Health and Fitness Blog

Whilst everybody would agree that high cholesterol is bad, cholesterol itself isn’t and is an important building block in the cells in our body. The problem is that high cholesterol tends to cause the narrowing and hardening of the arteries, which in turn can lead to heart disease or stroke. What does blood cholesterol level depend on? Many people would say it depends on the kind of food we eat but this is not the whole truth when it comes to high cholesterol. High cholesterol can also be caused in part to how cholesterol is made in your liver.

There are two kinds of cholesterol – the good HDL cholesterol, and the bad LDL cholesterol. HDLs are transporters that carry excess cholesterol to the liver where it can be broken down. LDLs cause the build-up of cholesterol in the arteries leading to high blood pressure and risk of heart attack. High cholesterol can only usually be detected through a blood test. The ideal levels of HDL are over 40 mg/dL and for LDL, under 100 mg/dL.

A recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine found that cholesterol levels tended to vary according to changes in weather. 500 people from Massachusetts were analyzed over a year and the trend was very clear – high cholesterol levels were found in winter and the levels went down in summer. Why are the winter months conducive to high cholesterol? The diet did not differ greatly so it would seem that physical activity had something to do with the treatment of high cholesterol and keeping cholesterol levels in check. The increased activity associated with summer was very probably active in the treatment of high cholesterol. Read more…

There are several effective ways to increase HDL cholesterol , that can literally add years to your life, reduce the risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis and stroke.

So, how do we go about getting high HDL cholesterol levels

There are two key ways for increasing your HDL, naturally when combined the results are both faster and satisfying. One method is totally zero cost, the second method can be expensive and also detrimental to your health in some isolated cases.

Lifestyle modifications
This seems so hard for many people, yet the results are zero cost, relatively easy and last as long as you continue a healthy life. In many people, the following lifestyle recommendations will be sufficient to increase HDL cholesterol, and at the same time help to reduce your LDL. You also probably reduce your blood pressure and lose those unwanted, potentially dangerous pounds.

The lifestyle modifications that will provide the best results follow below:

Exercise
This is where many people stop reading and find excuses such as not having enough time. The solution cannot always be found in a bottle of pills and it may take a little effort on your side, but believe me it is well worth it!

If you are overweight, losing weight can raise HDL levels quite substantially. In fact, simply beginning an exercise program can help increase the good HDL and this has been known for some time. In the late 1990s a Stanford University study found that when sedentary men start an exercise routine they improved their HDL by approximately 4.4 mg/dl when the exercise burned off 800-1000 calories a week (if you cycle just 2 hours a week at 11 mph you will burn almost 1000 calories). It seems that duration of exercise, not intensity, provides the greatest benefit. So, the more exercise you do, the higher goes your HDL. Is that so difficult? Read more…

Everybody try to take care in their physical condition these days, and this is extremely in response to the truth of obesity and other such health problems which are really becoming an epidemic in the world of nowadays. It is important to recognize about something such as cholesterol, because normally when people hear the word cholesterol, they repeatedly think that it is bad; however, cholesterol can be both good and bad.

Bad and good cholesterol

There are 2 main forms of cholesterol; low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). LDL cholesterol is measured as bad cholesterol because it is inclined to drop off along the way, clogging arteries and blood vessels, and contributing to plaque creation. HDL cholesterol removes LDL cholesterol from the blood circulatory system and precedes it to the liver that takes away it from the body.

You have cholesterol problem, you require keeping away from egg yolks and organ meats such as the liver or kidneys because these are sources of dietary cholesterol.

Here is a list of 6 Natural Ways to Lower Cholesterol Read more…

Fact:

* heart disease claims about ½ million lives in America per year
* high cholesterol levels play a ignificant role in heart disease
* studies show if you lower cholesterol levels, the risk of heart disease is reduced by up-to 40%

What is Cholesterol?
Before we go into how to reduce your cholesterol, let’s take a look at what exactly cholesterol is.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that is produced by the liver and its job is to:-

* produce bile acids to help with the digestion of fat
* build and repair cells and
* produce estrogen and testosterone hormones

Therefore cholesterol is an important function of the body, but too much cholesterol in the body becomes a risk
as it can clog up arteries and this can be the cause of heart attacks and strokes.

Cholesterol Symptoms

It is surprising to learn that there are virtually no symptoms to diagnose if you have high cholesterol. High cholesterol is normally identified by a blood test.

However, if you are having health issues such as coronary disease, vascular disease or stroke, then this could be the end result of high cholesterol levels in your body.

Symptoms of:

Coronary Disease
* Angina
* Chest pains
* Nausea
* Shortness of breath Read more…

Seriously high levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol ( LDL ) represent a menacing cause of heart disease. By lowering the LDL level in your blood, you will automatically lower the total level of the cholesterol in your body ( the HDL also known as the ‘good’ cholesterol and the LDL – the ‘bad’ cholesterol ) and it will prevent the occurrence of heart disease. You can use a drug treatment to lower the cholesterol level, but you can also use a more healthy method – the dietary agents and food supplements that will lower your cholesterol in a natural way. In other words, a diet low in saturated fats and rich in fibres may help you lower cholesterol levels downwards to a normal limit.

We will offer you some piece of advice on what exactly to eat and what not to eat during a diet in order to lower cholesterol level. Keep in mind that this diet it is not very difficult to respect, it requires strength of will and determination to retain yourself from eating the ‘bad’ foods. The tips below should be followed for a period of one month, and then you should get your cholesterol level checked again to see the results of the diet.

1. The first thing you have to do is to reduce the amount of red meat in your daily alimentation. You will replace it with white meat ( poultry ) and fish which have a low fat level.

2. It is absolutely necessary for you to eliminate or at least to eat less saturated fats. This means that you should start having skimmed milk, low cholesterol spread or light cheese, instead of your normal foods. These light products may not be as tasty as the fat ones, but they care save your life.

3. A healthy diet means a healthy digestion. Foods that are high in fibre ( like whole grain cereals or muesli ) will eventually help you lower cholesterol by eliminating the dietary fats.

4. Stop frying your food and start grilling them. It prevents the loss of vitamins from the vegetables; therefore you will eat healthier. Read more…