Prevent Heart Disease With a Heart Healthy Diet

If you are like most Americans, it is very likely that you are in desperate need of a heart healthy diet. Over the past several decades, the diet eaten by the average American has gotten progressively worse. Not surprisingly, as our diets have become less healthy, incident rates of heart disease have risen precipitously. The good news? There are plenty of steps that can be taken to implement a heart healthy diet and avoid heart disease.

Where to Start

Reforming one's eating habits is, admittedly, not an easy task. It is however, a task that is well worth the effort. In your transition to a heart healthy diet, the best place to start is with fats and cholesterol.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for a single meal to contain well over half of the daily recommended intake of either of these nutritional components. Our focus on convenient foods that are ready right away has placed nutritional value at the bottom of our collective list of priorities when selecting food.

Of all of the changes that a person can make on their road to a heart healthy diet, limiting your intake of saturated and trans fats provides the largest benefit. Keeping these two dietary components in check helps to reduce your blood cholesterol and, in turn, lowers your risk of developing heart disease. When choosing foods based upon their fat content, be wary of butter, cream-based sauces, and hydrogenated margarine. As a rule, keeping your fat intake under 25% of your total daily calories can work wonders on keeping your heart healthy and strong.

Keeping it Going

While lowering your intake of saturated and trans fats is perhaps the most significant change a person can make in transitioning to a heart healthy diet, there are several other changes that can also make a big difference.

On your next trip to the grocery store, keep your eyes peeled for products that are made with whole grains. Not only are whole grains a great source of fiber, they also play a key role in regulating blood pressure. In short, these unrefined grains are a powerful ingredient in your heart healthy diet. Instead of grabbing a loaf of white bread, opt for the whole-grain bread instead. Another great way to integrate whole grains into your diet is via oatmeal. This tasty treat can be combined with berries for an even yummier snack.

Eat Your Vegetables (and Fruits too)

Remember mom's famous words? For children, they can be a source of disdain, or even terror. As an adult, however, it is important to understand that your mother was right - eating your vegetables IS an important part of staying healthy. For this reason, your heart healthy diet will never be complete if it does not include regular servings of fruits and vegetables.

Amanda Paul is the writer and content manager for BistroMD, one of the nation's industry leaders in home delivery of delicious meals designed for a lighter, healthier you.

In addition to content management, Amanda is also editor of the company's weekly newsletters and is the head of SEO marketing.

Amanda earned her B.A. in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2009, as well as a Minor in Journalism.

Original article

Healthy Foods for a Healthy Heart

Do you really want to enjoy an active lifestyle with healthy heart? If so, then it is the high time for you to have a check on the diet intake. Consuming the foods with high nutritional value, besides regular exercise is must to have a healthy heart.

The research conducted by several health institutions indicates that there are millions of people across the globe, who are undergoing with the serious impacts of heart diseases. Sometime the effect of the disease becomes so severe that they have to take the surgeries for it.

But such adverse situation can be easily avoided or overcome if one prepares to eat a healthy heart diet with the proper recommendations from the medical practitioner. Here is the list of food items that you must include in your daily diet to have a healthy heart and living.

Salmon: One of the best foods for the healthy heart is Salmon. It is an easy to cook dish and has great taste. People love eating salmon in pasta dishes, salads, dips and cakes.

Blueberries: Another important heart food is blueberries. Being rich in anthocyanins, vitamin C and fibre, blueberries prove a great antioxidant that can be included in daily diet in the form of frozen, fresh and dried ones.

Oatmeal: Oats tend to become an excellent diet for the morning hours. Being enriched with fibre content oats are primarily used in bread, cookies, muffins, cakes, meat and poultry dishes. It is the best food to avoid the risk of heart diseases.

Soy Protein: The most easily available food item that proves to be a healthy heart meal is the soy protein. Enriched with vitamins, minerals and fibre, the soya protein is consumed by every individual at least twice or thrice in the week. The major bi-product of the soy protein is tofu, which is eaten by way of salads, soups or snacks.

Nuts: Nuts are yet other important food for healthy heart that helps in controlling the blood sugar and fights triglycerides in the body. The moderate consumption of nuts like almonds, walnuts in the diet on weekly basis is must for everyone.

Vegetables and Fruits: Vegetables and fruits are the major source to enjoy the healthy heart. Green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli, kale, mushrooms, asparagus, sweet potato, tomatoes and carrots tend to have great source of iron and fibre that ensures the regular flow of blood to the veins and arteries to lead a healthy living.

Few of the important fruits which help in keeping healthy heart are papaya, oranges, cherries, apples and a lot more. Besides this the moderate consumption of dark chocolate, red wine and tea too helps in fighting heart disease at the earliest.

Original article

5 Essential Tips to Help Keep Your Heart Healthy

Heart disease is by far, one of the biggest killers in the developed world. Caused by a narrowing of the arteries due to fatty deposits building up on their walls, the condition prevents the heart from functioning to its full potential. Eventually the arterial walls become so narrow that they cease to allow the heart to pump any blood through them. The result....A heart attack.

Heart attacks are on the increase as our lives become more and more convenient. Only by becoming more proactive in the way we choose to live, can we reduce the risk of heart disease happening to us.

Here are my 5 top tips for reducing the risk of heart disease:
Take more regular exercise- I am not suggesting the answer is to go and join a gym. Not only will you probably feel bad about yourself, you will also more than likely give up after a few short weeks. However, by simply taking a short walk everyday for 20 minutes or so, you can significantly reduce the risks associated with cardiovascular disease. This exercise can then be stepped up a level when you feel comfortable to do so.
Give up tobacco- This may not apply to everybody, but if you do smoke then giving up the dreaded weed is the single, most positive action you will ever take. It has been proven that within just a few months of quitting, the risks of heart disease are significantly reduced, and within 2-4 years you will have reached the same levels as a person who has never smoked.
Change your diet- By cutting out more of the fats in your food and replacing them with healthy, fresh fruit and vegetables you will not only boost your energy levels, but also increase your immunity to diseases such as heart disease and cancer. The types of fats to avoid are saturated fats, found in foods such as red meats and butter, and trans fats, found in fast food and pre packaged food.
Keep a check on your weight- Maintaining a healthy weight will prevent excess stress on your heart. If you are not sure what an ideal weight is for you, then I would suggest visiting your doctor where they can carry out a simple body mass index test. You can check it out for yourself here! By keeping your weight to a healthy level you will reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Relieve stress- Stress is either a physical or emotional response to pressure, and can be a leading contributor towards heart attacks. There are many different ways in which we can relieve the stresses of the day. A top tip is to laugh, laughter releases dopamine, the happy drug that naturally occurs in our brain. You can do this over a beer with friends, or in bed with your partner. Just make sure you laugh, it becomes infectious.

Life doesn't have to become all doom and gloom in order to keep your heart healthy. By making a few simple changes to your daily routine you will discover how quickly you start to feel the benefits. Your energy levels will shoot through the roof, you may find you have a higher sex drive(also good for the heart), and life in general will feel better.

Gaz had a heart attack at the tender age of just 36 years. He has since changed his lifestyle completely. One way he has done this is by realising that Greek yogurt benefits his heart and digestive system. He now lives an active lifestyle, and has never felt fitter. Visit his blog today to find out more greekyogurt-benefits.blogspot.com

Original article

2012 New Year's Resolution: Get Heart Healthy With L-Carnitine

As you move into the New Year, you might be making a ton of resolutions, from saying you will eat better to making time to work out. Many people embark on a slew of New Year's resolutions in January, only to find that they fall off by the end of the month. However, there is one resolution worth keeping and that's getting your heart in better shape. In the end, poor heart health doesn't result in a guilty conscience because you didn't keep a resolution; it can be your ultimate and quite untimely demise. There are several things, from walking just 30 minutes a day to incorporate l-carnitine supplements into your daily vitamin regimen; you can do to promote better heart health.

· Take three 10-15 minute walks daily: If you split it up, you won't feel so overwhelmed in trying to make time to get a workout in and you may be more prone to stick with it. Talk a walk just outside of your office or around your neighborhood in the morning or evening. Get your kids to get up and walk with you or a significant other for added motivation. You could also ask another family member, friend or neighbor. This is one of the healthiest things you can do for your heart in the New Year. If you want to then progress to another form of exercise, from aerobic classes to jogging, you can do so, but at least start with the walking. It costs nothing, takes little time and has such a huge amount of benefit to your overall health. The more you walk, the stronger your heart will get and the more your body will reap the benefits from the daily exercise.

· Incorporate supplements into your morning regimen: Vitamins boost you in areas where you might have a deficiency that adversely affects your health. Fish oil capsules and l-carnitine supplements are important additions to your cache of vitamins as both promote good heart health. You can also take Vitamin C and B-vitamins, both of which have added health benefits overall. However, the l-carnitine in particular guards against heart issues, so particularly if you are overweight and/or have a family history of heart disease, this might be a good supplement for you to try.

· Eat better: Make small changes at first; people usually fail when they try to do too much for the New Year. Start small by, say, replacing soda with water. Don't change anything else; start with that and once you've got it licked, make another change. This helps your heart healthier changes become more lasting as you move forward in your quest to get healthier overall. You might also try incorporating more fish in your diet, as this is a heart healthy move, and cut out foods high in saturated fat. These foods often come with a recipe for high cholesterol and subsequent heart disease, so steer clear where possible. Drink as much water as possible, make any protein you eat lean and utilize your diet as fuel instead of comfort. Doing so will ensure that you realize the benefits of frequent exercise, access to supplements and the development of good habits much quicker than you might seem them otherwise. Moreover, you may find that you just feel better when you eat better, with less fatigue and more energy than you've had in years, which is well worth the effort just for that fact.

· Make other lifestyle changes as needed: For example, if you smoke, consider quitting for the New Year. All of the l-carnitine and exercise in the world isn't going to do your heart a bit of good if you continue to cultivate unhealthy habits that destroy the muscle. Start a smoking cessation program to stop smoking and start living a healthier life.

Good heart health takes work, but if you put in the effort to stay healthy now, you won't have to put in the effort later to regain good health. Eating right, taking supplements and exercising make you a proactive participant in your health and in your life overall. Being proactive helps to ensure lasting life that is positive and healthy.

Kandice Linwright (Linwright Design, LLC) provides local search strategy to Arizona small businesses, including social media campaigns and development, content development, WordPress website design, and in-depth analytics. For more information on living a heart healthy lifestyle, visit http://www.erasedisease.com/.

Original article

Heart Healthy Eating Recommendations

The NCEP recommends a diet low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. Complex carbohydrates are suggested in place of simple carbs.

Meat should become a very minor part of your diet. Replace fatty beef, pork and lamb with lean cuts or skinless white meat chicken or fish. Fat should be trimmed from all meats.

Always choose low fat or non-fat dairy products over whole milk or cream. Pretzels, carrots, popcorn, dried fruits and fresh fruits are a much better option than candy and potato chips. Store purchased bakery goods should be excluded from your diet.

Avoid butter or margarine when cooking and choose baking, broiling, steaming, roasting or stewing in lieu of frying. Stay away from coconut and palm oils since they are mostly saturated fat based.

Steer clear of all trans fats, they raise LDL and lower HDL.

The diet cholesterol connection

The first step in lowering your cholesterol should always be adopting a diet tailored for lowering cholesterol. Healthy eating habits should include the avoidance of saturated and trans fats. Those who have been regularly eating high fat foods and fried foods can lower their cholesterol levels as much as 25% by switching to a diet of lean meats, fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Always consider replacing a bad diet choice with a substitute. Instead of choosing a bacon cheeseburger and fried potatoes, select a lean grilled chicken breast or lean piece of meat 4 ounces or less and a baked potato, corn or salad.

Try to restrict your diet to include no more than 25% of your calories from fat. The NCEP guidelines also suggest consuming less than 200mg of cholesterol from food. Saturated fats are particularly dangerous because they stimulate the production of LDL cholesterol. Saturated fats can be identified by their appearance. They are solid or semi solid at room temperature. These include the fats found in eggs, some vegetable oils, meat, dairy products, coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm and palm kernel oils.

The opposite consistency is true for unsaturated, they are liquid at room temperature and are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Some examples of polyunsaturated fats are fish oils, olive oil, cottonseed, safflower, peanut, canola and sesame. Where possible replace saturated fats with monounsaturated fats since this can help lower LDL cholesterol.

There are a number of people who do not respond enough from dietary changes. For these people it is recommended to increase intake of dietary fiber and increase intake of plant sterols and stanols.

There is a wide fluctuation in how different people respond to cholesterol in their diets. For some, high cholesterol diets have a direct causal effect on the amount of cholesterol in their blood stream. Others who consume high fat, high cholesterol diets have low levels of cholesterol in their blood streams. Since there are no reliable tests to know your individual profile, it is recommended that you adopt healthy eating habits and a low cholesterol and low saturated fat diet. If this helps, you know what you need to do. If not, seek alternatives to help.

For more information and similar articles about lowering your cholesterol and Heart Healthy Eating Recommendations, please visit http://cholesterolinstitute.net/

Original article

A Healthy Balance of Nutrition - Lowering Your Cholesterol

A well-balanced diet includes food from each of the five main food groups. These food groups include bread, cereal and potatoes (starch), fruit (fruit juice is included) and vegetables, meat and fish, milk and dairy foods, and fat and sugar.

Normally, people should aim to be eating three main meals a day.

Firstly, take a look at an optimum level for foods that are good for you. You will need:

5 servings of a variety of fruits and vegetables
6 servings of grain products like bread, cereal, rice, and pasta
6 ounces of lean meats and poultry
Fat-free or low fat milk
Beans and peas
Nuts and seeds (not too many)
2 t0 3 servings of Fatty Fish (baked or broiled)

These are just some examples of food that you SHOULD include into your diet.
Most people need to eat more starchy foods and more fruit and vegetables, as well as reduce their fat intake, drink less alcohol and eat less salt. It is important to lead a well balanced life however, never cut down completely on one thing.

Take for example, oil. Remember that you must NEVER cut down completely on oily foods because it will lead to hormonal imbalances.

Look for labels that say food is low in fat (particularly saturated fat), low in salt and sugar-free.Fruit and vegetables are packed with vitamins and minerals, low in calories and high in fibre. Eating lots of fruit and vegetables keeps the heart and body healthy. They are also an ideal alternative to eating crisps and chocolate as snacks between meals.

Try and change the types of oil you use to cook your food like vegetable oils like olive oil or corn oil and use spices to give your food more flavour.

There are only a number of foods you need to cut down from your diet. Once you replace unhealthy (fatty and oily) food with your new healthy choices, your taste buds will adapt and you won't miss those foods at all. Once you consume one type of food long enough you will adapt to it easily.

Here are other things you can cut down on - whole milk and ice cream should be avoided because of the amount of cream. If you like butter and eggs, make sure you use a bit less butter and eat egg whites without the yoke.

Also, try and change those high-fat processed meats like sausages and burger meat and replace them with white meat and lean meats.

Replace fried food with grilled food and it will help reduce your cholesterol in the long run without going through a starvation diet.

Original article

Use Natural Remedies to Get Lower Cholesterol Levels and Live Healthy

Many individuals these days are hoping to find solutions on how to get lower cholesterol using natural methods. They want to feel better and this is definitely obvious. Of course, you need to recall some important tips before reaching the same kind of goal.

Medical experts already linked high cholesterol level to strokes, heart failures, blood clotting and other severe ailments. However, we need to understand that if someone experiences high triglycerides and low HDL (good) cholesterol, he or she can also the same undesirable problems leading to heart ailments too. Typically, if you get prescriptions from your doctor, you only focus on managing your high cholesterol and not necessarily about having low cholesterol level. If you want to prevent these serious ailments, it is important to monitor both the levels of your HDL and LDL cholesterol.

Many individuals are likewise increasing their awareness between the difference of natural remedies and prescribed medications in lowering their cholesterol levels. In fact, they are trying to figure out the negative effects of both options. Those who choose prescribed medications, the most usual effects involve depression, muscle pain, damaged liver, cannot sleep at night and more.

On the other hand, natural remedies are safe and effective without harming the body. If you get lower cholesterol using natural methods, you can easily regulate the levels of your cholesterol and begin to feel healthy. In addition, your body will regain its energy and is capable of completing your daily tasks without feeling weary.

It is important that if you are beginner in using natural remedies to lower your cholesterol, make sure to search for nourishments like beta sitosterol, D-limonene and lecithin. These elements are superb options to regulate the exact cholesterol level and help the body reduce triglycerides as well as increasing the levels of HDL cholesterol. This is exactly what you need to stay healthy and fit.

Unfortunately, you may not simply discover these healthful nutrients if you only eat regular food items. You must look for top quality natural supplements containing these elements. If possible, look for the products that feature all these nutritional requirements in combination to achieve great results. One of the most reliable sources to help you discover these nutrients is to visit different websites on the Internet offering the best information relating to this subject matter. Many people now are enjoying the benefits of using the web in searching for means to resolve their worries involving their overall wellness.

Lowering your cholesterol is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. I lowered mine, and you can lower yours too!

Original article

Natural Human Growth Hormone May Lead to a Healthy Heart

Nothing feels better than being healthy; both physically and mentally. And being "heart healthy" is a major piece of the puzzle when it comes to health and longevity. Living "heart healthy"isn't just doing one thing right; it's doing a combination of many things right. Staying "heart healthy"includes doing things like exercising, eating right and just plain out being proactive. Many Americans these days however are living very unhealthy lifestyles and doing a combination of many things wrong; eating fast food, not exercising and simply relying on a doctor to write them a prescription should a problem arise. (I eat fast food twice a day and I am having chest pains doc! Can you bail me out with a prescription??) Wouldn't you like to have peace of mind in knowing you are doing everything you can to live the best quality of life possible while protecting your heart's health?

As people age, levels of a key hormone known as human growth hormone in the body decline, this can be responsible for speeding the aging process, decreasing sex drive, increasing belly fat (Hey maybe this is connected with the decrease in sex drive thing!) and increasing levels of bad cholesterol which is not good for the heart. So it goes without saying, if a person is not exercising, not eating right, and have decreasing levels of HGH in their body, they may be at a greater risk of heart attack and stroke right? So, the question is, can increasing the levels of HGH in the body improve heart health?

Increasing human growth hormone in the body naturally may help the heart in several ways. Studies have shown that the highest concentrations of HGH receptors are in the heart. Since this may be the case, researchers treated patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by increasing their HGH levels through HGH therapy. The results were remarkable!It improved patients exercise levels, oxygenation and increased cardio output. In patients with heart failure, HGH improved the ability of the heart to pump blood and reduced the demand of oxygen while at the same time improving the ability of patients to exercise for longer periods of time. The study concluded that HGH directly improved heart health and lead to a better quality of life for the patients involved in the study.

The benefits of this hormone don't just stop there as far as the heart is concerned. Studies continue to show that increasing HGH levels of course decrease belly fat as mentioned earlier, which is a major indicator of who might be at risk for heart attack and stroke. So HGH therapy for people with "pot bellies" might not just help them get rid of the undesirable feature, but it also may lengthen their lives. Also, HGH studies have shown that the hormone may also increase the levels of good cholesterol, which only makes sense since low levels of HGH increase the levels of bad cholesterol.

Going forward, I hope you'll look closely at what you are doing to improve your health and your heart health specifically. Take a look at what you are eating; ask yourself if you are consistently exercising enough and doing everything you can to live a long life. As always, consult with your physician before starting any new diet or exercise routine, especially if you have health problems.

Elvis Jackson JR is the owner of a top reactive hypoglycemia website and a natural human growth hormone website.

Original article

Recipes For Lowering Cholesterol: The Way To Live Healthy

Are you looking for the best recipes for lowering high cholesterol? Are you watching closely what you eat, your food choices, the amount of food, and possibly your calorie intake? Then, you need to look over this valuable resource to get yourself back into great health.

First, you must exercise. But be sure to exercise moderately. Do not push yourself too much because excessive exercise could stress you out. Second, choose the right kind of food. You need to eat a very low-fat diet. Avoid fatty foods. If you exercise and eat a low-fat diet, the bad cholesterol (LDL) will certainly drop while your good cholesterol (HDL) will increase.

In the basic food groups, there are two sources of cholesterol. One is the kind of food that comes from animals, which includes foods like cheese, butter, cream, milk and eggs. The second comes from foods which are high in saturated fats, which includes foods that are rich in oil content, especially fried foods. This is known as trans fats, which are used in processed foods, also known as hydrogenated oil. This increases your bad cholesterol while decreasing your good cholesterol in your body.

So, here are the recipes for lowering high cholesterol:

First, you need to eat whole grains. These are significant sources of soluble fiber that will aid your body in the absorption of bad cholesterol from your blood stream. What you can simply do is replace your bread made from white flour with whole grain bread or a wheat bread.

Second, eat oats during breakfast. Oats, oat meal, or oat bran cereal are rich in soluble fiber which helps lower bad cholesterol. Aside from eating healthy and eliminating bad cholesterol, this will help you have regular bowel movement.

Third, choose fruits for your snacks or in-between meals instead of junk foods with processed sugar. This is a great choice, instead of eating highly sweetened and fatty snacks. Fruit that are good sources of soluble fiber are those rich in vitamin C. It also includes grapes, berries, and currant. Just don't overdo too much fruit because fruit also contains sugar and causes insulin to be released in the body, which ultimately raises cholesterol, too.

Fourth, eat nuts. Nuts are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that help reduce cholesterol. It includes walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, pistachios and pine-nuts. But do not over eat nuts because they have a lot of calories. Based on the American FDA, a handful of nuts a day is enough to lower high cholesterol level in body. It could also lower the risk of heart diseases.

Fifth, another source of polyunsaturated food in the extra virgin olive oil. Only use the kind that say 'first cold pressed.' Olive oil helps to increase your HDL or good cholesterol. Include some extra virgin oil in your recipes for lowering high cholesterol.

Sixth, you need to eat lots and lots of green, leafy vegetables. Vegetables are rich sources of low-fat protein. Spinach, kale and broccoli are excellent. Eat as much of these as you can. You could also have garlic, avocado, legumes or beans. You can actually make a delicious meal by combining many of these ingredients.

Lastly, eating fish, particularly the mackerel, halibut, herring, sardines, trout, and fresh salmon and tuna are great foods to include in your recipes for lowering high cholesterol. These foods are rich in omega 3 fatty acids that improve your LDL: HDL cholesterol ratio. They also help prevent high blood pressure and the risk of blood clot formation in the body. The recommended intake should be 2-3 portions of fish per week. Other sources of omega 3 are found in flaxseed, canola oil and flaxseed oil.

Darran Butler is a heart health and cholesterol wellness expert with a passion for showing others how to live healthy and passionate lives.  He has helped countless others achieve their health objectives and, specifically, teach them about recipes for lowering high cholesterol.  For more information on Darran Butler and how he can help you, visit his site for a free report that will show you how to stay super heart healthy with ideal cholesterol at http://improvinghealthsecrets.com/

Original article

Drink Beer to Keep a Healthy Heart

The next time you find yourself sweating in the sun, watching a game on TV, or hanging out at a bar, you can reach for a cold beer to help fight off heart disease. It's true. School teachers, religious fanatics and puritans may have distorted the truth to prevent you from enjoying a fresh brew. In reality, there is nothing to feel guilty about, as long as you consume a reasonable amount the beverage.

Doctors recommend drinking a beer a day if you are a woman. If you are a guy, make it two brews every day. Not only can you depend on brew to assist the strength of your heart, beer also assists other parts of your body, like manufacturing proteins and fighting off coronary disease. After all, the drink contains multiple flavonoids, as well as antioxidants. There are multiple nutrients, minerals and vitamins, such as magnesium, calcium and iron. Depending on the type of beer you drink, you will be getting mixed amounts of fiber, calcium, iron and potassium.

Besides relieving stress, beer can be ideal for your heart, as the risk of coronary disease is weakened by 32%. Alcohol has positive effects on artery walls, and reduces levels of fibrinogen, a clot-producing protein. Of course, the carbs in beer can add inches to your waistline. However, the market is now full of new brews that are lower in carbs.

I am sure that you are familiar with the benefits of drinking red wine. The alcohol found in beer benefits your heart, and fights off illness-forming bacteria. In fact, studies show that brew works better than wine in preventing heart disease. Like wine, beer has been shown to reduce blood pressure and strokes, while increasing coronary blood flow. Believe it or not, beer even raises your good cholesterol, while lowering your bad cholesterol. Drinking beer also fights against Alzheimer's, diabetes, ulcers, hepatitis A, pancreatic cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Not unlike red and white wine, beer is made with small levels of polyphenols, groups of chemical substances found in plants. In labs, polyphenols have reduced the growth of prostate, breast and colon cancers. Yet, the health benefits of a cold brew do not stop there. Beer is also wonderful for fighting off Peripheral Vascular Disease and Peripheral Artery Disease, also known as PAD.

Most folks consume large amounts of beer, without even knowing what ingredients they are putting in the beer-bellies. The drink contains mostly water, hops, yeast and malt. Simple H2O makes up about 90 percent of beer. These days, the water is chemically altered in breweries until it has the ideal properties to make stouts, along with various flavored ales. Flavoring also derives from yeast converting the fermentable sugars in the brew. The diverse characteristics of an ale or lager derive from different strains of yeast will produce. The necessary sugar for the taste comes from malted barley. The type and amount of malted barley used determines the final alcohol content and flavor. Of course, manufacturers can get creative with other cereals, but the taste would change so much, it would no longer be considered beer.

Conservative drinkers have a 32 percent lower risk of dying from heart failure than those who choose not to drink any beer. So sit back, and crack open a cold one to start improving your health. Come on, everyone's doing it!

Now that I am middle-aged, my wife thinks that I should stop drinking beer to help with weight loss. I did a little research on beer and how to lose weight fast. I discovered that beer has so many health benefits, it can actually help my heart to enjoy a cold one every day. Woo Hoo!

Original article

How To Follow A Heart Healthy Diet Plan

Everyone knows that following a heart healthy diet plan is an important way to reduce the chance of developing heart disease. Now a new study finds that even those who have genes that put them at an increased risk for heart problems can get the very same benefit from healthy eating.

So, enjoying all those good-for-you fruits and veggies can overcome your genetic chance of heart attack.

Estimates are that almost 20% of the population has a copy of the "bad" heart gene. So researchers have looked at how diet might affect variants in this gene - the chromosome 9p21 region.

Back in 2007 experts from different countries found that alterations to this 9p21 area were associated with a higher chance of heart disease and more specifically, heart attack. Some of us have only one copy of this 'bad' gene; others have two, which is believed to make the chances of heart problems even greater.

The research team examined the impact of a healthy eating plan on over 27,000 subjects of five ethnicities, Arab, Chinese, European, Latin American and South Asian. Some of the subjects were known to have high-risk genes.

In one group, from the INTERHEART study, 3,820 subjects who had already suffered with heart attacks were compared with 4,300 who hadn't. The FINRISK research provided the second group, 19,129 subjects, where 1,014 were known to have heart disease.

The INTERHEART research provided different diet information with diet scores based on raw veggie and fruit consumption. The score also accounted for risk foods like fried foods, salty snacks and meat.

In the FINRISK study, diet details were collated from a questionnaire listing 130 different food items. The participant received a score based on their intake of fruit, veggies and berries. If you had at least two of the three items each day you were given the 'prudent' rating.

If you had bad genes and ate the worst (least prudent) diet, heart disease risk increased almost 30%, but the risk of those who had the bad genotype but were part of the high prudent eating plan group saw no increased chance of heart attack.

This finding gives support to the notion that diet can make bad genes behave even more badly. The opposite also was shown to be true - the more healthy the diet less chance of disease.

The take home message here is that even with bad genetics, you might can still do something about them with a diet that's regularly loaded with prudent choices like healthful fruits and veggies.

Interesting to realize that the choices you make, every single day at every single meal, can have such an impact on your health. It's encouraging to realize that maybe you can, if not change your genes at least make them less of a threat to your health.

If the very solid research on the benefits of a heart healthy diet plan is supported by further work, it could have an impact for many at risk of heart disease. The study also serves as the first evidence in an emerging field known as nutrigenomics, or the study of the way our genes interact with the nutrients in our diet.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover how simple changes can change your current diet into a heart healthy diet plan that helps prevent heart disease.

Original article

10 Tips to a Healthy Heart

Today, everyone is talking about leading a healthy life and eating food that is good for the heart. Having a healthy heart is not only important for the old, even the young need to take care of their hearts.

Healthy Heart Tips

Here are 10 tips that will help you have a healthy heart and live a healthy life.

1. Stop Smoking

Quit smoking. This is a very important step towards living a healthy life. However, you should take a cup of oat straw infusion or sunflower seeds a month before you start to quit smoking. Sunflower seeds have the power to minimize craving for nicotine as they fill up the nicotine receptors. Your nerves and blood vessels have to be prepared against the affect of withdrawal, and the infusion helps in strengthening the nerves and the blood vessels.

2. Touch

Research has shown that people who are living a life full of love and affection are less likely to develop heart problems as compared to other people.

3. Seaweeds

It has also been found that seaweed is quite effective in maintaining a healthy heart.

• It helps calm down the blood pressure.
• It helps regulate triglyceride levels.
• It controls cholesterol and phospholipids in the body.
• It helps in dissolving the fat inside the blood vessels.
• It can help in restoring the proper functioning of the heart.
• It can help in extending the life of heart muscles and getting a stable heartbeat.

4. Beta-carotenes

Beta carotene helps in reducing the chances of strokes by as much as 40%. Some of the foods that contain high amount of beta-carotene are:

• Cabbage
• Carrots
• Winter squash
• Dark leafy vegetables
• Sweet potatoes
• Seaweed
• Apricots.

5. Garlic

Studies have shown that garlic helps in lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol and phospholipids. It also helps in other things like:

• Strengthening the functioning of the heart.
• Increasing the immune system response.
• Reducing clotting and clumping of platelets which helps in reducing strokes.
• Stabilizing blood sugar level.

You should include a few cloves of garlic in your food.

6. Essential Fatty Acids

Increase your intake of food high in essential fatty acids. The best example of this type of food is flax seed oil or wheat germ.

7. Lemon Balm Tea

Lemon balm helps in strengthening the heart. You can drink it as tea or a few leaves can be steeped in white wine for a couple of hours before you drink it with the dinner. You can also use lemon balm vinegar along with the salads.

8. Remain Active

Maintain an active lifestyle. Go for daily walks, swimming and regular exercise. Skip rope and engage in as much physical activity as you can.

9. Avoid Restrictive Diet

Avoid fasting, dieting or binging as they put your electrolyte levels out of balance. This can adversely affect your heart muscles, thus making them weak.

10. Healthy Food

Eat healthy food like whole grains, beans, vegetables, greens, seeds, fruits and fish. However, reduce the intake of dairy products.

Following these tips can help you strengthen your heart and say goodbye to future strokes or the need to undergo surgery and subsequent operating room protocols.

For more information, please visit our Operating Room Protocols website.

Original article