Cooking For a Healthy Heart

We all know that heart problems are one of the most common ailments ailing modern man and that a majority of people today suffer from one or another kind of heart problem. However, do you know that heart diseases are the number one cause of deaths in the United States with more than a million people dying of coronary and cardiovascular diseases every year? Another startling fact is that more than a third of these deaths would not have occurred if people had incorporated required changes in their lifestyles and diets. Making food choices that keep your heart healthy is not just a necessity for people who are already suffering from heart problems but for healthy individuals who want to avoid getting a heart disease in the future. Incorporating simple changes in your eating and cooking habits can make a large amount of difference to the health of your heart and help you in avoiding heart problems. Follow our tips below if you want to keep yourself and your family heart healthy for life.

Change Your Cooking Medium: An unhealthy cooking medium is one of the most important causes of clogged arteries and heart problems. For making your food healthier, banish all kinds of animal fat and switch to using vegetable oils for all your cooking needs. Instead of choosing just any cooking oil, go for olive and seed oils since they are known to be heart friendly.

Get Vegetable Friendly: Food products from animals generally have high cholesterol levels and therefore if your meal consists mainly of meats, milk, eggs, cream, butter and poultry, then it is high time that you incorporated a variety of vegetables in your diet. Make it a point to serve at least one portion of vegetables with every portion of meat or poultry and you will balance the bad effects of your high cholesterol diet instantly. You can do this by making salads, stir fries and steamed veggies a part of all your menus. They are easy and fast to make and are tasty enough to be consumed by even hardcore non- vegetarians without too much of a fuss.

Lower Your Salt And Sugar Intake: Sodium from salt in foods, specially fried and packaged snacks is a major cause of high blood pressure. Therefore, try to cook with the minimum possible amount of salt and substitute packed snacks for home made ones. While sugar does not directly cause any heart problems, it causes obesity which is another major reason contributing to all kinds of heart diseases. Start making desserts that constitute mostly of fruits and have a low fat and sugar content. Fruit salads, sorbets, low fat fruit yoghurt and raw fruit served with dips are great dessert ideas that are easy to make and healthy to boot.

Switch To Low Fat "Everything": Even salads can prove to be unhealthy for your heart if they are laced with cholesterol laden cream dressings. Apart from making a conscious effort to buy low fat milk and animal products for cooking, you should also do away with fat and cream products. Go for non-cream dressings for your home made salads and try to substitute non-cream gravies and dressings for cream ones in pasta and non-vegetarian dishes.

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What to Eat and Drink Daily For a Healthy Heart

So what do you eat and drink daily for a healthy heart?

A study was done where hamsters were fed 3 things: juice, fruit; water (along with a fatty diet).

The 1st "hamster juice group" drank juice each day that was equal to four glasses (for a person weighing about 154 pounds. )

The 2nd "hamster fruit group" ate 3 apples or 1 bunch of grapes a day.

The 3rd "hamster water group" just drank water daily.

What were the results of the study?

They found that the hamsters who ate fruit or drank fruit juice improved their heart health. They had lower cholesterol levels, less oxidative stress, and their aortas had accumulated less fat than the "hamster water group".

So which was better for the heart, drinking fruit juice or eating fruit? They found that grapes, both juice and fruit were the most beneficial to the heart? Listed below is what worked the best in the study, listing the most effective first:

Purple grape juice (had 2 ½ times more benefits than apple juice). Why? Possibly because grapes have such a high level of antioxidants Purple grapes (effective but not as effective as the juice possibly because the juice is much more concentrated) Apple juice Apples

The University of Montpellier team concluded that the juice's benefits came from its high levels of phenols - an antioxidant. The researchers say their findings suggest the amount of phenols (antioxidants) contained in a food have a direct effect on its antioxidant properties. This is helpful when trying to decide what is the best juice to give your children. Seems like purple grape juice would be a good first choice and apple juice would be a good 2nd choice. As far as fruit goes, according to the results of the study, grapes would be a good choice... and then apples.So for a healthy heart, you might want to join your kids and add some grape juice and grapes to your daily diet.

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Eating Healthy For Heart

When you make the decision to eat healthier, to get into shape, and become more fit, you also need to consider eating better for the health of your heart. You need to include more fresh vegetables and fresh fruits and stick with leaner proteins to promote your heart health.

Also in order to maintain the health of your heart, consider the following:

Stay away from canned and prepackaged foods. These typically are high in sodium and eating too much salt will lead to high blood pressure and eventual problems with your heart.

Choose to eat smart protein foods, including fish, chicken, and lean meats. Non or low-fat dairy products and legumes are also heart-smart sources of protein.

Don't skip out on fat. You should stay away from trans-fats and saturated fats but consume monosaturated fats such as those found in olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids, which you can get from fish, certain vegetables, and nuts.

Increase your intake in soluable fiber, which is found in oat bran, green vegetables, beans, and citrus fruits. These soluable fibers help to lower levels of cholesterol, leaving your heart in better shape.Leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the main risk factors for heart disease. You need to work at strengthening your heart and improving your cardiovascular system. Other reasons that exercise and activity is important to your heart health is:

In addition to eating better for your heart, you also need to incorporate heart-healthy fitness activities into your daily routine.

You will improve your circulation so your body will be able to use oxygen more efficiently. You will increase the levels of your energy so you'll experience less fatigue and incidents of shortness of breath. You will lower your blood pressure levels. You will build up your levels of endurance. You will learn to improve your balance and body flexibility. You will strengthen your bones. You will improve your overall strength and muscle tone. You will reduce the amount of your body fat and enable you to maintain a healthy weight. You will also give your heart a break from stress, anxiety, tension, and depressive episodes. You will be able to get more rest at night and improve your quality of sleep.Types of Exercise

Stretching
Make sure you start out each activity with the proper amount of stretching. Stretch your arms and legs to prep your muscles for the exercises you are able to perform. This prep work helps to prevent injury or muscle exertion. It will also help keep you more flexible.

Aerobic and Cardiovascular Workouts
Using the large muscle groups, these types of exercises will strengthen the heart and lungs so your body can use oxygen more effectively. Examples of aerobic exercises include walking, running, cycling, jumping rope, and water aerobics. Perform routine exercises for 20-30 minutes a day.

Strengthening
Repeatedly tightening the muscles with exercises until it tires out will help strengthen the body and the heart.

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Healthy Heart Supplements

Vitamins and Supplements for a Healthy Heart:

1).Fish Oil Supplements.
Studies showed that fish oil can help get rid of buildup in your coronary arteries.

2).Garlic
Garlic supplements have been shown to potentially help lower your cholesterol.

3).Vitamin E
Vitamin E also helps with heart health by helping to keep cholesterol.

4).Policosanol
Policosanol helps you manage your cholesterol from the beginning, helping to stop your body producing too much of it.

5).Vitamin B
Vitamin B is great for managing stress, but some of them-especially vitamin B3 (Niacin), has been shown to increase healthy cholesterol levels.

6).Aerobic Exercise
Aerobic exercise like running can increase cardiovascular fitness and help maintain a healthy heart.

7).Grape Seed Extract,

8).Eating lots of nuts.
Nuts, like almonds, have been proven to contain chemicals that help keep cholesterol levels down.

9).Watch your diet.
This is the single best piece of advice when paired with exercise. Losing excess weight by setting up an appointment with a registered dietitian, and start making positive changes to protect your heart from heart disease.

TAGS: Healthy Heart Supplements,  Supplements for a Healthy Heart

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Safe Exercise for Heart Disease Patients


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Safe Exercise for Heart Disease Patients

If you have a loved one who's recently been diagnosed with heart disease or had heart surgery, the doctor probably told you that exercise is an important part of keeping the condition under control. But is it safe for him to keep exercising like he has been, or does your loved one need to make some changes? And what exercises are best?Here are some things to discuss with the doctor:
Medication changes. New medications can greatly affect your response to exercise; your loved one's doctor can tell you if his normal exercise routine is still safe.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/safe-exercise-patients


Heart Failure: Exercise for a Healthy Heart

A sedentary (inactive) lifestyle is one of the top risk factors for heart disease. Fortunately, it's a risk factor that you can do something about. Regular exercise, especially aerobic exercise, has many benefits. It can:
Strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system.
Improve your circulation and help your body use oxygen better.
Improve your heart failure symptoms.
Increase energy levels so you can do more activities without becoming tired or short of breath.
Increase endurance.
Lower blood pressure.
Improve muscle tone and strength.
Improve balance and joint flexibility.
Strengthen bones.
Help reduce body fat and help you reach a healthy weight.
Help reduce stress, tension, anxiety and depression.

Source: http://www.medicinenet.com/fitness_exercise_for_a_healthy_heart/article.htm


Safe Exercise for Heart Disease Patients

Over the past decades, numerous scientific reports have examined the relationships between physical activity, physical fitness, and cardiovascular health. Expert panels, convened by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the American Heart Association (AHA), along with the 1996 US Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health,  reinforced scientific evidence linking regular physical activity to various measures of cardiovascular health. The prevailing view in these reports is that more active or fit individuals tend to develop less coronary heart disease (CHD) than their sedentary counterparts. If CHD develops in active or fit individuals, it occurs at a later age and tends to be less severe.

Source: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/107/1/e2


Heart Disease

You know how important your heart is, so it's no wonder people worry when they hear someone has heart problems.Heart disease, also called cardiovascular (say: kar-dee-oh-vas-kyoo-lur) disease, mainly affects older people and means that there are problems with the heart and blood vessels.
You might know someone who has cardiovascular disease because 61 million Americans have some form of it. This disease includes a variety of problems, including high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, chest pain, heart attacks, and strokes.

Source: http://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/conditions/heart_disease.html


Heart disease: Exercising for a healthy heart

When you have coronary artery disease, it is very important to exercise regularly. If you aren't already active, your doctor may want you to begin an exercise program. Even if you can only do a small amount of exercise, it is better than not doing any exercise at all.
Key points Talk to your doctor before beginning an exercise program. Your doctor may do an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) and possibly an exercise stress test to assess how much activity your heart can safely handle.After you start exercising, stop your activity immediately if you experience chest pain, feel faint or lightheaded, or become extremely out of breath.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/heart-treatment/heart-disease-exercising-for-a-healthy-heart/healthwise--te7797.html

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Warning signs when buying a used Hot Tub Or Spa

You've tried ads in a used hot tub and found what looks like a large. Or perhaps a friend has offered to make you buy them, or maybe I have received a tub used as a freebie. It's really a good deal? There is no way to tell for sure until you have it installed and running.

The first and most important thing is to not buy and pay for any used spa or hot tub that you have not seen in operation and tested completely. The purchase of a"dry"tub is a disappointment waiting to happen. You might get lucky and everything goes well, but also stand the chance of having a budget-busting disaster on your hands.

You should also keep in mind that the simple movement of a tank puts a whole new set of stresses on the plumbing, tub shell, and the frame. An unnoticable crack in the spa, sitting in its original position is likely to be exacerbated by a truck and move it. This is especially true if the tank was repaired at times in the past. So, just because everything was going well when you checked it out, does not mean it will be exactly the same thing when you have finished your movement and installation.

• Even with a free hot tub will probably have some hidden fees and perhaps unexpected
• You must find a way to move it. Many"portable"hot tubs will not fall into the back of a truck.
• You must connect the power (and if you are not an electrician, this is something that should never be attempted by the owner of a house). This could involve trenching for power lines and the management of a drop to 220 volts, in addition to the supply of electricity.
• Once you get everything you need to fix something broke on the move, and repair damage or defects that were not visible when you have inspected.
• It is also likely need to buy other supplies (chemicals for water, a test kit, a new filter cartridge, and possibly a hot tub cover).
• Check the filter cartridge to ensure it is implemented and the filter itself is not torn or just completely exhausted.
• He has come with a hot tub cover? If the lid is broken, torn, discolored, waterlogged, or a thermal blanket is not included in the contract, then you could look at a significant additional cost.

If an inspection of the hot tub, be sure and check the following:

1. Use a thermometer to check the accuracy of the thermostat bath tub. If you are out of calibration, which is not necessarily a problem, but the information you need to know to operate the tub safely. If you won't heat the water to normal operating temperature (usually 104 degrees), which is another matter entirely. There may be a heating problem.
2. Open any door giving access to facilities or areas under the tub. Look for any leaks or signs of water. Check around the pump for any indication that the pump seals are leaking and should be replaced.
3. Listen to the sound of the pump running. Should be a constant buzz. Other sound should tell you that you have a replacement pump in your near future.
4. Turn on the fan and again, listen to the engine. It should sound a bit 'like a vacuum cleaner, and you hear a knocking, pinging, or scraping this is not normal and means that could be whipped out a credit card soon.

Any problems that are discovered may be used as points of negotiating a lower price to purchase. If you remember these issues to the seller, you might get a grant of money that will make the deal more attractive to you.

With all this said, there are some great values used in hot tubs. Only, they can not control things carefully so that you will not regret your decision. Budget for some unexpected expenses, and cross your fingers.

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Keeping Away From Heart Problems

Question : I AM in my early 30s and recently I went for a blood test. The results showed that I have an elevated blood cholesterol level. I was advised to take a fish oil supplement to prevent cardiovascular disease. Can you tell me which fish oil supplement is good for me?

Answer : PREVENTION is always better than cure. If the cholesterol level is not well-controlled, it may lead to cardiovascular disease later. Excessive cholesterol in the blood will increase the risk of atherosclerosis and eventually lead to heart attack or stroke.

Fish oil is the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Clinical studies have shown that regular intake of fish oil can reduce the risk of a fatal heart attack by 20 per cent and lower elevated triglyceride levels.

A high-grade fish oil concentrate is sourced from fish such as sardine and anchovy that are caught from clean waters. These types of fish have a shorter life cycle and are non predatory as they are feed on plants; thus there is less possibility of these fish accumulating environmental toxins like mercury, lead, dioxin and etc. Furthermore, fish oil that undergoes molecular distillation and a proprietary purification technology (super refining) to further reduce the trace impurities and environmental toxin has an excellent safety profile. Normally fish oil supplements are produced as either Omega-3 triglycerides or ethyl esters. Many scientists believe that triglycerides form is more bio-available (70 per cent better absorbed) than the synthetic ethyl esters form.

Besides taking fish oil, reduce or avoid red meat, animal fats and their products, organ meat, fried food, sweet desserts and alcohol consumption. Drink plenty of plain water and take more fruit and vegetables. Exercise regularly too for optimum health.

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