Tag: High Cholesterol

Smoking Related Health Problems in Adolescents

Smoking is the cause of many diseases and kills about four hundred and forty two thousand people every year in the United States. In spite of anti smoking campaigns and billboard warnings, more and more people are joining the bandwagon of smokers every year. Out of the total number of new smokers, ninety percent are children and adolescents, replacing smokers who have quit or died early due to a disease caused by smoking. Smoking is the top cause of preventable and premature deaths, followed by obesity.

Smoking not only increases the risk of lung disease, but also increases the risk of contracting lung cancer, oral cancer, emphysema, stroke and heart disease. Certain statistics by the American Lung Associations show alarming results. Over five thousand adolescents smoke their very first cigarette every day, out of which over two thousand turn into regular smokers. Presently there are nearly five million adolescents smokers. Twenty percent of the twelfth graders smoke cigarettes regularly.

Smoking has many harmful affects on the health of a human being. It damages the cardiovascular system, causes high blood pressure, increases heart rate, increases the risk of ischemic stroke, increases the risk of formation of blood clot formation, and decreases the oxygen amount which reaches the tissues in the body, reduces coronary blood flow & cardiac output, and damages the blood vessels. Smoking not only affects physical health, but mental health too. It causes psychological distress and depression.

Smoking not only affects the person who smokes but also other people who surround him/her. According to the American Heart Association, nearly thirty five thousand passive smokers die of smoke inhaled from a lit pipe, cigar or cigarette. People who do not smoke directly and inhale smoke from a cigarette smoke by his/her neighbor is known as passive smoker, secondary smoker or indirect smoker. Among the passive smokers, women, children and infants are at a higher risk. Infants and children who are exposed to smoke develop asthma, frequent ear infections and may even experience infant death syndrome. The symptoms experienced by secondary smokers are coughing, excess mucus formation in the airways, chest discomfort, chest pain, and lung irritation. They even feel irritation of throat, nose and eyes. If the passive smokers experiences chest pain, it can be an indication of a heart disease. Sometimes the symptoms of secondary smoking can coincide with the symptoms of other medical conditions. Hence, it is recommended to contact the doctor immediately after the surfacing of the symptoms.

In active smokers, smoking, apart from building up high cholesterol in blood, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and diabetes. So smoking cessation will not only reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, which is top of the list, but also decreases the risk by fifty percent of heart attacks and deaths caused by it. But quitting smoking undertakes lots of physical and mental efforts. The person should be made mentally relaxed and stress free. In case of adolescents, they can be asked to exercise regularly and sleep adequately. The American Lung Association and The American Academy of Otolaryngology have developed certain tips which can be of great help to the smokers who are thinking of quitting. The smokers must first be made to understand the reason for quitting. Stress only makes even more difficult to quit smoking, so a stress free period should be chosen to quit. Family and friends encouragement and support are extremely necessary to persuade the smoker to quit. If the support isnt sufficient, smokers can join a smoking cessation program or a support group to attain their goals. A balanced diet is a must, along with lots of rest.

Sometimes taking nicotine replacement products, such as nicotine chewing gum, nicotine inhalers, and nicotine patch, are a great help to smokers who want to quit. By using these products the smokers can satisfy their nicotine craving. The good thing is that these nicotine replacement products can deduct the poisonous gases and tars emitted by the cigarettes. But nursing and pregnant women should consult a doctor before trying nicotine replacement products. For such people non-nicotine alternative is available in the market.

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Selecting Chlesterol Free Foods

Almost everybody knows the effects of bad cholesterol in the body. By bad cholesterol, it literally has to do with low-density lipoprotein’s molecular transport deposits that thicken in the walls of the arteries hindering the flawless passage of blood affecting the atherogenic status of the arterial walls. While few people do not fully appreciate the importance of cholesterol in the body, this non-soluble waxy substance is essential to aid in building membranes, manufacture of bile, cell walls, nerve sheaths, and produce hormones.

However, exposing the body to high cholesterol supply result to hypertensions and other cardiovascular disorders or lead to atherosclerosis, a disposition of fatty substances, and fibrosis of the inner arteries.

Certain ways to check and reduce high levels of cholesterol are:

– practicing good eating habits accompanied by regular exercise.

– Indulging in a wrong kind of lifestyle or over indulgence enhances the rise in cholesterol levels.

Good Eating Habits include:

1. Pre-arranging a total cholesterol-free daily diet by creating a whole week menu with vegetable-packed recipes, accompanied by good supply of fiber-filled fruits. If you could possibly buy or produce organically produced food types from such sources as organic gardens, so much the better. Chemicals enhance the increase in cholesterol level. Carbohydrates should be of high complex standards.

Some supermarkets abound in the availability of fresh organic vegetables like lettuce. The high fiber-content of vegetables that you eat will reduce the LDL cholesterol, because these foods are very low-cholesterol-content, or non-containing at all. There are of course foods that enhance low-density lipoprotein to develop to be a total risk, and settle in the arteries during the process of the lipoprotein molecules travel to the blood stream.

2. If egg is included in your meals, eat more egg white, never the egg yolk if you’re already an LDC possibility-individual. Concentrate on baked foods that are made from whole wheat, and noodles made from cereals. Use unrefined sugar in your light beverages. Fully refined food preparations are processed thru certain chemicals for fine or whitening effects for marketing ends, but are in fact health hazards.

3. Water is the universal solvent. There is no harm in drinking more water, following the daily water requirements standard to aid in the total digestion process to balance body equilibrium in cleaning the body to improve blood circulation.

4. Eat more root crops than artificially made or baked foods that are prepared with certain additives, coloring, and extenders for commercial purposes.

5. Drink fresh fruit juices, instead of manufactured soft drinks with high sugar content and artificial colorings and additives. Practically, anyone who drinks chocolate beverage, or any chemical drinks and caffeine-filled, like strong coffee risks himself or herself to certain cholesterol levels.

Always remember that trans fats and hydrogenated fats or oils used in the baking or in food processing are even more destructive the saturated fats of some oil origin. Use in preparing your food selected palm oils, especially “olive oil.” It may be costly, but it is the safest oil to use in the kitchen for overall safety of all family members against the ill effect of too much cholesterol.

The best habit to consider is a regular check up of your cholesterol count, so as to safeguard against instant increase that might lead to unaware possible consequence of a fatal hypertension, or stroke due to unprecedented cholesterol rise.

Foods to Avoid to Lower Cholesterol

One past time that people love to do is eating. This can happen at anytime aside from the three basic meals of the day whenever the person is craving for something.

Whenever the individual buys the snack or meal to suit that craving, little attention is paid on how much cholesterol the food has. In fact, a lot of those of the dishes made in fast food joint are unhealthy which has prompted McDonalds to print the calories, cholesterol and other things on each product given to the customer.

The growing number of those who are overweight and obese has caught the attention of doctors since this means there are a lot of people now who are considered to be high risk of suffering from heart disease or stroke in the United States.

Aside from advising people to visit the doctor annually, many are suggesting to make some lifestyle changes before it is too late. This usually means making some changes in the food being eaten since this is the only way to control the amount of cholesterol going in the system.

So what type of foods must be avoided to have lower levels of cholesterol in the body? The first is reducing the quantity of red meat being consumed. A good example is steak, ham and bacon that is high in fat.

Giving it up will be difficult so eating smaller portions should be done especially for those who are moderate or at a high risk of getting a heart disease or a stroke.

Fried food such as hamburgers and fries should also be avoided. The ingredients and oil used in cooking these things are also high in cholesterol that could be dangerous to ones health. This also includes pre-packaged frozen meals that a lot of people will just throw in the microwave after a long day at the office.

Dairy products such as milk, eggs and chicken should also be reduced. If the person has a hard time giving this up, this can be substituted using non-fat milk or yogurt to provide calcium that the body needs.

It is safe for kids to have junk food, candies and cake. As the individual gets older, these things have to be avoided. This is because the ingredients used in making these products are high in fat.

Now that more or less the food the person should avoid has been revealed, it is time to mention those that can be substituted to maintain a good diet.

Ideally, those who want to reduce the cholesterol intake should have a diet that contains less than 30% of fat. Those who can eat less will do better in living a healthy life.

The best products in the market to get are beans, fish oil, fruits, garlic, grains, soy, vegetables and whole grain bread. These things have vitamins and minerals as well as omega 3 acids that are known to reduce cholesterol levels in the body.

Different variations can be done daily so the person will not get tired of eating the same thing just to have a healthy diet. If planning this is difficult, a dietitian will gladly help and make changes every week so the cholesterol levels will improve when the patient pays another visit to the clinic.

Foods That Help Lower Cholesterol

Reality shows are one of the biggest things people watch on television. This is because the events that happen are not scripted and naturally unfold in front of the viewer. One show that is helping people want to become healthy again is the biggest loser.

The contestants are a bunch of overweight men and women who work out and go on a diet and at the end of the week; one of these players will be eliminated. The person who loses the biggest number of pounds after a three-month campaign will win $250,000 and have a second chance of living a healthy life.

The individual doesnt have to fight for money in order to make some lifestyle changes. As the saying goes. health is wealth and this is something more precious than any sheet of paper with a dollar sign has to offer.

People are able to burn more calories while exercising. This means the body will burn the food eaten and this has to be replaced so there is energy after to do other functions. The individual should get a meal that has the right amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats so this can repair damaged tissue, refuel and lower the bodys cholesterol.

Here are some examples of food that should be eaten after a workout.

Eating bread has been known to replenish the energy lost after a workout. Since this has certain ingredients that are high in bad cholesterol, this can be substituted for wheat bread that is much healthier. Nuts can also help lower the cholesterol and getting some low fat peanut butter will surely make a great sandwich.

Having a fruit is also good to lower the cholesterol. It is advisable to eat as a whole instead of taking away the skin or turning this into a juice. Studies have shown that eating it the way it is keeps the natural fibers that are good for the person. An apple is just one of many fruits that can be eaten once it has been washed.

If the person wants to save some money after going to the gym, it is best to pack some snacks that can be consumed after a workout. Cutting some carrot sticks or slicing a few tomatoes then packing it in a plastic container will come in handy after taking a shower and reporting for work or when going home.

When the person comes home, it is time to prepare something that can provide better sustenance. An example could be having some fish or chicken thrown into the microwave or having it steam. Studies have shown that frying using cooking oil also increases the persons cholesterol level so cooking it in another manner can reduce this.

Having some vegetables along will help make this a healthy meal. Some garlic and onions can be prepared since studies have shown this to lower the livers production of cholesterol. The serving for tonight can end with some yogurt for dessert leaving the individual satisfied and light.

Lowering the cholesterol will not happen overnight. By observing a proper diet with exercise, the individual will be able to lose weight and cuts down the cholesterol levels that puts the person in potential danger of high blood pressure, a stroke or a heart attack.