Foods to help lower Bad Cholesterol & Boost the good One - Part 1

If you’ve been working at lowering your cholesterol and improving your heart health, you’re probably tired of hearing about all the things that you CANNOT eat or CANNOT do.

No trans fats, no saturated fat, no eggs, no salt, no butter, no this and no that.

Then give it a few years and the things that you were denying yourself are proven to have no negative effects on cholesterol at all.

Eggs for example were “no-no” foods for decades but are now considered no problem for those with high cholesterol.

Here are some foods that are proven to lower bad cholesterol and boost good.

1) Berries:

All berries include great amounts of antioxidants and other ingredients that improve cholesterol and heart health.

Blueberries are the kings and queens of all berries. They’ve been proven to improve every health issue from diabetes to Alzheimer’s.

A handful a day keeps the doctor away.

Strawberries have also been shown to include many cholesterol improving ingredients. One benefit strawberries have over other berries is their high fiber content.

Any type of berry is beneficial so vary it up to never get tired of berries.

2) Chocolate

Here’s some sweet news for anyone who suffers any type of cardiovascular disease, including of course high cholesterol.

You thought your days of enjoying good deserts were over? Think again.

A study from San Diego State University revealed that eating 50 grams of dark chocolate every day drastically and quickly dropped bad cholesterol.

The key is really the cocoa in the chocolate. So make sure your chocolate is at least 70%. Or you can get the same benefit from a sweet cocoa drink.

Chinese Exercise Tai Chi for Mild to Moderate Heart Failure

If you have mild to moderate heart failure, the ancient Chinese exercise tai chi may help improve your mood, your ability to exercise independently and your quality of life, according to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Volume 171, page 750). 

Investigators randomly assigned 100 people, average age 67 years, with mild to moderate heart failure to attend tai chi classes for 12 weeks or traditional classes on diet, exercise, medication use and other self-management strategies. Participants in the tai chi group learned a simplified Yang style of tai chi. Both groups received educational materials and the tai chi group also received an instructional video and was encouraged to practice at home at least three times a week.

On average, tai chi participants attended 75 percent of their classes, while those in the standard group attended about 66 percent of their sessions. Those in the tai chi group reported practicing at home for an average of 10 hours each week.

Take-away-thought. After 12 weeks, the tai chi group showed significant improvements in indexes used to measure quality of life and mood disturbances and in their ability to exercise independently. Tai chi is a safe complement to standard therapy for heart failure. If you want to give tai chi a try, get clearance from your doctor first

Vegetables against High Blood Pressure

According to a new research study conducted by scientists of Queen Mary, University of London, there are certain types of vegetables that contain a natural chemical that naturally lowers your blood pressure. Nitrate

The research study was funded by the British Heart Foundation, and can be found in “Hypertension,” the journal of the American Heart Association.

Remember, when it comes to high nitrate foods, you aren’t limited to beetroot; you can also add carrots, fennel, lettuce, radishes, cabbage, spinach or green beans to your meals for the same results. It seems that variety is not only the spice of life; it might actually prolong it!

If you’re tired of taking handfuls of pills to get your blood pressure under control, it might be worth your while looking into a completely natural program that can have your blood pressure within a normal range in just 1 week… sometimes even the very first day.

Apricots for Itchy Yeast Infections

Bothered by yeast infections? Snack on some apricots. Their beta-carotene may bolster your immune system enough to ward off the infection. A study at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that the vaginal cells of women with yeast infections had significantly lower levels of beta-carotene than did cells taken from healthy women.

Mushrooms, Another Weapon Against Flu

Many might not think of Mushrooms as a flu-fighting Super-food, but they are. In fact mushrooms possess two critical immune boosters you need this flu season: selenium and beta-glucan.

Selenium helps white blood cells produce cytokines - molecules that modulate the immune system and help clear sickness. What's more, a selenium deficiency has been found to reduce the body's immune response and also cause the influenza virus to mutate into stronger strains. 

Beta glucan, an type of fiber with antimicrobial properties, helps activate "superhero" T-cells that seek and destroy invaders.

While most mushrooms provide immune-boosting benefits, maitake (hen of the woods), shiitake and crimini are the most powerful flu-fighting fungi in the culinary world. Reishi and cordyceps are also potent flu-fighters, but are typically consumed in supplement form.

Toss mushrooms into stir fries and soups or sauté and serve with grass-fed steaks to get a dose of the flu-fighting duo.

Turmeric Extract for Pain and Swelling

Turmeric Extract has the unique ability of using its antioxidant powers to seek out and destroy free radicals in the body which contribute to pain and swelling.

A recent study done, at the prestigious Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Center in New York, they found that Turmeric was more safe and precise than aspirin in stopping inflammation by shutting down the COX2 enzyme responsible for pain.