Posts Tagged ‘American Heart Association’

The Little Known Dangers of Low Carb Diets

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Up. Down. Up. Down. The world of a perpetual dieter is a never-ending rollercoaster. Gaining and losing weight is just another part of the daily struggle. There’s a reason the dieting industry is raking in billions of dollars a year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Fad diets have been a huge selling point. We’ve all tried our share of crazy ones! Anyone remember the hot chocolate diet? Not so good. How about the yam diet? Yeah, let’s forget that one ever happened! Some plans haven’t been so easily dismissed. The low carb diet has continually gained momentum and it seems everyone has tried it at some point. However, there are little known dangers when it comes to this eating plan – some that cannot be ignored.

The low carb diet can be very dangerous to your heart. This is true whether or not you’ve ever had issues with this area of your health before. The American Heart Association was so concerned they actually drafted a paper outlining the danger. They know a low carb diet often means a high protein diet. This can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol and cause a fertile breeding ground for cardiovascular disease. This is when a heart attack could sneak in. Scary stuff. Critics of diets like this say any weight loss is temporary, which makes the entire process an exercise in futility that only leaves you with a bad heart.

If you like to use your brain (and don’t most of us?), a low carb diet should be reconsidered. The brain needs carbohydrates, or more specifically glucose, to continue working. In fact, it needs twice as much energy than any other body part. Neurons (which are the cells that communicate with one another) are constantly working and need to be re-energized on an on-going basis. This can’t happen if there isn’t a supply of glucose coming in. If you are using your brain to figure out a problem, the demand is even higher. So, the next time you’re trying to figure out your taxes or maybe even just how much money your children are siphoning out of your life, eat a granola bar!

Eating fewer carbs to lose weight can backfire. A low carb diet has been shown to result in a loss of muscle. Just like glucose fuels the brain, it also fuels your muscles. This means you’ll lose muscle tone and start getting flabby. Less muscle also means your metabolism will slow down and you’ll lose weight even more slowly than to begin with. Doesn’t that seem awfully futile? Thought so.

There’s a reason experts suggest a balanced diet to lose weight. The truth is we need a little bit of everything to keep our bodies functioning at an optimum level. Cutting out certain foods won’t do the trick. Instead of driving yourself crazy by following the latest and greatest fad diet, take a step back and aim to be healthy. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight! Take a deep breath, eat a piece of bread and go to sleep happy!

Article Source: ADB Article Directory

I’ve reviewed the most effective weight loss strategies on the internet today, to check out the best ways to lose that extra weight then visit www.5minutereviews.com/WeightLoss.html

The Little Known Dangers of Low Carb Diets

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Up. Down. Up. Down. The world of a perpetual dieter is a never-ending rollercoaster. Gaining and losing weight is just another part of the daily struggle. There’s a reason the dieting industry is raking in billions of dollars a year and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Fad diets have been a huge selling point. We’ve all tried our share of crazy ones! Anyone remember the hot chocolate diet? Not so good. How about the yam diet? Yeah, let’s forget that one ever happened! Some plans haven’t been so easily dismissed. The low carb diet has continually gained momentum and it seems everyone has tried it at some point. However, there are little known dangers when it comes to this eating plan – some that cannot be ignored.

The low carb diet can be very dangerous to your heart. This is true whether or not you’ve ever had issues with this area of your health before. The American Heart Association was so concerned they actually drafted a paper outlining the danger. They know a low carb diet often means a high protein diet. This can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol and cause a fertile breeding ground for cardiovascular disease. This is when a heart attack could sneak in. Scary stuff. Critics of diets like this say any weight loss is temporary, which makes the entire process an exercise in futility that only leaves you with a bad heart.

If you like to use your brain (and don’t most of us?), a low carb diet should be reconsidered. The brain needs carbohydrates, or more specifically glucose, to continue working. In fact, it needs twice as much energy than any other body part. Neurons (which are the cells that communicate with one another) are constantly working and need to be re-energized on an on-going basis. This can’t happen if there isn’t a supply of glucose coming in. If you are using your brain to figure out a problem, the demand is even higher. So, the next time you’re trying to figure out your taxes or maybe even just how much money your children are siphoning out of your life, eat a granola bar!

Eating fewer carbs to lose weight can backfire. A low carb diet has been shown to result in a loss of muscle. Just like glucose fuels the brain, it also fuels your muscles. This means you’ll lose muscle tone and start getting flabby. Less muscle also means your metabolism will slow down and you’ll lose weight even more slowly than to begin with. Doesn’t that seem awfully futile? Thought so.

There’s a reason experts suggest a balanced diet to lose weight. The truth is we need a little bit of everything to keep our bodies functioning at an optimum level. Cutting out certain foods won’t do the trick. Instead of driving yourself crazy by following the latest and greatest fad diet, take a step back and aim to be healthy. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight! Take a deep breath, eat a piece of bread and go to sleep happy!

Niche Article Directory: http://www.thatsmyniche.com

I’ve reviewed the most effective weight loss strategies on the internet today, to check out the best ways to lose that extra weight then visit www.5minutereviews.com/WeightLoss.html

Ways to Prevent High Cholesterol Levels

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Ways to Prevent High
Cholesterol Levels

 
One of the most common health
topics in the US is Cholesterol control and do you know that over 100 million
Americans have cholesterol levels that are higher than the normal cholesterol
level? Though most of us are keen in reducing cholesterol, not all of us know
that cholesterol is produced by our own body and it is essential for our body.
There is difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. If we would
like to prevent high cholesterol levels we need to first understand clearly
about cholesterol and the type of cholesterol that we need to control or reduce.

 
Cholesterol which does not
dissolve in our blood is transported using carriers called lipoproteins. There
are high density lipoproteins (HDL) and low density lipoproteins (LDL). The LDL
cholesterol is considered to be bad; when the concentration of the LDL
cholesterol is high it starts forming thick, hard plaques on the inner walls of
the arteries that carry blood to the heart and brain. This leads to other health
complications including heart attack.
 
HDL cholesterol is good for the
body and they protect us from heart attack and if the concentration of HDL
cholesterol is low then it can increase the risk of heart disease.
So when we want to reduce cholesterol level in our
blood we need to look at ways that will help us reduce the bad cholesterol
levels. We always tend to think or we have been taught wrongly that by changing
our food habits we can totally reduce cholesterol levels. This is only partially
true because the main source of cholesterol is our own body. The American Heart
Association teaches that about 75% of blood cholesterol is from our liver and
the other cells of our body and only 25% of blood cholesterol is from that food
that we consume.
It is obvious that we need additional assistance
to reduce cholesterol level in our body besides a healthy diet. Cholesterol
lowering supplements play a great role in helping us reduce bad cholesterol. The
best way to deal with cholesterol is prevention and
Hypercet Cholesterol Formula

is one of the best cholesterol lowering supplements that has very basic
ingredients Calcium, Magnesium, Beta 1, 3d glucans, and Chromium. Hypercet
Cholesterol Formula acts effectively in keeping the cholesterol levels that are
already in normal range under control. This cholesterol supplement does not only
help you in reducing cholesterol but it also helps you to maintain optimum
health.
Some of us tend to produce more bad cholesterol in
our body and genetics can be one of the reasons for this. So you must take
cholesterol lowering supplements that really work to keep your bad cholesterol
levels under control.
When you want to buy your cholesterol lowering
supplements, it is important that you get them from a reliable store so that you
can be sure of the quality of the cholesterol supplement that you are buying and
that it is not a fake product. Visit

www.cholesterol-protection.com
to buy original cholesterol lowering
supplements.

Niche Article Directory: http://www.thatsmyniche.com

Paul Grover is author of this article on cholesterol lowering supplements. Find more information about cholesterol supplements here.