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30 Dec 09 Healthy Ways To Lower Cholesterol

Lowering your cholesterol is usually a good idea, and in many cases a necessity.  But taking drugs can be scary, especially with the healthcare industry’s growing overuse of new and unproven medications.  Who knows what a new drug today could do to your system later.  Many consequences are never fully discovered because of the relatively short testing cycles for new drugs.  But you can avoid all these side effects by eating healthier, and using a few foods to lower cholesterol naturally.

The best food to do that?  Oatmeal.  Studies show that the soluble fiber found in oatmeal blocks the body’s absorption of LDL cholesterol within the intestines.  The same fiber is also found in apples and kidney beans, but is most prevalent in oatmeal and oat bran.  A regular breakfast composed of oatmeal can help to lower cholesterol slowly, but surely, over time.

Olive oil is another one of those wonder foods that actually helps to control and lower your harmful cholesterol.  Using olive oil instead of other harmful oils can help to lower your LDL cholesterol, and actually raise your good cholesterol (HDL).

Almonds and walnuts are another good way to increase heart health.  Both help to decrease the likelihood that you’ll develop heart disease by lowering the amount of cholesterol found in your blood stream.  The antioxidants contained in both, particularly in the brown skin of almonds, actually work to decrease the amount of cholesterol in your veins.

Finally, fish.  Fish contain omega 3 fatty acids, and those are remarkable at eliminating cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, and lowers the risk of developing blood clots.  You can either eat the fish, mainly salmon, trout, or tuna, but you can also take fish oil supplements which provide all the omega 3 positives.  But remember, these are great ways to naturally lower your cholesterol, but shouldn’t be taken as a way to treat high blood pressure or cholesterol.  Always consult your doctor first.  But adopting healthy lifestyle changes is a great way to stay healthier in the first place.

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31 Oct 09 Build Up Your Defense Against Swine Flu

Everyone seems to be worried about the H1N1 virus, or better known as swine flu, this flu season.  While yes this should be a concern on everyone’s mind, it’s also something you shouldn’t feel constant anxiety about.  The key to fighting off any flu is simply by making sure you have the right good nutrition to keep your immune system as strong as possible.  These are a few tips to strengthen your immune system, and keep you feeling as great as possible through any flu season:

One of the main things you can do, is take a vitamin supplement, to ensure you get all the essential vitamins that your body needs.  Unfortunately not enough people realize that they are low on some of the most essential vitamins, and this can cause you to be more likely to get sick.  The vitamins you should look for in a good flu fighting supplement are:

-Vitamin D, as this vitamin helps by creating more antimicrobial agents within your body.  Essentially providing your body with more materials to build more cold/flu busting soldiers in your blood stream.  Vitamin D is very important, and a common vitamin that many people don’t get enough of daily.  This should be a first check off in your search, especially during cold and flu season.

-Vitamin E is a good immune system strengthener, and a vitamin that is hard to get from eating food alone.  A supplement is a great way to get more vitamin E, which also strengthens your body’s infection fighting capabilities.

-Vitamin C is pretty much the cold and flu fighting staple.  Vitamin C helps your body build more white blood cells, which is the key way in which your body fights off any infection.  The really cool thing about vitamin C though, is that it boosts your body’s interferon antibodies, which protects your cells from even being affected by a flu virus in the first place.  So drink that orange juice to get your daily share!

Finally, eat foods rich in bioflavonoids, as they help your cell receptors resist flu viruses.  Bioflavonoids can be found in foods such as dark chocolate, blackberries, and even green tea.  Good nutrition is your best route to avoiding swine flu this season, or giving your body what it needs to fight off the virus.  So keep your mind at ease by strengthening that immune system.

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05 Oct 09 Lower Your Cholesterol Naturally

Keeping a good hold on your cholesterol throughout your life, is something that everyone should be doing.  The importance of good cardiovascular health can’t be understated, and a large part of that beyond exercise, is doing what’s necessary diet wise.  Keeping your cholesterol low organically, and as naturally as possible is incredibly healthy for your body, and avoids any of the negative side effects you could suffer from pills or bad health later in life.

One of the best ways to start that is by drinking a glass of water when you wake up in the morning.  Not only does this kick start your metabolism, but it also works to remove toxins in your body.  By getting your system circulating you get your blood flowing, and your body moving as quick as possible.  All of which is great for your health in general.

-For breakfast oatmeal is your friend.  Oatmeal is high in beta-glucan, which is a form of fiber that flows through your blood stream, soaking up the cholesterol that would otherwise be waiting around to clog your arteries.

-If you need a snack throughout the day try almonds.  They contain very powerful antioxidants, including flavonoids which  work to prevent the oxidation of harmful LDL cholesterol.  To keep the healthy effects of almonds make sure to eat them with the skin intact, and unsalted.  The skin contains most of the helpful flavonoids, and salt is bad for your heart, so putting salt on them negates the positive heart health effects.

-An apple a day keeps the doctor away, an incredibly true statement.  Apples also contain a wealth of antioxidants that work to decrease the amount of plaque buildup in your body.  Make sure you eat the outer skin as a part of the apple though, as most of the helpful antioxidants are located there.  Red apples tend to be the source of the most antioxidants.

Finally, just make sure to exercise.  Cardiovascular exercise is your friend, as it improves heart and body health.  By improving how well your cardiovascular system works, you’ll improve how you feel now, and more importantly how you’ll feel ten years from now.

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