Heart Disease |Obesity & Diabetes

by Enggar Sulistya

Health is a remarkable thing that needs proper care and nurturing. Slim fit body and provide confidence in and out while the body fat makes you dull and pessimistic. Obesity delivery of other diseases and makes our existence uncomfortable and unpleasant. This also results in emotional distress, which is one of the most painful parts of obesity.

Obesity is not just a cosmetic problem. It's a health hazard. Someone who is grossly overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as compared to an average-weight person. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions such as diabetes and strokes

A weight increase of 11-18 pounds doubles the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in comparison to individuals who have not gained weight. According to studies, over 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese. This may account for the newly invented word, diabesity, which signifies the close association between obesity and diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes, one of most prominent ailment found in obese people reduces body's ability to control blood sugar. It is a major cause of early death, heart disease, stroke, and blindness. Overweight people are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared to normal weight people. Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, either the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. Insulin is necessary for the body to be able to use sugar. Sugar is the basic fuel for the cells in the body, and insulin takes the sugar from the blood into the cells.

The chances of its occurrence can be reduced by losing weight and exercising more. If you have type 2 diabetes, losing weight and becoming more physically active can help control your blood sugar levels. Increasing your physical activity may also allow you to reduce the amount of diabetes medication intake. Losing a small amount of weight can also reduce your chances of developing heart disease or a stroke and make your body ailment free.

Studies show that you can improve your health by losing as little as 10 to 20 pounds. Weight reduction can decrease your chance of developing several fatal ailments like heart disease, blood pressure, and levels of blood cholesterol and triglycerides. So take your first step towards weight loss and make your life a healthy and energetic one.
Heart Disease http://www.cornerheartclinic.blogspot.com

Heart Disease |Food that's good for a healthy heart

by : Enggar Sulistya

While experts agree that high cholesterol and blood pressure are very important risk factor for heart disease, but many people who suffer chest pain or even heart attacks have normal levels. It becomes a question for the experts so that encourages researchers to explore the body for other cardiovascular villains. Some have emerged in recent years, but one of the most prominent is the inflammation.

The latest studies suggest that chronic inflammation of the lining of arteries is an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. What causes this inflammation is not clear, but the good news is that (1) the advice that is given for lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides also works fine for fighting inflammation; and (2) you can tackle all 4 culprits with the help of dietary weapons. In fact, you can plan your war against heart disease in your kitchen. Here is how:

1. Think like an artist when you choose fruits and vegetables: Eat those with the brightest colors. They have the most heart protective antioxidant pigments. A diet high in fruits and veggies also provides another important heart benefit, salicylic acid, which is the same anti-inflammatory compound created when aspirin is broken down in the body.

2. Increase food sources of omega-3 fatty acids which target high triglycerides in the blood. Good sources of omega-3s include fish such as sardines, mackerel; nuts and seeds; green leafy vegetables; grains like wheat, bajra; legumes like rajma, cowpea, and black gram.

3. Reduce the amount of meats you eat, especially red meats, and always select lean cuts. Use meat as a seasoning for vegetable dishes rather than the focal point of a meal.

4. Cut down on salt and instead use herbs and spices like ginger, garlic, turmeric and fenugreek liberally in your cooking; the first three are naturally anti-inflammatory and the last has soluble fibre which helps sweep away cholesterol from the arteries.

5. Shift to groundnut, mustard, rice bran and olive oils which contain monosaturated fatty acids that help lower (bad) LDL and maintain levels of (good) HDL cholesterol. Drastically limit margarine, vegetable shortening, butter and all products made with partially hydrogenated oils.

6. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains (wheat, brown rice, oats), beans and pulses, are also great sources of soluble and insoluble fibre, which trap LDLs and usher them out of the body.

For more information on healthy heart diet, visit this: http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/cardiac-diet.htm


Heart Disease http://www.cornerheartclinic.blogspot.com

Heart Disease |How 40,000 People Reversed Heart Disease

by Enggar Sulistya

According to existing data that two-thirds of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that approximately 75% of Western diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, gout, arthritis, overweight, hypertension, diabetes, some cancers, impotence, diverticular disease, constipation, heartburn, and gall bladder disease, is "related to lifestyle." They are directly related to our high-fat diet, inadequate amounts of exercise, smoking, high caffeine intake, and high amounts of stress coupled with adequate support.

Hoping to address this alarming situation, more than 20 years ago, cardiovascular epidemiologist Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, created the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). Since then, this 40-hour community-based lifestyle intervention program has helped more than 40,000 people rediscover their health by preventing, arresting and reversing their diseases. It has been conducted in more than 150 North American cities as well as in Bangalore, India, Australia and Switzerland. Depending upon the needs of the group, the meetings are held either “live” with Dr. Diehl delivering the program personally (usually meeting four times per week for four weeks) or as a “video-based” program with certified CHIP facilitators (normally two times per week for eight weeks). In addition, Dr. Diehl is a best-selling author – To Your Health, Dynamic Living, and Health Power (co-authored with Aileen Ludington, M.D.) -- as well as the executive editor of a 24-page quarterly Lifeline Health Letter; he has produced scores of health videos. CHIP empowers people through its scientifically-documented, educational and inspirational program that addresses common western diseases -- those that used to be seen primarily later in life. Today, these diseases increasingly appear at far younger ages. CHIP may make all the difference in one’s life -- even the difference between life and death.

In 1999, CHIP launched a “community health transformation template” in Rockford, Illinois, a city with a population of 130,000. The intention was to transform Rockford into the healthiest city in American, thereby enabling it to serve as a model and template for cultural transformation on a community-wide level. Recently, CHIP was recognized as just such a model by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and was “approved” under the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a “STEPS to a HealthierUS” applicant. In addition to “live” CHIP, a series of CHIP videos are offered through schools, churches, corporations, and hospitals. In Rockford, CHIP is sponsored by the Swedish American Health System’s Center for Complementary Medicine.

Heart Disease http://cornerhertclinic.blogspot.com

Heart Disease |Treatment of Heart Disease with Coenzyme Q10

by : Enggar Sulistya

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is found in the year since 1950 has received considerable attention as a necessary compound for proper cell function. It is essential coenzyme necessary for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) upon which all cellular functions depend. Without ATP our bodies can not function properly.

Without CoQ10, ATP cannot function. This connection has made CoQ10 a very important object of study in relation to chronic disease. In many cases the presence of chronic disease is associated with inadequate levels of CoQ10. But no area of study has received more attention than the relation between CoQ10 and heart disease. That is because CoQ10 is believed to be of fundamental importance in cells with high metabolic demands such as cardiac cells. A further reason the connection of heart disease and CoQ10 has gained so much attention is because heart conditions of many kinds are associated with chronically low CoQ10 levels.

CoQ10 is highly concentrated in heart muscle cells because of their high energy requirements. Add this to the fact that heart disease is the number one killer in developed and developing countries and one can see why the bulk of scientific research on CoQ10 has been concerned with heart disease. Specifically, studies on congestive heart failure have demonstrated a strong correlation between the severity of heart failure and the degree of CoQ10 deficiency. The lower the levels of CoQ10 in the heart muscles the more severe the heart failure. If indeed CoQ10 deficiency is a primary cause of congestive heart failure then, in such cases, the remedy is simple and cost effective; CoQ10 supplementation.

Congestive heart failure is a condition where the heart does not pump effectively resulting in an accumulation of fluid in the lungs. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing when lying flat and leg or ankle swelling. Causes include chronic hypertension, cardiomyopathy (primary heart disease) and myocardial infarction (irreversible injury to heart muscles). Heart muscle strength is measure by the ejection fraction which is a measure of the fraction of blood pumped out of the heart with each beat. A low ejection fraction indicates a weak heart.

Heart Disease http://www.cornerheartclinic.blogspot.com

Heart Disease |The risk of ischemic heart disease with low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets

By Enggar Sulistya

Some studies suggest that the type of fat has an important role in determining the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) of the total amount of fat in the diet (1). However, because of misleading presentation of epidemiological data by several authors (1), the reader may be left with the impression that low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet is the best option for patients with CHD risk..

In fact, high- carbohydrate diets, in the absence of weight loss, can lead to both elevated triglyceride and reduced HDL cholesterol, effects that may be associated with increased risk for CHD.(2) Although these effects may be lessened with dietary fiber and moderate physical activity, they appear to be worse among individuals with insulin resistance.(3)

As reviewed by Kris-Etherton(4) adverse metabolic effects of low fat diet do not occur with substitution of monounsaturated (MUFA) or polyunsaturated (PUFA) fatty acids for saturated and trans-fatty acids. This is also the case for individuals with diabetes, with the added benefit of better glycaemic control.(5)

As predicted by metabolic studies, replacement of saturated fat, and even more so trans fatty acids with either PUFA or MUFA was associated with a larger reduction in risk of CHD than simple reduction of total fat consumption.(6) With respect to weight control, a moderate-fat diet can be as, or even more, effective that lower-fat diet. (6)

References

1. Hu FB, Manson JE, Willet WC. Types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr 2001;20:5-19.

2. Fung MA, Frohlich JJ. Common problems in the management of hypertriglyceridemia. CMAJ 2002;167:1261-6.

3. Jeppesen J, Schaaf P, Jones G, Zhou MY, Chen YD, Reaven GM. Effects of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets on risk factors for ischemic heart disease in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 1997;65:1027-33.

4. Kris-Etherton PM, Kris-Etherton PM, Binkoski AE, Zhao G, Coval SM, Clemmer KF, et al. Dietary fat: assessing the evidence in support of a moderate-fat diet; the benchmark based on lipoprotein metabolism. Proc Nutr Soc 2002;61:287-98.

5. Rivellese AA, De Natale C, Lilli S. Type of dietary fat and insulin resistance. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2002;967:329-35.

6. Krauss RM, Eckel RH, Howard B, Appel LJ, Daniels SR, Deckelbaum RJ et al. AHA Dietary Guidelines: revision 2000: A statement for healthcare professionals from the Nutrition Committee of the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2000;102:2284-99.

Heart Disease http://www.cornerheartclinic.blogspot.com