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High-density lipoprotein (HDL), also known as “excellent cholesterol”, can help prevent narrowing or clogged arteries by removing terrible cholesterol. But, Cleveland Clinic researchers have found that some enzymes in the blood can make HDL dysfunctional and increase the risk of plaque buildup and heart problems. Learn how Cleveland Clinic is hoping to develop a blood test to measure the level of dysfunctional HDL to better estimate a person’s risk for heart disease.

Gary Taubes, author of “Excellent Calories, Terrible Calories,” responds to a question about the relevance of cholesterol testing and cholesterol’s role in heart disease

Exercise is Medicine — National Campaign Urges People to Get Active to Stay Healthy 203.3 Million Americans Are Overweight or Obese Dr. Robert Sallis Offers Tips to Prevent Chronic Disease by Exercising Robert Sallis, MD, immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine and chair of Exercise is Medicine Background: According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly 40 percent of US adults 82.5 million people are physically inactive. In addition to improving a patients overall health, increasing physical activity has proven effective in weight management and the treatment and prevention of chronic disease. Thats why Coca-Cola partnered with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to support Exercise is Medicine (EIM), a nationwide program that encourages doctors to write prescriptions for exercise the same way they would for medications. EIM encourages doctors to assess and review every patients physical activity at each checkup, the same way other vital signs like blood pressure and height are recorded. Doctors are urged to use the prescription pad to order daily exercise, or refer patients to a certified health and fitness professional, with the assumption that doctors orders will carry the necessary weight to get sedentary patients off the couch. EIM is now offering a free online tool to help consumers make and stick with exercise plans. The free downloadable Public Toolkit, available at www.exerciseismedicine.org, includes step-by-step …

Are Eggs Terrible For You? Egg Cholesterol Myths, How the Body Works, Clinical Nutrition Eggs have Cholesterol in them and many people have the thought that Eggs are not a health food or that eggs are potentially harmful because this. Whats the truth? Are eggs excellent or terrible? Does a diet heavy in eggs raise the risk of high cholesterol, disease, heart attacks and obesity? Or does having eggs in ones diet contribute to over all health and wellness. Find out the truth about eggs.RADHIA is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, CCN She is also a Certified bionutritional Analyst. She has a M.Ed. in nutrition and is a professional member of the International and American Association of Clinical Nutritionists, (IAACN), and the American Naturopathic Medical Association (ANMA). Visit Radhia’s Website at www.advancedhealthinstitute.com This video was produced by Psychetruth www.myspace.com www.youtube.com psychetruth.blogspot.com Psychetruth is empowered by tubemogul www.tubemogul.com © Copyright 2010 Target Public Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I am a pescetarian, meaning that i am a “vegitarian” who eats fish. I am looking for a weight loss plot that will help me lose some weight while still not eating any meat other than fish.

To start with, throughout the world, cholesterol levels (measured in the blood) vary widely. Generally, people who live in countries where blood cholesterol levels are lower, such as Japan, have lower rates of heart disease.

Countries with very high cholesterol levels, such as Finland, have very high rates of coronary heart disease. But, some populations with similar total cholesterol levels have very different heart disease rates, suggesting that other factors also influence risk for coronary heart disease. High cholesterol is more common in men younger than 55 years and in women older than 55 years. The risk for high cholesterol is known to increases with age.

Cholesterol is a waxy, stout like substance that your body needs to function normally. Cholesterol is naturally present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscles, skin, liver, intestines, and heart.

Your body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest stout. It takes only a small amount of cholesterol in the blood to meet these needs. If you have too much cholesterol in your bloodstream, the excess may be deposited in arteries, including the coronary (heart) arteries, where it contributes to the narrowing and blockages that cause the signs and symptoms of heart disease.

Too many Americans have high levels of total cholesterol and LDL (the terrible cholesterol). A diet high in saturated stout (a type of stout found mostly in foods that come from animals and certain oils) raises LDL levels more than anything else in your diet. You also eat cholesterol in your diet, although the effect of saturated stout in the diet is greater than the effect of dietary cholesterol.

Trans-fatty acids (seen in processed foods and many “quick foods”) can also increase LDL levels. Dietary cholesterol is found only in foods from animal products. Genetic factors combined with eating too much saturated stout and cholesterol are the main reasons for high levels of cholesterol that lead to heart attacks. Reducing the amount of saturated stout and cholesterol you eat is an vital step in reducing your blood cholesterol levels.

The government has reset the standard for LDL levels so that more Americans are included in the risk group. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused by cholesterol and stout being deposited in the walls of the arteries that supply nutrients and oxygen to your heart. Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries.

Fixed narrowing that is often calcified (hardened) usually cause angina (chest pain). Less severe narrowing may contain unstable blockages called atherosclerotic or fatty plaque. Unstable atherosclerotic plaque can rupture, resulting in clot formation, no blood flow, and a heart attack.

If enough oxygen-carrying blood is blocked from reaching your heart, you may experience a type of chest pain called angina. If the blood supply to a part of the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack. This is usually due to a sudden closure of the artery from a blood clot forming on top of unstable plaque.

A simple blood test checks for high cholesterol. Simply knowing your total cholesterol level is not enough. A complete lipid profile measures your LDL (low-density lipoprotein [the terrible cholesterol]), total cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein [the excellent cholesterol]), and triglycerides another fatty substance in the blood. Government guidelines say healthy adults should have this analysis every 5 years.

A desirable total cholesterol level is 200 mg/dL or lower. A desirable LDL is 100 mg/dL (130-159 is borderline high; 160 is high; 190 is very high). HDL, the “excellent cholesterol,” should be around 40 mg/dL or greater. With HDL, the higher the number, the better, and 60 mg/dL is protective against heart disease.

Recent studies have shown that lowering cholesterol in people without heart disease greatly reduces their risk for developing heart disease in the first place. This is right for those with high cholesterol levels and for those with average cholesterol levels.

The Framingham Heart Study established that high blood cholesterol is a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). Results of the Framingham study showed that the higher your cholesterol level, the greater your risk. Several studies have confirmed a direct link between high blood cholesterol and CHD. The Lipid Research Clinics-Coronary Primary Prevention Trial (LRC-CPPT) first showed that lowering total and LDL (terrible) cholesterol levels significantly reduces coronary heart disease.

A series of more recent trials of cholesterol-lowering using statin drugs have conclusively demonstrated that lowering total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol reduces your chance of having a heart attack, needing bypass surgery or angioplasty, and dying of CHD-related causes.

In 1994, the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) was the first study to show that people who took the cholesterol-lowering class of drugs called statins (in this case, simvastatin) reduced their risk for major CHD events (such as a heart attack) by 34%, CHD deaths by 42%, and all deaths by 30% in people with known coronary heart disease and high blood cholesterol levels, compared with people who were given a placebo (a dummy pill that looks exactly like the medication being tested).

This has been called “secondary prevention,” or prevention of a second heart attack, because the study involved people with known heart disease, many of whom had already had at least one heart attack.

The Heart Protection Study, published in 2002, examined men and women of all ages at high risk for heart disease irrespective of their cholesterol levels. Simvastatin treatment reduced CHD events by 24%. This study has caused some experts to suggest that everyone at high risk for CHD would benefit from statin therapy, regardless of their blood cholesterol levels.

Finally, The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III (NHANES III), carried out from 1988-1991, learned that 26% of American adults had high blood cholesterol concentrations, and 49% had desirable values.

The disk pain is in my low back just above my sacrum. I am attempting to avoid surgery due to the dread that i will be unable to function as a person after the surgery. I have see the results of some surgery.. They patients have never been the same.

With all of the fanfare around statin drugs in recent years there has been less and less  discussion about natural ways raise cholesterol levels. This is a shame especially since statins come with a number of mark warnings that are quite significant. In this article titled “Could Niacin Be The Magic Bullet To Raise Excellent Cholesterol Levels Naturally” we will first clarify what excellent cholesterol is, and then explore the B vitamin niacin, which research shows, can raise excellent cholesterol levels.

Excellent cholesterol is known as HDL. These dense particles made up of primarily protein don’t carry the artery clogging cholesterol into your veins. The reason; HDL molecules are so dense they can’t squeeze through the spaces in the walls of the arteries. As a result HDL, and their payload of cholesterol, exits the body through the avenue of solid waste.

One colorful way to look at HDL is that they are like a buff taxi driver that always gets their rider (cholesterol) to the intended destination. On the other hand LDL (terrible cholesterol) is an out of shape fellow, who always gets into distress by dropping riders off along the way. Eventually so many riders have been stranded they get mad and stop the taxi, resulting in a traffic backup (heart attack or stroke).

Less than scientific, but you get the point. So can niacin help us to raise excellent cholesterol enough to reduce the number of disgruntled drivers dropped off on artery lane?

Niacin is rarely prescribed. There are a few reasons for this such as its perception as a perilous medicine and confusion about the benefits compared to the risks. Additionally, niacin has been around for a while and there is very small enthusiasm by pharmaceutical companies, due to its generic standing. Despite its benefits niacin only account for less than 5 percent of all cholesterol drugs prescriptions written.

But don’t despair niacin can be found in many different foods including dairy products where your body converts the amino acid tryptophan into usable niacin.

It is also found in grains, but your body can’t absorb them unless they have been treated with lime. While this may be the case, many food manufacturers have recognized the benefits of niacin and fortified breads and cereals.

Meats, fish, and poultry also have ample amounts but require a certain amount of excellent judgment to pick foods that will raise excellent cholesterol while not elevating terrible cholesterol.

While there is very small research for niacin foods we do have a fantastic deal of information concerning medical strength niacin. What we find is when 375 mg of niacin are taken daily HDL levels rise by as much as 25 percent while LDL levels decrease 14 percent. Sadly, we must report that like most medications niacin comes with a plethora of side effects. These include sudden hot flashes, reducing the effectiveness of arthritis and diabetes medications, skin rashes, hives, itching, nausea, diarrhea, peptic ulcers, liver hurt, vision problems, dizziness, and fainting. The ancient saying that there is no free lunch certainly seems to apply to prescription grade niacin.

What Next? Lowering cholesterol, in most cases, is about changing ancient habits, adopting new healthier habits, and enlisting the help of convention medications such as statin drugs, niacin, or natural cholesterol reducing remedies if needed. Place simply, this basically means finding ways to increase HDL (excellent cholesterol) and decreasing LDL (terrible cholesterol levels). Certainly the aforementioned statin and niacin drugs will be one of your options but they do carry a number of serious mark warnings. The side effect risk have made natural cholesterol reduction supplements  containing such beneficial ingredients as lecithin oil, pumpkin seem oil, D-limonene, phytosterols, and antioxidants such as selenium, theaflavin, and tea catechins an alternative treatment option worth considering.