Foods Can Lower Cholesterol and C-reactive Protein
October 31, 2009
If you have high cholesterol, the American Heart Association’s low-cholesterol, low-saturated fat diet will fail you. Even when applied conscientiously, it achieves a disappointingly modest reduction in LDL cholesterol of approximately 7%. Starting at an LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dl, for instance, you would drop to 139. It’s no surprise that many people turn to alternative diets (Ornish, Pritikin, Zone, etc.) to get a bigger bang. And no surprise that many physicians go directly to statin agents for their nearly effortless 35% or greater reduction.
The Adult Treatment Panel-III (ATP-III) is a committee of experts charged with developing guidelines for cholesterol treatment for Americans. The latest ATP guidelines suggest the use of fibers for a nutritional advantage in lowering cholesterol. Despite the ATP-III’s endorsement, however, there has been no "real-world" data that documents the LDL-lowering effectiveness of combinations of fibers and other foods added to an AHA Step II low-fat diet (fat 30% of calories). Dr. David Jenkins from the Clinical Nutrition & Risk Factor Modification Center at St Michael’s Hospital, Toronto has therefore explored such a multi-ingredient program, reported in the Journal of the American Medicine Association1. He calls this program the "dietary portfolio," highlighting the inclusion of several different healthy foods combined to achieve the goal of lowering cholesterol.
Weight Loss with An Acient Chinese Twist
October 31, 2009
Weight Loss with An Acient Chinese Twist
by: Debra Clydesdale LAc DNBAO
Acupuncture Weight Loss Solutions
I remember the first time I took Chinese herbs. One of my patients told me “You look really tired - Here take these herbs” and handed me a bagful of different colored packages. It hurt to have it put so bluntly, but it was true, I was building a business, working long hours and feeling a bit drained, so I listened and took them home to use that night. One was a peach green tea that tasted like the Snapple I had been drinking earlier that day, one was an “interesting tasting” dark green liquid which I took with an OJ chaser and the third was a powder that I mixed up with OJ, water and soy milk to make a citrus smoothie. Not bad I thought, for Chinese herbs And then something amazing happened. I felt full! Little did I know at that time I had been given the key to my natural weight loss that I still maintain 15 years later.
Good Stress, Bad Stress
October 30, 2009
Good Stress, Bad Stress
by: Constance Weygandt
We cannot exist without stress. Stress is the body’s response to a perceived threatening situation. It is meant to protect us. Positive stress allows us to perform at higher levels and to face challenges in life. We have all heard of situations where individuals perform unimaginable feats of strength and courage to save the life of another person. That is positive stress. This type of stress provides us with the extra physical and emotional resources needed when our life or the life of someone we love is threatened. On a smaller scale, positive stress creates great athletes, allows us to ace a test, speak in front of an audience or obtain a job promotion. We can face and overcome all sorts of situations due to positive stress. Normally when the situation ends our stress levels return to normal.
Depression and Experts
October 29, 2009
Depression and Experts
by: Friedrich Asen
This article is about depression from an unusual perspective. It is about the powerlessness and hopelessness of modern
psychological science and research. The importance of an holistic approach to mental and physical health will be explained.
Do you know, what really startled me since I was a child?
It is actually very simple but profound at the same time. I could see that there were problems in the adults’ lifes. That was one thing. The other was that they never seemed to really get beyond them. My first assumption about grown ups was that they are really
smart people. I mean, they were grown up and I was a kid. You admire them. Anytime they want they can turn on the TV or take the
car for a ride, just for fun. They can go to sleep whenever they want or they can stay awake till the morning dawn. They are gods…
My father used to comment on the radio news. From what I could hear I realized that adult people are not what they seem to be.
Cancer and Alternative Medicine: An Overview
October 28, 2009
Cancer and Alternative Medicine: An Overview
by: Melissa Buhmeyer
Alternative medicine is the use of means, in addition to, or instead of conventional, to treat disease or pain. There is lots of controversy surrounding alternative medicine, especially in the cancer arena, because most of it is unproven, as far as the medical world is concerned. To be proven, a treatment must have undergone peer-reviewed, controlled studies. However, if you know where to look, you can find plenty of research to support the efficacy of many alternative therapies.
Every day, more and more of us are becoming fed up with conventional medicine’s way of doing things; I mean, let’s face it Western medicine’s focus is managing a disease once it occurs. Many alternative methods can be used as preventive instead of management. Once I started thinking about it, I knew there just had to be a better way. That’s when my alternative journey began.
The many different avenues of alternative medicine, can be overwhelming and there are many with which I do not have personal experience. But, this is your starting point a broad overview, not all-encompassing, by any means, of breast cancer alternative medicine. Some of these methods are palliative (help manage pain and discomfort of cancer and its treatment), some are complementary (to be used in addition to conventional), some are intended to be preventive, and others look promising as adjuvant treatments.
Minerals, Minerals, Minerals
October 27, 2009
You are a mineral body
Every part of you is made from minerals - your bones, cell structure, lymph liquid, arteries, organs, tissue, muscle, hair, and so on. You cannot live without minerals. Your body does not produce minerals.
Where do you get your minerals? You get them from vegetables and fruits and good supplements. Since only 10% of the people eat enough fruits and vegetable, the rest of you are deficient in minerals.
If we eat enough vegetables and fruits, why do we have to take a mineral supplement?
Long time ago when the soil was rich in minerals, vegetable and fruits were jammed pack with minerals. Fruits and vegetables were not picked early, frozen, waxed, radiated, or stored in argon gas. Those who ate these vegetables and fruits obtained an adequate supply of minerals and seldom has a deficiency.
Today the opposite is true. You and I cannot get enough minerals from eating fruits and vegetables. Now we eat more cooked vegetables, more vegetables in packages, fruits and vegetables that are waxed, and vegetables from other countries not processed properly.
What To Do If Someone You Know Is Diagnosed With Bird Flu
October 26, 2009
What To Do If Someone You Know Is Diagnosed With Bird Flu
by: Sarah Jenkins
Bird flu is a scary and devastating disease. It has been decades since an influenza virus has had such misfortunate potential. With the virus sweeping through most of Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, it is just a matter of time before it reaches every corner of the world. If the virus mutates, an even more deadly issue will be at hand. With such negative predictions, it is almost impossible not to imagine yourself or a love one at the hands of the disease. What would you do if this virus hit home?
The important thing to understand is the infection of bird flu is not necessarily a death sentence. Although a large number of deaths have occurred, almost half of those infected survived the disease. Therefore, with advanced medicine and proper care, a person may be able to live after bird flu.
Coping With Hearing Loss: A Writer’s Story
October 26, 2009
Coping With Hearing Loss: A Writer’s Story
by: Connie Briscoe
Oddly enough, I’ve come to think that losing my hearing was one of the best things to ever happened to me, as it led to the publication of my first novel.
I believe that no matter how tough things get, you can make them better. I have my parents to thank for that. They never allowed me to think that I couldn’t accomplish something because of my hearing loss. One of my mother’s favorite sayings when I expressed doubt that I could do something was, “Yes, you can.”
I was born with a mild hearing loss but began to lose more of my hearing when I was a senior in college. One day while sitting in my college dormitory room reading, I noticed my roommate get up from her bed, go to the princess telephone in our room, pick it up and start talking. None of that would have seemed strange, except for one thing: I never heard the telephone ring! I wondered why I couldn’t hear a phone that I could hear just the day before. But I was too baffled–and embarrassed–to say anything to my roommate or anyone else.
Graves Disease - Understanding the Basics
October 25, 2009
Graves Disease - Understanding the Basics
by: Anne Wolski
Graves Disease is the main cause of hyperthyroidism and is caused by a defect in the immune system. Autoimmune disease may be understood as a process by which the body sees some part of itself as being foreign and reacts to it much the same way that it would with any bacteria or virus. In the case of Graves’ disease, the body sees the thyroid gland as the foreign object and produces antibodies that attack the thyroid gland.
This causes the thyroid gland to produce a greater than normal amount of the hormone called thyroxine. When you have excess thyroxine in your body, your metabolic rate can increase by 60 percent to 100 percent because thyroxine controls the metabolism of the cells. A higher metabolism can lead to a number of health problems, such as an irregular heartbeat or anxiety.
Signs and symptoms of Graves’ disease and hyperthyroidism may include:
Sensitivity to heat, Weight loss, despite normal food intake, Brittle hair, Light menstrual periods, Frequent bowel movements, Restlessness, Muscle weakness, Tremors, Enlarged thyroid gland, Increased sweating, Blurred or double vision, Nervousness & irritability, Eye complaints, such as redness and swelling, Restless sleep, Erratic behaviour, Increased appetite, Distracted attention span, Fatigue, Weight Loss, Tachycardia (rapid heart beat), and Changes in libido (sex drive)
7 Simple Tips to Help Fulfill Your Weight Loss Resolutions
October 24, 2009
7 Simple Tips to Help Fulfill Your Weight Loss Resolutions
by: Tracy Lee
“Goals…
…and resolutions.”
Yes, it’s that time of the year again.
Why is it that every time Jan 1st comes around, everyone starts to think about their new resolutions for the year? Or perhaps “new” isn’t the correct word — perhaps “recycled” is more apt? After all, isn’t it true that for most people, “resolutions are made to be broken?”
Goals are a wonderful way to inspire us towards getting the things in life that we want, but more often than not, they simply end up unattained and we get frustrated (again) at the end of the year.
But it doesn’t have to be so.
Really.
You can attain your goals or resolutions, but only IF you know how to go about setting them up correctly in the first place. And I’ll give you a few useful pointers to help you get started on the right track…
- Begin with the end in mind. What’s the end result you want to achieve? Do you want to lose weight? Or do you want to drop 1 dress size instead?
