Cholesterol and Your Heart

Copyright (c) 2006 Alvin Toh

It is important to maintain a healthy cholesterol level
irrespective of your age. Coronary heart disease is the
main cause of death in America. There are several
contributing risk factors to heart disease and cholesterol
is one of them that can be controlled. Not all cholesterol
is bad, so a good understanding and knowledge of the facts
about cholesterol can help you to live a healthier life.

Cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance found in the
body's cells and bloodstream. You can get cholesterol in
two ways. Cholesterol is produced by your liver. It is also
found in animal products with high saturated fat such as
meat, seafood, poultry, and dairy products. Processed foods
are another culprit as they contain trans-fatty acids that
can raise cholesterol.

Cholesterol is essential to maintain healthy bodily
functions such as producing bile that aids with digestion,
protecting nerve fibers, building cell membranes, creating
hormones, and synthesis of vitamin D. Too much of it,
however, is not healthy for the body. It can clog our
arteries, thus leading to heart attack or stroke.

There are two types of cholesterol, high density
lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL
is also called the good cholesterol because it can protect
the heart while LDL is the bad cholesterol because it can
clog arteries. We need these 2 types of cholesterol in our
bodies but in the right balance. The health concern of
cholesterol refers to excessive amount of LDL and
insufficient amount of HDL in the body.

Excessive LDL cholesterol in our bodies builds up in inner
walls of arteries that supply the heart and brain. It forms
a plague that clogs the arteries. A clot that blocks the
blood flow to the heart or brain can cause a heart attack
or stroke.

Why is HDL considered as good cholesterol? It carries the
bad cholesterol, LDL from the arteries to the liver to be
excreted from the body. As high level of HDL protects
against heart disease, you want more of HDL than LDL in
your body.

The link between cholesterol and heart disease has been
established in numerous studies. High cholesterol level is
a main risk for coronary heart disease. Cholesterol can be
managed through a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise,
regular screening, weight control, medications, avoid
smoking and drinking. A healthy diet and lifestyle can
prevent and reduce your risk of developing heart attack,
stroke and other diseases.


----------------------------------------------------
Can cholesterol-lowering drugs do you more harm than good?
There are ways to manage your cholesterol level without
relying on the long-term use of cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Find out how you can do so at
http://www.scienti.info/art-heart

Cholesterol and Heart

Copyright (c) 2006 Alvin Toh

It is important to maintain a healthy cholesterol level
irrespective of your age. Coronary heart disease is the
main cause of death in America. There are several
contributing risk factors to heart disease and cholesterol
is one of them that can be controlled. Not all cholesterol
is bad, so a good understanding and knowledge of the facts
about cholesterol can help you to live a healthier life.

Cholesterol is a fat-like, waxy substance found in the
body's cells and bloodstream. You can get cholesterol in
two ways. Cholesterol is produced by your liver. It is also
found in animal products with high saturated fat such as
meat, seafood, poultry, and dairy products. Processed foods
are another culprit as they contain trans-fatty acids that
can raise cholesterol.

Cholesterol is essential to maintain healthy bodily
functions such as producing bile that aids with digestion,
protecting nerve fibers, building cell membranes, creating
hormones, and synthesis of vitamin D. Too much of it,
however, is not healthy for the body. It can clog our
arteries, thus leading to heart attack or stroke.

There are two types of cholesterol, high density
lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL
is also called the good cholesterol because it can protect
the heart while LDL is the bad cholesterol because it can
clog arteries. We need these 2 types of cholesterol in our
bodies but in the right balance. The health concern of
cholesterol refers to excessive amount of LDL and
insufficient amount of HDL in the body.

Excessive LDL cholesterol in our bodies builds up in inner
walls of arteries that supply the heart and brain. It forms
a plague that clogs the arteries. A clot that blocks the
blood flow to the heart or brain can cause a heart attack
or stroke.

Why is HDL considered as good cholesterol? It carries the
bad cholesterol, LDL from the arteries to the liver to be
excreted from the body. As high level of HDL protects
against heart disease, you want more of HDL than LDL in
your body.

The link between cholesterol and heart disease has been
established in numerous studies. High cholesterol level is
a main risk for coronary heart disease. Cholesterol can be
managed through a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise,
regular screening, weight control, medications, avoid
smoking and drinking. A healthy diet and lifestyle can
prevent and reduce your risk of developing heart attack,
stroke and other diseases.

----------------------------------------------------
Can cholesterol-lowering drugs do you more harm than good?
There are ways to manage your cholesterol level without
relying on the long-term use of cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Find out how you can do so at
http://www.scienti.info/art-heart

Swimming Is One Of The Best Workouts You Can Get

Remember when you were young and you couldn't wait until summerto go swimming and play in the water?

 

Hopefully you learned how
to swim when you were a child but if you didn't, it is never
too late to learn. Swimming is not only the best, proven
exercise that you can do but also the psychological benefits of
swimming can be very fulfilling. Many medical studies have
proven this to be a fact for your health and it is also a lot
of fun as well.
 
Swimming builds muscle strength and also builds your physical
stamina. Everyone is aware that water has resistance and
provides your body with support to make exercise easier. This
is very beneficial to elderly people as well as people who
suffer from muscular or joint ailments. Always check with your
doctor before starting a new exercise regime if you have any
physical problems or not. Swimming can also produce great
results for your cardiovascular system.
 
Remember to always start out slow and build up as your body
adjusts to the demands of swimming. You can begin with a hand
over hand swim and then work up the breaststroke and more
demanding forms of swimming. As mentioned before telling your
doctor about your new regime is a wise step to take. You may
want to consider getting into harder workouts over time such as
water aerobics, which is great for your arm and thigh muscles.
It's also good for increasing your heart rate.
 
Make a flexible schedule that you can live with easily. 30
minutes, when first beginning, will insure that you get the
maximum benefit of your workout. It is actually better to swim
in shorter blocks of time, according to medical studies and
will help you not to become bored with your routine.
 
An important thing to think is about your swimming technique,
do you really know how to swim properly? Take the time to
learn. Learn correctly how to do the different styles of
swimming such as the breaststroke or backstroke. This will
increase the benefits of your swimming workout overall. Get
into some kind of routine, flowing from one style of swimming
to another, make your workout as varied as you can to keep your
interest. Find what works for you and remember to include easy
routines as well as more difficult ones. Just keep swimming and
don't make any excuses and find the times that are right for
you.
 
If you can use them, in the pool that you have available, think
about wearing flippers. They provide extra resistance and
naturally teach your body the correct way to swim with your
head lower in the water and your feet and legs higher. If your
not doing it correctly then you are wasting a lot of time and
energy in the pool without getting all the benefits you want.
Another thing you need to be aware of is the importance of
wearing the correct swimwear, yes you actually have to get in a
bathing suit. That's enough to put most people off but don't let
it discourage you, you are there to exercise and one day soon
you will look better and feel better about it as time goes on.
 
The point is to get out there and do it, even if you have never
learned to swim, just remember that it is the best exercise in
the world for you and splashing around in the water is always
fun. Soon you will feel better and look better, take a friend
along with you and share in the fun.


About The Author: James Davis is a staff writer at
http://www.fitness-digest.com and is an occasional contributor
to several other websites, including
http://www.ultimate-relaxation.com.