Paul Rodgers asked:


If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack. The first thing that comes to mind when one hears about heart disease is almost always cholesterol. Importantly, while many cardiologists insist that lowering cholesterol is correlated with a reduction in the risk of heart attacks; few can say that there is a reduction in the risk of mortality (death).

There may be a weak correlation of elevated cholesterol with heart attacks, however this does not mean it is the cholesterol that caused the heart attack. However, the bottom line is that a high level of plasma cholesterol is one of the major risk factors for heart disease and strokes. For a healthy heart, the best course of action is often to lower cholesterol in large part by losing weight.

If high cholesterol were the most important cause of cardiovascular disease, it should be a risk factor in all populations, in both sexes, at all ages, in all disease categories, and for both heart disease and stroke. Fish and fish oils are said to help prevent cardiovascular disease including fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, strokes, sudden cardiac death, and coronary artery disease (angina). High cholesterol and triglyceride levels are common among diabetics and are major contributors to their increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

People suffering from type II diabetes often have high blood levels of triglycerides and are therefore prone to coronary heart disease. Many people with hypertension also suffer from diabetes and there has been concern that fish oil supplementation may aggravate problems with glucose intolerance. It is also known that a high fish intake can delay the development of diabetes in glucose-intolerant individuals. Obesity is also strongly associated with type 2 diabetes, which itself poses a significant risk for high cholesterol levels and heart disease. Overweight and obese children who have high cholesterol

should also get tested for high blood pressure, diabetes, and other conditions associated with metabolic syndrome. The establishment of diabetes as a CHD risk equivalent reflects the prevalence of heart disease as a cause of death in the diabetic population.

Although most studies that prove that lowering cholesterol saves lives are done using drug therapy, the absolute mandate for improving cholesterol levels is to first make changes in lifestyle (both diet and exercise). Aerobic exercise helps to open up blood vessels and, in combination with a healthy diet, may improve blood-clotting factors. If you are unable to lower your cholesterol to safe levels through diet and exercise, then your doctor may prescribe cholesterol-lowering medication. I am sure many of you have been reminded by doctors, nurses, and public health officials to lose excess weight, quit smoking cigarettes, exercise regularly, and eat less saturated fat and sweets. You will also find information on cholesterol-lowering diets, recipes, exercise, weight loss, and lifestyle changes.

Again, high cholesterol is not necessarily the direct cause but may only be a marker. Now consider that more than 90 % of all cardiovascular disease is seen in people above age 60 also and that almost all studies have found that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for women. Of particular interest is the finding that a high ratio of triglycerides to HDL cholesterol is a powerful risk factor for a major cardiac event even when LDL cholesterol levels are

normal.



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Nick Mutt asked:


A high cholesterol level has been linked with a number of diseases. There are many factors that contribute to the increase in cholesterol level. The most prominent among them is to following a diet that is high in saturated fat. Prolonged intake of fat foods, lack of exercises, smoking and drinking habits can contribute to the unhealthy increase of LDL (bad cholesterol).

Low cholesterol diet plan together with healthy lifestyle can help a lot in reducing high cholesterol levels and therefore reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Before you begin indulging a low cholesterol diet program, you should have some idea on what foods are safe to eat and what are not.

You should follow a low cholesterol diet plan to decrease the total intake of saturated fat, calories, and cholesterol in the body and also to lose some weight. The types of foods that can do this for you include mainly fruits and vegetables.

Foods belonging in low cholesterol group have very high fiber content. Dietary fiber soaks cholesterol like sponge and helps get rid of it by disposing it out of the body. Fruits such as apples, oranges and pears are high in fiber content. Oats and carrots are also rich in fiber content.

Increasing the amount of omega-3 fats and decreasing the amount of omega-6 in your diet is another effective way in reducing your risk for heart disease. Foods rich in omega-3 fats are salmon, tuna canned in water, cod, flaxseed, soybeans, walnuts, pecans, wheat germ, canola oil and olive oil.

Eat healthy low cholesterol diet for a healthy heart!

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

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Read information on How to lower cholesterol naturally. Also know Low fat low cholesterol diet at Natural cures website – a comprehensive health guide for Herbal supplements and natural treatments.



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Emile A. Jarreau asked:


It seems that the healthy benefits of fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids are still being discovered. Aside from all of the health giving benefits of has been credited with in recent years, it seems that one of the most profound is its ability to help protect our hearts.

Protecting our hearts is something that is extremely valuable considering that heart disease is the number one killer of adults in the United States. This is due to a combination of a bad diet and lack of exercise and the numbers of heart attacks seem to be growing every single year. This makes the recent findings of the benefits of fish oil all the more exciting and promising for those that are looking to reduce the chances that they will succumb to this horrible disease.

Recent studies conducted in Denmark actually showed that ingesting fish oil supplements could reduce heart attacks by as much as 50%. This number is incredibly staggering but it seems to be backed up by another study from the Harvard school of public health that shows that those who include omega-3 fatty acids as part of the regular diet greatly lessen the risk of incurring any heart disease whatsoever. So, what makes these supplements so heart healthy?

One of the reasons that omega-3’s as found in fish oil are so good for your heart is their ability to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is just one of many risk factors found in those that eventually get heart disease. In addition, the very nature of the compounds themselves help to lower your triglyceride and overall cholesterol levels. The combination of high triglycerides and high cholesterol levels is a potent concoction that often leads to heart disease later in life. One of the main reasons that fish oil is so potent in lowering these harmful numbers is their ability to act as an anticoagulant and prevent the platelets from sticking together in the body causing high blood pressure and eventual blockages. They also have anti-inflammatory properties which reduce inflammation in your veins and arteries as well helping your cardiovascular system to work more efficiently.

While all of this information is extremely positive and helps to make the case of why you should include fish oil as part of your regular diet, it doesn’t tell the whole story. If you are truly looking to reap the benefits of fish oil and have a healthy heart and a long life, you must combine ingesting fish oil with an overall healthy diet and a plan of consistent daily exercise. All of these elements are incredibly important and must work together if you want to truly stave off such harmful maladies as heart disease. Fish oil has some amazing properties but it is not a wonder cure all. You must strive to live an overall healthy lifestyle to ensure you can live healthily and avoid heart disease, heart attacks, and possible stroke for the rest of your life.



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