If you are trying to sort out everything regarding cholesterol and make an informed treatment decision that’s best for your health, you may be feeling overwhelmed. I’ve already given steps to raise HDL and lower triglycerides, now I’d like to more into VLDL versus LDL.
Let’s start at the ... Views: 2800
It’s very possible your MD orders lab work and you have no idea what or why you’re having blood drawn. Well, let’s clear up the confusion when it comes to your cholesterol labs.
The terms “lipid panel”, “lipid profile”, and “lipoprotein ... Views: 2767
Many individuals continue to struggle with high blood pressure. Following a diet high in fiber and low in sodium are two steps you can take to reduce your risk for hypertension, which makes quinoa is a great addition to your heart healthy diet.
What is quinoa?
Quinoa is not technically ... Views: 2718
This seems to be an area of confusion for many people. Some swear by butter only and others opt for margarine for heart health. Who is right? It’s time to clear up the confusion!
First of all, both are fats. Therefore, the number of calories in 1 tsp of butter is equal to the number of ... Views: 2076
Most people gain an average of 1 pound every holiday season. Now, what’s one pound? Doesn’t seem like that big of an issue, but the problem is most do not lose this extra weight. The pounds simply continue to add up year after year. It may take several years before you look at yourself and ... Views: 1680
Do you struggle with extra fat around your midsection? Excess abdominal fat is not only visually unappealing to some, but it also increases your heart disease risk.
What causes abdominal obesity?
There are many different reasons your body likes to store fat in the abdomen. I want to ... Views: 1582
Being overweight increases your heart disease risk. Increasing your metabolism by building muscle is one way to burn an extra 100 calories each day, promote weight loss, and heart health.
Now that you’ve started a strength training routine, you want the best results for your efforts. This ... Views: 1581
Here are some 5 tips to eat right on a budget:
1. Skip the meat!
Eat vegetarian meals more often. Select beans, peanut butter, and eggs as your protein source. This will cause less of a drain on your pocketbook and a great choice to promote heart health!
2. Reduce portion ... Views: 1512
I read some interesting research lately that I want to share related to chicken and blood pressure.
We know that blood pressure is a significant risk fact for heart disease and stroke. It's estimated that around 1 billion people worldwide live with high blood pressure. Being able to control ... Views: 1496
Increasing the amount of omega-3 fats in our diet and decreasing the amount of omega-6 is beneficial in reducing your risk for heart disease. Most American’s consume a high omega-6 diet, with omega 3 being a common deficiency. Omega 3 deficiencies and the imbalance between omega 3 and omega 6 ... Views: 1491
Here are 7 steps you can take this month to get started on the right path to lower blood pressure and heart health.
1. Lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight will lower your blood pressure and make any medication you take to treat high ... Views: 1480
HDL cholesterol is typically referred to as the “good” cholesterol and LDL cholesterol as the “bad” cholesterol, but is this really accurate?
The label given to LDL cholesterol of “bad” and HDL “good” cholesterol tends to be misunderstood.
Dietary Cholesterol
Cholesterol is found in ... Views: 1477
Limiting sugar intake is essential if you are working to lower triglycerides. Sugar has a direct impact on triglyceride levels.
Here are 5 tips to cut back your daily sugar intake:
1. Gradually cut back.
If you eat a high level of sweets daily it’ll be very difficult to cut them out ... Views: 1475
Flexibility refers to the ability of your joints to move through a full range of motion. Having flexibility in your muscles allows for greater movement around joints. The shorter and less flexible the muscle, the tighter the joint.
Increased flexibility reduces your risk for injuries or ... Views: 1473
Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients you need to promote heart health, such as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, folate, fiber, and even calcium. However, winter can often make eating vegetables daily more difficult. Here are several great choices you can access easily during the winter ... Views: 1458
All right, this green tea article has been hanging over my head for too long. I just couldn't get motivated to wade through all the research to determine if yes, this is an effective way to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, or no, it's just a lot of hype.
Well, I sat down and ... Views: 1436
The benefits of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) have been known since the 1970's. Unfortunately, many doctors do not routinely recommend CoQ10 to their heart patients. If you've never heard of CoQ10, I'm going to explain what it is, how it works, signs of deficiency, and the benefits of increasing your ... Views: 1431
Researchers set out to compare the effectiveness of two different weight loss plans available to everyone. The two plans included a low carbohydrate diet and a low fat diet plus orlistat. Orlistat is a drug designed to prevent the absorption of dietary fat, such as the brand names include ... Views: 1386
Deciding how to accept payments online can be confusing? Should you use PayPal? Do you need a shopping cart? How does a merchant account fit into the mix?
If you are just starting out and not generating a high volume of income online I recommend you stick with PayPal. It’s low cost, easy to ... Views: 1377
Dementia impacts all areas of your life, from medical to social to economic. Dementia impacts you, your family, and those around you. Increased attention and resources have been directed towards understanding the causes of dementia and possible treatments.
There is evidence linking high ... Views: 1363
If you live with high blood pressure, you’re familiar with the side effects of anti-hypertensive medications. Fortunately, medications are not the only way to rein in high blood pressure.
Lifestyle plays a key role. By altering some choices you make, you can avoid or reduce the need for ... Views: 1358
If you have high blood pressure, your MD has probably discussed with you sodium, potassium, and calcium as part of your treatment plan; however, the role of magnesium is often overlooked.
Magnesium is a critical player in maintaining normal blood pressure levels, as well as muscle and nerve ... Views: 1347
Finally, you want more of something instead of less! HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is also known as the “good” cholesterol. HDL removes cholesterol from your bloodstream and carries it back to the liver. I like to think of HDL as a vacuum cleaner, picking up cholesterol LDL ... Views: 1346
Heart healthy tips can be quite simple!
1. Use olive oil to prepare your meals.
Olive oil contains monounsaturated fat, which helps reduce LDL cholesterol. To receive the highest level of antioxidant benefits, select "extra-virgin" and "virgin" oils, the least processed forms. When you see ... Views: 1342
You want to be more physically active, but how do you find the time? And just how much activity do you have to do?
In Part 1, we identified ‘time’ as the number one reason most people are not more active. Did you implement any of the tips for getting more activity into your home ... Views: 1340
The link between calcium and blood pressure was noticed years ago when researchers realized people drinking hard water had less high blood pressure than those drinking soft water. Hard water contains more minerals, including calcium.
Individuals receiving more than 800 mg of calcium daily ... Views: 1309
I enjoy the show The Biggest Loser (well the current season is a little disappointing!). On one of the past episodes they had an individual from Prevention magazine share some tips based on the “Flat Belly” diet. I was very excited because it sounded like a link had been found between the ... Views: 1301
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard the term fatty acids. But, do you understand what they are and how the right ratio will improve your heart health? I intend to clear up the confusion.
Types of Fatty Acids
There are numerous types of fatty acids. I ... Views: 1298
How to understand what food labels are telling you when it comes to fat and sodium. This is a quick and easy option you can use for lowering blood pressure levels.
1. Select foods with less SODIUM than the following amounts per serving:
Frozen or packaged dinners – 500 mg
Microwave ... Views: 1282
The holidays can be a big hurdle in a weight loss/health plan. Holidays don't mean you can't enjoy the good food and desserts.
Here are 5 tips for a healthier holiday:
1. Plan Ahead - It will help if you have a plan in place ahead of time. Decide if you are going to have seconds in advance ... Views: 1274
Do you have a content marketing strategy?
You must have a strategy that will take you from where your business is currently to your goal. If you do not outline a strategy you are randomly throwing out content without purpose. This can be a waste of time and money. Not to mention the ... Views: 1273
According to research, the number of people living with high blood pressure would be reduced 10% if American’s were to increase their intake of potassium.
Sodium – Potassium Link
The effectiveness of potassium to lower blood pressure is directly related to sodium. Potassium works to ... Views: 1262
According to recent research, a diet high in vegetable proteins may help you lower blood pressure.
The recent study compared dietary intake of the vegetable protein glutamic acid and high blood pressure. The higher the intake of glutamic acid the greater the decrease in blood pressure, but ... Views: 1262
If you’ve been following along, you know from the article "Get a Grip on Fatty Acids" that the right ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids promotes lower cholesterol.
The goal is not to cut omega 6 fatty acids (such as corn oil, beef, and chicken) completely from the diet, but to achieve a ... Views: 1254
A recent study published this past September compared the benefits of flax oil versus fish oil in raising blood levels of heart healthy omega 3’s. Adequate omega 3 intake is linked to lower blood pressure, lower triglycerides, increased HDL cholesterol, and reduced arterial ... Views: 1253
Let’s talk about snacks for a moment. I believe there is a general perception that snacking is bad and you need to cut out snacking if you want to lose weight and be heart healthy. Well, the opposite is actually true. Let me explain.
It is important to eat regularly, every 3-4 hours to ... Views: 1250
Elevated LDL cholesterol levels increase your risk for heart disease. Plant sterols may be an effective tool you can use to lower LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk. There are studies that show plant sterols can reduce LDL cholesterol levels 6-15%.
What are plant sterols?
Plant ... Views: 1249
There are several reasons you need to utilize an email newsletter as part of your marketing plan. Let’s discuss one of those reasons today.
The buying decision when it comes to purchasing online is different than when you purchase from a traditional brick and mortar practice.
It's very ... Views: 1246
Let's say you are trying to lower high cholesterol, but resistant to giving up the treats you love. I want to give you some simple tips for modifying recipes and baked goods to make them more heart healthy without sacrificing the taste.
Here is a short table with basic substitutions to reduce ... Views: 1246
HDL (high density lipoprotein) cholesterol has long been referred to as the “good” cholesterol. This is due to the fact that HDL cholesterol carries cholesterol from tissues to the liver, where it is reprocessed and removed from the body.
The study
The Tufts Medical Center’s Molecular ... Views: 1240
Too much sodium in your diet can contribute to high blood pressure and make your blood pressure treatment less effective.
Sodium versus Table Salt
First, let's clear up the confusion about the difference between sodium and table salt. Table salt is a combination of the two minerals sodium ... Views: 1239
Here's a short and simple tip to 'top' off your webpage appearance -- add a favicon. What is a Favicon? Well, those tiny little images in the top left corner of this post are favicons. You can customize the miniature icon next to your bookmarked web site and in the address bar ... Views: 1238
One major holiday down, one to go! So, how did you do sticking with your plan to be heart healthy and lose weight? Not so good, well don't worry it's not too late to redeem yourself.
Most people gain an average of 1 pound every holiday season. Now, what's one pound? Doesn't seem like that big ... Views: 1233
There is a general perception that snacking is bad and you need to cut out snacking if you want to lose weight. Well, the opposite is actually true.
It is important to eat regularly, every three to four hours to maintain your metabolic rate (the rate your burn calories throughout the day), ... Views: 1233
According to telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention we are eating even fewer fruits and vegetables than we were 10 years ago.
Why worry so much about fruit/vegetable intake?
Fruits and vegetables have a direct impact on health and rising health care ... Views: 1232
Apples are low in calories and nutrient dense. They make a great option to curb hunger as a simple, portable snack. . .especially if you are trying to lose weight.
Here are some of the health benefits linked to apples:
Pectin in apples promotes a steady blood sugar Maintain healthy lung ... Views: 1222
Here's a checklist of the top 8 things you must do if you want to successfully lower your cholesterol and keep it low.
✓ Know your numbers
Have you had a lipid profile? Do you understand the numbers? If you are going to successfully lower cholesterol you need to know your ... Views: 1212
If you are a health professional, it’s unlikely your strengths include web code, setting up teleconferences, and putting together virtual programs. As you expand your practice virtually you may find yourself spending countless hours trying to figure out tasks someone else could do in half the ... Views: 1211
Thanksgiving is just around the corner which may mean a road trip for you. Here are a few tips on how to make heart healthy choices when on the road this holiday.
1. Fast Food Restaurants
Road trips frequently mean stops for fast food. Fortunately you can find nutritious options at several ... Views: 1202
You've heard it before and you'll hear it again - breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There's just no way around it.
I frequently hear "I don't have time for breakfast" and "I'm not hungry in the morning", neither reason negates the importance of eating breakfast every morning. ... Views: 1198