Posts Tagged ‘heart’
Can You Lower Blood Pressure With Fish Oil?
There are now clearly established heart benefits from increasing your intake of the essential fatty acids found in fish oil known as omega 3 fats. For this reason the American Heart Association recommends that each of us undertake a minimum intake of Omega3 fats every week. These are heart benefits such as a reduction in the risks of coronary heart disease, but today lets ask whether there is a fish oil blood pressure link or whether increasing your intake of fish oil can help lower blood pressure.
High blood pressure, otherwise known as hypertension, affects many people in our population. Particularly those who are overweight can suffer from high blood pressure and may well spend years on drugs designed to lower blood pressure. If there is an omega 3 blood pressure link this may be good news to many people.
And the good news is that there are studies showing a clear link between increasing fish oil intake and lowering blood pressure. A study of 120 people split this group into 5 subgroups and supplemented each subgroup with a combination of fish, fish oil supplements or a placebo. The conclusion was that supplementation with omega 3 essential fatty acids found in fish oil helps lower blood pressure.
There are 2 principal omega 3 essential fatty acids. These are called DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). A further study concluded that it is primarily the DHA which is responsible for reducing hypertension.
People who are overweight have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Another study examined lowering hypertension with omega3 in overweight people. Again this study found a clear link between increasing intake of essential fatty acids and lowering blood pressure, including amongst overweight people, and concluded that increasing the intake of fishoil with omega 3 essential fatty acids can help reduce hypertension and when taken in conjunction with a weight-loss regime in people who are already taking antihypertensive drugs can “substantially” reduce their dependence on those drugs.
There is a wide range of health benefits from increasing your intake of omega 3 and these benefits now extend to lowering hyperension. However there are sufficient heart and health benefits from increasing your intake of omega 3 fatty acids that even those with no incidence of hypertension have a wide range of health benefits available to them from increasing fish oil intake. This includes reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as increasing mental acuity and memory and reducing the risk of a range of age related diseases, and more.
The science is in on the heart benefits of increasing your intake of Omega3 fats in the American Heart Association tells us all to do this, given that over 90 percent of us have a deficient intake of omega 3. This is now more important for anyone with hypertension.
So it seems there is a clear blood pressure fish oil link. If you increase your intake of Omega3 fats you will help lower high blood pressure and may also reduce any reliance on antihypertensive drugs.
So how do you increase your intake of Omega3 fats? You could eat more fish but fish is expensive and contaminated with mercury and for this reason the FDA tells us not to eat too much fish.
But it is perfectly adequate and indeed preferable, and very cost effective to take daily omega 3 supplements, and the best ones are contamination free, though there is a wide variation in the quality of the different brands.
I take fish oil capsules myself and ensure my family does as well. To find out which ones visit my website.
Want to know more about Fish Oil? Or more about the Fish Oil Blood pressure link? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
Tags: benefits of omega 3, cardio, dietary supplements, fish oil, fish oil blood pressure, Health, health and fitness, heart, omega 3, omega 3 blood pressure, omega 3 fats, omega-3 fatty acids, Supplements
The many advantages of getting an online CPR Certification
CPR is a term we all have heard at one time or another. Some of us may actually be alive today because a friend, family member, or even an unknown bystander performed the life-saving emergency procedure Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation on us. CPR consists of performing alternating chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing. These specific actions will supply a continuous flow of oxygen to the lungs and brain and can help a victim regain consciousness. If a person is not responding right away, CPR needs to be continued until professionally trained medical personnel arrive.
The human brain can only survive an average of five minutes without oxygen. Once that time has passed, the brain will most likely be permanently damaged. People suffering cardiac arrest, a stroke, or those suffocating, drowning, or choking will most likely receive CPR. There also are other situations in which CPR can be used to revive a victim. These may include people suffering from an allergic reaction, or accidents such as being hit by lightening, a drug or alcohol overdose, a diabetic insulin shock, and other injury traumas.
One never knows when fate comes knocking at our door and CPR skills can save someones life. Taking a CPR course is no longer restricted to real classrooms and many great schools now also offer a convenient online study option. This means you can review your lessons anywhere you want, even at home, while junior is taking his afternoon nap. If your boss signed you up for a course, you can inspect the curriculum, while sipping a cup of coffee at work.
The American Health Care Academy is a great online institution that makes registering for their courses real simple. Click on the appropriate link at cpraedcourse.com, fill out your personal information and head toward the payment page. Once the affordable payment has been approved, the course lessons will immediately become available to you.
After reading the course material and watching the step-by-step video demonstrations, you will take an online quiz. Once you pass, you will instantly receive your CPR certification. You can print the certificate as proof that you successfully completed the course, maybe even frame it. An additional CPR certification card will be mailed to you. If for some reason you fail, you can retake the test without having to pay again.
Receiving a CPR certificate means that you will be trained in recognizing emergency situations and know how to act accordingly. You will also learn how to respond to unconscious adults, children and infants. Other related subjects may be Automated External Defibrillator (AED), responding to choking victims, and how to place your subjects in a recovery position.
Online CPR courses are designed to let you work at your own pace. Usually, the completion time for a course averages 1 to 3 hours. If you do not have that much time in one sitting, no problem! You can return to the course at anytime, and will have unlimited access to the training material for 60 days from the date of purchase.
One of the key reasons why online courses, such as those from the American Health Care Academy are as recognized as those taken in bricks and mortar classrooms is that the instructors are trained by the American Red Cross and American Heart Association. This means that the CPR certification of these graduates is also valid for 2 years from the date it was issued.
Getting CPR certification comes strongly recommended, especially by those once rescued by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. You never know when you will need it. Just imagine! A few days before your wedding you, your fianc and the rest of the wedding party are enjoying a nice rehearsal dinner. Suddenly your father-in-law starts choking. Violently coughing his head hits the table and he stops breathing. One of the guests calls the emergency services, but you know it will take minutes before they arrive. Fortunately, you just got your CPR certification and know exactly what to do. You not only will save a life and live happily ever after, but will also be the son-in-law that can never do wrong!
Tags: AED, cardiovascular, cpr course, cpr online course, crp, Health, heart
What Exactly Are The Benefits Of Flax Seed Oil To Your Health?
There are a number of different Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. The main one of benefit to us is called DHA, or what is technically called Docosahexaenoic acid. DHA is the dominant Omega 3 fatty acid found in our brains.
Both are good for your health and both are found fish oil supplements because they are present in the oil found in fish.
However there is also a third Omega 3 acid that is important but not as important as the other two. This is called ALA. Where is the first two essential fatty acids are found in marine sources such as fish the third essential fatty acid ALA is a plant-based acid. This is present in flax seeds more then in any other plant-based sauce and for this reason flax seed oil is used as a polyunsaturated Omega 3 supplement.
So let’s see what are the health benefits of flax seed oil as an Omega 3 health supplement. It is not only in flax seeds that you find Omega three fats in the oil, you can also find these fats in the oil of other plant-based foods such as walnuts. However it is most common in flax seeds. That is why flax seeds are used in the major plant-based Omega 3 supplement.
The main benefit of flax seed oil supplements is in the ability of the human body can change the ALA into DHA and EPA. The ALA cannot be used directly by the body but the body can convert it into DHA and EPA.
The main difference between DHA, EPA and ALA is in the different carbon bonds of each of the molecules. There are highly complex chemical reasons for this. However, the bottom line is that the body can use DHA and EPA directly, where it cannot use ALA without changing it into the other two acids first.
ALA itself has not been shown to have the health benefits of the other 2 Omega fats.
Therefore the medical benefits of flaxseed oil lie in the ability of the body to convert the ALA. Unfortunately the body is not very efficient in doing this, and only a small proportion of the ALA is actually converted. Of course if you took a lot of flaxseed oil supplements your body may be able to convert enough to satisfy the need for an adequate amount of DHA and EPA.
But why not get your DHA and EPA directly, from fish oil supplements, rather than indirectly, from flaxseed oil capsules? It’s more efficient to do it that way. Use the best fish oil capsules and you’ll get your DHA and EPA direct, and at better value.
The people who can benefit from flax seed oil supplements are those who cannot eat fish. Most vegetarians do not eat fish and they will be deficient in the very important polyunsaturated fatty acids that they should be getting in their diet.
Vegetarians should be taking some form of omega-3 supplementation and if they cannot take fish oil supplements they can get their essential fatty acids from flax seed oil supplements.
However it is also possible to get vegetarian Omega three capsules that come from marine sources that do not include fish. These marine sources are primarily algae and it is actually from eating algae that the fish get their Omega 3 fats from in any event.
So it is possible to get marine based vegetarian Omega 3 supplements. Whether these are better than flax seed oil supplements will be the subject of another article.
Concluding my article about the benefits of flax seed oil is quite clear that there are benefits from taking flax seed oil supplements however these benefits are much less than the benefits of taking fish oil supplements. The benefits of flax seed oil come from the ability of the human body to convert a plant-based Omega three fats into a marine-based Omega three fat.
It’s quite clear that flax seeds are good for you, and if you have the opportunity you ought to eat them by taking flax seed supplements is not as good value as taking the best fish oil supplements.
Visit my website to find out where to source the best Omega 3 fish oil supplements.
Want to know more about Fish Oil Benefits? Or more about Flaxseed Oil Benefits? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
Tags: benefits of flaxseed oil, benefits of omega 3, cardio, dietary supplements, family, fish oil, flaxseed oil benefits, Health, health and fitness, heart, omega 3, omega 3 fats, omega-3 fatty acids, Supplements
What Cholesterol Really Is
Today’s health gurus spend plenty of time talking about cholesterol. You might be surprised to find out that this substance is actually necessary for the body. It is used to build cell walls that help the body produce necessary substances like hormones and bile. However, the body doesn’t need much cholesterol to function properly. When it begins to build up, it can have a detrimental effect on the cardiovascular system specifically and the rest of the body overall.
A Good Thing In Small Amounts
The good cholesterol becomes a problem when there are too much and the body is unable to eliminate this excess from the system. The excess cholesterol then builds up as a plaque in the arteries and in doing so blocks the flow of blood.
When blood cannot flow as easily, the heart must work that much harder to keep the blood moving through the body. This puts a strain on the heart, and places the person at much higher risk for cardiovascular disease and a heart attack.
It is indeed the strain on the heart that makes it so important that you monitor your cholesterol on a regular basis. Once an individual is diagnosed with high cholesterol he and his doctor can work together using exercise, diet and medication to lower cholesterol to allow the heart to return to normal. Make sure you check your cholesterol levels on a regular basis as early diagnosis leads to early intervention.
What Types Are There
There is more than one type of cholesterol found in the body. The first is low density lipoproteins, or LDL. LDL delivers cholesterol to the body, so the lower the number of LDL, the better for the patient. High density lipoproteins, or HDL, help remove cholesterol from the bloodstream.
A higher HDL generally means a healthier cardiovascular system. The numbers are figured individually and then factored together for a complete cholesterol level that provides a good indication of the overall health of the cardiovascular system.
Understanding what cholesterol is and how it can both benefit and negatively influence the cardiovascular system is an important step towards heart health. Regular monitoring of your cholesterol levels is an important step towards making the necessary changes for a healthier heart.
You can talk to your doctor about what good cholesterol levels are and how you can achieve or maintain them.
Aaron Black is a health expert and blogger. If you have ever asked the question how do I lower my cholesterol or want more information on natural cures for high cholesterol you can find the answers on Cholesterol Natural Remedies.com
Tags: cardiovascular, cholesterol, diet, exercise, Health, heart, heart health, how do i lower my cholesterol, natural cures for cholesterol, natural remedies, Nutrition
Is There An ADHD Fish Oil Link?
Does someone in your family have ADHD? Fish oil may provide the answer. Whilst it is still not conclusively proven, it is clear that using fish oil for ADHD relief may well be worthwhile.
ADHD, or what is otherwise known as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, affects about 7 percent of children in the US. Most of these are boys and somewhere around 70 percent continue to adulthood suffering from ADHD. Omega 3 fatty acids have in many studies been shown to be important for the development of the fetal brain and also as a partial treatment for the symptoms of depression and there is now evidence emerging that using fish oil for ADHD treatment may be useful.
Studies on ADHD sufferers have shown that they have very low levels of Omega 3 fatty acids (essential fatty acids) in their bodies. In particular the 2 most important essential fatty acids are the Omega 3 fats called DHA and EPA. These are found primarily in fish, fish oil and for our purposes, in supplements made with fish oil.
A study done recently by the Inflammation Research Foundation study 3 boys and 6 girls who were all diagnosed with the symptoms of ADHD. These include in ability to concentrate on the task for an extended period of time, hyperactivity and other disruptive behavior.
Study went over 8 weeks during which time the children were given high doses of Omega 3 fatty acids by way of fish oil supplements. Their are DHA and EPA levels were monitored and other factors relevant to their degree of ADHD were also monitored.
It was observed that their levels of EPA and DHA increased dramatically and the indicators of their degree of ADHD fell. Their inattention school almost halved from 18 to 10 and their hyperactivity score fell from 11 to 5. Both of these results are impressive for sufferers of ADHD. Omega 3 supplementation seems to have had a very noticeable affect.
It’s too early to say that using fish oil to treat ADHD is an adequate treatment regime, certainly as a stand-alone treatment. However it does seem that there is now clear evidence that using fish oil ADHD relief is well worth considering. There seems to be clearly between levels of Omega 3 and ADHD hyperactivity levels.
And it is also unclear what dosage of fish oil supplementation should be used for ADHD sufferers. The dosage levels in the study were high.
But there is now little doubt that just about everyone in the US should be taking Omega 3 fish oil supplements, not just sufferers of ADHD. Omega 3 supplements benefit our health in a wide range of ways, including, it seems, in improving our mental state. It seems that adequate levels of essential fatty acids in our body to have an impact on conditions such as depression and ADHD.
So if a wide range of reasons children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ought to be taking Omega 3 essential fatty acids, both as a potential partial treatment for their condition and also to improve their overall general health.
Remember though that not all fish oil supplements are the same and that some have much higher levels of DHA and EPA than others do, and that therefore some offer much better value than others.
Visit my website to find out how you can compare the different Omega 3 fish oil capsules available on the market.
Want to know more about Fish Oil Benefits? Or more about using Fish Oil for ADHD relief? Visit Peter’s Website Healthy Omega 3 Fish Oil.
Tags: adhd fish oil, adhd omega 3, benefits of omega 3, cardio, dietary supplements, family, fish oil, Health, health and fitness, heart, omega 3, omega 3 fats, omega-3 fatty acids, Supplements
How Do You Know The Right Fish Oil Dosage?
Interesting question. How much fish oil should I take? What is the correct fish oil dosage?
How much do you take? What about the recommended dosage for fish oil capsules for someone with preexisting heart disease, do they take more Omega 3 supplements?
Lets see what the American Heart Association says. They know all about the benefits of fish oil to your health, and they also tell us a little about how much fish oil to take on their website.
What do they suggest?
Firstly though, lets consider the source of the fish oil. Now of course you could get your fish oil from eating fish. That’s fine, but be aware that there are some problems associated with this, (apart from the fact that fish is very expensive and its cheaper to buy fish oil supplements).
The first problem is that fish can have nasty contaminants in it. The FDA tell us to limit how much fish we eat for this reason.
This doesn’t apply to the best fish oil supplements, they go through a rigorous process to ensure that they are free from contaminants. Note that not all fish oil supplements are free from contaminants.
The next problem is how much Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats you get from different types of fish. The level varies from one type of fish to another, and its hard to know what you need to eat to get enough. Generally speaking oily fish such as mackerel, herring, sardines, lake trout, albacore tuna and salmon is better than non oily fish.
The AHA tells us that people with no known heart disease problems should have a minimum of 2 fish meals a week, of the right fish. But for the previously stated reasons it’s not so easy. What if fish is to expensive for you?
And they say that evidence from prospective secondary prevention studies suggests that taking EPA+DHA ranging from 0.5 to 1.8 grams per day (either as fatty fish or supplements) significantly reduces deaths from heart disease and all causes.
So healthy people should take around half a gram to 1.8 grams of fish oil (EPA and DHA) a day from either eating fish or fish oil supplements.
And for those who already have preexisting heart problems they tell us:
For those with documented Coronary Heart Disease: 1 gram of EPA and DHA a day. (Note that those with known heart health problems should consult a doctor before starting any supplements).
And for those seeking to lower triglycerides: 2 to 4 grams per day. Again, consult your doctor.
So there’s some more specific recommendations. Now lets look at another source.
There was a new study published just recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that suggests at least 500 mg (half a gram) per day for healthy people and 800 to 1000 mg for those with known cardio vascular issues.
But what about the ratio between DHA and EPA, the 2 major Omega 3 fats? How much of each? The AHA don’t tell us, it’s being studied.
So what can we deduce from all that? We can deduce that, firstly, the fish oil dosage for heart disease patients is higher than for people with no known heart disease.
And we don’t yet know what ration we should look for between EPA and DHA. But otherwise it’s relatively clear.
A minimum of a half gram a day of EPA and DHA together for healthy people and about double that for those with known heart issues. More for lowering triglycerides.
The best fish oil supplements have 400 mg of DHA and EPA combined, being 280 mg of DHA and 120 mg of EPA. That’s around double that of your “average” fish oil capsules.
So 2 capsules a day will give you 800 mg in total, around the level proposed by the AHA. And the recommended dosage, (taken from the label), for adults is 2 capsules a day.
The conclusion therefore is that if you use the best fish oil supplements and have no known preexisting heart problems, just follow the recommended dosages listed on the label. Other fish oil supplements may require you to take 4 or 5 or more capsules, depending on the quantity of Omega 3 fats in the capsules.
So I hope that helps a little for those looking for the correct fish oil dosage. There’s no exact recommendations, it’s still being studied.
But taking the recommendations of the AHA as a basis, we can draw some conclusions about the recommended dosage for fish oil supplements.
And those dosage conclusions correspond with the dosage recommendations of the best Omega 3 supplements money can buy. Take 2 capsules day for general heart health.
If you want to find the best fish oil capsules that have up to twice as much Omega 3 fats as others visit my website.
Tags: benefits of omega 3, cardio, dietary supplements, family, fish oil, fish oil dosage, Health, health and fitness, heart, omega 3, omega 3 dosage, omega 3 fats, omega-3 fatty acids, Supplements
Not All Calories Are Created Equal.
Calories, do you really understand its meaning? Most people still do not know what a calorie is. When asked about its meaning, most people would link it to dieting. However there is far more to calories than just a word that is linked to weight loss. Lets see if we can explain it a little better.
Understanding Calories
Ok…here goes… “calorie is a unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure; used by nutritionists to characterize the energy-producing potential in food.” This is how it is defined as per Wikipedia. What they do not tell you is that there are different types of calories.Nor do they mention how they are used by the body.
The main types of calories include: carbohydrates, fats and proteins. All of them burn when used in the body and then turn into heat energy, which is generally called calories.
Each type of calorie varies in terms of chemical and physical properties. Here are the basic things that you need to know about each calorie type.
The Fear Of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the most common type of calorie. It is found on foods that are rich on starch and sugar. Most of them are from plant-based foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. Most legumes, such as lentils, beans, and peas, are also rich with carbs. However, dairy products would be the only foods that come from animals which have a lot of carb content.
Typically carbohydrates can be classified into two subdivisions: simple and complex.
Simple carbs are normally sugars, such as glucose and fructose, which come from fruits and a few vegetables. Another type would be lactose, which comes from milk. Last would be sucrose, which comes from cane sugar. (Rule of thumb is any thing that ends in “ose” is a type of sugar.)
Everyday use sugar is pure sucrose. Most of the simple carbs that you eat are sugars are mixed with processed foods such as cookies, sodas etc. These add-ons are the major reason why sugar accounts for 16% to 18% of total calories that are consumed by Americans according to most health surveys.
The complex types are chains of simple carbs, which primarily consist of starches along with fiber, which can be found in all foods that come from plants. However, plants store carbohydrates in the form of starch. Foods that have high complex carbs would include grains and products that come from it like bread and pasta. Additionally, potatoes, beans, corn, and other vegetables are also high in complex carbs.
Shadowed Proteins
Since carbohydrates seem to be the most popular type of calorie, proteins on the other hand seem to be the most over shadowed in comparison with the fame of fats and carbs. However, it is an important kind of calorie that you’ll need to develop body muscle.
Proteins have 4 kilocalories per gram. Majority of this kind of calorie can not be naturally produced by the human body and must originate from dietary sources. The main sources of protein include: eggs, nuts, meats, legumes, grains, dairy products. (And yes some of these are also carb carriers.)
Recent studies suggest, men between ages 19 to 70 should consume 56g of protein everyday in order to avoid deficiency. On the other hand, women within the same age range should get at least 46g/day. Those people, who wish to increase muscle mass should consume more protein then the average. (Be sure to consult a doctor if your looking to gain muscle mass. In some cases the increase can become unhealthy if you have any type of heart condition.)
Fats
Fats,would probably be the most unwanted kind of calorie by many. However, it still plays an important role in the normal function of the body. The body cannot absorb Vitamins A, E, D and K if not for it. They play an important role in the maintenance of healthy hair and skin.
Animals and plants both contain types of fats. Types of animal fats would include lard, butter and fish oil, while plant fats would include soy beans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, olives, coconuts, sesames, and vegetable and seed oils.
Tags: cardio, fitness, Health, heart, loss, muscle, Nutrition, training, weight, weight managment, weight training
