For years the waxy substance known as cholesterol was considered to be irrelevant or perhaps a minor concern in a persons overall health. Im sure many of you can remember your grandparents eating tasty food combinations cooked with cholesterol laden recipes, that would put even the healthiest person a risk of heart attack or stroke. But thanks to advancement in research techniques we now better understand the risk of a high cholesterol diet and the potential health benefits of achieving good cholesterol levels.

Doctors measure an individuals cholesterol levels with a simple blood test that measures LDL (bad), HDL (good), and total cholesterol levels. Lets take a look what benchmarks identify good cholesterol levels, borderline, and high levels in the above three categories.

Posted in Health on December 31st, 2009
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More and more people are diagnosed with diabetes every day. The first thing they need and want is information. And one of the most important things they want to know is, what should my blood sugar range be?

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) Complete Guide to Diabetes 3rd edition recommends “to keep blood glucose as close as possible to that of a person without diabetes” (page 153). We wholeheartedly agree with that. This should be the goal of every person with diabetes.

The ADA and other authorities recommend a range with an upper limit that is dangerously high. They recommend an A1C of 7% or under to "help avoid diabetes complications of the kidneys, eyes, feet, and nerves" (page 91).

Posted in health fitness on August 5th, 2009
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Regardless of how long you have been smoking and how much you smoke, the moment you put out your last cigarette there are changes that begin to take place within your body that signifies the beginning of the repair process. While some of the benefits from quitting smoking are the obvious long term ones, there are many little things that take place almost instantaneously. If you haven't stopped smoking, you should seriously consider it now. You will actually become healthier and add more years to your life the longer you quit smoking.

Within 20 minutes after your last cigarette your blood pressure begins to return to normal and the temperature of your hands and feet also increase. This is due to the improved circulation in the body.

Posted in Health on July 20th, 2009
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Be Sure You Know The Symptoms Of High Cholesterol Are You Watching For The Symptoms Of High Cholesterol?

Generally speaking, almost all of the symptoms of high cholesterol are rare and hard to determine. Almost always cholesterol levels are found by taking a routine blood test; moreover, if symptoms of high blood pressure are present or do exist in a patient, then chances are the patient's high cholesterol levels have led to much more serious condition.

The good news is that while it is hard to detect, high cholesterol is not impossible to find. Severe high cholesterol levels can cause xanthomas, which is when the tendons and joints become bogged down with excessive fat deposits. Other serious symptoms can be enlargement of the spleen and liver.

Posted in Health on July 5th, 2009
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CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) refers to the contracting of the heart arteries because of atherosclerosis. The heart muscle doesn't get sufficient oxygen when the heart arteries are contracted. If your heart is starving out of oxygen, then the pain in the chest arises which is called as angina. If your artery is totally blocked then the result would be heart attack. In medical terms, the heart attack is referred as myocardial infarction (MI). Coronary Artery Disease is considered to be the most usual type of the heart disease and the heart attack has been considered to be leading killer for both men as well as women.

Posted in Diseases and Conditions on July 5th, 2009
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Hypertension, in case you havent heard, is another way of saying high blood pressure. high blood pressure can lead to all sorts of ailments, most notable fatal heart attacks. One of the scariest things about this malady is that we often have little or no symptoms at so the only time that some folks find out they were at risk is when they have a heart attack. Therefore, it is extremely important that you monitor your blood pressure on a regular basis, ESPECIALLY as you get older.

A quick review for those that are new to the subject: high blood pressure is dangerous because the heart is often working harder than it should to force blood through vessels, and the vessels themselves receive damage overtime because of this increased pressure. This increased blood flow over time can cause serious damage leading to heart disease and even heart attacks.

Posted in Health on July 4th, 2009
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Are you tired of feeling like you’re literally weighed down? Get ready to lift your spirits and lighten up your body with this life changing attitude of looking at exercise.

Florence Nightingale once said, “I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.”

According to recent research the most common justification people don’t exercise is:

1. I don’t have the time

2. It’s genetic, my family is overweight so there’s nothing I can do about it.

3. I’m too tired to exercise

Posted in Health on March 9th, 2009
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Because fruits and vegetables contain the right combination of sodium and potassium, they are the ideal food for maintaining your blood pressure at a healthy level

During my childhood and teenager years I ate fruits and vegetables because my mother told me I had to eat them. After I left my parents’ house, I kept eating various fruits and vegetables on a regular basis because I was used to do it (not a bad reason in this particular case).

However, when I moved from my hometown in Spain to the United States, I decided that I was too busy to eat fruits and vegetables. I was always in a rush. So a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken and a biscuit for lunch became the norm.

Posted in Health on August 15th, 2008
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It is however, very interesting to note that menopausal panic attacks is very much a western phenomenon.

Panic attacks are usually an uncontrollable condition in which a person feels panic in response to what should be a normal or non-threatening situation. Menopausal panic attacks are a shock to women that have never experienced anxiety. Panic attacks appear to strike younger postmenopausal women more than older women. The symptoms usually begin during perimenopause, which can begin as early as 35 years of age. Perimenopause is thought to begin at the time of hormonal symptoms to the end of the menstrual cycle or menses.

Posted in Women on April 10th, 2008
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Why has our society today come to believe that we need a pill for every ill?

Is it because we just simply accept what the medical profession says to us? Or is it because we are just too lazy to take responsibility for the choices we make? By implication we are actually saying I’ll just live my life the way I want to, eat what I want to, drink what I want and if anything goes wrong I’ll just go to the doctors and he will just give me a pill to cure it?

In my opinion the problem is that most people in society today just believe what their doctor tells them without ever questioning whether or not they are right.

Posted in Health and Fitness on March 1st, 2008
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