Your heart is one of the most important organs in the body, and the foods you take in effect how your heart operates. If you want a strong heart, it’s essential that your eating habits are healthy for you. Healthy foods for your heart can be found anywhere, choose foods that fit your personal taste and this will greatly help in your prevention of heart disease

Cholesterol is the most important thing when it comes to eating heart-healthy foods. Cholesterol can be both good and bad. Good cholesterols are called HDL, and their job in the body is to take excess bad cholesterol (LDL) to the liver, where it can be broken down and then will leave the body. We actually don’t need the LDL cholesterol from the foods we eat. Our bodies make an abundance of LDL on its own. It is the LDL cholesterol that hurts our hearts, and not the HDL cholesterol, which actually helps our hearts be dropping the amount of LDL cholesterol in the body.

If your wondering what the LDL stands for it stands for low-density lipoproteins. LDL cholesterol has a very low density making it hard to flow thru the blood stream. The red blood cells easily release the LDL cholesterol and it sticks to the walls of your blood vessels, especially in the arteries leading to your heart. This is bad for a number of reasons.

First, when the LDL cholesterol builds up on your arteries, it reduces the amount of blood that can fit through at a time, since the artery has now become smaller from the build up. In order to push the same amount of blood through your body, your heart now has to pump faster and harder. In time your hearts strength begins to diminish. So lets look at the worst case scenario, the artery becomes so built up with LDL cholesterol that it potentially closes completely. When this occurs, your heart basically panics because it is not getting the blood it needs and it starts beating rapidly to try to pump the blood. This causes a heart attack.

Another thing that can bring on a heart attack, is if the build-up in your arteries breaks off and floats down the blood stream. Eventually when the smaller blood vessel is reached, as the broken build up (called plaque) gets stuck it prevents the blood from getting through, which again causes a heart attack. If the piece of plaque travels to the brain instead of the heart, it will cause a blockage in this area of the body, which in turn causes a stroke. So you see why Its important that we understand the significance of cholesterol so that you can prevent heart disease and other problems in the body.

Heart attacks and strokes are the number one killers in Men and Women in the U.S. Its estimated that an alarming 140 million Americans are potential candidates for heart disease or one out of every two people. Since we can’t feel high levels of cholesterol most of us find out about it after it’s to late.

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Physical Activity and Supplements Found to Increase HDL Cholesterol Levels
By Lee Cummings

Much of what we hear and read in the media these days about lowering LDL or bad cholesterol levels is sadly misleading.

Today I’m going to share with you some very powerful information which can have a dramatic positive effect on your health.

One of the best things about these proven strategies is that you will easily feel the results immediately. And as these strategies are natural, they are also inexpensive.

Because the fact is, raising your HDL or good cholesterol level has been proven to be much more beneficial.

The Framingham Heart study is THE standard from which proven data has been verified. -1

Because this Study which used a large population and tracked people over 40 years, proved that lowering LDL cholesterol levels had no effect on heart disease for people who have high levels of HDL cholesterol.

Unlike experimental drugs which could have many side effects, safe, proven and natural ways to raise your HDL cholesterol offer all of the benefits without the unwanted side effects.

Naturally, the more you hear about this proven strategy, the more you will feel compelled to implement it.

Why you might ask? Let me show you …

Here are five safe, proven and natural ways to increase your HDL cholesterol level:

1 - Increasing your physical activity – Scientific studies have proven that physical activity raises your HDL and lowers your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Your fitness program should include resistance training in addition to walking and running.-1

2 - Niacin – Important to the production of fats in the human body, Niacin changes LDL and triglycerides in a positive way. Niacin also increases HDL cholesterol. The best natural sources of Niacin are nuts and dried beans. Great meat sources include liver, poultry and Fish.

3 - Vitamin D – A fat soluble vitamin which also affects cholesterol so your body can better use them. Natural sources of Vitamin D are milk, eggs, tuna, fish oils and yes, sunlight.

4 - Eating a low carbohydrate diet – High in protein and the right fats this diet will help lower your blood cholesterol. Dietary and blood cholesterol are two different things so don’t get them confused. This diet will also help balance HDL and lower LDL cholesterol which reduces your chance of developing heart disease and obesity.

5 - Drink more – Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts has been shown to increase your HDL cholesterol levels. -2

As you can see and hear, physical activity And supplements will do your body a world of good, without the unwanted side effects of drugs.

Many of you have tried several strategies which may have had only limited effects And perhaps came with unintended side effects.

These safe, proven and natural remedies go straight the root cause of problems to help eliminate what ails your body.

Understand that when you act on this proven advice, you will be one of the few who actually take control of their own health and feel the benefits.

Dedicate, don’t medicate

While it may seem easier to pop drugs with dangerous side effects, the short and long term consequences are huge.

Dedicate yourself to a healthier way of life, the long term positive consequences are absolutely powerful.

1 - Dr. Al Sears, “Ignore the Hype, focus on cholesterol that matters”. Health Alert 164, Health Confidential for Men, April 6,2004

2 - Castiglioni A and Neuman WR. “HDL Cholesterol:What Is Its True Clinical Significance?” Emergency Medicine, January 2003:pp 30-42.

2004 © by Lee Cummings

Please feel free to use this article in your newsletter or on your website (with resource box included and use an active link).

This article may not be used in any e-mail promotions that do not conform with federal law.

If you use this article, please send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:leeman@lc-nutrition.com

About The Author

Lee Cummings has been helping people solve problems and feel better with proven nutrition for over 4 years. Lee publishes the montly LC Nutrition newsletter. For a Fr^ee Report - mailto:report@lc-nutrition.com. Discover proven nutrition information visit: http://www.LC-Nutrition.com

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Lower Your Cholesterol Level - The Difference Between Good Cholesterol and Bad Cholesterol
By Gordon Cameron

We all nowadays know the importance of trying to reduce cholesterol and many of us actively take steps to achieve a lower cholesterol level in our blood. I am frequently asked the question: “what is the difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol?”

So what is HDL cholesterol? (the good cholesterol) and what is ldl cholesterol? (the bad cholesterol). Read on and find out. Cholesterol circulates in our blood attached to a protein called a lipoprotein. There are two basic types of lipoprotein. High density lipoprotein (HDL) or low density lipoprotein (LDL). HDL is usually labeled as “good cholesterol” because the molecule is mostly protein and does not carry a high quantity of free fat along with it.

LDL on the other hand is a molecule that only has a small amount of protein and for the most part is made of of freely available and very easily dissolved cholesterol fat. LDL is often referred to as “bad cholesterol.”

If you have a lot of good cholesterol or HDL in your system then your heart will be quite well protected from the effects of fat. If you have a lot of LDL - or bad cholesterol - then you will be at greater risk of heart attack or stroke. This information has now been shown to be correct in countless medical studies throughout the world.

If you are having a cholesterol check or cholesterol blood test then your doctor will look at your blood test result and check the level of the Total Cholesterol count. He or she will then examine the count for the level of the good cholesterol or HDL. The ratio of the total cholesterol divided by the HDL level is thought to be a reflection of the “true cholesterol level” in your blood and as such is a good predictor of future heart attack or stroke problems.

For example - a total cholesterol count of 6.0 and an HDL count of 1.5 will give a ratio of 4.0. This is a healthy level and will usually indicate good cardiovascular health. A total count of 6.0 and an HDL count of 0.5 will give a ratio of 12.0: very bad news indeed from the point of view of stroke and heart attack risk.

(Note - these are UK values for typical results - US values will be different but the ratios will be the same: the UK and the US use different units to measure cholesterol levels.)

If you have a high cholesterol then get focused and take steps to change your lifestyle now. If you don’t know what your cholesterol level is then make plans to speak to your doctor about whether you need it checked or not.

Dr Gordon Cameron is a doctor based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has a special interest in blood pressure treatment.
You can discover how to lower blood pressure and about the problems of low blood pressure by visiting Dr Cameron’s websites.

He has also written about using acupuncture for high blood pressure.

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“Good ” and “bad ” cholesterol
By Groshan Fabiola

How many of you know that besides the cholesterol that causes many medical conditions there is also a “good ” cholesterol. In your body there are two types of cholesterol: HDL, which is the good cholesterol and LDL, the bad cholesterol. For many years now, having a high level of HDL was thought to be very beneficial to your health. This high level of cholesterol was thought to give you some kind of protection against heart conditions. However, lately there have been some attention to lowering all cholesterol levels, not only the LDL cholesterol level, known as the bad cholesterol.

In spite of their intial believes that said that HDL cholesterol levels which are high can protect you from heart problems, recent studies have shown that this cholesterol level is actually a risk of heart disease. But this risk is only if you have a low HDL cholesterol level. So the advice that you were given, to lower both cholesterol levels was wrong. This was discovery that shook a little all the knowledge about cholesterol that people had. Furthermore, it was also discovered that even if the LDL cholesterol level was in normal limits, people that had the good cholesterol levels a little lower were very much at risk of developing an artery problem. A normal HDL cholesterol level is when you have minimum 35 mg/ Dl. There was also another cholesterol question that has found it’ s answer. Why is the HDL cholesterol “good ” ? Well, it seems in fact that not the actual cholesterol is beneficial, but the work that it does. This cholesterol, HDL cholesterol is actually a very complex molecule.

This type of
cholesterol is the combination of lipids, protein and cholesterol. What this cholesterol molecule does is to clean out the walls of your
blood vessels. The HDL cholesterol actually takes out the cholesterol excess that is found in your blood. Yes, this means that actually the “god ” cholesterol cleans out the “bad ” cholesterol that is found in your blood. This LDL cholesterol is then taken back to your liver for more processing. This is the reason why, one cholesterol must be risen: to help the other cholestrol level to lower and thus protecting you from heart conditions.

The most common thing that one can to rise their HDL cholesterol levels is exercise. Jogging, riding a bike, even walking can rise your “good ” cholesterol levels.

For greater resources on cholesterol please review http://www.cholesterol-info-guide.com/low-cholesterol-recipe.htm or http://www.cholesterol-info-guide.com/low-cholesterol-food.htm

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Good Cholesterol Versus Bad Cholesterol - Is HDL Good Or LDL Good?
By Hope Pope

I am sure you have heard of both good and bad cholesterol… but I am guessing you don’t know whether HDL is the good cholesterol or LDL is the good cholesterol, do you? Or vice versa… which one is the bad cholesterol?

The way I remember it is LDL starts with L… and L is for “lousy”… so obviously LDL would be the bad cholesterol.

HDL starts with H… and H is for “healthy”… so HDL is the good cholesterol.

Ok, now that you know which is the good cholesterol… and which is the bad cholesterol, here are some other facts you should know about cholesterol…

You might be wondering why your “total cholesterol” is not the same number as when you add up your LDL (lowsy cholesterol) and your HDL (healthy cholesterol) together.

To get the total cholesterol, they do add the HDL cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol together… however, they also add 1/5th of your triglycerides as well.

So, for instance, if your HDL is 80… and your LDL is 90… and your triglycerides are 100, your total cholesterol would be 190 (80 %2B 90 %2B 20)… or HDL %2B LDL %2B 1/5^th of 100.

Now you may think that having a cholesterol score of 190 is good… since it is under 200. However, in rare instances, 190 may not be a healthy cholesterol score.

You need to take into consideration all of the parts.

For instance, research shows the optimal LDL should be below 100… and anything above an LDL score of 160 is considered too high.

And in the case of HDL, anything under 40 is considered bad.

Triglycerides should be less than 150.

So if your cholesterol score is under 200, you may not want to jump for joy until you make sure your LDL is below 100… your HDL is above 40… and your triglycerides are less than 150.
If they are, then by all means… jump for joy!

http://www.provennaturalcures.com is a site that includes proven all natural cures for cholesterol, ADHD, weight loss, warts, asthma, insomnia, smoking, snoring and more.

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