Top 10 Cholesterol-Fighting Foods

Snack on nuts. Drizzle a little olive oil on your salad. Dine on salmon. Have a little chocolate—guilt-free! These eating strategies (and more) can help reduce your cravings for high cholesterol foods and lower "bad-guy" LDLs, maintain "good-guy" HDLs, and help you reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. If you're already eating plenty of them, keep up the good work. If not, begin adding them into your diet today.

Soy: The Smart, Delicious Alternative

Reducing saturated fat is the single most important dietary change you can make to cut blood cholesterol. Used as a replacement for meat and cheese, soy foods help your heart by slashing the amount of saturated fat that you eat.

Why is saturated fat so bad for your heart? The liver uses saturated fat to make cholesterol, so eating foods with too much saturated fat can increase cholesterol levels, especially low-density lipoproteins (LDL)—the bad cholesterol. Saturated fats are usually found in animal products such as whole milk, cream, butter, and cheese, and meats, such as beef, lamb and pork. There are some plant-based saturated fats you should avoid too, notably palm kernel oil, coconut oil, and vegetable shortening.

Beyond replacing saturated fat, research suggests that compounds in soy foods called isoflavones may also work to reduce LDL cholesterol.

Beans: The High Fiber Solution

Except for your morning wheat bran, no food is more fiber-rich than beans. And beans are especially high in cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber. Eating a cup of any type of beans a day—particularly kidney, navy, pinto, black, chickpea, or butter beans—can lower cholesterol by as much as 10% in 6 weeks.

Soluble fiber forms a gel in water that helps bind acids and cholesterol in the intestinal tract, preventing their re-absorption into the body. This may be why soluble fiber helps to lower cholesterol levels (and decreases the risk of heart disease). Soluble fiber is also found in oats and oat bran, barley, brown rice, beans, apples, carrots, and most other fruits and vegetables.

Salmon: Amazing Heart-Friendly Fat

Research has shown certain types of fat actually protect against high cholesterol. Omega-3 fatty acids—found in salmon and other cold-water fish—help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol, raise "good" HDL cholesterol, and lower triglycerides.

Salmon is an excellent source of protein because it is high in omega-3 fatty acids called EPA and DHA that are good for your heart while low in cholesterol and saturated fat.

Avocado: Healthy Fat Superfood

Avocados are a great source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. It is a type of fat that may actually help to raise levels of HDL ("good"cholesterol) while lowering levels of LDL ("bad" cholesterol). And these delectable green orbs pack more of the cholesterol-smashing beta-sitosterol (a beneficial plant-based fat) than any other fruit. Beta-sitosterol reduces the amount of cholesterol absorbed from food. So the combination of beta-sitosterol and monounsaturated fat makes the avocado an excellent cholesterol buster.

Garlic: The Ancient Herb for Heart Health

For thousands of years, garlic has been used in nearly every culture in the world, and not just to repel evil. Its nutritional value and flavor have made it a kitchen staple. Ancient Egyptians ate garlic for stamina; in modern times, garlic has been found to lower cholesterol, prevent blood clots, reduce blood pressure, and protect against infections. Now research has found that it helps stop artery-clogging plaque at its earliest stage (called nanoplaque). How? Garlic keeps individual cholesterol particles from sticking to artery walls.

Spinach: The Heart Healthy Green Giant

Spinach contains lots of lutein, the sunshine-yellow pigment found in dark green leafy vegetables and egg yolks. Lutein already has a "golden" reputation for guarding against age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. Now research suggests that just a ½ cup of a lutein-rich food daily also guards against heart attacks by helping artery walls "shrug off" cholesterol invaders that cause clogging.

Margarine: Best Spreads for Your Breads

Two margarines are proven to help lower your cholesterol numbers: Take Control and Benecol. They do so by blocking the absorption of the cholesterol contained in your food and bile.

Take Control margarine is made with plant sterols that are proven to lower both total and LDL cholesterol by up to 14%. The plant stanols in Benecol margarine work the same way. Both the National Cholesterol Education Program and the American Heart Association recommend these margarines.

Tea: The Hot and Cool Superdrink

Tea, whether it's iced or hot, delivers a blast of antioxidant compounds. Studies prove that tea helps to keep blood vessels relaxed and prevent blood clots. Flavonoids, the major antioxidants in tea, have been shown to prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol that leads to plaque formation on artery walls. These powerful antioxidants may even reduce cholesterol and even lower blood pressure.

Walnuts, Cashews, and Almonds: Go (Mixed) Nuts!

A moderate-fat diet that's rich in the healthy monounsaturated fats found in nuts may actually be twice as good for your heart as a low-fat diet. Nuts also have vitamin E, magnesium, copper, and phytochemicals that have been linked to heart health. And walnuts are also rich in omega-3s. People who eat nuts regularly have less heart disease and other illnesses than people who don't. The heart-healthy monounsaturated fats they contain are also better for your joints than the polyunsaturated fats found in corn and safflower oils.

Dark Chocolate: The Sweet Heart Bonus

Want to help your heart the next time you indulge in chocolate candy? Choose the dark or bittersweet kind. Compared to milk chocolate, it has more than three times as many antioxidants. These flavonoid antioxidants work to keep blood platelets from sticking together and may even help keep your arteries unclogged. Milk chocolate is good too, having as much antioxidant power as red wine. And what about white chocolate? Sorry, it has no flavonoids at all.

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Stop Cleaning Your Ears Too Often

It’s most likely that you do not bother too much with your ear wax, but the ear wax can say much about you. And we are not referring only to your personal hygiene. In fact, there are less known theory, which is good to know because of health reasons.

Prevents itchy ears

The ear wax keeps ears moist, as tears make eyes moisture, thus is preventing drying and itching in the ears.

Maintains Ears Hygiene

The wax is a combination of secretions from the ears, dead skin cells and dirt and dust that reached your ears. If you clean the wax out of your ears, you can do more harm than good by pushing it deeper into the ear. The wax will disappear by itself, so the experts advise to clean the wax only if there is a lot of it so that it starts to affect your hearing.

It speaks a lot about Your Sweat

Some people have wet and some dry wax. White and fluffy wax tells you about the absence of certain chemicals in the sweat, which can lead to bad body smell.

Stress Affects the Production of Wax

The glands in the ears, which are responsible for the secretion of wax, are listed in the apocrine glands, which are responsible for the bad smell of the sweat. Not only that the stress stimulates sweating, it also affects the increased production of wax.

Do not use Ears Sticks

According to some experts you shouldn't clean your ears with ear sticks. It’s better to just wash your ear with warm water.

Well, it is just a piece of advice and not to be taken seriously as there are still many argument regarding personal hygiene and health issues. Read wisely!

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5 Surprising Symptoms Of Diabetes You May Not Know

Not every case of type 2 diabetes presents with the obvious symptoms—unquenchable thirst, nonstop bathroom trips, and numbness in your hands or feet. Look out for these other subtle signs that something may be amiss with your blood sugar:

Surprising Symptoms of Diabetes

1. You've noticed Unpleasant Skin Changes

Dark, velvety patches in the folds of skin, usually on the back of the neck, elbows, or knuckles, are often an early warning sign of too-high blood sugar levels. Although genetics or hormonal conditions can cause the skin disorder, called acanthosis nigricans, "when I notice the patches, the first thing I do is test my patient's blood sugar," says Sanjiv Saini, MD, a dermatologist in Edgewater, Maryland. "High insulin levels promote the growth of skin cells, and melanin, a pigment in these cells, makes the patches dark." The test may show that the patient already has diabetes, but, more likely, it will detect higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, suggesting the patient is on the way to developing the disease, explains Saini. Losing weight—as little as 10 pounds—will likely lower blood sugar levels and help the condition clear up. Otherwise, he says a dermatologist can treat it with laser therapy or topical retina A.

What happen to my skin?

2. Your Vision Improved out of nowhere

Sorry, suddenly being able to ditch your glasses probably isn't good news: "You'll often read that blurry vision is as a diabetes symptom when, in fact, vision can change for better or worse," says Howard Baum, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the diabetes division at Vanderbilt University. "I've had patients tell me that their vision has improved when their blood sugars were elevated, and then after they start treating their diabetes, they needed their glasses again." What gives? Diabetes causes fluid levels in the body to shift around, including inside your eyes, which leads to the erratic eyesight.

Suddenly, I can see clearly without my glasses

3. You have Unrelenting Itchiness

Think it's silly to mention scratchy skin to your doctor? Not so. Diabetes impairs blood circulation, which can lead to dryness and itchiness. "Some of my newly diagnosed diabetes patients mention they're itchy on their extremities—the hands, lower legs, and feet—so it's something doctors should consider in conjunction with other symptoms," says Baum. If regular use of a moisturizer doesn't fix the itch, bring it up at your next appointment.

It get itchy always but it is not allergy

4. Your Hearing isn't what it used to be

If you find yourself cranking the volume on the TV or you can't get through a conversation without asking people to repeat themselves, tell your doctor you need a blood sugar test. One study by the National Institute of Health suggested hearing loss could be an early warning sign of diabetes: People with higher than normal blood sugar who didn't yet meet the criteria for diabetes were 30% more likely to have hearing damage than those with healthy glucose levels. The researchers believe that diabetes damages the blood vessels and nerves of the inner ear, leading to sub-par hearing.

What are you saying?

5. You Snore like a Chainsaw

"About half of type 2 diabetics have sleep-disordered breathing," says Osama Hamdy, MD, director of inpatient diabetes management at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. So if you're diagnosed with the condition—characterized by loud snoring and daytime sleepiness—it's a good bet to get your blood sugar levels checked, too. One recent Canadian study showed that 23% of patients diagnosed with mild or moderate obstructive sleep apnea, a common sleep disorder, went on to develop diabetes within 5½ years. The connection isn't completely understood, but there's one important link between the two: Patients with sleep-disordered breathing tend to release stress hormones during sleep, which can raise blood sugar levels.

I wish I can Shut his mouth up!

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5 Foods Women Should Avoid

For women, eating healthy is essential to staying healthy and well enough to take care of their families and go to work. If you want to stay healthy during this summer, then avoid these five foods to keep your body strong.

Choose your Food Carefully

1. Diet Soda

Diet soda seems like a great option for many women who wish to stay thin. It is calorie free, sugar free and often still tastes like their favorite soda beverage. 

However, diet soda can be incredibly unhealthy for you. This type of soda is littered with artificial sugars and chemicals that can severely mess up your body chemistry. Diet soda may taste great, but it often is horrible for you. The soda lacks calories itself, but drinking the soda actually has been linked to eating higher calorie meals and snacks. According to many research studies surrounding diet soda, people who drink the beverage have more cravings for sugary or salty foods. In turn, they may actually eat more calories in their day because they are constantly craving processed snack foods.

Also, diet soda should be avoided because it is pro-inflammatory and can increase their risk of developing heart disease, cancer, and many chronic pain conditions. Instead, women who are craving the sweet taste of diet soda should choose apple slices, water, or even seltzer water or juice. These foods and drinks can curb their cravings for diet soda and keep them healthy.

2. Chewing Gum 

Like diet soda, many women chew gum in order to suppress their appetites and keep full in between meals. However, chewing sugar free gum may actually harm their bodies. Sugar free gum is packed full of chemicals that actually trick your body into believing that you are ingesting some form of nutrition. In turn, you may notice that you feel a little bloated or queasy after chewing gum for long periods of time. Your body is trying to digest what it believes is going to be a nutritious meal, and instead, you never actually swallow any food.

For this reason, your stomach and your digestive system will rebel and cause you to have many symptoms of digestive distress. Instead, try reaching for a bottle of water whenever you feel like chewing a piece of gum. Many gum-chewers forget to drink water throughout their days because they are constantly chewing on a piece of gum. In turn, they become dehydrated and their bodies crave water. To combat this, gum-chewers need to drink water each day instead of reaching for another piece of gum. 

If you have to have something to chew on, then try to munch on a few veggies or fruits to curb your gum cravings. 

3. Red Meats 

Most women aren't heavy red meat eaters. In fact, most women eat a lot of chicken, turkey and fish. Whether this is because their tastes are different than men’s tastes, or they understand the health behind choosing these meats is another story. But, if you are a red meat eater, then you may want to cut back. 

According to recent research, red meat is the culprit behind internal and external swelling in women. This swelling is caused by inflammation that is released in your body after you consume large portions of red meat. In turn, you may feel aches and have a few joints or muscles that become inflamed and painful. Or, you may notice that your body appears bloated and swollen. These are all signs of too much red meat in your diet. If you do want to indulge in a piece of red meat every once in awhile, that’s completely okay, just pick a cut of meat that is low fat and choose meat that doesn't contain any antibiotics or hormones. These latter two compounds may be contributing to many health issues in the United States right now.

Instead of eating red meat, you can eat a variety of chicken, turkey and fish. Wild salmon is a great choice for women, because the compounds and protein in salmon have been shown to actually balance women’s hormone levels and leave them feeling energetic and happy. 

4. Fat Free Yogurt 

Fat free and low fat yogurt is something that all women should avoid. These types of yogurt are riddled with chemicals and are just generally unhealthy for you. Plus, according to a recent study, women who eat high amounts of low fat yogurt and low fat dairy products are at an 85 percent higher risk of developing infertility issues sometime in their life versus women who consume little to no low fat dairy products. For this reason alone, women should stay away from low fat dairy products, especially if they want children in their future. 

Another reason to stay away from low fat yogurt, is because the tiny cups of yogurt are bursting with sugar. These yogurt products are packed with sugar and will keep you hyper and cause your blood sugar levels to skyrocket. Instead, choose full fat yogurt in moderation, or eat cottage cheese for your daily dairy product. 

5. Canned Food

According to many experts, canned food just aren't safe for consumption, no matter what brand you buy. Any time you buy anything out of a can, the can is lined with a compound known as bisphenol-A, or BPA. This compound is a synthetic estrogen compound that has been linked to numerous ailments, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity when it is found in high concentrations in the human body.

Research has shown that the concentration of BPA in most people’s body’s exceeds the maximum recommended concentration. Due to this, the BPA found in humans could be suppressing their sperm or changing the DNA of their chromosomes found in their eggs. In turn, they could be passing on diseases to their future children. Canned food are dripping with BPA, and are a food that most people enjoy often.

Eat Fresh is better

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6 Simple Habits That Can Lower Your Heart Disease Risk by 92%

Researchers followed nearly 70,000 people for two decades and concluded that three-quarters of heart attacks in young people could be prevented if they closely followed six healthy lifestyle practices, even if they'd been diagnosed with one or more risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes. In fact, people who adhered to all six healthy lifestyle practices had a 92% lower risk of heart attack and a 66% lower risk of developing a risk factor for heart disease.

Check out these 6 habits that can save your heart.

Try Not Smoking

Science has proven time and time again that smoking increases the risk for cardiovascular events such as heart attack and stroke. And the sooner you quit, the sooner you reap health benefits. Research published in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that people who quit smoking lowered their risk of disease by 40% in 5 years.

Smoking increases the risk, you know that.

A Normal Body Mass Index (BMI)

Obesity was deemed a disease by the American Medical Association in 2013 because carrying extra weight may lead to factors that contribute to conditions such as heart disease. This is just one of the reasons why a healthy body mass index makes the list, but as Chomistek points out, people can be overweight and still be cardiovascularly fit. So while you might be fighting the battle of the bulge, if you are eating well and exercising—two of the lifestyle factors on this list—you're still helping to ward off heart disease.

Stay slim, stay healthy

Exercising At Least 2.5 Hours A Week

Incorporating daily activity into your routine can help diminish your heart disease risk by 46%, suggests a 2014 study published in the journal Circulation. Just make sure you're reaping the benefits by getting in a few sessions that make you really huff and puff.

It is advisable to exercise whenever you can

Watching 7 or Fewer Hours of TV a Week

We're sure you've seen the studies that show sitting for long periods diminishes your mortality rate, eating in front of the TV contributes to overeating, and using electronics prior to bed disrupts sleep. By reducing the time that you're planted in front of the television, you can increase the amount of time that you're exercising, socializing, and relaxing—all things that can also help slash your heart disease risk.

It's time to leave the couch and get moving

Drinking an Average of One Alcoholic Drink per Day

According to Chomistek, this is one of the least influential lifestyle habits on your heart health. "If you drink alcohol, limit it to one drink a day; but if you don't drink, I'm not going to recommend you to start."

One glass of wine improves blood circulation

Eating a High-Quality Diet

Chomistek explains that the participants in the study who experienced the least heart disease risk ate a diet that was high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and fish, and low in red and processed meats, and trans fats.

Do a Regular Cholesterol Screening

It is advisable to do a cholesterol screening every 3-6 month to monitor your cholesterol level. You will know when you need to do something when you look at your results.

Cholesterol Screening every 3 months keep you updated

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6 Sneaky Signs You Drink Too Much

You rarely turn down wine with dinner, not to mention that second (or third) cocktail at happy hour—but that doesn't make you a binge drinker, does it? 

Wine are good for Health, don't they?

More than 38 million adults binge drink an average of four times a month, according to a the report, and while 18 to 34 year olds are more likely to go overboard than any other age group, it’s actually the over-65 set that does it most often. Tying one on now and then may seem harmless, but overindulging in alcohol is responsible for more than 80,000 deaths in this country per year, and is the third leading cause of preventable deaths. 

So how much alcohol means you’re overdoing it? 

For women, binge drinking means having four or more drinks in a short period of time, compared to five or more for men. 

One Cup every night makes you a drinker

Most people who binge drink don’t fit the definition of an alcoholic, but there aren't just two camps of drinkers, say experts: Many of us are somewhere in between. To find out where you fall on the problem-drinking spectrum, read on for these surprising signs you may be drinking too much.

You become a Daredevil.

Anyone who’s seen their normally shy co-worker dancing on the bar at the company party knows drinking can lower inhibitions. Getting drunk can come with repercussions far worse than feeling embarrassed—it can lead to risky decisions. “Drinking too much on just one occasion can change your life for the worse,” says Gregory A. Smith, MD, an addiction specialist at the Comprehensive Pain Relief Group in Los Angeles. Alcohol is also a factor in approximately 60% of fatal burn injuries and drownings, 40% of fatal falls and car accidents, and half of all sexual assaults, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

When you are drunk, anything can happen!

You’re a Weekend Warrior.

If you don’t drink daily but are drinking regularly, such as every Friday night, that’s a red flag,” says Dr. Smith. While research shows that having about seven alcoholic beverages per week lowers your risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, abstaining all week only to guzzle five or six glasses in a single sitting negates any of alcohol’s potential health benefits. Moreover, binge drinking can raise blood pressure and interfere with certain medications. “Plus, it’s easier for women to suffer acute alcohol poisoning that could lead to death because it could take only six or seven drinks for someone who is 5’3” and 115 pounds, while it may take twice that amount or more for a larger man,” says Dr. Smith.

Drinking just “creeps up on you.”

Have you ever told yourself you were going to have only a drink or two at happy hour, and before you knew it you’d downed four? One of the clues that you may be a binge drinker is not knowing your limits—or feeling surprised when you've "suddenly" passed them. Like diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems, drinking problems develop gradually. That’s why it’s smart to re-evaluate your drinking habits regularly by writing down how much you drink and when. That will make it easier to rein yourself in if you’re starting to get a little out of control.

This is just great, I think I will have 2 more bottle

Your memory has temporarily gone missing.

Alcohol affects everyone differently, depending on your genes, what, if any, medications you’re taking, as well as whether you just ate a big meal (food slows the absorption of alcohol in your bloodstream). Still, researchers speculate that heavy drinking interferes with how you remember by disrupting a key brain messenger called glutamate, which is linked to memory. That means if you have ever “forgotten” parts of the night until your drinking buddies reminded you, or have woken up foggy as to how you got home and into bed, you've definitely had one (or three) too many.

What happen last night? I cant remember anything

You let some responsibilities slide.

“Drinking is a problem when you notice that you’ve started to neglect things that are important to you for the sake of alcohol,” says Keith Humphreys, PhD, of the VA/Stanford University Center for Health Care Evaluation in Palo Alto, California. Maybe you’re normally a dedicated parent, but a Saturday night buzz means you have trouble putting the kids to bed. Or you skip your Monday morning spin class because you feel hung-over from the weekend. When drinking is prioritized over your normal day-to-day life, you’re probably in the danger zone.

My head hurts after the party last night

People close to you seem concerned.

If your family, friends, or co-workers have hinted (or flat-out vocalized) that they’re worried about you, it’s time to cut back. “The first step is to recognize that you’re drinking more than you should, and then to set some goals for yourself,” says Deidra Roach, MD, of the NIAAA. Tell your partner or friend what your drinking limit is going to be before you go to an event where alcohol is free flowing. This makes it easier to say no to the next drink, because you’re being held accountable by someone else. “And if you’re afraid to ask people if you drink too much, that’s probably a sign that you’re overdoing it, too” says Dr. Humphreys.

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