fact, as some of you may or may now know, the American Heart Association highly recommends an increase in both our fish and fish oil intake to help improve the processes of our hearts. But what makes them so great? That would be their Omega 3 content which is solely responsible for regulating our cholesterol levels as well as preventing our blood platelets from clotting and causing artery blocks which could subsequently lead to a heart attack. As long as blood flows freely through our veins and arteries, our risks of getting a heart attack are low.

By now, I’m sure that you’re wondering how you may be able to take advantage of these truly wonderful benefits. Well, for starters, you would need to choose the right fish oil. It’s recommended that you buy ones that were extracted from cold water fish such as mackerel, salmon or trout as these are the ones that are rich with the DHA Omega 3. You should also pay attention to how the fish oil was refined and make sure that the manufacturers used a refining process that was able to thoroughly remove all kinds of pollutants from the oil.

In conclusion, trying it for yourself would be the best way to tell if it works or not. So give …

Why You Should Find a Breastfeeding Support Group

Breastfeeding support groups can be found in your local area by contacting your delivery hospital or your local Le Leche League chapter. Support groups are very helpful for people who are either starting up something new or trying to cope with a life issue.

Support groups provide just that – support. Knowing that you are not alone in the world makes all the difference in adjusting or adapting. Knowing other people are going through the same changes and lifestyle adjustments makes doing it yourself so much easier. There are groups for almost everything you can dream up. Single parent groups, quitting smoking groups, learning to knit groups, health and wellness groups, and of course, breastfeeding support groups.

Breastfeeding your baby will create changes in your daily life. It is an individual’s personal opinion whether the changes are manageable or not, but either way a support group can still help. There are all sorts of issues that come along with breastfeeding your baby. For example, vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower are known to cause painful gas in some infants when mom includes too much in her own diet. When you are attending a support group as a new breastfeeding mom, you could hear other moms talking about this issue and it could shed some light on why your baby has been having crying fits after feedings. It will put your mind at ease that your baby is okay and you just have to cut broccoli out of your diet for a while.

Every mother and baby is different, but sharing a common experience such as giving birth, starting to breastfeed, and becoming a mother for the first time provides a good base for sharing stories and building a support system for your family. Knowledge is power and sharing stories with other mothers experiencing the same things you are provides a wider base of knowledge faster. You may have a mom in your support group that has a baby a few months older than yours and hearing her stories and how she has responded to things could help you make your decision on how you will handle a similar situation if and when it arises.

Breastfeeding is not something that anyone has ever done prior to having their first child. This puts new moms on an even playing field coming into a breastfeeding support group. Women that feel very strongly about breastfeeding may join the group long after their first child. These women can become great mentors for new moms breastfeeding for the first time. As breastfeeding moms, everyone in the support group will share a common interest no matter the diversity of women. This will become a great base for learning and support and possibly even long-term friendship.…

Simple Ground Beef Recipes

When seeking simple ground beef recipes you must always make healthful food choices.

Let’s look at how you can use a single base recipe for three different meals.

Worst Foods To Eat

The popular media has erroneously portrayed ground beef as one of the worst foods to eat. While it is not one of the best cholesterol reducing foods available it is good cheap food that can be used to make inexpensive healthy recipes for your family or guests.

Simple Beef RecipeHere is the base recipe you can use as the foundation for many fast healthy meals:1 lb. lean ground beef2 eggs3 Tbsp. olive oil1 1/2 cups oats1/2 cup chopped onion1 tsp. minced garlic (from a jar is fine)Sea Salt, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce to taste

Simply combine all ingredients and mix well.

Wise EatingThis concoction can be made into low fat healthy burgers, meatloaf, or meatballs. Let’s look at each of these in detail.

Burgers And MeatballsFlatten the ground meat/oat mix for burgers or roll it into golf ball sized meatballs. Place it into a skillet with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil and fry until well browned.

The burgers will go onto a whole grain bun with a slice of low-fat cheese, lettuce, tomato, and an olive oil based mayonnaise.

The meatballs will be dropped into your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Are these simple ground beef recipes or not? Of course they’re simple!

MeatloafForm the ground meat/oat mix into a football shape. Place it into a shallow baking dish and drizzle with ketchup. Bake uncovered for one hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Make sure the juices run clear to assure it is cooked all the way through.

The oats add fiber to your diet while supplying the nutrients found in this whole grain. Using olive oil in your spaghetti sauce and to fry your burgers or meatballs gets this healthy oil into you in a “sneaky” way.

By adding a salad or raw vegetable platter to these simple ground beef recipes you have delicious healthy recipes that are good to eat and good for you.…

Fundamentals of Maintaining Good Cat Health

The enjoyment, pleasure and happiness of having a feline pal cannot be compared with anything. Having a feline friend is such a pleasurable experience but everything comes with a price. Even having a feline friend also has a price attached to it which is in the form of responsibilities and obligations. The experience of joy and happiness largely depends on how well you know and understand your pet and fulfill their needs.

Unhealthy cats are inactive so keeping a good care of their health becomes very important if you want the experience of a pet cat enjoyable and memorable. Learning how to take proper care of your cat’s health is important for all cat owners. Every pet cat owner should know that taking proper care, fulfilling basic needs, giving love and attention not only promises a good health for your cat but also ensures it lives a long and happy life.

General Needs

Every cat has certain basic general needs which you should pay attention to and fulfill. Proper nourishment, grooming and right medical attentions are some of such needs. Special care should be taken in case of illness and pregnancy for female cats. You as a pet owner should keep a certain amount of money every month for fulfilling your cats needs as proper health care may demand both time and money.

Feeding

One of the most important things which determine the health of cats is food. Right food is the key to good health. By giving your pet a well nourished cat food and a good diet not only protect your cat from getting any common illness but also help your monetary, by saving on your veterinary bills. Always try and give your pet cat food manufactured by suppliers approved by American Association of Feed Control Officers (AAFCO).

Grooming

A new born kitten has an natural ability to groom itself. You may have noticed mother cats licking their kittens as soon as they are born to help them breathe. Grooming amazingly comes naturally in cats. Cats are well versed to handle almost all their grooming needs. However, it’s advised to use that you should use some of the grooming techniques for your pet cat. Cats with long hair need extra help and care to prevent getting matted fur.…