Tag Archives: inflammation

Protect Your Heart

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1. Take an Omega-3 Supplement

The immune system attacks viruses, bacteria, invaders and promotes rest, relaxation and healing after injuries by creating pain, swelling and inflammation. Without the immune system, we would be helpless victims to germs. However, over years of time, excess inflammation puts you at a higher risk for having a heart attack. Evidence indicates that LDL cholesterol in the bloodstream becomes harmful to the arteries once inflammation and oxidation occur.

Chronic or silent problems that you may not even be aware of can explain why even those with normal cholesterol levels are at risk for a heart attack. Inflammation is linked to type 2 diabetes, allergies, cancer, arthritis, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease.

2. Eat for Your Heart

Diets that include lots of fruits and vegetables may help balance cholesterol levels. If cholesterol becomes low enough, it is possible for plaque buildup to be reversed. As arteries become narrowed, heart attack can occur. Diets that include plants (Drs. Esselstyn and Campbell) have been used to reverse coronary heart disease (blocked arteries). The diet’s success is largely attributed to cholesterol reduction.

3. Manage Your Cholesterol

If your LDL cholesterol is extremely high, you may need more than dietary interventions. According to the American Heart Association, “The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing coronary heart disease. Also, the greater the level of each risk factor, the greater the risk. For example, a person with a total cholesterol of 300 mg/dL has a greater risk than someone with a total cholesterol of 245 mg/dL, even though everyone with a total cholesterol greater than 240 is considered high-risk.”

If you have high blood pressure, add another major risk factor for heart attack. If you smoke tobacco, have diabetes and are overweight, add three more risk factors to the equation.

4. Supplements

Nature’s Shield’s L-D-L less contains red yeast rice, a unique type of natural yeast that helps balance the body’s production of cholesterol.

Res-Q LDL-x2 with niacin helps inhibit the absorption of dietary cholesterol when consumed with food.

Res-Q 1250 reduces inflammation, improves circulation, supports a healthy heartbeat and promotes overall cholesterol well-being.

Additional Tips:

Get your cholesterol checked and arteries scanned if you are older, have diabetes or are overweight. Quit smoking, manage weight with productive exercise and muscle building, and learn how to manage blood pressure.

Understanding Your Risk of Heart Attack

Staying Healthy

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Treating disease is different than preventing disease.

It requires a whole different type of treatment plan. For example, reducing excess inflammation is a very important part of the treatment plan for people who suffer from autoimmune disorders, a condition in which the body attacks its own tissues; chronic and persistent inflammation makes the health condition worse.

Autoimmune disorders involve dysfunction of the immune system. However, it would be interesting to know exactly what triggers such inflammation, a sign or signal that is something is wrong in the body. Can anything prevent it?

New research may shed light on the true cause of disease.

Bacteria may be the true cause of many diseases. Research suggests that a lot of disease begins with bacteria. For example, multiple sclerosis may actually be caused by bad (pathogenic) bacteria that trigger the body to destroy its own tissues! Mice predisposed to develop MS did not experience any symptoms when they were not exposed to bacteria.1 Additionally, the Mayo Clinic reveals that the cause of ulcerative colitis may be a virus or bacterium: “The digestive tract becomes inflamed when your immune system tries to fight off the invading microorganism (pathogen).”

The health of the digestive system influences the health of the entire body.

Staying healthy starts with the digestive system. The precise balance of gut microflora (bacteria) plays a huge role in health and prevention. Obviously, we want more of the good kind of bacteria and less of the bad. One good health practice involves consuming “fermented foods and cultured milk products”2 after meals. This all-natural holistic health remedy was used throughout history to improve digestion and promote longevity. In some areas of the world, it’s a lassi—a healthy yogurt-like drink—or a Greek yogurt for dessert!

News reports have said that probiotics helped some people with inflammatory bowel disease to have less inflammation.3 However, the benefit of this information remains more of a preventative nature: Replenish the digestive tract with more beneficial bacteria–in hopes of warding off the bad bacteria that make you sick—or, at the very least, curb the growth of less desirable microbiota.

Staying healthy starts with good health practices.

An ounce of prevention may be worth a pound of cure. It’s called probiotics: live beneficial bacteria that provide health benefits for those who consume them. It’s not just for those who are sick or have special digestive issues, but should be as mainstream a part of health as eating an apple!

Res-Q supplements:

Supplementing a healthy diet may promote health, wellness and feeling good. While yogurt is limited to only a few species, Res-Q Probiotic provides a wide variety of beneficial probiotics.

Res-Q’s supplements are more pure and potent than the average supplement. Res-Q products are an exceptional value and the high-quality manufacturing ensures potency through the stated expiration dates; you can rest assured that you have a fresh and potent probiotic supplement. Res-Q ProBiotic may be purchased online or by calling toll-free: 1-800-26-ALIVE (or 215-541-9890).

1. Commensal microbiota and myelin autoantigen cooperate to trigger autoimmune demyelination. Nature. 2011 Oct 26;479(7374):538-41. doi: 10.1038/nature10554.
2. Probiotic Article
3. Probiotics do ease gut problems, several studies show (MSN News)

 

 

The Perfect Omega Ratio

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Fats play an important role in our health, especially the good ones! The three basic types of fats are monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated. The omega-3 and omega-6 fats are polyunsaturated.

The omega-6 fatty acid (linoleic acid) is plentiful in both nature and diet but this is not the case with omega-3. Walnuts, flaxseed and spinach are a poor source of heart-healthy omega-3 because these foods don’t provide any of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, also known as EPA and DHA.

The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, a unit of the University of Southern Mississippi‘s College of Science and Technology, refers to this dietary fat balance as having “resulted in an overwhelming surplus of omega-6 fatty acids and a deficiency in omega-3 fatty acids.” They estimate the balance of polyunsaturated fats in the Western diet as having at least 20 times more omega-6 then it should. This dietary imbalance is thought to contribute to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other inflammatory diseases.

Fast food, including such processed foods like cakes, crackers, pies and all deep-fried foods, are one reason why there is too much omega-6 in the diet. Omega-6 oils (vegetable, corn, soybean, sesame, safflower, sunflower and cottonseed oils) provide the texture and taste that Americans enjoy. However, the typical American diet is causing a dietary fat imbalance.

Omega-3 is needed by every cell in the body! As the number of double bonds increases, so does fluidity, so highly unsaturated, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are essential for healthy, flexible cells.

Only certain types of fish provide a significant source of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. The healthiest fish are extremely expensive, which limits how often they are consumed. The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are found predominantly in marine life: fish, calamari, seafood and algae. EPA and DHA reduce inflammation and improve cardiovascular health.

The Fats Handbook explains it best: “The omega-3-produced eicosanoids elicit anti-inflammatory responses while omega-6 eicosanoids elicit inflammatory responses. When the diet contains high concentrations of omega-6 fatty acids, cell membranes have high concentrations of omega-6, and the highly potent eicosanoids that are produced by the omega-6 precursor, arachidonic acid, are released.”

You need to supplement the diet with fish oil to help restore the dietary balance of fats to the optimal ratio. Fish oils contain the long-chain omega-3 EPA and DHA, but not all fish oils are equal!

Some fish oils are not concentrated. Don’t be fooled by the word concentrate like “fish-oil concentrate.” Look for EPA and DHA on the label. Also, it is important to make sure it is only a pure, omega-3 supplement; we get enough omega-6 in the diet!

Res-Q 1250 is a great brand! It is a highly concentrated EPA/DHA supplement that promotes optimal cardiovascular health and helps to reduce inflammation. It is something that everyone needs. Since Res-Q 1250 is at least twice as potent as most fish oils, it represents an exceptional savings.

To contact us by telephone, call 1-800-262-5483.

References:

Types of Dietary Fats and Oils
Fats HandBook