Benefits of Vitamin K
May 26, 2008
Know what’s super bad for your body? Inflammation. It’s thought to be at the core of problems like heart disease and heart attacks.
Know what’s a great way to quiet inflammation? Get your fill of vitamin K. Good choices: just about anything leafy and green — from spinach to turnip greens.
Fanning the flames of inflammation
Inflammation is your body’s response to injury or infection. And when it occurs in your blood vessels, inflammation can be a sign of bad things to come — like ruptured arterial plaques, clot formation, heart attack, and stroke. Enter leafy greens. They pack a real vitamin K punch, and more and more research is linking high vitamin K intake to a lower bodywide inflammation index.
Going for the green
Bored with salads? The trick to getting more greens — and more vitamin K — into your diet may be learning to use them more creatively. Start with something simple but different. Then, move on to some K-rich greens recipes that will have you feeling like a world traveller. Using them in soups, salads, or in any vegetable dishes is a great way to get your fill of the Krich greens.
Soybean can prevent Heart Disease
December 11, 2007
The claim: Soy prevents heart disease
What you need to know : According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins University, soy appears to play a role in lowering cholesterol in postmenopausal women. By mimicking the hormone estrogen, isoflavones (plant compounds in soy that act like weak forms of the hormone) may prevent cholesterol levels from rising in postmenopausal women. But young women produce estrogen on their own, so additional benefits from soy would likely be minimal.
The explanation: “Estrogen keeps cholesterol levels steady; cholesterol tends to increase after women enter menopause and no longer make this hormone,” says study author Jerilyn K. Allen, Sc.D., an associate dean for research at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.
The bottom line: Just because your cholesterol levels won’t plummet from eating soy doesn’t mean it won’t help your heart. Soy is a good alternative to meat because it’s lower in cholesterolraising saturated fat. Use soy-based meat substitutes in lasagna or tofu in stir-fries occasionally, and try tofu as a replacement for cheese (also high in saturated fat).
Lowering Blood pressure helps stroke victims
October 8, 2007
Australian researchers have found that lowering blood pressure (BP) protects stroke victims with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from further strokes or heart attacks. According to lead author, Dr Vlado Perkovic of The George Institute for International Health, Sydney, most of the CKD population die from cardiovascular complications. Therefore, he explains, the new research can have significant implications for millions of people across the world.
“People with Chronic Kidney Disease are at a significantly greater risk of cardiovascular events than those without the disease. We found that approximately twice as many cardiovascular events were prevented when a perindopril based blood pressure lowering regimen was used in these people, compared to people with normal kidney function,” Dr Perkovic said.
Heart disease can be prevented at the age of 15 months
September 17, 2007
A study has revealed that children of 15 months of age should have their cholesterol levels tested to prevent heart disease later in life. Familial hypercholesterolaemia, meaning high cholesterol running in families, affects about two in every 1000 people and causes very high levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad cholesterol’ in the blood. And high cholesterol carries a higher risk of death from coronary heart disease.
According to the study, if the treatment is done when the level of cholesterol is low, the risk reduces substantially, but there is uncertainty over what screening strategy is likely to be effective. So, keeping this factor in mind researchers at Barts and the London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry investigated published studies on total and LDL cholesterol in people with and without familial hypercholesterolaemia to determine the efficiency of screening and the best age to do this.
Free Offer
Latest Health & Beauty Tips
- Always work in a brightly lit environment
- Fruits and Vegetables can save a brain damage
- Causes and Remedies of Migraine
- Break the Taboo-Benefits OF SEX
- Benefits of Orange Juice
- Beans help you reduce weight
- Answers to Otosclerosis and Oligospermia disease
- Exercise for your eyes
- Home remedies for dandruff
- Foods for Beautiful Skin