Tag Archives: heart disease

Child Obesity And The Heart

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Kids are taking high blood pressure and cholesterol medication.

What’s THAT About?

The World Health Organization offers these statistics:  Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, at least 300 million of them obese.  The key causes are increased consumption of energy-dense foods high in saturated fats and sugars, and reduced physical activity.

Further commentary states:  Obesity and overweight pose a major risk for serious diet-related chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and certain forms of cancer. The health consequences range from increased risk of premature death, to serious chronic conditions that reduce the overall quality of life. Of special and alarming concern is the increasing incidence of child obesity.

Childhood obesity is epidemic in some areas and on the rise in others. An estimated 22 million children under five are estimated to be overweight worldwide.  According to the US Surgeon General, the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled in the US since 1980 

Tripled!!

Are you as stunned by this statistic as I?

Epidemic is not a word to mess with.   The long term ramifications are costly not only fiscally, but also in loss of life – our health care system can not support this predicted level of illness, worst yet life span for this generation is predicted in early death. 
I repeat… lifespan for this generation is predicted in early death.
I can recommend healthy weight loss methods that are simple and effective.
I personally used a product-centric inch loss program.  Even in maintenance these products are useful in my or any healthy living regime.

I made changes, I didn’t do them all at once, but each layer as it unfolded created a better attitude and better eating habits.  You can too!

Losing weight is very overwhelming.  Mainstream eating has an addiction element that I feel adds to the problem, our very busy lives don’t help the situation.

If I can help you or anyone you know. Please let me know

You can be part of the outreach. Example a healthy lifestyle.  Simple things like taking walks really do make a difference. Share with those you know the success you have.Be encouraging and supportive to the youth around you, if your concerned about a particular youth who’s suffering from obesity, say something.They may not know even where to start.

Testimony: a year ago a teen I know hung with the wrong crowd, they ate lots of really awful food. Volumes of empty calories. That teen gained quite a bit of weight. This fall the teen, stopped eating the junk, added swimming, started biking to school, added veggies at lunch. Lost 20 pounds.

What are you willing to do to lose the weight?

We all know the right things to do.  Which of those things are you willing to do?

Ask your kids these same questions.

Kids don’t want to be fat.  They certainly don’t need the long term consequences.

How Does Vitamin D Lower Heart Disease Risk?

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How does Vitamin D lower Heart Disease Risk?

Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD is part of our illustrious field team.

His credentials include:

BS in Biophysics Duke PHD, Biochemistry UCLA

Prof Biochemistry & Biophysics in Dept of Nutrition,

UNC Chapel Hill teaches Med Students. Runs an active Cancer Research Program

Dr Chaney has published 95 Peer reviewed studies ( found in Medical journals plus 2 reviews & 2 chapters of one of the leading biochemical textbooks used by medical students today. )

Teacher of year, Medical Alumni Distinguished Teacher Professorship

What I enjoy most about Dr Chaney is the way he explains things.

The information below is sourced from one of his emails - thank you Dr Chaney for the resource that you are to the field

It’s really hard to know who to trust in the food supplement industry.

Everyone claims that their product is backed by solid science. But most companies rely on “borrowed science”or “marketing science” to back their product.

What do I mean by ” borrowed science”?

Simply put they are citing references that show that an ingredient in their product has a desired effect. They aren’t actually doing studies with their product

Why is that important?

In some cases the reports are simply wrong.  There have been several times that our Scientific Advisory Board have recommended that our company do their own studies before marketing the product.

They did.  Products didn’t work, and they never marketed it.  Examples include chromium picolinate and policosanol.

In each case studies showing that those ingredients didn’t work were eventually published.  In the meantime many other companies were making lots of money marketing products that didn’t work.

We won’t do that. We don’t rely on borrowed science. We only market products that have been proven to be both safe and effective. That’s part of our company difference.

So what do I mean by “marketing science”? By that I mean that when most companies actually do a clinical study with their products, they design the study solely with marketing in mind. They don’t really care about the science. They just want to be able to make a marketing claim.

Again this is where our company stands head and shoulders above their competitors. We design our studies in such a way that they actually advance scientific knowledge.

A Vitamin D study presented at the annual National Lipid Association meeting in Miami is a perfect example.

Several previous studies had suggested that Vitamin D lowered the risk of heart disease, but nobody knew quite why.

Our scientists hypothesized that vitamin D might have a beneficial effect on HDL levels (which reduces the risk of heart disease) and metabolic syndrome (which increases the risk of heart disease). We worked with Dr. Kevin Maki of Provident Clinical Research in Glen Ellyn IL to test that hypothesis.

The Landmark Study, the first independent long term (20 year) study done by U Cal Berkeley, had already shown that people taking quality nutritional supplements on a regular basis generally had adequate levels of vitamin D in the blood.

Our company took blood samples from attendees at their 2008 New Orleans conference so that the study would have a large number of subjects with adequate vitamin D levels.

Dr. Maki then  recruited a number of non- quality supplement users from local clinics so that the study would also contain a significant number of subjects with low levels of vitamin D in their blood.

The results were striking!  HDL levels increased as the blood levels of vitamin D increased and markers of metabolic syndrome decreased as blood levels of vitamin D increased.

This study cannot be used for marketing purposes because a claim that our supplements increased HDL levels would be a health claim.  However, this study did advance the science around vitamin D and heart disease risk. We now have a better understanding of how vitamin D reduces heart disease risk.  This is what I call “real science” as opposed to “marketing science”,

Dr. Maki said: “Results from population studies suggest that a low serum vitamin D concentration is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular mortality, but this is the first study to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D status and cardiovascular risk factors in a group that includes a large number of vitamin D supplement users.”

Purchase a quality Vitamin D

 

Facts About Lipitor And CoQ10

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Your heart health and those of whom you know and/or care about, are very important to me.

The benefits of nutrition for the heart are remarkable and the non-drug approaches to reducing risk factors for heart disease are possible with the right nutritional supplement program.

Do you really want to take that Cholesterol Lowering Drug Lipitor?

Did you know that the design of the cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor is for those who can’t lower their cholesterol with diet and exercise alone??

Yet, often when someone is diagnosed with high cholesterol they are just given the drug without attempting first to educate about eating right and exercising more?

Did you know that people with liver problems should not take Lipitor? Yet, blood tests are often done on Lipitor patients because of liver issues actually caused by Lipitor ??

Side effects of Lipitor include: muscle problems including severe muscle pain, kidney problems, including kidney failure, liver problems, headaches, diarrhea, gas, rashes, constipation, upset stomach and pain.

Did you also know that Lipitor depletes the nutrient CoQ10?

CQ10 is a remarkable nutrient that is actually essential for heart health.

My company produces an absolutely superb CoQ10 – 500 % times more bio-available, 333% more bio- available than softgels, and it’s the only CoQ10 on the market with resveratol!!

Every single cell in your body requires CoQ10 to create energy, especially in the heart and the brain, resveratorol are the heart protective properties found in red wine, CoQ10 recycles and regenerates vitamin E, prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol up to 80%, reduces platelet aggregation and helps maintan proper blood viscocity.

Should you have these health issues CoQ10 can benefit you: history of heart disease, smoker, angina, arrythmia, peridontal disease, hypothyroidism, lowered immunity, chronic fatique syndrome, fibromyalgia, schizophrenia, alzheimers, mental decline, mitral valve prolaspe, kidney failure

Benefits of CoQ10 include: anti-aging benefits, helps control body weight, protects heart and blood vessels, loweres blood pressure, protests from cholesterol and chemo therapy, important for prevention and treatment of congestive heart failure, helps with macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, also assists treatment of MS, Parkinsons, Huntington’s disease and hereditary ataxia
sourced from nutrition and you booklet, my personal website


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Heart Healthy Oatmeal

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The soluble and insoluble fibers found in oatmeal are part of a terrific heart healthy diet.

This morning I soaked my oats in almond milk, simmered for 5 minutes and topped with pecans, dried cranberries and a small bit of maple syrup.

I love oatmeal!!

In the paper was this little article about all the different cuts of oat.

Who knew!!

The term oatmeal typically refers to the whole oat groat or hulled grain steel cut oats is when the the inside part of the hulled grain is cut into pieces.

thick rolled – groats are steamed and rolled into flakes, this is the longest to cook because the flakes are so thick

old-fashioned - are also steamed, but rolled into thinner flakes, cooking time is less and the texture is mushier

quick oats - are made from steal cut oats into even smaller pieces – cooking time is even more less with a instant oat – this is

instant oats are quick oats  gone through one more layer of processing,  it’s steamed to a pre-cooked point, so that all one has to do is add water

Seems to me that if you want the least processed and most whole grain source of  oatmeal you’d want to go for the thick rolled oats.

Oatmeal is so good for you and your heart,  Mr. Breakfast shares the top ten reasons why

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Which Nutrients Benefit The Diabetic?

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Diabetes and Nutritional Supplements

 

Diabetes mellitus, a term that means” the running through of sugar ” was first identified in first century A.D. The disease was described in old books as the “melting of flesh into urine.” It is a disease in which the body does not produce or use insulin effectively. Diabetes is considered to be an epidemic in America. It affects some 15.7 million Americans of which 5.4 million are undiagnosed. It has increased 33% since 1990 and the rates are expected to double in the next 10 years. The fastest growing population of those being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes is teen-agers!

 

Diabetes has far-ranging health effects. It dramatically increases the risk of:

Heart disease: 2-4 times greater risk

Stroke: 2-4 times greater risk

High Blood Pressure: 60-65% of diabetics have high blood pressure

Blindness: Retinopathy is the major cause of new blindness in adults, ages 20 -74

Kidney disease: Nephropathy is the No.1 cause of kidney failure requiring dialysis

Poor Circulation: Neuropathy, numbness & tingling in the extremities, is the number one cause of amputationsin the U.S.

Health experts believe that complications of diabetes can be prevented or delayed by proper attention to diet and lifestyle.

Maintaining ideal body weight and exercising can help the patient control the disease.

Supplements can contribute to blood sugar control and reduce the complications of diabetes.

The commentary and list of nutritional supplements below will benefit those with diabetes.

Compiled by Nutritionist Barbara Lagoni. Thank You.

Begin with a A High Quality Multi -Vitamin

B Complex – B’s are associated with sugar metabolism/energy release. Neuropathies, especially with pain/burning sensations, and leg ulcers respond well to B’s.

Vitamin C – C’s are essential for many body processes, from iron absorption, to healing, hormone production, immune function and reduction of heart disease risk.

Vitamin E - LDL Cholesterol fats in the diet can become oxidized and wind up as plaque or hardening of the arteries. Poor circulation can be a serious side effect of diabetes. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant and has been proven to prevent this plaque buildup

Carotonoids enhance the healing of tissue and immune competency, and were demonstrated as powerful antioxidants by Albert Einstein College in wound healing studies

Flavonoids are water soluble and an extremely powerful antioxidant

Fish Oil – this essential fatty acid has a beneficial effect on the vascular system. Omega – 3′s normally found in cold water fish ( sardines, anchovies and salmon ) are a prime reason that asian populations have lower incidence of heart disease.

Lecithin contains choline, inositol, and essential fatty acids. For those with neuropathies, inositol can reduce symptoms. Dry skin problems respond very well to essential fatty acids.

Zinc is an important component of over 90 body enzymes, for healing and immune competancy.

Calcium Magnesium is associated with carbohydrate metabolism and is usually low in diabetics. Low levels are associated with heart disease and retinopathy. Calcium is necessary for bones.

GLA from the borage plant owes it’s amazing array of benefits to the body from the “good” prostaglandins, which it produces. They do everything from lowering elevated blood pressure to improving circulation, cradle cap, ecxema, menopause symptoms. PMS and MS, to reducing inflammation. The body is supposed to make GLA but diabetics often inhibit its formation.

Friendly Bacteria – bifidus and acidophilus, are essential friendly bacteria that ideally live in our lower intestines. These good bacteria are absolutely necessary for the health of your GI and urinary tract. They help balance bacterial growth, maintain healthy yeast levels, help digest food and assist in the production of B vitamins. Not all friendly bacteria products are created equal.

Finally, Our signature glucose regulation product provides all of the benefits listed below:

· helps insulin transport glucose more effectively
· helps cells take up glucose more efficiently and therefore may help prevent the onset of Syndrome X, Type II Diabetes and heart disease.
· helps sustain energy and prevent blood sugar crashes that can lead to carbohydrate cravings.

These are the specific components:

Magnesium - is involved in the breakdown of glucose and release of insulin. 25-40% of diabetics have low blood levels of magnesium.


Zinc - activates insulin to full power, helps lower blood sugar.


Chromium - helps insulin by moving glucose and other nutrients into the cells, stabilizes the body’s metabolism, may decrease hunger and limit food cravings and improves blood sugar control. Diabetics have, on average, 35% lower blood levels of chromium.


Taurine - high blood sugar causes taurine depletion. It’s important in nerve conduction. Clinical studies suggest that taurine may help prevent diabetic neuropathy.


Vanadium - improves the ability of the liver to utilize glucose, one study showed that it lowered fasting plasma glucose levels by 20%.


Alpha Lipoic Acid – potent anti-oxidant that improves insulin sensitivity, improves glucose utilization and decreases frequency of cataract formation, vascular damage & neuropathy.


Banaba Leaf Extract - regulates and stabilizes both blood sugar and insulin.


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