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Are you confused about cholesterol? Wondering which numbers need to go up and which numbers need to go down? If so, you’re not alone. According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 80 million Americans have high levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol, over 44 million have low levels of HDL “good” cholesterol and over 28 million have high levels of triglycerides . Also, 42 million Americans suffer from a disorder called mixed dyslipidemia meaning their levels of triglycerides are high, LDL cholesterol is moderately high and HDL cholesterol is low.

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Considering these staggering statistics, chances are you or a loved one may have unhealthy cholesterol levels. To help tackle this problem head on, the National Lipid Association has launched www.LearnYourLipids.com. The Web site provides information on how to manage cholesterol problems by taking a total wellness approach, including tips on healthy eating habits and how to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. The site also features useful educational tools such as an interactive Lipid IQ test, questions you can ask your doctor, a doctor search tool and links to additional Web sites.

“Despite treatment advances, heart disease is still the leading cause of death in this country,” says Jerome D. Cohen, M.D., of the National Lipid Association. “Because unhealthy cholesterol levels can lead to this devastating disease we need to do a better job educating people about risk factors and what they can do to minimize them.”

It is important to work with your doctor to set healthy goals and measure all cholesterol levels including LDL, HDL and triglycerides. If you are unsure of what to ask your doctor, www.LearnYourLipids.com features a printable checklist of the eight most important questions to help you get the answers and information you need.

LDL, HDL and triglycerides are all independent risk factors for heart disease. The risk of developing heart disease doubles when triglyceride levels are above 200. When triglycerides are above 200 and HDL cholesterol is below 40, a person is at four times the risk.

To help lower your risk of heart disease, start by getting your cholesterol levels checked.
For more information on lipids and tips for healthy living, talk to your doctor and visit www.LearnYourLipids.com.

Thirty to fifty million Americans suffer from lactose intolerance or a milk allergy, but how do you tell the difference?

Lactose intolerance is the body’s inability to digest significant amounts of lactose, the major sugar found in milk. Many people confuse lactose intolerance with a milk allergy, which is not an “intolerance,” but a true allergy.

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“It is important to understand the difference between the two,” says Steven Yannicelli, Ph.D., R.D., director of science and education for Nutricia North America. “People with lactose intolerance can’t digest the sugar, but it is the protein in milk and milk products that make those with a milk allergy sick.”

Symptoms
People who are lactose intolerant usually experience bloating, gassiness, abdominal pain and diarrhea. But not everyone suffers the same degree of symptoms or shares the same tolerance level. Some people with lactose intolerance cannot drink milk, but can tolerate yogurt and other foods while someone else might not be able to tolerate any dairy products.

People with a milk allergy may suffer from some of the same symptoms as lactose intolerance (like diarrhea). However, infants and children with milk allergy usually experience some combination of a larger variety of symptoms, including persistent diarrhea, vomiting, skin rashes, extreme fussiness, low or no weight gain, gassiness, wheezing and an overall failure to thrive.

Age of Onset
Children – and adults – can develop lactose intolerance at any age (although babies are rarely lactose intolerant before age two) and it usually does not go away. Lactose intolerance tends to be more common among some racial and ethnic groups, specifically American Indians, African Americans and Asians.

Children with a true milk allergy usually start to show symptoms in the first few weeks of life, although it often takes several months to be properly diagnosed. It is unlikely that a child will develop a milk allergy after age two and, for many children, the symptoms resolve around age three or four. Unlike lactose intolerance, milk allergies do not seem to be more common among any specific racial or ethnic group.

Treatment
The easiest way to treat lactose intolerance is to avoid lactose. The many low-lactose or lactose-free products available in the grocery store make this very manageable for most people. Lactase enzyme tablets and drops, which can be purchased over-the-counter at many drug stores and supermarkets, may be used in milk products to break down the milk sugar so someone with lactose intolerance can digest it.

Avoiding milk protein is more difficult for infants and children. To eliminate the milk proteins from a breastfeeding infant’s diet, lactating mothers usually need to remove all milk proteins from their diet, including “lactose-free” products and products with “whey” or “casein” on the label (these are just different names for milk proteins). If the infant is not breastfeeding, a milk protein allergy can easily be managed by switching to an amino acid-based formula such as Neocate, a milk protein-free, nutritionally complete hypoallergenic formula.

Finding Out for Sure
Of course, to find out for sure what is making their child sick, parents should consult a pediatrician. A quick online test available at www.testforallergy.com can help prepare parents for talking to their doctor about their child’s condition if they suspect he or she has a milk allergy.

Healthy Living Books

Fitting diet and exercise changes into a busy lifestyle can be difficult, even for those who are 100 percent committed to taking control of their weight and health. Good health is a 24/7 endeavor, and many people are looking for weight loss success with flexible plans that can accommodate the hectic pace of modern life.

“While the fundamentals of good health are the same for everyone — eating and exercising well — there are as many paths and schedules for those goals as there are people,” says Liz Josefsberg of WeightWatchers.com. “It’s possible and essential to find ways to make positive changes that become a natural part of your lifestyle.”

For Tory Klementsen of Washington, weight loss success happened when she started focusing on improving her health, rather than just losing weight. Tory lost more than 100 pounds* through lifestyle changes that included altering her eating habits and finding forms of exercise she could enjoy. Now this self-professed “reformed couch potato” lists skydiving and marathon running among her weight-loss related achievements. Her key to success was Weight Watchers Online, a subscription based plan followed completely on the internet, which provides interactive tools to help people through the process of losing weight.

“Anyone who’s ever tried to lose weight knows that difficult moments can happen at any time of the day or night,” says Josefsberg. “Tory’s subscription to an online resource made it easy for her to stay on course and maintain important lifestyle changes.”

WeightWatchers.com and Tory offer the following five tips that will help you stay motivated and make healthy choices every day:

1. Don’t let yourself get too hungry before eating because then you’re more likely to overeat when you reach for food. Plan ahead for smart snacks, like a celery stalk with a dab of peanut butter or a cup of lowfat yogurt, and have them handy when hunger strikes. “Eating lots of little meals helps me keep from getting ravenous and out of control,” Tory says.

2. A business trip or vacation doesn’t mean a vacation from your healthy lifestyle. Tory fights off travel temptations by arriving at her destination and immediately stopping at a grocery store to stock up on healthy foods. Having a supply of good food on hand will help you avoid fast food pitfalls.

3. Start the day with a good breakfast. Avoid starchy, sugary high-calorie breakfast foods like muffins or doughnuts. Instead, opt for healthy, filling and fiber-filled choices, like healthy breakfast cereal with yogurt and fruit.

4. Find a weight loss plan that works for you; the Internet is a great resource for this. Weight Watchers Online is built on the proven approach to weight loss developed by the experts at Weight Watchers. This convenient plan, with separate customized sites for men and women, makes it easy to stay connected anywhere, anytime.

5. Vary your exercise routine so you don’t get bored. Above all, don’t be too hard on yourself. Unrealistic expectations can cause you to become discouraged and give up too quickly. Fit exercise into your schedule by walking at lunch, waking up 30 minutes earlier or joining a 24-hour gym; but commit to some form of exercise every day.

(ARA) – Heart Disease kills more American women each year than all other causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer, but don’t let that statistic scare you. According to the American Heart Association, the number one cause of death is also the single most preventable cause of death, and lifestyle factors play a key role.

If you smoke…
Put down the cigarettes. Smoking increases blood pressure, decreases HDL (good cholesterol) and increases the tendency for blood to clot.

If you do everything possible to avoid exercise…
Change your attitude and join a gym. Exercise is a great habit to develop that will help you with heart health. It can help lower your blood pressure, improve your blood circulation and keep your weight down.

If you’re guilty of regularly eating a non-healthy diet that includes a lot of fat and sugar…
Change your tune! According to the Cleveland Clinic, women who hold excess fat around the middle of their bodies are at an increased risk of developing heart disease. Although there is nothing you can do to change your body type — you can take steps to keep your weight at a healthy level.

A good place to start is by figuring out ways to work the foods that have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease into your diet. A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition lists these as including apples, bran, grapefruit, red wine, strawberries, chocolate and pears.

Of all these foods, perhaps the most versatile is the pear. Here are some examples of how adding pears to your diet can benefit your health:

* You can reduce the number of calories you consume at the main course by 12 to 13 percent if you begin a meal with foods that have a lot of bulk or volume, but few calories. A pear fits this bill exactly because of its high fiber and low caloric content, just 100 calories for a medium pear.

* Spice up salads with heart healthy ingredients. A sliced pear makes an excellent addition to a green salad along with blanched sweet potatoes, pistachios and lean chicken. This is a filling, healthy meal that will do your heart good and tastes delicious.

Here’s a tasty recipe you may want to try:

* Curried Pear, Pistachio and Grilled Chicken Salad (Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients for salad:
6 cups mixed, washed and torn salad greens or spinach
3 large ripe Bartlett Pears, cored and sliced
1 1/2 cups golden raisins
1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 small red onion, sliced
4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast fillets, chilled

Ingredients for the curry-chile vinaigrette:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 serrano chiles, stemmed, seeded and minced

Directions: Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. To assemble salad, toss half of the dressing with the salad greens. Divide evenly among 4 salad plates or bowls. Top with pears, nuts, bell pepper and onion. Slice each chicken breast into strips and lay over salad. Drizzle with remaining dressing.

* Avoid added sugars in your diet whenever possible. Table sugar, honey, brown sugar and other sweeteners offer no value to our diet other than empty calories.

This doesn’t mean, however, you have to skip dessert. Imagine a lusciously sweet and healthy fresh, poached pear for dessert each night. This recipe for poached pears includes a small amount of added sugar, but also incorporates heart healthy ingredients like wine and chocolate along with the fiber-rich pears. Bosc is the traditional variety used for poached pears, but any variety can be used.

*Wine Poached Pears in Chocolate Sauce (Makes 6 servings)

6 pears, peeled and sprinkled with the lemon juice as they are peeled
1 lemon, squeezed for juice
peel of 1 orange
2/3 cup sugar
2-1/4 cups of water
1 bottle of red wine
1 stick of cinnamon
1 peppercorn
1 pinch of salt
Fat free chocolate syrup

Directions: Stand the pears in a pan, not touching each other. Sprinkle with the sugar. Add the salt and wine. Then add the orange peel, cinnamon, and peppercorn. Bring the pears to a boil over high heat. As soon as the wine starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Gently lift the pears from the syrup with a slotted spoon, place on a platter or bowl and set aside. Boil the juice down until it is reduced by half. Set aside to cool.

To serve: Pour chocolate into individual serving bowls and warm slightly in microwave. Place poached pear on top of chocolate and drizzle with poaching juices. Top with additional chocolate syrup or chocolate shavings.

For more heart-healthy recipes that include pears, log on to www.calpear.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

SIDEBAR

Warning Signs that a Woman May Be At Risk for a Heart Attack

* Feeling really tired — even after getting enough sleep.
* Trouble breathing
* Trouble sleeping
* Feeling sick to the stomach
* Feeling scared or nervous
* New or worse headaches
* An ache or burning feeling in the chest, feeling “heavy” or “tight” in the chest
* Pain in the back, between the shoulders
* Pain or tightness in the chest that spreads to the jaw, neck, shoulders, ears or the inside of the arms
* Pain in the belly, above the belly button

Should you feel these signs – do not ignore them. Go to your doctor or clinic right away.

EDITOR’S NOTE:

About California Pears.

Pears are one of the oldest fruits to be consumed by civilized man with a history dating back to ancient Roman times.

California, along with Washington and Oregon, is a leading producer of both fresh and canned pears. The traditional Bartlett pear is the major variety grown in this state, but other varieties produced in California include: Bosc; Comice; Forelle; Seckel; Red Pear; and Sunsprite. \

U.S. pears are available virtually year-round. Harvest of pears in California begins in early July with Bartletts, Bosc, Red Pear and Sunsprite varieties followed by Comice, Forelle and Seckel which begin harvest in August. Pears hold very well in storage and are available on U.S. retail store shelves throughout late summer, fall and early winter. Some varieties like the Bartlett, Bosc, Comice and Forelle and will hold for up to 3 to 6 months after harvest.

(ARA) - If you are one of the 60 to 70 million Americans that suffer from digestive problems, then you probably need more probiotics in your system. The term probiotics refers to dietary supplements or foods that contain beneficial or “good” bacteria normally found in your body. These “good” microorganisms aid in digestion and keep the bad bacteria at bay. As many as 500 species of bacteria call your digestive system home.

Most people don’t realize how important of a role digestion plays in keeping us healthy. In fact, according to AlternativeMedicine.com, almost 70 percent of your immune system is located in the gastrointestinal tract. A poor digestive system can affect the body’s ability to fight off illness and properly digest food, which can lead to indigestion, gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea or yeast infections.

The digestive system relies on good bacteria to help process food which ensures healthy nutritional absorption. Balancing the good bacteria in your intestines is one of the best steps you can take for optimal health.

Your diet and lifestyle largely dictate whether there are more good bacteria than bad bacteria populating your digestive system. Stress, convenience foods, birth control pills, and antibiotics can all lead to low levels of good bacteria in your system.

Antibiotics, for example, kill off all bacteria, even the good bacteria that our system needs. Nutritionists often recommend ingesting sources of probiotics after a series of antibiotics so that the body can rebalance itself. The most common source for these beneficial bacteria is yogurt and other cultured dairy products. Many people are sensitive to dairy products, or choose to avoid the added calories found in yogurt.

An easy and convenient solution to ensure that your digestive system is getting the necessary probiotics is to take a probiotic supplement such as AccuFlora, a non-refrigerated caplet that gives you a concentrated amount of probiotics in an easy-to-swallow caplet. Used once daily, Accuflora is a combination of 5 different strains of probiotics, each with a specific function for keeping your body healthy, without the calories, fat and sugar from dairy.

In addition to ingesting AccuFlora probiotics, some dietary options will help keep your digestive system healthy. Increasing your daily intake of fiber with whole grains and fruits & vegetables, helps improve digestion and minimize digestive problems.

Finally, to improve digestion and internal balance, you should exercise. The intestines are a muscle group too, and some doctors have observed that people who don’t exercise have a more sluggish digestive system. Regular exercise can help keep your digestive system active and balanced.

To learn more about digestive health visit the www.thegoodstufffromyourt.com.

Japanese adults who consumed higher amounts of green tea had a lower risk of death due to all causes including due to cardiovascular heart disease, according to a study in the September 13, 2006 issue of JAMA. The study also reported that there was no identifiable link between green tea consumption and a reduced risk of death due to cancer.

In a study published in the February 2007 issue of the American Journal of Medicine, researchers report that erectile dysfunction was significantly and independently associated with age, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and lack of physical activity. There was an especially high prevalence of erectile dysfunction among men with hypertension and diabetes, suggesting that screening for erectile dysfunction in these patients may be warranted.

Erectile Dysfunction and Lifestyle

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the industrialized world. There are many things that you can do to limit your susceptibility to the disease, so we refer to this article which focuses on what types of dietary guidelines you should establish in order to keep your heart strong and healthy. Diet and heart disease can get you started in the right direction.

Here is a specific plan for an effective cardio fitness and weight loss program that will cost you from nothing to a couple hundred dollars, and that provides you with the specific information you need you know about “how much” and “how hard.”

Exercise equipment reviews.

Children who sleep less are at greater risk of being overweight, according to the first nationally representative, longitudinal investigation of the relationship between sleep, Body Mass Index and overweight status in children 3 to 18. "Even an hour of sleep makes a big difference," said Northwestern University researcher Emily Snell. "An additional hour a night reduced young children's chance of being overweight from 36 percent to 30 percent."

ADMIN: Eating Disorder - Common Treatment Recommendations