Many people assume that high cholesterol is a problem that affects middle-aged adults only. In fact, many people don't even worry about their cholesterol when they are younger, eating all the fatty convenience foods they want, assuming that their early diet makes no difference.
Nothing could be further from the truth. More children today suffer from high cholesterol. In fact, the numbers of children who are taking cholesterol drugs is on the rise! Some studies have suggested that a childhood of poor eating choices can contribute to higher cholesterol later in life.
Besides this, many of the eating habits learned in childhood affects eating in adulthood. Children who are used to eating high-fat foods and convenience foods are more likely to make the same choices as adults. Switching to healthy foods in adulthood may be harder for children who have made less-than-heart-healthy food choices all their lives.
For all these reasons, controlling food intake and lifestyle choices even in early life can contribute to life-long heart health and good cholesterol levels.
If you have children, you can help ensure that they make the right food choices that can help them with their cholesterol levels now and later in life.
In fact, if you and other members of your family have high cholesterol, you need to introduce your children to cholesterol-healthy eating, as your children may be at an increased risk of developing high cholesterol themselves.
Luckily, it is not that hard to teach your children how to make smart food and lifestyle choices that are heart-healthy:
* Teach your children about healthy eating and cholesterol. If you have high cholesterol yourself, you may want to speak to your children about this. Informed children are better able to make smart food choices that can help keep their cholesterol levels healthy later in life.
* Let children make healthy food choices for themselves. Give your children some say about the fruits, vegetables and other foods that they like. Go through heart-healthy cookbooks with your children and let them help you decide what recipes to try.
* Be careful of the food and cholesterol attitudes you convey to your children. Children pick up emotional cues from their parents. If you treat a cholesterol-friendly diet as a type of punishment, your children will likely see it the same way.
If your children see you turn to fatty junk food when you are depressed or feeling stressed, they will likely do the same thing. Many parents are fussy eaters and pass this on to their children, which is a terrible disservice. Fussy eaters will simply not try the different healthy foods out there simply because the foods are different.
* Do not reward children with food. If your child does well at a sport or gets great grades in school, do not take them to a restaurant or for take-out to celebrate.
Give them horseback riding lessons or let them choose a toy or favorite activity instead. Many parents are tempted to keep sweet foods such as cupcakes and cakes for "special occasions" and "special treats" but this inadvertently makes children associate sugary foods with good times and vegetables with punishment or everyday life.
* Take your children food shopping - especially when you are shopping for fresh produce. Let your children choose which vegetables, fruits, and other healthy foods they would like. Encourage your children to decide which fruits and vegetables look as though they might be tasty. Treat your produce shopping trip as an adventure and your children may be more likely to eat their fruits and vegetables without a fuss.
* Monitor what your children eat. As a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure that your children eat three meals a day that include foods that are low in fats and high in nutrients. Reduce the amount of sugars and fats your children eat and limit how much junk food is allowed.
* Become involved in your child's school lunch program or cafeteria. Many schools offer less than healthy school lunches as well as vending machines full of sugary foods. At a number of schools, though, parents have banded together to force school boards to provide better foods choices for students. Use this as your inspiration to make sure that your child can make healthy foods choices in school.
* If you are worried about what your children eat, consider taking them to a nutritionist who can help teach them what they should be eating.
* Even if your child has elevated cholesterol levels, realize that growing children still need more fats and nutrients than adults. Never simply place your child on a very low-fat diet - consult with a pediatrician to find a diet plan that can help your child grow while keeping cholesterol under control. A too-low-fat diet may affect childhood development.
* Teach your children about the dangers of smoking. Smoking is a risk factor for cancers, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
* Get your children to exercise. Virtually all health experts agree that North American children do not exercise enough. This has disastrous effects on cholesterol levels and overall health. One of the best things you can do to keep your children away from the dangers of high cholesterol is to get them to exercise at least a little each day. Find an activity they enjoy and encourage them in their activity.
* If your child smokes, is overweight, or has at least one parent who has a cholesterol level of more than 240mg/dl, your child is at an increased risk of high cholesterol - even at an early age. Take you child to the doctor - especially if your child has more than one of the risk factors - for a complete check-up and cholesterol check.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Children and Cholesterol
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Paying Attention To Cholesterol Level Reports Can Save Your Life
It's called the silent killer for a reason. A heart attack can strike without warning, and leave behind a wave of chaos within the body that some people will never recover from. Fortunately, there are some signs people can look for to help them avoid this occurrence. One of these signs involves individual cholesterol level checks.
The cholesterol level reports doctors can order via very basic blood work can actually save lives. While the signs of an impending heart problem are very rarely visible, cholesterol is a great marker of what lies ahead.
Getting cholesterol level checks done at least once every five years after the age of 20 is recommended by many a physician. For those over the age of 45, it's a very good idea to have this simple blood test performed more frequently. This is truly as case of what you don't know can hurt you. In fact, it can kill you.
The cholesterol level reports are vital tools for helping stave off trouble down the road for a number of reasons. When cholesterol is high, it's almost a given that arteries are being clogged and heart disease could be present or impending. Knowing levels and working to correct them can stop damage before it becomes deadly.
When cholesterol level reports come back from the doctor's office, most people will want to find they have levels that fall in at 200 mg/dL or less. If they do, there really isn't a need for a change in diet or exercise. If they come back higher, however, the risk for heart attack and other problems is greatly increased. Anything between 200 and 239 mg/dL is considered a borderline risk. Those who have reports in the 240s or higher are at high risk for complications.
With cholesterol level reports in hand, it's easy to make corrections to diet and lifestyle that can improve overall levels and quality of life at the same time. The fact is some basic dietary changes and perhaps the addition of minor exercise can go a long way for many people in lowering cholesterol level reports. Others might need to add some medication to the mix to keep articularly pesky cholesterol problems in check.
The goal in working with cholesterol level reports is to make sure a patient's level goes into the 200 range and stays that way. To tackle the problem by exercise and diet, there are a few very smart things that can be done almost instantly.
The best ways to get cholesterol level makers down include:
Better diet. Shoot for a low-fat diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat grains, lean, white meats, and low-fat dairy products. There's no reason to avoid fats entirely, but look for the good ones when you use them. For example, cut out the shortening and go for canola oil or olive oil. Eat fish rather than fatty, red meats and so on.
Exercise. The fact is losing a few pounds can increase fat metabolism and lower cholesterol level reports by a fair amount. Losing extra weight never hurt over all health either.
Medications. There are many medications available that can assist in lowering cholesterol level reports, as well. Most doctors will want to try diet and exercise first to protect their patients from some of the side effects of these medications, but when they are needed, they can work wonders.
Getting cholesterol level reports under control can lead to an improved level of health overall. A heart attack might be known as the silent killer, but there are ways to "hear" its approach. Cholesterol levels reports can perhaps speak the loudest.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Combatting Atherosclerosis With Good Nutrition
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 atherosclerosis
Fish. 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.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
How to improve the Cholesterol levels naturally?
You have many ways to lower the Cholesterol levels naturally .Be away from the drugs that control the Cholesterol levels because they can be dangerous for you ,as they may cause liver and immune problems ,general weakness and weaken the muscles ,and also it may be cancer risk.
Here are the natural ways that lowers your Cholesterol:
1 -Lifestyle changes.
2 -Reducing stress.
3 -Exercise.
4 -Giving up smoking.
5 -Diet.
And a magic secret which is: Drinking more water.
How can you do that?
1- Lifestyle changes:
· You have to eat balanced food, like fresh fruits and vegetables.
· Olive oil and Fish oil in your diet is very important and very useful for your health.
· Be away from eating hydrogenated oil and processed food.
· Fast food is very dangerous as it is full of bad fats and salts and with no calories.
· Cookies, cakes, muffins contain sugar and unhealthy fats.
So you have to stay away from these poisons to improve your health. It may be inconvenient at the beginning but you have to adapt to this routine.
2-Reducing stress:
The good way to reduce the stress is by starting to add some beneficial tool to your arsenal, like bio-feedback, meditation and going out to have some time to relax as traveling at least one day.
Be away from caffeine especially in soda and coffee .As you have to remove the soda from your drinking habits.
3 -Exercise:
Exercise can help you to reduce the stress and it is one of the most important things to improve your health and lower your Cholesterol level, at least walking everyday, this will decrease the bad Cholesterol (LDL).
4 -Giving up smoking:
It is the most important thing you have to do for yourself and for the people you love, by giving up smoking, the good Cholesterol (HDL) will increase naturally.
5-Diet:
You have to follow your doctor instructions and orders about the balanced food like: vegetables and fresh fruits.
Some useful food is:
Good fats and oils like (Olive Oil ,Fish Oil).
Fresh vegetables and fruits.
Fish (mercury free).
Grapes and Orange juice.
Legumes.
Curry.
Avocados.
Garlic.
Blueberries (they are so useful, they are fruits but in a class by themselves).
Nuts and Seeds.
Oats and soluble fibers.
Be away from:
Caffeine.
Wheat.
Red meat.
Muffins.
Soda.
Alcohol.
Fast food.
Cookies.
Canned or prepared food.
Refined sugar.
Here are some supplements that can help in improving your health and lowers your Cholesterol:
B complex.
Vitamin C, E,D.
Coral Calcium.
Fish Oil.
Plant Sterols.
Policosanol.
Magnesium.
Don't hesitate and make all these changes in your lifestyle to go through a positive way to improve your health without spending money on Cholesterol drugs.
weight loss tips
The Facts About Your Cholesterol Level
It's one thing to be told that cholesterol level is too high. It's another thing entirely to understand what that means and why it is important to bring it into check.
The cholesterol level a person hears about in a doctor's office following a simple blood test is generally the read out of several different types of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Most tests look for a few different types of cholesterol, or fat, with three forms being vital for good health.
The LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is called the "bad" cholesterol. This form of fat is known for its ability to stick to plaque in the arteries and assist in hardening and clogging. When the level of this kind of cholesterol is too high, serious problems can be on the horizon. Issues that might arise include an increased risk for heart disease, heart attacks and even stroke. Bringing this down can greatly increase the risk for such conditions developing.
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, will also be checked as part of a standard cholesterol level test. This kind of cholesterol is known as the "good" kind. It has earned the reputation of being good simply because it is known to help remove bad cholesterol from the bloodstream and transport it to the liver where it can be removed from the body. When the levels of HDL are too low, it can be a problem.
Triglycerides are also checked in a standard test. This form of fat is the type the body tends to make all on its own. When these levels are too high, there is cause for concern.
When blood cholesterol level tests come back in, the most common reading will be in milligrams per deciliter of blood, which is written generally as mg/dL. The levels of cholesterol a person should have in their bloodstream will vary depending on age, but in general when a total cholesterol test comes back it should be under 200 mg/dL. Anything between 200 and 239 is considered borderline and 240 and above is a cause for concern.
If a test happens to break it down. The standard "normal" results will be 60 mg/dL or above for HDL or "good" cholesterol. LDL cholesterol level readings should be less than 100 mg/dL. Anything in the 130 to 159 range is considered borderline. At about 160, there is cause for concern. Triglyceride level should fall in at 150 mg/dL for the normal range.
Finding out cholesterol level on a regular basic can help a person avoid one of the biggest risk factors for heart disease and stroke. When the numbers are known, the correct action can be taken. In some cases the tests will lead a doctor to recommend diet and exercise changes. In other cases, diet, exercise and even special medications will be ordered.
Understanding cholesterol level and its implications on health can save a life. At the very least, the information can help a person make conscious decisions about their health and what they can do to improve it. Heart disease is a silent killer, but there are warning signs. Cholesterol level is a rather loud and clear sign.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
The Cause of Heart Disease
If both of your parents and your grandparents suffered from hear disease then you may think you are also doomed to suffer from heart disease. There is good news, heredity can be a cause of heart disease, it is but one factor among may factors that must be taken into account when assessing your risk for heart disease. One recent study found that heredity accounts for less than 10 percent of a person's risk for developing heart disease.
That leaves the other 90 percent of the heart disease causing factors that you may be able to do something about. If you are at risk because of heredity factor then modifying your life style and taking certain precautions could substantially reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
Doctors cannot agree on the number one cause of heart disease, so you will have to evaluate the evidence yourself and determine your own risk/reward ratio. Smoking, obesity, and high cholesterol are usually in the forefront of any study.
The chemicals in cigarettes can damage artery walls, thereby making it easier for cholesterol deposits to build blood-blocking deposits on the artery walls. Smoking also makes platelets, the component of blood that causes clotting and carries oxygen, to be more active, thus increasing the risks of blood clots that cause heart attacks and storks.
A body needs cholesterol and can actually produce all it needs, so when we ingest foods high in cholesterols, like dairy and meat products, our bodies get a lot more cholesterol than they need. The body saves cholesterol instead of excreting it, and that cholesterol gets stored along the walls of the arteries. Too many cholesterol deposits lead to artery blockage and clots.
Having a large numbers of large HDL particles correlates with better health and it is commonly called "good cholesterol". Having a large number of LDL particles in the blood is commonly called "bad cholesterol". However, as today's testing methods determine LDL ("bad") and HDL ("good") cholesterol separately, this simplistic view has become somewhat outdated.
High blood pressure is also thought to be a major cause of heart disease. Give this a try. Plug you nose and breath through you mouth. No problem right? Now put something about the size of a garden hose in you mount and breath through that. It is harder to get enough oxygen but it is still not unreasonable. Not try breathing through a straw. You will not be able to do this for every long before you have to give up.
Your arteries are narrowed because of all that cholesterol stored on the walls of the arteries. But your body needs the same amount of oxygen that is supplied by the blood that is always has. Your heart has to pump harder and faster to give the body what it needs. As you arteries become narrower and narrower your heat has to work harder and harder. Sooner or later something has got to give.
Obesity is another factor that can cause heart disease. Often obesity comes with high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Since there are more areas that need blood because of the increased size of someone suffering from obesity the heart must work harder to supply the needs of the body.
Stress is also associated with heart disease. But unless your parents are stressing you out enough to cause a heart attack, they are not the cause of heart disease.
Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with Heart Disease such as Vitamin C, Lecithin, Pectin, Garlic, EPA, Niacin and Phytosterols.
Vitamin C has been shown to combat the development of cholesterol deposits in the arteries. Within a few hours after receiving vitamin C patients showed a sharp decline in the cholesterol levels of the blood.
Lecithin has the potential to protect against fat clogged arteries when take daily.
Pectin limits the amount of cholesterol the body can absorb. High pectin count in apples may be why "One a day keeps the doctor away".
Garlic counteracts the usual result of high fats in the diet and to help reduce high blood pressure.
Studies of the Greenland Eskimos lack of heart attacks have show that Eico-Sapentaenoic Acid (EPA) lowers blood cholesterol considerably, even more than polyunsaturated fat does. It also triggers a major drop in triglycerides. Salmon Oil is one of the best-known sources of natural EPA.
Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it. Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning. The intake of 3 grams Niacin for as little as two weeks can reduce serum cholesterol by 26 percent.
Phytosterols is found in flax seed and peanuts, which are suggested to help lower serum cholesterol.
If you are at risk of developing heart disease then find a good health care professional prior to starting any type of home treatment.
Always consult your doctor before using this information.
This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Lower Cholesterol Or Risk Death
Seemingly in excellent health, Beth goes to the doctor for her regular checkup. In the past year, she has lost weight, begun an exercise routine, and finally landed her dream job. Life is good! During the checkup, Beth tests all come out great, except one. She has high cholesterol. Since the other tests look good, Beth is not overly concerned. Unfortunately, her "put off until tomorrow" attitude is her final, and fatal mistake. At the age of 57, Beth dies.
Although the name has been changed, and a few irrelevant details omitted, the circumstances are true. If a patient is diagnosed with high cholesterol, especially above 240 mg/dL, he/she is 50% more likely to have a life cut short unnecessarily. Thus, lowering high cholesterol is paramount. The risks of suffering from a debilitating illness, or leaving life behind prematurely are simply not worth the gamble.
First, people with high cholesterol are daring a heart attack to strike. Many individuals, like Beth, die before paramedics or doctors can administer possible life-saving medical aid. For the person who is lucky/unlucky enough to survive, the future is no picnic. Usually, blocked arteries have to be replaced, in order for the heart to have a chance to function properly. Thus, the doctors have to pull the breastbone apart to perform open-heart surgery.
Question: Where will the replacement artery come from? Answer: The doctors need to take a long vein from the patient's leg. Now, after suffering a heart attack, the patient also has to recover from a lengthy incision in the leg, and the process of healing bone and tissue from cracking the ribcage and invading the heart. Not fun! The healing process is lengthy, and many people do not regain 100% of pre-attack abilities. For the people who may still feel invincible, consider an alternative possibility.
The second possibility is a stroke. When most people contemplate a stroke, older senior citizens come to mind. However, anyone with dangerously high cholesterol levels is a prime candidate for a stroke. To explain, think of arteries as highways and blood as the car. High cholesterol leaves fatty deposits in the bloodstream. The resulting plaque adheres to the artery walls, much like plaque sticking to teeth. However, as plaque builds up, the roadway for the blood gets clogged, basically causing a physical traffic jam. If an sufficient amount of blood cannot continue on the journey to the brain, an individual suffers a stroke. Thus, any adult with high cholesterol can die, or become severely disabled.
Knowing someone who has survived a stroke is a real wake up call. While some people die, many people technically live, although a stroke can render an individual into a vegetative state. Most people are unable to move on one side of the body, speak without slurring, are unable to swallow-and drool as a result, unable to communicate, and an innumerable combination of other disabilities. Sometimes, with therapy, a person can regain physical abilities torn away by the stroke. However, most people have lingering and permanent effects to contend with throughout life. Also, the process to reach an individual's full recovery potential can take years, is extremely costly, and terribly frustrating.
Hopefully, by now the reality regarding the importance of lowering high cholesterol is becoming scarily apparent. If not, consider the effects dying, or suffering a debilitating stroke, will have on loved ones. Children will grow up without a parent; parents will miss monumental milestones in a child's life. Grandchildren will have to depend on pictures and memories to know a grandma or grandpa. Friends will mourn the loss, and gather to reminisce, until life moves on, and the memory is delegated to the anniversaries of special events, or a trip down memory lane.
Instead, make the effort to stick around and remain more than a melancholy memory. Finally, do not risk leaving friends and family the responsibility of taking care of a disabled loved one, when medical science can prevent a catastrophe from happening in the first place.
Scared? Good! If the diagnosis is high cholesterol, do something! If the levels are dangerously high, the doctor will probably prescribe medication, in addition to the necessary lifestyle changes. Do not put off until tomorrow, what needs done today. Do not invite a heart attack or stroke. Instead, do everything possible to stay healthy and vibrant. Life is too precious to lose prematurely. Friends and family do not want to mourn a loss, or be responsible for rehabilitative care. Do not become a memory; stay an active and loving presence.