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Fighting Atherosclerosis With Good Nutrition (part 2)

You will have to make your own mind up on whether cholesterol or omega 6 is to blame for arteriosclerosis. The argument is similar to the dieting difficulty: do you have faith in in the old-style fat-reduction, high carbohydrate diet or the newer, Atkins’ high fat low carbohydrate diet?

It is very perplexing for the layman, but that is how specialists sell books. You pay your money and take your choice or you just go along with your doctor.

However, both camps of dietitians agree that fish oil is healthy for you and in particular is good for decreasing LDL cholesterol and omega 6 excess. Omega 3 is best taken in oily, cold water fish like salmon, herring and mackerel.

They contain relatively high degrees of omega 3 essential fatty acids. Another source of omega 3, but different ones from the fish, is from meat that has been fed on grass.

Garlic is well-known for being an antiseptic but it is also useful for reducing cholesterol. It appears to have a deleterious impact on LDL (bad) cholesterol, but leaves HDL (good) cholesterol alone. One clove a day is said to be adequate to have a beneficial effect.

Fibre and roughage are crucial for good general health. These components are to be discovered in fruit and vegetables (especially the leafy green ones); grains, lentils, legumes and nuts. Roughage and fibre will help eradicate LDL cholesterol and prevent constipation. They also help prevent bowel cancer which is on the rise in the West.

Some dietitians say that LDL is not dangerous, but is just a threat and it becomes dangerous after it has been damaged. One form of damage is oxidization. Therefore, anti-oxidants will reduce the risk from cholesterol and atherosclerosis. The next question ought to be: what are strong anti-oxidants?

There is a huge array of anti-oxidants ranging from the fun to the boring. I do not know what you find boring, but flavonoids are a useful anti-oxidant and they are present in high quantities in red wine. As well red wine, other anti-oxidants include: Vitamins Ce and E and beta carotene.

These are accessible in peppers, citrus fruit, strawberries, cantaloupe melons, broccoli, white carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, mangoes and green leaf vegetables. Other decent sources are wheat, oats, nuts and seeds.

Mono unsaturated fat is one of the best sources of oil you can find. Mono unsaturated fat comes best from olive oil, which is one of the reasons why the so-called Mediterranean Diet is so good for people.

Mono unsaturated fat has another beneficial effect: eating it reduces hunger for a longer time than you would expect for the calories involved. This makes it a good substance for dieters. The same is true of roughage, fibre and eggs.

Mono unsaturated fat is one of your best allies in the fight against atherosclerosis. However, it is not just present in olive oil, it is also in avocados and nuts, especially pecan nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds.

Last but not least is ginger. Ginger has a high quantity of phytochemicals known as gingerol and shogaol which are also antioxidants. Ginger not just lowers LDL cholesterol, but it also helps prevent the oxidization of LDL

If you can just implement a few these alterations to your diet you may be able to ward off arteriosclerosis and avoid having to take drugs like statins for ever.


What Is A Mini Stroke?

The medical term for a mini stroke is quite a mouthful – a Transient Ischemic Attack. This occurs when a blood vessel supplying an area of the brain becomes blocked with a particle, frequently a platelet of cholesterol.

Depending on where that platelet becomes lodged, and so depending on which area of the brain gets starved of nutrients and oxygen, the injury may be very serious or merely go unnoticed. Unnoticed by the patient’s conscious mind, but maybe injury is still being done,

At the very least, mini strokes or TIA’s are a warning that your blood contains harmful items, usually fat or cholesterol. A TIA is a ‘call to action’; a warning that you had better work on your diet, get more exercise and go see your doctor straight away.

Medication will disperse the plaque or platelets that are already there in your blood and a healthy diet and more exercise will prevent more from forming. Blood clots are another cause of (mini) strokes.

Blood clots normally are created in other regions of the body, but flow quite freely through the large arteries until they get to the narrow blood vessels in the brain, which they cannot pass through. They become lodged in the entrance causing a blockage.

Long-haul flights are often blamed for deep vein thrombosis or the creation of blood clots, frequently in the legs. These clots then find their way to the brain where they may kill or cause great, often permanent, harm. Or they could result in a mini stroke that goes unnoticed. It is all down to luck where is becomes lodged.

it is thought that any form of stroke causes damage even if that injury is not readily perceived, since different parts of the brain control different areas or organs of the body. If a blockage happens in the part that controls the liver, it might stop working to some level and you might not notice for quite a while.

It is a very wise idea to be able to recognize the symptoms of a mini stroke. However, this is easier said than done. lots of mini strokes happen at night, while you are asleep.

They do also occur during the day obviously and the indications might be tingling in one part of the body. Or you may get the opposite effect, a numbness. Many sufferers say that they experienced blurred eyesight. These indications might only last a few minutes.

Frequently these symptoms are blamed on other causes such as tiredness, too much TV, too much computer, sitting in one position too long or merely not having had enough exercise that day. And these could well be reasons for the sensation, which makes it very difficult to know.

There are more obvious symptoms too such as dizziness or confusion; not being comprehend what people are saying to you; not being able to speak or speaking in a slurred voice.

Any of these symptoms ought to be reported to a doctor immediately so that corrective action can be taken to prevent a worse stroke occurring in the next few days.


Day Spas And Beauty Salons

Are you feeling a bit jaded? A bit run-down or even worn out? Do you feel like you ought to have a vacation, but you do not have the time or do not have the money right now? Well, a trip to a day spa may be the solution. Most women have been to a beauty salon and so have some men, yet not so many individuals of both sexes have been to a day spa.

A day spa is an extended version of a beauty salon. The extra amenities normally involve water in some way or oil – something liquid. However, day spas resemble beauty salons in that they usually offer all of the treatments that a beauty salon offers and pampering is the prime concern.

It is the pampering as much as anything that can wash your cares away for a while and make you feel as if you have just come back from a short vacation. Four hours at a day spa can be more relaxing (and far better for you) than a weekend away on the razzle.

If you have never been to a spa before, it is worth doing a local search on the computer and seeing what web sites come up. A good web site ought to list the treatments that they offer, their prices and any package offers (frequently known as day packages). It ought to also mention whether you need to book up or merely call in.

The prices may appear outrageous at first, but it is worth checking how long the procedure takes and whether there are any special preparations or oils involved, because they may be costly. Day packages can reduce the price of a number of related treatments quite significantly. If you still find it costly, maybe you could plan a visit for a couple of weeks in advance.

Something else that you should factor in while thinking about day spas and costs is the tranquility. Most spas have strict rules concerning noise. So, no small children, no shouting, no cell phones or pagers, no radios or Walkmen, just soothing background music. Everything in a day spa is meant to make you feel pampered, cared for, less stressed and much more relaxed.

So what services can you assume to find at a day spa? Well, everything that you would expect to find at a beauty salon for a start, so that includes manicure, pedicures, hair styling, facials and make-up or make-overs.

However, a spa ought to also supply massages of various types like a full body massage, an oil massage, a Thai massage, a foot massage and maybe others too. They might also have a steam box or a sauna and / or Turkish Baths, mud wraps, herbal wraps, mud baths and even flotation chambers. Many spas provide aroma therapy and offer complimentary healthy drinks like fruit and vegetable juices too. Some may even have a swimming pool as well.

Detoxes feature fairly often at most spas and some may offer colonic irrigation too. However, the best value for money are the day packages or one-off specials, which permit you to combine a number of treatments for one discounted payment.


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