Tag: High-density lipoprotein

Categories
Health Alert

Reduce Sodium Intake, Reduce Heart Disease

Almost everything we eat contains at least a little sodium, although many foods, especially  the processed variety, contain way too much. Our bodies only need about 500 milligrams (mg)of sodium a day; although current dietary recommendations allow for 2,000 to 4,000 mg (1-2 teaspoons of salt), statistics show that the average adult consumes almost double that amount on a daily basis.

Limiting your sodium intake can reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, especially if you are overweight, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.Researchers estimated dietary sodium intake in 2,688 overweight subjects and 6,797 nonoverweight subjects, then assessed the incidence of and/or death from cardiovascular disease over 19 years of follow-up.

Results: Among overweight participants, a relatively small increase in sodium intake was
associated with substantial increases in disease risk: a 32% higher risk of stroke; a 44%
higher risk of heart disease; a 61% higher risk of death from heart disease; and a 39%
higher risk of death from all causes. Dietary sodium intake was not significantly associated
with cardiovascular disease risk in nonoverweight participants.

If you already have high blood pressure or a developing heart condition, restricting your
sodium intake is even more imperative. Your doctor can give you more information on sodium and provide nutritional guidelines suitable to your specific needs.

Source:ChiroFind.com

Related articles
Categories
Meditation

Clean Your Arteries With Meditation

[amazon_link asins=’089529415X’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’815322a6-cc18-11e7-bfa2-21a8aed85f27′]

Enter the right state of mind and reduce plaque levels!

Learning to meditate could actually help your body clean out its arteries, according to a study published in Stroke, a journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers assigned 60 African American men and women with high blood pressure to either a transcendental meditation (TM) program or a control group. The TM group practiced meditation 20 minutes twice a day. After seven months researchers found that the people in this group lowered their plaque levels (measured by carotid intima-media thickness, or IMT, which reflects the level of fatty substances deposited on the artery walls), reducing their overall heart attack risk up to 11 percent and their stroke risk up to 15 percent. The other group had no reduction; in fact, their plaque levels increased.

“Cardiovascular disease is associated with psychological stress,” explained Amparo Castillo-Richmond, M.D., the study’s lead author. “Previous research has found that the TM program decreases coronary heart disease risk factors, including hypertension, oxidized lipids, stress hormones, and psychological stress.” Moreover, according to the researchers, the state of “restful alertness” brought on by meditation may trigger the body’s self-repair mechanisms.

A later study found that when it comes to reducing atherosclerosis, the overall effectiveness of a program that involved meditation and yoga along with a high-fiber, low-fat diet, aerobic exercise, and antioxidant supplements was even greater than in studies involving cholesterol-lowering drugs.

From:Cut Your Cholesterol

Related articles
Categories
News on Health & Science

How to Get More ‘Good’ Cholesterol

[amazon_link asins=’B01MREGDJV,B01MQD5OOZ,B0184GV280,B01M8QFV8K,B01GKE4SFM,1632204525,0736966935,0307339114,0307474259′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8929bd97-06e9-11e7-9b57-b7f7d99cd6c2′]

Doctors aren’t the only ones telling people to lower their cholesterol. Television commercials also tout cereals   from Quaker to Kellogg’s   and medications that encourage viewers to become heart healthy and promise to lower LDL, the “bad” cholesterol.

But there is another type of cholesterol that physicians agree is important to raise — HDL, or the “good” cholesterol.

HDL works in opposition to LDL. Instead of increasing the risk of heart disease, it can help prevent heart attacks and stroke.

Doctors have known this for more than a decade, but cardiologists have recently started paying more attention to HDL after a study showed that giving doses of it could reverse plaque buildup in arteries, said Dr. Robert Rosenson, a preventive cardiologist at Northwestern University in Chicago and a member of the American College of Cardiologists’ prevention committee.

For the first time, the study showed how raising HDL is likely as important as lowering LDL when it comes to reducing the risk of heart attack, Rosenson said.

And just as too many Americans have high levels of so-called bad cholesterol, too few have low levels of good cholesterol. The latest statistics from the American Heart Association show that as many as one in three adult men and one in 10 adult women have low HDL cholesterol.

Therefore, “the next big hope is raising HDL,” said Dr. Greg Brown, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Drug May Offer Hope

Hope may lie with a new drug, torcetrapib, that raises HDL. It has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but Dr. Steven Nissen said the trials of the drug were “one of the most watched.” He is interim chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and president of the American College of Cardiology.

“If [torcetrapib] works, it’ll be a revolution,” said Nissen, who’s also the principal investigator in an ongoing trial of the medication. Early trials of the drug have resulted in a 50 to 60 percent increase in HDL levels, he said.

Torcetrapib may raise blood pressure slightly in some patients, though, which is an unwanted side effect when trying to reduce risk factors for heart disease, Rosenson said.

Also, it is not yet known how effective torcetrapib will be at reducing the risk of heart attack, Nissen said.

The drug has received a lot of press already in part because of controversy raised when Pfizer, its manufacturer, said initially that it would market torcetrapib ony as a combination pill with Lipitor, a cholesterol-lowering drug.

But this week The New York Times reported that Pfizer had reversed its decision and now plans to make it available as a stand-alone drug as well.

What About Niacin?

Even though torcetrapib won’t be approved until 2008 at the earliest, there are already medications on the market that are effective at raising HDL. Niacin, or vitamin B3 in high-dose form, is one that raises HDL by about 30 percent, Brown said.

In spite of its effectiveness, niacin isn’t prescribed very often by general doctors, said Dr. Roger Blumenthal, director of the Johns Hopkins Ciccaroni preventive cardiology center and spokesman for the American Heart Association.

That’s because it often causes flushing, or heat flashes, in patients. Although it’s effective, many doctors don’t prescribe it, because it requires counseling patients on side effects and adjusting the dosage many times, Brown said.

While some patients can’t tolerate niacin, the side effects do go away after two to three months of continued use, he added. Also, drug manufacturers are developing newer preparations of niacin that minimize the side effects and may become available next year, Blumenthal said.

Lifestyle Changes Work, Too

For patients at high risk of heart attack and strokes, some preventive cardiologists have been fairly aggressive about treating low HDL. But Blumenthal said that cholesterol guidelines for general physicians have focused more on lowering LDL than on raising HDL and that the evidence for them to aggressively treat low HDL isn’t yet available.

But, if you are interested in increasing your good cholesterol, there are a number of things you can do, doctors said. Not surprisingly, they are what doctors always advise — get more exercise and eat better.

First, lose weight if you are overweight, Brown said, because overweight or obese people are likely to have lots of bad and not enough good cholesterol.

Regular exercise also pumps up HDL levels. And, for those who smoke, quitting raises HDL levels as well — a result that can be seen in about 60 days, Rosenson said .

Altogether, the lifestyle changes can raise HDL by about 20 percent, he added.

As for dietary recommendations for elevating HDL, Rosenson said fish, walnuts, almonds and avocados all have monounsaturated fats, which can help raise HDL slightly, although he recommends them in moderation.

Lifestyle changes are important, doctors said, not only for improving HDL but for overall improvement in cholesterol and health.

But, said one dietitian: “There is no magic cereal that will suddenly improve cholesterol. However, eating high-fiber cereal is a great way to start your day.”

Source:ABC News

Related articles
Categories
Herbs & Plants

Guggul

[amazon_link asins=’B00B8Z296O,B01BKTABL2′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a6c51a5b-150e-11e7-9557-657733d982ca’]

[amazon_link asins=’B00U3IIZ2O’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ca18d60a-150e-11e7-9d5d-bb808f11a3d8′]

[amazon_link asins=’B01HRCOCP2,B01HDFT21W’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f58a81e9-150e-11e7-93af-b70b20a42e4c’]

Botanical Name : Balsamodendron mukul
Family Name: Burseraceae
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales
Genus: Commiphora
Species: C. wightii
vernacular Name: Sans Guggulu,Hind –Guggul ,Eng –Indian Bdellium tree
Common Name :Commiphora wightii,Guggal, Guggul or Mukul myrrh tree

Habitat:The guggul plant may be found from northern Africa to central Asia, but is most common in northern India. It prefers arid and semi-arid climates and is tolerant of poor soil.

Description:It is a shrub or small tree, reaching a maximum height of 4 m, with thin papery bark. The branches are thorny. The leaves are simple or trifoliate, the leaflets ovate, 1–5 cm long, 0.5–2.5 cm broad, irregularly toothed. It is gynodioecious, with some plants bearing bisexual and male flowers, and others with female flowers. The individual flowers are red to pink, with four small petals.

click to see the pictures..>......(01).....(1).……...(2)………..(3).…...

Cultivation and uses
Guggul is sought for its gummy resin, which is harvested from the plant’s bark through the process of tapping. In India and Pakistan, guggul is cultivated commercially. The resin of the guggul plant, known as gum guggulu, has a fragrance similar to myrrh and is commonly used in incense and perfumes. It is the same product that was known in Hebrew, ancient Greek and Latin sources as bdellium.

Guggal has been a key component in ancient Indian Ayurvedic system of medicine, and now is widely used in modern medicine for treatment of heart ailments. But Guggal (Commiphora weghtii), as it is locally known, has become so scarce because of its overuse in its two habitats in India where its is found — Gujarat and Rajasthan that the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has enlisted it in its Red Data List of endangered species.

The extract, called gugulipid, guggulipid or guglipid, comes from the guggal or guggul tree and has been used in Ayurvedic medicine, a traditional Hindu medicine, for nearly 3,000 years in India

Guggulipid
Guggulipid, gugulipid or guglipid is the extract extracted from the sap or resin of Guggal tree also known as mukul myrrh tree (Commiphora mukul) it secretes a resinous material called gum guggul.

Guggul Dhoop
Guggul can be purchased in a loosely packed form called Dhoop, an incense from India, which is then burned over hot coals. This produces a fragrant dense smoke. The burning coals which produces the smoke is carried around in different rooms and held in all the corners of the room for a few seconds. This is said to drive away evil spirits as well as remove the evil eye from the home and its family members.

Guggul and gum guggulu are the names given to a yellowish resin produced by the stem of the plant. This resin has been used historically and is also the source of modern extracts of guggul.The greenish resin is harvested in the winter.

This resin has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine, which combined it with other plant products to cleanse and rejuvenate the body, especially the blood vessels and the joints. It was also used for sore throats and digestive complaints.
In Chinese medicine, guggul is known as mo yao and is used to activate blood flow, relieve pain, and speed recovery.

A resin from a related tree, C. myrrha, is the myrrh mentioned in the Bible as one of the gifts the wise men from the East brought to the infant Jesus.
Guggul (also spelled gugul, gugulu, or guggal) is now coming to attention in the United States because of its reputation for lowering cholesterol.
Ayurvedic practitioners probably didn’t even know what cholesterol was, much less care about lowering it. But it appears that the resin they used to cleanse blood vessels may indeed have benefit for Westerners with elevated blood lipids.

Active Ingredients
Guggul contains essential oils, myrcene, Z and E guggulsterones, alpha-camphorene, various other guggulsterones, and makulol.
The Z and E guggulsterones, extracted with ethyl acetate, are the constituents that appear to be responsible for lowering blood lipids.

Medicinal Uses:

1.High triglycerides. 2.Acne vulgaris. 3.Atherosclerosis.4.High cholesterol.5.Osteroarthrities.6.Obesity.
Animal studies suggest that guggulsterones can increase the liver’s ability to bind “bad” LDL cholesterol, thus taking it out of circulation. Animals given guggul extract and a high-fat, plaque-producing diet had lower blood fats and developed less atherosclerosis than animals given the diet alone.

In some of this research, a combination of guggul and garlic worked better than guggul by itself.

In humans, three months of guggul treatment resulted in lower levels of total cholesterol (average 24 percent) and serum triglycerides (average 23 percent reduction) in the majority of patients.

A double-blind trial comparing guggul to the cholesterol-lowering drug clofibrate found that the two treatments were very similar in their ability to lower total cholesterol (11 percent by gugulipid, 10 percent by clofibrate) and triglycerides (17 percent by gugulipid, 22 percent by clofibrate).
HDL (“good”) cholesterol was also altered by gugulipid, increasing in 60 percent of patients, while clofibrate did not have any effect on HDL. Raising HDL and lowering total cholesterol improves the ratio of these blood fats.
Two other placebo-controlled trials in India confirm that guggul can lower total cholesterol and raise HDL.
Guggulsterones are reported to stimulate the thyroid, which might tend to have a beneficial effect on cholesterol for people with underactive thyroid glands.

Guggul also protects the heart: In animals challenged with drugs that damage heart tissue, cardiac enzymes did not change significantly when the experimental animals were pretreated with guggul.
Guggul has also demonstrated anti-inflammatory activity in rats.
Some reports suggest that it helps keep platelets from clumping together to start a blood clot, that it can help break up blood clots (fibrinolytic activity), and that it is an antioxidant.

Dose
The normal dose is one 500-mg tablet, standardized to 25 mg guggulsterones, three times daily.
Measurable changes should be apparent within four weeks for people who will benefit.

Special Precautions
The biggest difficulty in using guggul is said to be finding a reliable standardized product. Quality is quite variable.
Because guggul is reported to stimulate the thyroid, it makes sense to monitor thyroid hormones in people using guggul for long-term treatment.
People with liver problems should use guggul only under the supervision of a physician willing to monitor liver enzymes.
Guggul may not be appropriate for people with chronic diarrhea.

As per Ayurveda:It is vishada, tikta and ushnaveerya; aggravates pitta; sara, kashaya, katu, katu-vipaka, ruksha and (highly) laghu; useful in the union of fracture; aphrodisiac, sukshma; corrects hoarseness; rejuvinating; gastric stimulant, picchila, invigorating; pacifies vitiated kapha and vata; beneficial in the treatment of ulcer, adenitis, obesity, polyuria, urinary calculii, gout, fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, septic ulcer, oedema, piles, scrofula and worms.

Part Used: Gum

Therapeutic Uses:

Gum: alterative, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic. antispasmodic, anti suppurative, aperient, aphrodisiac, appetizing, astringent. carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, ecbolic, emmenagogue, expectorant; useful in amenorrhoea, anaemia, endometritis, .’ leucorrhoea,. manorrhagia, nervous diseases, rheumatism, scrofulous affections and skin diseases,

Particularly applied in indolent ulcer and bad wounds; specially recommended in the treatment of lipid and urinary disorders, obesity, in marasmus of children and in rheumatoid arthritis;

Inhalation of the fumes of burnt guggul beneficial in chronic bronchitis, acute and chronic nasal catarrh, laryngitis and tuberculosis.

Guggulipid, the ethylacetate extract of the gum, has recently been established, as an effective hypolipidaemic as well as an anti-inflammatory agent in certain types of hypercholesterolaemia.
Adverse Effects
Some people in the clinical trials reported mild digestive upset.
There are no other reports of side effects, although increased thyroid gland activity could presumably lead to complications such as nervousness, weakness, palpitations, or eye problems.

Possible Interactions
No drug interactions have been reported.
In theory, guggul might counteract thyroid-suppressing drugs or increase the effect of thyroid hormones such as Synthroid or Levoxyl. Monitoring of thyroid function is prudent.
No interactions with cholesterol-lowering drugs have been observed, but they might be possible. People who use guggul together with cholesterol medications should be monitored carefully by their physician.

You may click to learn more about Guggul

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:

http://www.peoplespharmacy.org/archives/herb_library/guggul.asp

http://www.kroger.com/hn/Herb/Guggul.htm#Botany)

http://www.ayurvedakalamandiram.com/herbs.htm#eranda

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commiphora_wightii

Related articles by Zemanta

 

Enhanced by Zemanta
Categories
Dry Fruit

Peanut

[amazon_link asins=’B008GVJ9S4,B001FDKGIW,B00Z65TBBI,B01MS1X5FL,B00JD76KEG,B01LM2W4R6,B00JPSZL5W,B00011K2BA,B000R93K5Q’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c61c21ee-2eff-11e7-b3b8-6505d2714c30′]

Highlights of the Round-table Discussion

A group of the country’s leading scientists in the areas of nutrition, epidemiology, anthropology, public health, and food science met in a rare round-table conference to share their knowledge and to discuss what we know and what we need to know about the role of nuts in the diet. There is an emerging body of research that appears to show that nuts may play an important role in decreasing the risk factors for heart disease and possibly other chronic diseases. Future research needs were also discussed. The conference was unprecedented in the prominence of the scientists and organizations involved and in that many of the participating scholars discussed work from recently published and current research. The conference was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association and the University of California at Davis. Additional support was provided by the International Nut Council and the National Peanut Council. It was held Sept. 28 and 29, 1995 at the U.S.D.A.-A.R.S. Western Human Nutrition Center, Presidio of San Francisco. A general overview of the information shared is presented here.

Introduction: Nutritional Components of Nuts

Nuts Are Rich in Fiber, Vitamins, Minerals and Other Nutrients
Nuts are a complex plant food. They are an excellent source of fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, biotin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. Many nuts are also an great source of folic acid, which has been shown to reduce the instance of birth defects when taken by pregnant mothers.
Nuts may also be a source of helpful biologically active components found in plant foods, such as phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are compounds that are potentially beneficial to people, but not currently classified as vitamins or minerals. They are important “health protectants.” Phytochemicals in nuts include ellagic acid, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, luteolin (a major antioxidant), isoflavones and tocotrienols. Some nuts contain up to eight different forms of sterols, which are thought to help moderate cholesterol levels. Nuts appear to contain a number of these phytochemicals, although further analysis needs to be conducted as new technology is developed to measure exact amounts.

Not All Fat Is the Same
Despite being thought of as “bad for you,” fat is essential for our bodies to function properly. While many Americans eat too much of it, we need to consume some fat in our diets.
An ounce of nuts has between 165 and 200 calories and between 14 and 21 grams of fat. About 80% of the calories in nuts comes from fat, however, most of that fat (more than 90% on average) is monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Unsaturated fats are generally thought of as the “good” fats, as opposed to artery-clogging saturated fats, mostly found in animal products, like butter and meat. Because the fat in nuts is unsaturated, nuts can actually work to lower total (or serum) cholesterol and “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Diets high in saturated fat contribute to high levels of total (or serum) cholesterol and to high levels of low-density-lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol. Too much saturated fat in the diet also unfortunately reduces “good” high-density-lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.
Most nuts are very low in saturated fats. Opinion polls have show that many people mistakenly believe that nuts contain cholesterol. There is no cholesterol in nuts, since they are a plant product, and cholesterol is found only in animal products.

Nuts, An Ancient Food
Not only are nuts health-enhancing for modern people, they were probably one of the reasons that people first settled into villages. Recent archeological excavations at the village of Hallan Cemi in Eastern Turkey, settled 10,000 years ago, has uncovered the existence of a non-migratory society with economies centered on the harvesting of almonds and pistachios. The work of Michael Rosenberg, Ph.D., has shown that this settled village life preceded the development of agriculture. It’s possible that nut-centered societies not only preceded agricultural ones, but that the harvesting of wild nuts may have actually fostered agriculture.

 

Although the benefits are greatest for frequent nut eaters, those who ate nuts even once a week had 25% less
heart disease than those who avoided nuts.

Nuts should not be left out of any cholesterol lowering diet,” says Dr. Joan Sabaté.

The Role of Nuts in Disease Prevention

In addition to helping people control or prevent cardiovascular diseases, nuts might also play a role in reducing or preventing deaths attributable to diabetes and cancer.

Extracted from : ://www.aboutpeanuts.com/nn1.html

Consume monounsaturated fats.
Vegetable oils like canola, olive and peanut, and certain nuts including walnuts, almonds and peanuts, may increase your high-density lipoprotein, also known as “good” cholesterol.
New research shows “peanut and peanut butter ” is wet loss diet reduces heart disease risk by 14%
Harvard study shows eating peanuts and peanut butter may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at Harvard find three times as many people stick to Medditerranean -style weight loss diet than traditional low fat diet

Additional studies show peanuts are Heart -Healthy-lowering blood cholesterol.
Effective in healing people on Mediterranean Diet-loose weight and keep it off..

More satisfying for longer period of times,than high carbohydrate snacks.

Comprised of important plant chemicals, such asphytosterols,thought to help fight heart disease and cancer.

Extracted from:http://www.peanut-institute.org/

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]
css.php