Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Natural Cholesterol Treatments

By Julieanne van Zyl

Modern society speaks familiarly about "lowering your cholesterol", but do we even know what it is? All that most people know that it is bad for your health and that it is related to fatty intake, which is to some degree, correct.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance. Yellow in color, soft, it clings to your membranes and cell walls throughout the interior of your body systems. In order to stay healthy your body does need cholesterol, but since your body produces it we definitely do not need to add to it.

In order to stay healthy your body does need cholesterol, but since your body produces it we definitely do not need to add to it. There are things that you can do to keep your cholesterol in check and to keep your body healthy without use of medications, unless your cholesterol is critically out of control. Some cholesterol natural remedies have quite a bit to do with lifestyle changes.

To maintain optimum cholesterol levels you can:

If you are overweight take measures to reduce or maintain your weight if it is already optimal. Not only does excess weight cause your cholesterol levels to rise but it also keeps it imbalanced. high levels of cholesterol can and do clog up your blood vessels. Excess fat carried around the abdominal area and is a significant indicator that your cholesterol is too high.

Get regular exercise, ideally four times a week for 30-minutes is a very good way to keep your overall health at optimal condition. Regular exercise has been found to lower your cholesterol. By exercising regularly you are able to heighten your good cholesterol, HDL, and lower your bad cholesterol, LDL. Also, by exercising regularly you will be able to lose weight at a faster rate and to keep your weight maintained once you have lost it. Although some forms of exercise are better than others just concentrate on any form of exercise to get you moving.

Foods that lower cholesterol are:

Fruits, such as mangosteen, grapes, citrus fruits, strawberries, and apples Chicken Fish Whole grain cereals Lean meats Seeds Nuts, such as walnuts and pecans Olives and more.

Levels of cholesterol greater than the average will cause a great deal of harm to your body. It will cause health complications, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. If you have high cholesterol, confirm with your doctor about additional ways of lowering your cholesterol. A few lifestyle changes in regards weight, exercise, and dietary modifications and you can be healthier sooner than you think. It takes work, patience, self-control and lots of ambition, but it can be done. Your cholesterol levels can be returned to good health by following these natural remedies.

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How Can Banana Nutrients Help Your Health?

By Rachel Greene

Bananas are considered to be one of the most nutrient rich fruits that you can eat -- they are also one of the most popular fruits eaten today by people of all ages all over the globe. This combination means that few foods can have such a regular and positive impact on our health and well-being. So, let's take a closer look at how banana nutrients can help your health.

Bananas are a great source of vitamins for a start, including vitamins A, B and C, and we all need plenty of those. They are also rich in a variety of minerals including calcium, magnesium and potassium. The calcium content here, for example, is a great way of helping promote healthy bone growth for both children and in adults.

It is, however, the potassium content of the average banana that is considered to be the nutrient of most value in the opinion of most nutritionists and diet experts. Bananas contain such high levels of potassium that some doctors will even recommend eating them if their patients have low potassium levels and need a natural boost here. They are also a good source of fiber which is also important to your general health and everyday fitness.

You should also remember that the potassium boost that you can get from eating bananas regularly can also help keep you physically healthy in other ways. It is, for example, good for your heart and for your blood pressure. The potassium content in a banana also makes them the snack of choice for many athletes and fitness trainers. Potassium can go a long way to avoiding cramps and muscle spasms after exercise, for example.

Bananas are also an easily digested fruit which means that this can be an acceptable fruit to eat if you suffer from certain stomach problems such as ulcers. The way that a banana breaks down in your system helps protect the stomach and causes few problems. For this reason many people swear by eating bananas after a stomach upset or bout of diarrohea as the stomach can accept and digest bananas very easily without further problems.

Finally, bananas can be one of the greatest snacks that you can eat when you are on a diet. They are rich in natural healthy sugars which will immediately deal with any cravings you have for sugary foods. You will also get an immediate energy boost with a banana that is similar to the sugar rush that you will get from eating a sugary snack. The difference here is that a banana is good for you!

You will also find that your body processes the nutrients from a banana slowly and steadily. This means that most people will feel fuller for longer and they will not need the energy boost of sugary snacks as there will be a steady flow of natural sugars and carbohydrates going through their bodies. So, as you can now see, bananas can help you keep healthy in all kinds of ways!

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

Tell Me What Are Bioflavonoids and What Can They Do For Me?

By Carolyn Cooper

When you are seeking a bruising treatment that really works, or you are seeking a method that lets you work on healing bruises in particular, you will find that bioflavonoids are mentioned repeatedly. It seems like nearly everyone is talking about them, but what do you want to know about them? It's always a good idea to try to learn more about the supplements that are you curious about, and there is a plenty of interesting information regarding bioflavonoids themselves as well as how they can provide you with an excellent bruise treatment.

Bioflavonoids are found in plants, where they help the plant do things like create pigmentation and protect the plant from microbes or other forms of illness and harm. They are found in most plants, though they will vary in amount and intensity depending on what plants that you are looking at. There is very strong experimental evidence that points to them as being extremely helpful when it comes to helping our bodies react appropriately against a host of things that include viruses, cancer-causing agents and allergens. They will also act in an anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and anti-cancer manner.

There have been over 4000 bioflavonoids that have been discovered, and virtually all of them are helpful to your body. In the not to distant past, they were formerly known collectively as Vitamin P, but as we learn more about them, we are learning that there are several groups and that they all have their unique strengths.

Proanthocyanidins, which are also known as PCO's, are very potent and can be found in plant parts like grape seeds or the bark of the maritime pine. Similarly, quercetins are the most potent of the bioflavonoids and often make up a most powerful part of the other bioflavonoids. Citrus bioflavonoids are the ones that we most commonly come in contact with, and these are the ones that are most often used to treat people who bruise easily. They can also be used as a treatment for things like hemorrhoids, varicose veins and capillary permeability.

What part do bioflavonoids play in our ability to work on healing bruises and why are they such an effective bruise treatment? In the first place, taking them and making sure that you are getting enough of them is a good way to heal your body when there has been any kind of trauma at all to it, and that is essentially what a bruise is, whether you remember getting it or not. A bruise is essentially a capillary under the skin getting broken and seeping blood to the surrounding tissue, and taking bioflavonoids can help you heal up the damage much more quickly.

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An Alternative to Drugs - Natural Stress Relief

By Stephen Jablonski

Stress and anxiety are on the rise; we live in a busy-busy world so it's no wonder. And more and more people are looking for help coping with the extra stress. It used to be that prescription drugs were the first choice because they produced such fast results. But their side-effects and addictive qualities have cause natural stress relief alternatives to become more popular.

Natural stress relief remedies are not new. They've been used for thousands of years. Much of our modern drug industry is in fact based on old herbal remedies. They have the double benefit of not being addictive and also not carrying any severe side-effects. They're also almost always less expensive too. There's also another big difference.

Herbal remedies work with your body, not against it. While drugs work by just relieving the symptoms, these natural products work by strengthening the body's nervous system. They assist the body in its work to keep the proper hormonal balance in line. That makes it much more possible for your body to handle the stress you see every day.

It's good to remember that herbal-based remedies will take longer than drugs to achieve their effects. That's because they have a much milder effect on the body's systems. But this is a good thing. That's why they're non-addictive and that's why your body responds so well to them.

While natural remedies and their effectiveness, have been known for a long time, they weren't documented until relatively recently. Now there is literally massive amounts of research proving that herbs and other botanical treatments simply work. It's no longer anecdotal, it's been lab tested.

If you're looking for specific herbs, here's a brief list. Lemon Balm from Southern Europe was known to the ancient Greeks as a medicinal agent. Valerian from Europe and Asia has active calming qualities. Kava from Polynesia can soothe your nerves while still keeping your mind alert. And the list goes on.

You can find nearly all of these supplements fairly easily at your health food store. And you'll also find that they come in different varieties and formulations. Take Valerian for instance. You can usually find it sold as a tea, a tincture, or even in capsule form. There's a lot of variety to choose from.

When searching for a real stress relief supplement, take a look at natural remedies. They've been working for literally centuries and they're still working today. They're a very positive alternative to pharmaceutical drugs.

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Usage of Herbal Belladonna

By Sanjib Sarkar

Belladonna is a very poisonous plant species. A common name for Belladonna is deadly nightshade. The plant species is distributed throughout Europe, West Asia, North America and North Africa. Plants grow to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall with 18 cm (7 in) long. The plant grows berries which are extremely poisonous.

The berries from the Belladonna plant are extremely toxic. A child that swallows 5 berries in their mouth could potentially die. An adult that swallows 10 to 20 berries could also potentially die. Belladonna is a weed and can be identified in any wooden area. Belladonna should also not be consumed by certain livestock or dogs and cats. Cattle and rabbits are not affected by the Belladonna poison. These animals may safely eat the Belladona berries.

Conventional Medical Uses Of Belladonna

Over the counter flu and cough medicine contain small amounts of Belladonna. Belladonna is also used in minute amounts to dilate pupils.

Other medicines are often mixed with Belladonna. Prescription drugs such as Donnatal provides peripheral anticholinergic/antispasmodic action and mild sedation. This medicine has natural belladonna alkaloids combine with phenobarbital.

This medicine may help with the treatment if irritable bowel syndrome, acute enterocolistis and as a complimentary therapy in the treatment of duodenal ulcers. There is no conclusive medicine of this prescription drug works for these medical conditions.

Homeopathic uses for Belladonna

Hanhemann proved this remedy in 1799 and used it to treat Scarlett fever. Belladonna is used to treat conditions with a sudden onset. The type of conditions Belladonna treatments are similar to the symptoms if someone is poisoned with Belladonna. Belladonna poisoning results in people getting a high fever, sore throat or loss of voice, nausea, delirium, muscle spasms, flushed skin and dilated pupils. Homeopathic Belladonna is used to treat these type of conditions in a person.

The homeopathic belladonna remedy is use to cure cold and flu symptoms, infections with inflammation, intense pounding headaches, boils, earaches, seizures, labor pain, pink eye, nose bleeds, nephritis(inflammation of the kidneys) restless sleep, teething pain, tonsillitis, acne and sunburn.

Breast infections, urinary bladder infections, menstrual cramps, and irritated nipples due to breast feeding are treated with the homeopathic remedy Belladonna.

These conditions are better with warmth and standing. Cold air, movement and lying down may worsen symptoms.

Reference from Wikipedia.

Answers on Belladonna.

Complete Guide to Homeopathy. Dr. Andrew Lockie and Dr. Nicola Geedes.

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