healthy living tips by Dr.Vina

Garlic has been known since ancient times as the "wonder panacea" for many diseases ranging from atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, flu, colds, coughs, bronchitis, gastrointestinal problems, and menstrual pain. A large number of research studies show that garlic, either fresh, powdered or extract is effective in lowering blood cholesterol levels. One study reported that Garlic was able to reduced arterial plaque formation by nearly 20% in some participants, the benefits being most notable in women. In one study from Beown University of Medicine and Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, researchers showed that blood cholesterol levels dropped significantly due to consumption of garlic extract in pill form.

Dr. Eric Block who has conducted research on the sulfur compounds of garlic at the State University of New York at Albany, stated that: epidemiological and medical studies suggest that individuals regularly consuming garlic show a lower incidence of stomach cancer, have longer blood clotting times and show lower blood lipid levels (which indirectly translates into reduced risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease). The primary active ingredient in garlic is alliin. Alliin is an odorless chemical that is similar in chemical structure to the sulfur-containing amino acid, cysteine. When garlic bulbs are crushed, alliin is converted into another compound called allicin which in turn produces other compounds: ajoene, allyl sulfides, and vinyldithiins. Allicin and its deratives are what give garlic its characteristic odor and many of its medicinal effects.

Now having known the wonder of garlic to our health, how much garlic do we need to eat to harness its benefit? A clove a day will keep our health in a good shape. According to researchers, you can get garlic into your diet any way you can. Garlic pills and tablets vary in the amount of active ingredients they contain. Generally, those that are not cooked or heat treated will have more allicin.

So, garlic bread anyone?

Browse available Garlic supplements in the store

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What does tea-time have got to do with your health?
Well, according to numerous study: many!

The health benefits from tea-drinking has often been lauded. Researchers found that by drinking tea (the second most popular drink) people can have lower bad cholesterol (LDL) level. Studies have found an association between consuming green tea and a
reduced risk for several cancers, including, skin, breast, lung, colon, esophageal, and bladder.Additional benefits for regular consumers of green and black teas include a reduced risk for heart disease.

A study done by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, after double-blind, randomized 12 week trial,concluded that the effect of tea is substantial to reduction of LDL level. The 375 mg capsule used in this study is an extract made up of 75 mg of theaflavins (flavonoids from black tea), 150 mg of catechins (flavonoids from green tea) and 150 mg of other tea polyphenols. It is equivalent to 7 cups of high-quality black tea or 35 cups of green tea.The dosage can reduce the
LDL up to 16%.

The flavonoids is the content of tea, an antioxidant, that is the primary source of the benefits. The antioxidant is good for cancer prevention and heart health, in addition to lowering low density lipoproteins and raising high density lipoproteins. In particular, green tea is the best food source of a group called catechins. According to lab experiments, catechins are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties.

To harvest the benefit of tea the most, here are a couple of tips from Medical News Today:

• Drinking a cup of tea a few times a day to absorb antioxidants and other healthful plant compounds. In green-tea drinking cultures, the usual amount is three cups per day.
• Allow tea to steep for three to five minutes to bring out its catechins.
• The best way to get the catechins and other flavonoids in tea is to drink it freshly brewed. Decaffeinated, bottled ready-to-drink tea preparations, and instant teas have less of these compounds.
• Tea can impede the absorption of iron from fruits and vegetables. Adding lemon or milk or drinking tea between meals will counteract this problem.

Happy tea-drinking !

A typical egg yolk contains up to 220 miligrams of cholesterol.
This means if you have a couple of scrambled eggs for your breakfast, it will be already over daily recomended limit of 300 miligrams of cholesterol. For these, eggs have had a lot of bad press.

But eggs are not forbidden for a healthy diet.
Eggs white contains no cholesterol and can be a substitute for whole eggs. Commercial egg substitutes also are readily available in the market.

Eating an egg every now and then in a week will be still safely under the recommended limit.

A three-ounce serving of canned clams has only 126 calories, about two grams of fat and 60 mg of cholesterol. At glance, this can easily portray clams as a bad food.

Closer examination however will reveal that the fat is actually of the omega-3 type that helps slash down the heart disease risk.

The cholesterol turned out to be the sterols that actually block cholesterol absorption in the intestinal tract. In addition, clams has a whoping 4000 percent of your vitamin B₁₂ needs.

Eating clams on a regular basis may lower blood cholesterol level. So next time when you prepare chowders, seafood stew or casseroles for your dinner, confidently include fresh or canned clams!

Is it true that eating garlic has a dramatic effect on our blood cholesterol
level? Studies from Brown Univ of Medicine say the answer is a big YES. Garlic,
either fresh, powdered, or extract, contains
thioallys, which is effective in
lowering LDL levels and nudging blood pressure a few notches. The studies
encourage you to include garlic into your daily diet any way you can. OK, let us
enjoy our garlic bread then...

Cholesterol is popularly the bad guy for a clogged artery.
Contrary to the popular belief, however this fatty wax-like substance is critical for our body.

Our sex hormones for instance are made from cholesterol.
Not enough cholesterol can directly mean a long night with no sex.
The problem with cholesterol is when it circulates too much in the blood and the its transporter is out of control.

There are two kind of cholesterol transporters:

• Low-density Lipoprotein (LDL)
• High-density Lipoprotein (HDL)

The first one is responsible for delivering cholesterol throughout the body. The second one acts like a clean-up truck that picks up roaming cholesterol along the arteries, sending it back to truck central (your liver) for final removal from the body.

So in your blood test, you want a low total cholesterol level (desirably less than 200 mg) and specifically a low LDL (less than 130 mg) and high HDL (35 mg or higher).

The risk factors that boost your chances of developing heart disease include
smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and eating a diet loaded
with artery-clogging fats. Here are five most important facts you need to know
about the disease:

• Cholesterol is the chief contributor in clogged arteries. The higher
  cholesterol level of your blood, the greater the possibility for you to have
  clogged arteries


• Regular sport activities (swimming, playing tennis, jogging, cycling and
  others) helps reduce heart disease risk by maintaining blood pressure down,
  reducing blood cholesterol level and keeping arteries clean.


• Smoking cigarettes substantially increase your level of heart disease
  rate. Studies show that substances contained in inhaled cigarette smoke
  accelerates both the damage to the artery walls and the blockage of arteries.
  This is applicable also for passive smokers.


• Obesity puts a strain into the heart and can disturb the readings of
  cholesterol level and high blood pressure.


• Food plays a major role in your determining your heart health. Eating the
  right food can protect and heal your heart.

The keyword here is really the small amount.

The study shows that chocolate contains the phyto-chemicals (phenols) which fight against heart disease!

The bottom line for chocoholics is again the moderation.
So next time you shop in your groceries store, you can add chocolate into your list.

But just remember to keep portion sizes small and stick with dark chocolate which has a greater portion of phenol content that milk chocolate.