Fish Oil and Heart disease

Substantial research has shown that fish oil and heart disease are connected in a very good way -it prevents heart disease and helps those who suffer from this condition. Let us find out more how it helps the heart.
You probably know that heart disease is one of the top killers today. According to the American Heart Association, there are more than 70 million Americans who suffer from some form of heart disease, and this is a very alarming number. It is then very important to take all precautionary measures to remove every possibility of it, and to regain back a healthy lifestyle for those who already suffer from heart problems.

The good news is that - just adding some it into your daily intake daily can dramatically change those statistics towards your favor. How can it help the heart? There are a few ways:
- It lowers your triglycerides by as much as 30 to 50%. High triglycerides are related to coronary heart disease, as well as problems such as diabetes, obesity, arthritis, general inflammation, among others. Intake of 2 to 4 grams of it has been proven to be enough to lower triglycerides.
- It increases the fluidity of the blood to help it flow more efficiently and prevent blood clots. It can also break down fibrin, which is a mesh-like compound that forms clots. Artery blockages and sticking of the blood in the artery walls are responsible for triggering heart attacks.
- It can prevent blood cells, especially the platelets from forming clusters that could inhibit proper blood flow.
- It can help improve endothelial function which can reinforce growth of new blood cells.
Further studies have shown that fish oil and heart disease are also interrelated because it can lower serum cholesterol levels in the body. Research suggests that it can increase the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and decrease cholesterol levels. It is the omega 3 fatty acids contained in fish oil - especially DHA and EPA - that are responsible for all these benefits.


There are a multitude of benefits that it can do to the heart. While it is possible to include omega 3 in the diet by eating fatty fish at least three times a week, issues on mercury and chemical poisoning and toxicity are significant. For those who do not like to eat fish and are concerned about toxicity and chemicals, research companies have already found a way to bring it nearer - through fish oil supplements.
Considering how tightly fish oil and heart disease are interconnected, intake of omega 3 fish oils is a must. Together with regular exercise, a healthy body weight, healthy food portions and avoidance of smoking and alcohol, heart disease can naturally be prevented and managed with omega-3 fish oil.

The Major Cause of Heart attacks

Heart attacks are one of the major instant killer diseases. But what causes it and how can they be prevented?
It happens when the supply of blood and oxygen in an area of the heart is blocked, typically due to blockage and a clot in the coronary artery. If the blockage is left untreated for a few hours, the affected area of the heart can die and lead to detrimental effects.
As is obvious in the definition, it is life threatening. More than a million people in the USA alone suffer from a heart attack every year, and about half of these patients don't survive. Heart attack is medically known as acute myocardial infarction (AMI), myocardial infarction (MI), coronary thrombosis, coronary occlusion or acute coronary syndrome.
Heart Attack Causes
It happen because of a blood clot impedes the proper flow of blood in the coronary arteries. When the blood becomes unable to reach the area of the heart where it is needed, the area becomes starved from oxygen and will not function properly. If the blockage persists, the cells in the said area can die.
Coronary Artery Disease or CAD is the underlying cause of most heart attacks. This condition is characterized by the narrowing down of arteries coupled with the build-up of plaque deposits on the arterial walls (a condition called atherosclerosis). When the arteries narrow down, blood flow to the heart is reduced. This condition can progress to completely block the artery and the flow of blood altogether.
Some of it can be caused by severe tightening and spasms of the coronary artery, which can also temporarily cut off flow of blood to the heart. These spasms can be caused by:
(1) Emotional stress,
(2) Intake of certain drugs (usually the illegal substances),
(3) Exposure to extremely low temperatures and
(4) Cigarette smoking.
Risk Factors of Heart Attack
There are certain factors, which can make one more likely to develop arterial blockages and blood clots. Risk factors can include:
- Your age. Men over 45 and women over 55 are more likely to develop CAD
- Family history or genetics. You have increased risk if heart disease was diagnosed in an immediate family member who is 55 or younger.
- Personal history. If you are diagnosed to have angina or if you have had a previous heart attack or underwent surgical heart procedure, you are at a higher risk of having a heart attack (again).
You are also more likely to have a heart attack if you are overweight, a smoker, or physically inactive, and if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or diabetes.
Blockage of arteries and blood clots that impede proper blood flow from the heart is what causes heart attacks.
There are ways of preventing heart attacks - and you can take steps starting today by talking to your doctor, leading a healthier lifestyle, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy, balanced diet everyday.
Also talk to your doctor about adding a daily fish oil pill to your balanced diet. Chances are, you don't eat fish on any kind of regular basis and it is lacking in your current diet. Taking fish oil supplements may help remedy this un-balanced part of your heart-smart diet plan.

How to Prevent and Treat heart Disease

Heart disease is a general term for a number of different diseases, all of which influence the heart in some way. Heart disease is in fact considered as being the leading reason of death nowadays in the United States. Heart disease indeed possesses serious threat to many people. Therefore, it is important to understand the methods to prevent and treat heart disease.

Prevention methods
There is reason to be hopeful because according to experts, heart disease prevention is promising. Even though some risk factors including sex, genetics, and age of a person are not within our control, one can still make an alteration in lifestyle and also change diet so that the odds of heart disease are significantly reduced.
There are also other methods by which heart disease prevention can be achieved. According to what the American Heart Association proposes, one must control obesity even in children and also make a determined attempt to take proper diet that contains enough nutrition. One of the better nutritional supplements you may want to try for heart disease prevention is mangosteen puree that is rich in antioxidants which aid in destroying free radicals that are the reason behind damage to cells and which in turn will result in heart disease.
Good heart disease prevention may also mean controlling the blood pressure and having LDL cholesterol at low levels. The best way to attain these goals is by making appropriate changes to diet and even by taking medications if so recommended by the doctor. Clearly, having low blood sugar levels will consider as heart disease prevention.
Another alternative is to exercise because it is a well known fact that regular exercise can reduce the risks of heart disease. Experts have a tendency to recommend as much exercise as humanly possible at least an hour per day. For many people, this seems like a never-ending task but the truth is this amount of exercise can be attained in ways other than going to the gym. Basically changing some habits, such as walking to work, can make people healthier. Walking is perhaps the easiest, cheapest, and healthiest type of exercise for most people and therefore should be taken advantage of.
The best heart disease prevention may not be a solitary course of action; rather, one may decide to have many strategies combined into one that will prove to be more effective. You can select approaches such as changes in diet, together with reducing excess weight and also maintaining blood sugar levels as well as taking nutritional supplements that are suggested by health experts.
Treatment options for heart disease
If you have heart disease then you will have to have some types of heart disease treatment in order to solve your problem. There are various heart disease treatment options that are available nowadays. The first treatment is of course prevention as explained previously.
However, if your heart disease is serious, than most probably you will also have to use more serious techniques of heart disease treatment. This includes medical treatment, which will usually be started straight away, even before an exact diagnosis of a heart problem is made.
This medical treatment may comprise of oxygen from a tube in the nose, oxygen through a face mask, nitroglycerin under the tongue, pain medicines, and aspirin. There are also clot dissolving medications which are often given, and the earlier these drugs are given, the higher the chances of opening the blocked artery and defending the cardiac muscle from further injury.
Cellular therapy, for example, is considered as being a potential treatment for heart disease. This is due to cellular products have been revealed to hold great potential for the treating of injured and diseased tissues in the body. They come from many sources, such as stem cells from bone marrow, peripheral blood, and myoblasts from skeletal muscle cells. The research so far has shown that this cellular therapy offers amazingly positive results, and so with additional research and more advancement, in the future this just may be known as the cure for heart disease.
Surgery can be executed on those who experience heart disease at any age although other methods are preferable. Surgery is necessary for those who do not react to their medications or whose condition worsens radically. In some situations, surgery is the only method to amend the problem and give the patient a probability of good health. In uncommon cases, repeat surgery is needed afterward to rid the body of excess fluids that have developed in the chest.
Heart surgery can be wearing and the healing period can be slow so it is no surprise to find out that a huge number of people who suffer from heart disease which needs surgery are interested in less invasive surgery. Less invasive surgery for heart disease can involve smaller incisions, less pain, and a much faster healing period. Not only does this type of surgery involve shorter hospital stays, it can also reduce the risks of complications to the patient during and after the operation.
There are many resources that are available if you want more information on the treatment of heart disease. The most significant thing of all is to keep a healthy lifestyle, a healthy and nutritious diet, and plenty of exercise. By keeping a healthy lifestyle you will not only be guarding yourself against heart disease but as well against all illnesses and health conditions in general.

The truth about Red Wine

Red Wine, Heart Disease

The Heart

What is so special about wine? What is it that makes it potentially more protective against coronary heart disease, and perhaps other diseases, that other forms of alcohol?

In recent years, scientists have concluded without doubt that many human diseases such as heart disease, cancer and the aging process is caused or stimulated by a ravenous group of chemicals called free radicals, that act like hungry sharks. These highly charged little villains prowl the body and attack healthy cell membranes through a process that is called oxidation. In this scenario, there is however a knight in shining armor that jumps to the rescue and purges these ever hungry little killers. The name of our crusader is antioxidants.

An infected Heart

Without getting too technical, the oxidation process in our bodies is crucial for health, without it, for instance, we would not be able to extract energy from our food. But if there are too many free radicals in our bodies this can be harmful.

Our body has its own defenses against free radicals, in the form of enzymes that are able to turn the hungry little sharks into harmless water. However, sometimes our body's natural defense mechanisms can't cope. Other times, external events can cause huge increases of free radicals within our bodies, such as x-rays, cigarette smoke and exposure to toxic substances. At times, this surge of free radicals can swamp our defenses and illnesses such as radiation sickness may take place.

So what does oxidation and free radicals have to do with heart disease?

Low density lipoproteins, commonly know as "bad" LDL, can penetrate and gather against the inner walls of our arteries, under certain conditions, forming fatty streaks and plaque. Taken alone, LDL particles aren't so dangerous it seems, however, when attacked by free radicals they turn into dangerous and somewhat aggressive cells, capable of actually penetrating and harming the smooth inner walls of our arteries. This process is called oxidation. Oxidized LDL is known to be the culprit in stimulating atherosclerosis, heart disease and stroke.

Antioxidants, as the name suggests (anti-oxidants) can help stop the oxidation process, which are the results of free radicals doing their stuff. Most antioxidant research has been carried out on vitamins (A, E, beta carotene) but quite a lot of work has also been done on the healthy benefits of red wine. While most research on red wine has been done in relation to coronary heart disease, it seems that the benefits of wine don't stop there.


Red wine and Coronary Heart Disease

Red wine contains a wide range of flavanoids; these are the chemicals that give the wine its particular taste and character, making one different from another. Many of these flavanoids act like antioxidants. Perhaps the forerunner of wine research was carried out by a certain Serge Renaud, who discovered the French Paradox, which suggested that wine was the decisive factor in protecting the people in southern France from their very high fat diets and ultimately coronary heart disease. Even if these people do eat large quantities of high fat cheese, pâté, and salami they have some of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world.

Another study, statistical rather than practical, by a Professor Grey of the University of Bern in Switzerland focused on the low, medium and high coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality figures of the World Health Organization.

What did he find? Well from among the high mortality areas were Finland and Scotland, the middle areas included Ireland, and the low CHD areas included Spain, Italy and France. He then compared heart attack rates with antioxidant levels in blood samples taken from men living in those areas.

Vitamin E and Heart Disease

What he found was very interesting, the results showed that high antioxidant levels, in particular vitamin E, coincided with low death rates of heart disease. Moreover, his results showed that vitamin E levels were 94% more accurate in predicting CHD rates than were cholesterol levels or blood pressure figures! Apart from diet, the high CHD regions drink very little, if any wine, whereas the low regions traditionally accompany their meals most days with wine.





It certainly seems strange that two much studied cities; Glasgow in Scotland and Toulouse in France show many similarities and yet many differences. The inhabitants of both cities eat tremendous amounts of high fat foods, traditionally take little exercise and drink alcohol. The surprising difference is that while the people of Glasgow have one of the highest rates of CHD in the world, the fortunate people of Toulouse have one of the lowest. Traditionally beer and spirits are the preferred drinks in Glasgow, while the folks in Toulouse drink red wine.