Here's some good advice:
By: Cheryll Rice
Are you careful about what you eat? Do you make sure that you're drinking milk for the calcium and vitamins A and D? Do you take the time to make sure that you're eating enough fruits and vegetables? Do you eat fish and other lean proteins because you know that they're supposed to be good for you? Do you take a vitamin supplement daily?
We are told that these are things that are supposed to be good for us. We hear that milk is good for us and that it can help us to lose weight - something that cuts the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Fruits and vegetables provide us with fiber, fluids, vitamins and minerals. Fish is high in Omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for heart health and can help our bodies to better absorb vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin supplements are designed so that we are able to get those vitamins and minerals into our system - to make up for those that we don't get in the foods that we eat.While all of these things are true - fruits and vegetables are good for us, as are milk and fish; vitamin supplements can help us to add things that are missing to our diet - so is the fact that, with many of the foods that we eat, we ingest more than just the things that are good for us.
We also consume toxins.We're all aware that alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and processed foods that are full of preservatives and trans fats are unhealthy for us. However, many of us are less aware of the ways in which even healthy foods can get in the way of young living - keeping our energy levels up and our bodies healthy.Don't believe it? Let's start with milk - as well as products like yogurt and cheese that are made with milk. Many of us have sensitivities to lactose, the sugar found in milk.
Lactose isn't the only problem with milk however. Because many farmers give their animals growth hormones, the milk that we drink also contains these substances. Similarly, fruits and vegetables come from farms that often use pesticides, substances that are designed to keep animals and insects away from the crops that don't always wash away with water when we rinse off our foods.
Think that fish is safe? Yes, lean protein is good for us, however it's been found that many fish - including tuna - contain high levels of mercury. Mercury is a toxin that can affect the ways that we think and feel, causing anxiety and depression. Mercury also can cause headaches, dental problems, irregular heartbeats, weakness, fatigue and even excessive sweating. Vitamin supplements may not always be much better: the vitamins and minerals that they contain are not always included in the right balance, and, depending on your diet, you may find that you take in more of a certain vitamin or mineral than is healthy for your body, causing a vitamin toxicity.
This toxicity gets in the way of young living. It leaves us feeling sluggish. It gives us headaches, stomach discomfort, and can even release free radicals in your body. Over time, these free radicals work to break down our cell walls, creating a risk of developing cancers, heart disease, stroke and other health problems. In order to combat these free radicals, our bodies need antioxidants like those found in young living essential oils.Essential oils are derived from fruits and other sources and contain antioxidants like vitamins C and E. Young living oils also contain minerals and fruit juices - along with essential oils - that make it so that taking the supplement is a good experience.
Not only is it easy to include young living essential oil in your daily routine, but it's also something that won't leave a nasty taste in your mouth.Instead, you'll find that young living oils can be taken in with a great tasting drink. You'll notice that your energy levels improve - without the same crash and burn that comes from energy drinks (which contain not only stimulants like caffeine, but also sugar which has its own toxicity within the body). You'll also know that you feel better: your immune system will function better and you'll catch fewer colds; in general you'll feel less sluggish.That's not to say that young living oils will take the place of eating a balanced diet. Despite the toxins that can be found in our food, it's still necessary to eat balanced meals. It's just to say that young living essential oils are a great addition to your diet once you are making an effort to take better care of yourself.
Article Source: http://health-articles.org
Cheryll Rice writes about healthy living. Health practitioners have realized over the years that not everything we put into our bodies comes out of our bodies, and as a result, our health is at risk of the toxins that are left behind. To learn more about how young living essential oils can improve our overall health, visit: www.2gohealth.com
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Monday, June 23, 2008
Combating Atherosclerosis With Good Nutrition
Hello - here's today's featured article:
By: Aaron Stanlich
Imagine hundreds of cars zooming down an eight-lane highway. One lane disappears, and then another, until the same cars crawl bumper-to-bumper along a one-lane country road. That's sort of what happens when you have atherosclerosis. Your arteries, the highways for your blood, harden and narrow, and the same amount of blood has to make its way through a much tighter space.
This traffic jam in your arteries leads to all sorts of trouble, including heart attack and stroke.Atherosclerosis occurs when cholesterol, fat, and other substances in your blood build up in the walls of your arteries. The process can begin when you're a child, but it may not become a problem until you're in your 50s or 60s. As this muck gathers in your arteries, it forms plaque. Plaque can clog or completely block arteries, cutting off blood flow to your heart or brain. That's when you have a heart attack or stroke.Too much cholesterol and triglycerides - types of fat - in the blood, high blood pressure, and smoking cause the most damage to your arteries. Other risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, a family history of the condition, stress, obesity, and an inactive lifestyle.
Men, in general, are at greater risk, as are people who have an "apple" body shape - with the fat gathering at the belly rather than the hips and thighs.You can fight atherosclerosis by making good food choices. Cut back on saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and whole-milk dairy products, and look for the following foods that lower cholesterol, bring down blood pressure, and keep your blood flowing smoothly.Nutritional blockbusters that fight atherosclerosisFish. Reel in a big, fat fish and wriggle off the hook of atherosclerosis.
Omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated kinds found in fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, protect your arteries from damage.First, omega-3 takes out triglycerides, the fats that build up on your artery walls. It also stops your blood's platelets from clumping together. That way, your blood remains smooth instead of sticky. Sticky blood can clot and block blood flow. Lastly, omega-3 might lower blood pressure.No wonder so many studies show that eating fish can reduce your risk of heart disease.
The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals a week.You can find a form of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid in walnuts, which lower cholesterol. Other sources of omega-3 include flaxseed, wheat germ, and some green, leafy vegetables, like kale, spinach, and arugula.Garlic. Anything fish can do garlic does, too. The sulfur compounds in this amazing herb not only lower cholesterol and triglycerides, but they also go after only the LDL or "bad" cholesterol and leave the HDL or "good" cholesterol alone.Garlic can also lower blood pressure so your arteries don't take as much of a pounding.
Thanks to a substance called ajoene, garlic keeps your blood from clumping and clotting. One study even showed garlic helps your aorta, the body's main artery, remain elastic as you age.Experts recommend getting 4 grams of garlic - about one clove - into your diet each day.Fiber. During the course of a day, you should eat about 25 to 35 grams of fiber. If you do, you'll boost your general health and give atherosclerosis quite a battle.Certain types of soluble fiber, such as the kind in oats, barley, apples, and other fruits, shrink your cholesterol levels. It works by slowing down your food as it passes through your stomach and small intestine so your "good" cholesterol has more time to take cholesterol to your liver and out of your body. Eating more than 25 grams of fiber every day might also cut your risk of developing high blood pressure by 25 percent.Fiber comes with an added bonus - it fills you up.
After a fiber-rich meal, you feel full, so you're less likely to overeat and put on unwanted pounds. Because being overweight increases your risk of atherosclerosis and other heart problems, eating fiber could be part of an effective strategy to guard your arteries.You'll find fiber in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals.Antioxidants. An unarmed intruder poses less of a threat than one with a weapon. By stopping free radicals from oxidizing LDL cholesterol, antioxidants remove much of the danger. Once oxidized, LDL cholesterol makes a beeline for your artery walls much faster. In fact, some scientists believe LDL cholesterol only harms you once it has been oxidized.Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene are antioxidants. Peppers, oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli give you vitamin C, while carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, mangoes, and collard greens are full of beta carotene.
Sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils.While you munch on those fruits and vegetables, you'll get the added benefit of antioxidant substances called flavonoids. Resveratrol in grapes, anthocyanins in cranberry juice, and quercetin in onions, apples, and tea are some of the flavonoids that help your heart and arteries.Monounsaturated fat. To keep your blood running smoothly, maybe you need an oil change. Olive oil, the main source of fat in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, has mostly monounsaturated fat. This type of fat slashes the "bad" cholesterol without harming the "good" cholesterol. It also prevents clotting, giving your arteries even more protection.Like fiber, monounsaturated fat also fills you up so you're less likely to overeat.
Think about switching from soybean or corn oil to olive oil. After all, the Greeks - even while enjoying a rather high-fat diet - rarely develop atherosclerosis. Besides olive oil, sources of monounsaturated fat include avocados, nuts, and canola oil.
Ginger. Make your dinner a little bit tastier and your arteries a little bit healthier with this ancient spice. Ginger contains phytochemicals called gingerol and shogaol, which give it its antioxidant power.Animal studies show ginger not only lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, it also prevents LDL oxidation. On top of that, ginger also keeps your blood from clotting by reducing the stickiness of your platelets.
Article Source: http://health-articles.org
Aaron Stanlich is an accomplished freelance writer and authors on a variety of subjects. To learn more about Atherosclerosis by reading some Heart and Circulation Articles. There is a great selection of various articles at www.upublish.info
By: Aaron Stanlich
Imagine hundreds of cars zooming down an eight-lane highway. One lane disappears, and then another, until the same cars crawl bumper-to-bumper along a one-lane country road. That's sort of what happens when you have atherosclerosis. Your arteries, the highways for your blood, harden and narrow, and the same amount of blood has to make its way through a much tighter space.
This traffic jam in your arteries leads to all sorts of trouble, including heart attack and stroke.Atherosclerosis occurs when cholesterol, fat, and other substances in your blood build up in the walls of your arteries. The process can begin when you're a child, but it may not become a problem until you're in your 50s or 60s. As this muck gathers in your arteries, it forms plaque. Plaque can clog or completely block arteries, cutting off blood flow to your heart or brain. That's when you have a heart attack or stroke.Too much cholesterol and triglycerides - types of fat - in the blood, high blood pressure, and smoking cause the most damage to your arteries. Other risk factors for atherosclerosis include diabetes, a family history of the condition, stress, obesity, and an inactive lifestyle.
Men, in general, are at greater risk, as are people who have an "apple" body shape - with the fat gathering at the belly rather than the hips and thighs.You can fight atherosclerosis by making good food choices. Cut back on saturated fat and cholesterol from meat and whole-milk dairy products, and look for the following foods that lower cholesterol, bring down blood pressure, and keep your blood flowing smoothly.Nutritional blockbusters that fight atherosclerosisFish. Reel in a big, fat fish and wriggle off the hook of atherosclerosis.
Omega-3 fatty acids, the polyunsaturated kinds found in fatty fish like tuna, mackerel, and salmon, protect your arteries from damage.First, omega-3 takes out triglycerides, the fats that build up on your artery walls. It also stops your blood's platelets from clumping together. That way, your blood remains smooth instead of sticky. Sticky blood can clot and block blood flow. Lastly, omega-3 might lower blood pressure.No wonder so many studies show that eating fish can reduce your risk of heart disease.
The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals a week.You can find a form of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid in walnuts, which lower cholesterol. Other sources of omega-3 include flaxseed, wheat germ, and some green, leafy vegetables, like kale, spinach, and arugula.Garlic. Anything fish can do garlic does, too. The sulfur compounds in this amazing herb not only lower cholesterol and triglycerides, but they also go after only the LDL or "bad" cholesterol and leave the HDL or "good" cholesterol alone.Garlic can also lower blood pressure so your arteries don't take as much of a pounding.
Thanks to a substance called ajoene, garlic keeps your blood from clumping and clotting. One study even showed garlic helps your aorta, the body's main artery, remain elastic as you age.Experts recommend getting 4 grams of garlic - about one clove - into your diet each day.Fiber. During the course of a day, you should eat about 25 to 35 grams of fiber. If you do, you'll boost your general health and give atherosclerosis quite a battle.Certain types of soluble fiber, such as the kind in oats, barley, apples, and other fruits, shrink your cholesterol levels. It works by slowing down your food as it passes through your stomach and small intestine so your "good" cholesterol has more time to take cholesterol to your liver and out of your body. Eating more than 25 grams of fiber every day might also cut your risk of developing high blood pressure by 25 percent.Fiber comes with an added bonus - it fills you up.
After a fiber-rich meal, you feel full, so you're less likely to overeat and put on unwanted pounds. Because being overweight increases your risk of atherosclerosis and other heart problems, eating fiber could be part of an effective strategy to guard your arteries.You'll find fiber in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals.Antioxidants. An unarmed intruder poses less of a threat than one with a weapon. By stopping free radicals from oxidizing LDL cholesterol, antioxidants remove much of the danger. Once oxidized, LDL cholesterol makes a beeline for your artery walls much faster. In fact, some scientists believe LDL cholesterol only harms you once it has been oxidized.Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta carotene are antioxidants. Peppers, oranges, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli give you vitamin C, while carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, mangoes, and collard greens are full of beta carotene.
Sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, nuts, seeds, and vegetable oils.While you munch on those fruits and vegetables, you'll get the added benefit of antioxidant substances called flavonoids. Resveratrol in grapes, anthocyanins in cranberry juice, and quercetin in onions, apples, and tea are some of the flavonoids that help your heart and arteries.Monounsaturated fat. To keep your blood running smoothly, maybe you need an oil change. Olive oil, the main source of fat in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, has mostly monounsaturated fat. This type of fat slashes the "bad" cholesterol without harming the "good" cholesterol. It also prevents clotting, giving your arteries even more protection.Like fiber, monounsaturated fat also fills you up so you're less likely to overeat.
Think about switching from soybean or corn oil to olive oil. After all, the Greeks - even while enjoying a rather high-fat diet - rarely develop atherosclerosis. Besides olive oil, sources of monounsaturated fat include avocados, nuts, and canola oil.
Ginger. Make your dinner a little bit tastier and your arteries a little bit healthier with this ancient spice. Ginger contains phytochemicals called gingerol and shogaol, which give it its antioxidant power.Animal studies show ginger not only lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, it also prevents LDL oxidation. On top of that, ginger also keeps your blood from clotting by reducing the stickiness of your platelets.
Article Source: http://health-articles.org
Aaron Stanlich is an accomplished freelance writer and authors on a variety of subjects. To learn more about Atherosclerosis by reading some Heart and Circulation Articles. There is a great selection of various articles at www.upublish.info
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