Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Using A Cholesterol Test Kit At Home

Kathryn Whittaker

Blood cholesterol testing is usually performed with the help of health specialists. However, with various home medical supplies available on the market, you can now monitor your cholesterol levels in the cozy ambiance of your house with the aid of a home cholesterol and blood monitoring test kit. But what are the benefits of having a cholesterol test kit at home?

Why use a home test kit?

One great benefit of a cholesterol test kit is that you are able to identify whether you need to make changes in your lifestyle to reduce your cholesterol. It has been identified that the risk of heart attack is higher when your blood cholesterol is above normal. As a result, it is imperative that people maintain low cholesterol levels to reduce this risk. Using home medical kits to monitor your heart health regularly is a practical way to determine if your cholesterol level is normal.

Preferably, you should have your cholesterol examined at least every 3 to 5 years. Home tests can be regularly used to keep a check for any sign of increase in cholesterol when it may not be easily noticeable. A visit to the doctor just to check your cholesterol level may be time-consuming. And because of this a home cholesterol test kit can be a more efficient approach to getting peace of mind.

The application of cholesterol test kit for home use has answered the consumers' wish to have a cheap option to monitor cholesterol on a regular basis without visiting their doctor. Precise and simple to use, they can be an early indication of potential problems.

Though heart disease and high blood are deemed as the most common threats to people, early prevention and detection of symptoms through home cholesterol test kits can help win the campaign. But, even if you see no clear symptoms of high cholesterol, being conscious on your eating habits and keeping an eye on your overall health is essential for long term health.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

5 Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol

Yuki Shoji

You're intelligent enough to know that if you have high cholesterol, then most likely it is an unhealthy diet that is to blame for the problem. Having high cholesterol is a serious problem which can lead to even more serious problems such as a heart attack or stroke. If you have high cholesterol then the time to give up the junk food and fast food dining is now, before matters take a turn for the worst.

In order to lower your cholesterol you need to revamp your diet. In order to do so, you need to follow these tips.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #1 Eat oatmeal

Replace the eggs and bacon in the morning with a bowl of oatmeal, but not the flavored kind. I recommend the plain kind of oatmeal. If the idea of eating oatmeal isn't appealing for its lack of taste, you can always slice up a banana and add it in to give it a little flair. Oatmeal is a great source of fiber which helps remove harmful nutrients from your body and has been scientifically proven to lower cholesterol.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #2 Exercise

Exercise speeds up your metabolism, which in turn allows your body to breakdown food faster so that the chances of cholesterol building up drop. In addition, the act of sweating is a great way to purify the body of harmful toxins.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #3 Eat less red meat

Our digestive system was not made to process red meat very effectively. Thus, the fat and other unhealthy nutrients it contains often gets stored in our body where it builds up until the day you find out you have high cholesterol or you have a heart attack.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #4 Stop eating fast food

One of those popular combo meals from a fast food restaurant can contain twice the daily allowance of calories that your body needs, and that's just one meal. Don't forget that you're likely to get hungry again later and need to eat, and then you're going to add more calories to your system on top of that. You don't want this if you're trying to lower your cholesterol; thus, it would be in your best interests to forego fast food dining completely.

Tips for Lowering Your Cholesterol #5 Drink water

You should drink eight big glasses of water per day. Water keeps you hydrated and moving like a well oiled machine when working out. By staying hydrated, you burn fat more efficiently when exercising, as well as help purge your body of harmful toxins. What's more, drinking plenty of water negates hunger pangs by tricking your stomach into feeling full.

Having high cholesterol should not be ignored. If you have high cholesterol then you need to change your diet immediately. By eating the foods above you can begin to lower your cholesterol, but don't forget to add exercise to help the process work optimally.