Posts Tagged ‘Heart Disease’

PostHeaderIcon Heart Disease Prevention



Heart disease prevention is of prime importance in the United States, since heart disease is our leading cause of death. It is also a major cause of disability, costing many people their jobs and their freedom.

Heart disease prevention becomes especially important as you age. Men who have passed age 45, and women who have passed age 55, are at far greater risk than younger people. If you have a family history of heart disease, your risks increase again. If you are genetically predisposed to build-ups of cholesterol deposits, the risks are even greater.

All of this sounds like a losing battle, but there are things you can do. Heart disease prevention measures can be taken.

Heart Disease Prevention Tips

There are no guarantees when it comes to heart disease, but if you follow the tips below, you will be doing much to reduce your risks of dying from this disease. This information is for educational purposes only, however, and the reader should seek advice from a medical professional.

1. Weight: You have no doubt heard that you should maintain a healthy weight as a matter of heart disease prevention. Excess weight causes the heart to work harder, putting stress on this vital muscle. It is important to learn what a healthy weight is, given your height, age, and gender. Then take steps to reach and maintain that weight. The weight loss business is huge in America, so you will find plenty of help. Ask your doctor for advice before you begin a diet, though.

2. Exercise: The second most common means of heart disease prevention is physical exercise. The heart is a muscle. As such, it can be strengthened through regular exercise. Exercise should be guided by your health care provider, but it should not be avoided unless other medical concerns prevent it. Exercise will send vital, health-giving oxygen to your heart. You should have regular exercise each day, walking or jogging if possible. In addition, train yourself to park farther from the door; take stairs instead of elevators and escalators; get off the bus one or two stops before you must, and walk the last few blocks. Heart disease prevention can often be a matter of changing a few habits.

3. Smoking: If you smoke tobacco, you should stop immediately. This relatively easy form of heart disease prevention can be done readily. Although many people claim addiction requiring medical intervention, studies show that 90% of those who quit smoking do it on their own, without medical help. I have personally seen individuals make a single decision, and never smoke again.

4. Healthy Eating: If you name this form of heart disease prevention a diet, chances are you will rebel inwardly. Nobody likes to diet. You should, however, adopt a healthy way of eating. Load the menu with fresh fruits and vegetables, leaving less room for fatty meats and sweets. Avoid junk foods like potato chips and corn chips. Refuse the candy bars, and have a health bar instead.

5. Blood Pressure: Many people find that they have elevated blood pressure levels as they get older. It is important to find out what your blood pressure is, and take any steps necessary to get it under control and keep it there. High blood pressure creates another unnecessary demand on your heart. Your physician may prescribe medication to lower your blood pressure. In addition, you may want to increase your potassium intake, lose weight, and exercise. Normal blood pressure is important to heart disease prevention.

6. Diabetes: Ask your physician to test you for diabetes. Diabetes also is a risk for heart disease, but it can be controlled. If you have it, follow your doctor’s advice in every way. Diabetes greatly increases your risks of heart disease, stroke, and heart attack.

7. Cholesterol: It is widely accepted in medical circles that high cholesterol levels, especially high LDL cholesterol levels, put you at further risk for heart disease. Cholesterol levels can be reduced. Your physician may prescribe a cholesterol-lowering drug. In addition, you will want to do your part for heart disease prevention. When shopping, choose low fat dairy products and cheese instead of richer options. Trim the fat from meat before you cook it. If it isn’t on your plate, you will not eat it.

These 7 heart disease prevention steps can make a big difference in your life. They may, in fact, extend your life. Discuss them with your doctor, and enlist your family’s support in following them.

PostHeaderIcon Nutrition Certification For Medical Doctors



Nowadays the competition in the medical world is growing and becoming more difficult. Great numbers of new proclaimed medical practitioners are offering their service and joining the business. For you to get greater edge, it is important that you get nutrition certification for medical doctors. This could help you to gain more knowledge about dietary and human nutrition thus making you wiser in curing and treating your patients.

Knowledge in dietary and human nutrition is important especially on holistic doctors that are concerned on dealing with serious and had to cure diseases such as heart disease, cancer, HIV or AIDS, high blood pressure, depression, infertility, menopausal symptoms, prostatitis and diabetes. People who are suffering from these types of diseases usually look for doctors who are well briefed about dietary and human nutrition because the treatment that they need have to be coupled with proper diet and nutrition monitoring.

If you are planning to study dietary and human nutrition to get a nutritional certification for medical doctors, well you have to know the relevant and helpful information that could be included on that. Actually there are only three, so here they are, first the study of dietary and human nutrition. If you will study this you will be a dietitian with the goal to promote dietary habits and good health. This is significant in your medical practice for doctors with dietitian education are more in demand. They are considered experts in dietary and human nutrition thus they are looked after by various types of institutions, hospitals, clinic, schools and other living facilities. The second relevant information in the nutrition medical certificate for doctors is the study and completion of Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition. Under this study you could learn how to advise the use of herbs, supplements and natural foods.

You will also know how to asses diets and lifestyles to construct wellness programs and brought out nutritional changes in your patients. Medical practitioners who study this course are sought after by patients with severe and serious health conditions. The patient trusts that a medical practitioner who undergoes study of holistic nutrition is capable of speeding up their treatment with minimal and low cost procedures. The last thing that will add advantage in your doctor’s nutrition certificate is the degree of Masters of Science. This is the highest education that you could gain that deals with dietary and human nutrition. It can make you expert and a specialist in understanding of alternative health care options such as enzymatic nutritional therapies, holistic human development and nutrition and disease prevention. Getting this in your nutritional certification for medical doctors will make your patient feel assured with your capacity to provide them with the right treatment and cure.

Aside from making you more valuable in the medical world and making your name renowned by your patients, getting the nutritional certification for medical doctors will also help you a lot in your professional growth and advancement. You are now advised to get one for yourself and start to create a recognizable name in the medical practice.

PostHeaderIcon Heart Disease Prevention



A person considered at risk for heart disease can take steps towards heart disease prevention. It is considerably easier to prevent heart disease than it is to fix it once it happens, and for the most part lifestyle changes are needed for heart disease prevention regardless of age or health risk.

The number one method of heart disease prevention is to quit smoking. For persons who still smoke they need to cut down and should also avoid polyunsaturated fats in their diet. Vitamins A and D along with saturated fats help protect the lungs. A daily walk and about 10 minutes of exercise a day is another way to provide protection against heart disease. Exercising can also help with the third heart disease prevention tips of avoid becoming overweight. Eating food rich in nutrients and avoiding sweets will go a long way to providing the heart a healthy diet.

Another leading cause of heart disease is stress and more people tend to work too hard and a person can fight against work-related stress by performing a task they enjoy doing every day. When unavoidable times of hardship and depression are apparent, supplement the diet with nutrient-rich foods and avoid fast-food meals.

Keeping Environment Free Of Chemicals.

When possible avoid chemical use and fumes that can damage the immune system. Chemicals, pollutants and pesticides can cause irrepairable harm to the body’s systems and avoiding this environmental stress can be one heart disease prevention that is easy to accomplish.

Many foods that are called low fat often contain polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Refined foods are also usually void of any nutritional value and should be avoided for heart disease prevention. Foods containing white flour or refined sugar as well as chemical additives can be trouble for the heart. Eating a diet of seafood, dairy products along with meat and fats from organically grown animals can reduce many of the heart disease risk factors.

Eating fresh fruits and vegetables is another common heart disease prevention tip handed out by doctors. Foods that contain phytic acids should also be avoided as they detract from the body’s ability to absorb minerals in the food. Whole dairy products and whole grain should be consumed regularly as well as foods rich in protective ingredients.

Eating right and getting regular exercise is an important part of heart disease prevention but many of the steps used to prevent heart disease can also have other health benefits.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with Arteriosclerosis such as Vitamin C,
Niacin and Pectin.

Vitamin C has show to reduce cholesterol levels and lowers high blood pressure. Take 1,000 to 5,000 mg daily.

Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it. Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning. The intake of 3 grams Niacin for as little as two weeks can reduce serum cholesterol by 26 percent.

Pectin limits the amount of cholesterol the body can absorb. High pectin count in apples may be why “One a day keeps the doctor away”.

PostHeaderIcon A Guide – Information on Omega 3 Nutrition



It seems like every time you turn your head you hear about report on omega 3. Okay, perhaps that was an exaggeration, but there are a bucket load of reports out there nowadays.

Almost each day there is a new research confirming different information on omega 3 nutrition. Why? What I found surprised me. You, reading this now, are most likely deficient in omega 3. In fact, about 90% of the readers of this article will be, as 90% of the population is deficient in omega 3.

You may even be wondering what omega 3 nutrition is. With as little as jargon as possible, omega 3 is long chain polyunsaturated fats that our body requires in order for it to function properly.

There are two acids you require from the omega 3 family — DHA and EPA. These acids bring sizable benefits to your health.

DHA actually makes up 30% of your brain. How is that for information on omega 3 nutrition?

These two acids bring us many benefits. They can help to prevent many inflammatory conditions like arthritis, asthma, eczema and gout. They even have more spectacular benefits, like reducing the risks of cancers, strokes, heart attacks and heart disease. They can even lower your blood pressure.

Without these acids you put yourself at risk from suffering from the ailments mentioned above. You’re half as likely to develop breast cancer if you’re taking an omega 3 supplement.

These benefits are amazing, I know, and hard to believe. But the fact of the matter is that they are proven by scientific research. You can trawl the internet yourself for such examples.

Only high quality supplements bring these benefits though; low quality or substandard supplements won’t. High quality supplements have been purified by molecular distillation, are DHA rich and contain more DHA than EPA (about twice as much.)

So now that you have some information on omega 3 nutrition, you can decide whether or not you want to massive health benefits listed above. My website you explain more to you about omega 3 if you’re interested.

PostHeaderIcon We Discuss Prescription Drugs vs. Natural Alternatives



People can get to know things faster than ever because information is available everywhere. People have the opportunity to get more informed, since health and nutrition information is published in doctor’s office, on television and radio, in grocery stores, and on the Internet. But, there is a setback with this new prevalent information. People now have access to more differing opinions. One of the debates that seems like it is never going to end is choosing a better one between prescription drugs and natural alternatives.

One of the scariest moments a person can experience in their life, would be when they were being diagnosed with a serious condition, such as diabetes or heart disease. When the doctor gives the diagnosis, he/she will prescribe medication that will control the disease, as the first step. People generally rush and have the prescription filled and begin their treatment due to the fear of getting more ill and start following the health orders.

However, there are people who are trying something different. Natural alternatives are being proffered by people more often than prescription medication. The fact that many medications prescribed for serious health conditions have side effects has caused this drift. While many side effects tend to ware off once your system gets adjusted to the medication, and serious side effects are rare, many people don’t want to try their luck with prescribed medication.

This has lead to an increase in the procurement of natural alternatives. Studying the comparison between natural alternatives and prescribed medication can help you and your doctor determine which one is best for you.

People believe that a treatment plan featuring elements that are natural is better than the chemical makeup of the human body. People also believe that the reason prescription medications are often associated with unpleasant side effect, is because they go against what the body really needs. However, there is no real concrete data that can prove that natural alternatives are better. People basically take natural alternatives at their own risk. But it is always important to discuss natural alternatives with a doctor.

However, by now it’s no secret that the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession are closely associated. Often doctors offer their patients samples of the latest drugs. Despite the fact that the number of doctors who will never consider natural alternatives as a method of treatment outweighs the number of doctors who do, this close association with the pharmaceutical companies may be the reason.

Unless and until natural alternatives are investigated and approved by organizations, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration that oversee nutritional standards, the debate between prescribed medication and natural alternatives will be on going.

PostHeaderIcon Heart Disease Risks and Prevention



There are many factors to take into consideration with heart disease. One of the most common types is coronary artery disease. It is also referred to as arteriosclerosis. There are ways to recognize and prevent this frequent killer. Here are some things to take into consideration.

You Do Not See It Coming.
This disease can take many years to develop. Most times you will not be aware that you have a problem until it presents itself. In addition, that could be too late. Gradual deposits within the arteries can bring it about. The deposits are made of fatty tissue. This is also referred to as plaque. In time, the plaque build-up becomes worse. The blood flow in the arteries slowly gets restricted. It is like water running through a hose. When the pathway narrows, less water flows and the force is increased. When an artery is narrowed, a blood clot can lodge within the area. This may block off the flow of blood completely. When this happens to the heart, you have a heart attack. The heart starts to die from lack of oxygen.

Causes
Lifestyle is a big influence. Eating a high fat and high cholesterol diet can be a factor. Sedentary lifestyle may also be a cause.

Genetics may also play a big role. Often times, heart problems run in families. If you have a close relative with a heart condition, you may also be as risk.

Smoking has been linked to arteriosclerosis. The act of smoking has an effect on plaque build-up within the blood vessels.

Blood sugar problems can also be an indicator. Diabetes increases the risks with such conditions.

Age is also a factor. The longer we live, the greater the chance of plaque build-up. However, it is affecting young people also.

Symptoms
Symptoms of arteriosclerosis can be non-existent. Elevated blood pressure might be an indicator. A person may feel chest pain and nausea. Any type of heart attack symptom can mean the presence of this disease. Urgent medical care may be need, in those cases.

Treatments
The best agreed upon treatment is prevention. A lifestyle that contains exercise, fruits and vegetables is recommended. Limiting salt and fatty foods is also a good thing. Management for conditions like hypertension and high cholesterol are very important. They are also known as silent killers. If you have had a heart attack it will be very important to listen to your doctor. You may need to take medications and revamp your lifestyle.

Learn more about it. The more you know, the better you are equipped to deal with it. Visit libraries or online search engines.

Conclusions

Heart disease is a silent killer because there may be no symptoms. It takes many years to develop. It is very important to get regular checkups. There are things that you can do to prevent this problem. Education is a great tool for effective treatment.