Towards A Healthy Economy + Marketing World

In Sanskrit Ashta means eight and Anga means limbs so it can be
termed as the eight limb path and is based on Yoga Philosophy of
Patanjali. As history of yoga is very rich it helps people in
all its manner and this is one of its form which is also known
as Power Yoga. Each of the eight limbs has an important part to
play for a better and healthy living looking ahead to make life
less stressful and happy.

The eight limbs which signify Ashthanga Yoga are

1. Yama - It reflects the moral and ethical grounds of human
behavior

Ahimsa: Non-violence Satya: Truthfulness Asteya: No stealing
Brahmacharya: Celibacy Aparigraha: Non-covetousness or Envy or
possessiveness

2. Niyama - It reflects the disciplines one has to go through
their human life

Shoucha - Purity Santosh - Contentment Tapa - Endurance
Swadhyaya- Self study Eshwar Pranidhan- Dedication towards god

3. Asana: It is the practice of asana for better well-being in
your body and soul

4. Pranayama: Breathing exercises a way to attain control on
your breathing pattern

5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses, which would mean total
cut off from the outside world and the concentration level
increases in making your mind a haven for all the positive
energy.

6. Dharana: Concentration, something which would help you to
concentrate without any level of distraction.

7. Dhyana: Meditation and concentration on things which are your
main objective but also being done on a wider perspective.

8. Samadhi: Attainment a state of joy and bliss which is based
on your skills of dhyana and realizing the purity of your life
and the importance in life as whole. It can also be stated as
enlightenment.

Diabetes is a condition where the body, or to be precise the
pancreas, loses its ability to create insulin, the chemical
necessary to regulate blood sugar levels. As we take in food, a
substance called glucose enters through the bloodstream, and it
is insulin’s role to make sure that that glucose is carried to
different parts of the body, in turn fuels us with the energy we
need. Diabetes is often considered as a silent disease, much
like cancer and nearly five out of ten people are unaware that
they have diabetes.

So how did we get such a disease? A known fact about diabetes is
that it can be hereditary, especially if a family member has a
history of diabetes. Obesity is also one of the most common
factors, leading to the lack of exercise and high blood pressure
levels. US studies have shown that diabetes can also develop
when a mother gives birth to a child who weighs more than 9
pounds.

There are two types of diabetes: The Type 1 diabetes inflicts
mostly children when the pancreas completely loses its ability
to secrete insulin. Common diabetic symptoms include excessive
thirst, frequent urination and continued weight loss despite of
excessive hunger. They begin to be insulin dependent and its
dire results may also include blindness and amputation of
certain limbs in the body.

Type Two diabetes is far more common than Type One. Its symptoms
may include those of Type One, but its leading concern is that
nearly half of diabetics may not be able to have such symptoms
and the cause of hereditary diabetes to children. They are often
considered as non-insulin dependents, in which an excessive
secretion of insulin passes through the bloodstream, causing the
body to develop a high resistance to the chemical. The end
result would be the high blood glucose content, which can be
treated with regular exercise and a high protein diet of starch
and carbohydrates.

Sadly, there is no absolute cure for diabetes of any type. The
only recommendation from doctors is to prolong life, making sure
that they would still continue to live normally. In the US
alone, nearly 200,000 deaths per year has been reported due to
diabetes.

In order to cope with diabetes, it is important to maintain
their weight and exercise regularly. Alcohol consumption can be
regulated to its utmost maximum, better if cut out completely
and smoking is an absolute health risk to both the lungs and
diabetics. Regular visits to the doctor are an absolute must in
order to check and make sure that their blood glucose levels are
on tract. Family encouragement can also do wonders for those
suffering from diabetes, helping them that there is always a way
to surpass diabetes without the fear of death. It helps increase
the quality of life among family members with diabetes.

This may come as a surprise… More than half of all adults that
reside in the United States are overweight. That is 100 million
people!

I personally have struggled with weight management. My weight
has fluctuated almost 30 lbs. Can you believe it. One month I
weighed 115 pounds and 6 months later I am up to 145 pounds.

Have you ever wondered what that mystery fat is? When a
individual packs on 20 pounds what is happening inside their
body? In this article I will explain what “fat cells” are and
how they work

So where are all these fat (adipose tissue) cells located? Fat
can be discovered in several places on your body. Most fat is
located underneath your skin. Other spots are determined by
whether you are a woman or man.

Most women tend to carry fat in their hips, breasts, buttocks,
and waist. This gives you the pear shape syndrome.

On the other side of the spectrum adult men carry the fat in
their chest, buttocks, and abdomen (gut) which gives you the
apple shape (aka beer gut syndrome). Sex hormones dictate the
different locations of fat tissue amongst man and woman.

Did you know that the human body contains two types of fat
tissue? Most people are unaware of this.

Brown fat, which is found mostly in newborn babies, helps with
heat insulation. There is also white fat. White fat is important
for your metabolism and heat insulation. Fat cells are what make
up fat tissue. Think of a fat cell as a small (very small)
container that holds 1 drop of fat.

How does fat enter your body? When you eat fatty foods it goes
through your stomach and your intestines. It is the job of your
intestine to break down the fat into smaller parts. Of course
this is a complex process that occurs. We could write a whole
other article on this topic alone.

So let’s take a moment to talk about how your body actually
breaks down fat. When your body sits idle it still needs fuel to
run. Your body will go to your internal energy stores (not
literally) of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Your body’s #1
source of energy is glucose (sugar).

So how do you gain or lose weight you ask? Your actual weight is
determined by the rate you store that energy after you eat and
the rate at which you burn this energy. So in general what you
need to do to lose weight is as follows:

a. Eat a balanced diet, which balances the three ingredients I
mentioned above (glucose, fat, and protein) b. Do not over eat.
Keep your calories around 2000 per day c. Regular exercise, 3 to
4 times a week for 30 minutes.

In conclusion, you have learned that there are two types of
fats. Also, if you burn less stored energy then you use, then
you start to gain weight. You can prevent this weight gain by
maintaining a healthy 2000 calorie diet per day mixed in with 3
days of exercise. Remember that each individual’s body is
different. Try to customize a plan that works for you. I
personally use an exercise bike while reading a book. I also
play racquetball to mix up my workouts and to make the workout
fun.

Copyright 2006 John Perry

Stephen Covey (http://www.stephencovey.com/) told us to “begin
with the end in mind.”

Have you ever heard “train with the brain in mind?”

Growing up, I would get the latest issue of Muscle and Fitness
and plug away at biceps, triceps and chest routines. What
resulted was frustration due to lack of performance enhancement
and usually an overuse injury or two.

After becoming a Physical Therapist and gaining the knowledge of
how the body operates, it became apparent why I had so much
trouble meeting my fitness goals growing up and why I had
injuries.

I was confusing my brain.

The brain is our guardian; like a protective mother with lots of
kids. The kids in this case are all the bones, joints, muscles,
etc.

The mother wants her kids to be successful. It really bothers
her to see her kids suffer or doing anything that makes them
struggle. In other words, the brain is interested in the body’s
success.

Now most mothers (brains) have spies to help them. These are
neighbors, kids in the neighborhood, teachers at school, etc.,
that let mothers know if there are problems with the kids. You
see, the brain does not like the body or its parts (the kids) to
get into any difficulty.

These spies are called proprioceptors. They send information to
the brain to let it know such things as how fast a limb is
moving, how much tension a muscle is under, if a joint is under
too much strain and where a body part is located in space. The
brain reacts by making adjustments so the body is successful.

You see, by training the body in the correct way, the right
information gets to the brain. When you train the body the wrong
way, the spies send bad information to the brain; this results
in poor performance and fitness outcomes.

The brain will take in whatever information you feed it, good or
bad. It loves you like only a good mother could. It will react
based on the information it gets. The brain wants you to be
efficient and have glorious results…but can only respond to
the information it receives.

The last tidbit of information about the brain and its
importance to training is this; the brain recognizes muscle
synergies (groups of muscles working together).

This brings me to my point about confusing the brain. If you
send it information about muscles working in isolation (biceps
curls, triceps press downs, sitting knee extensions), then the
brain responds with mixed signals. It wants to make the body
efficient by having the muscles work in groups. Based on the
feedback it is getting though, it tries to make the body as
successful as possible by helping the muscles work individually.
This results in poor movement patterns and injury.

Based on this information, I realized my brain needed some help.
I needed to stop feeding my brain artificial movement
information. I needed to train my muscles and joints as a group
and do programs that allowed my body to move as it was designed
to move.

Now I realize I just gave you a lot of neuroanatomy and
physiology in a few short paragraphs. However, with that
knowledge in tow, let me tell you the type of routine that will
stimulate your brain!

There are four things you must do:

First, get on your feet. We constantly ask our bodies to perform
while squatting, walking and climbing stairs. Our muscles need
to be ready to respond when executing these types of activities.
If you train the body (and brain) while on your feet, it will
respond by making the body more efficient during those occasions.

Second, train movements, not muscles. As mentioned before, the
brain recognizes groups (synergies) of muscles, not individual
muscles. To make greater fitness gains, don’t confuse your
brain…train it correctly.

Third, work in multiple planes of motion. There are three planes
of motion: sagittal (front and back like a forward lunge or
walking straight ahead), frontal (side-to-side like a
lateral/side lunge or arm motion during jumping jacks), and
transverse (rotation like a drop-step lunge or swinging a bat).
All human movements have all three planes involved; however,
there is usually one dominant plane. Training in three planes
will assist in training muscle synergies and will make your
brain happy.

Fourth, get your hips into it! The hip musculature originates
and dissipates (controls) body forces; forces like gravity,
ground reaction (forces coming up from the ground when taking a
step), and external forces (weights, exercise bands, etc.)
acting on the system. The hips are the crossroads for many
forces working on the body. Proper motion and strength in your
hips can help make other parts of your body perform better.

A few sample exercises that incorporate the above principles are:

* Three position lunges. Lunges to the front, side and drop step
(stepping back at a 45 degree angle).

* Squat to overhead shoulder press with dumbbells.

* Squat to row - similar to the seated row, only in a standing
position. When arms are out, you are in a squat position, when
you pull back to row, bring your hips forward and stand up.

I could talk for hours about the benefits of full-body
multi-plane exercise routines. Hopefully you understand why it
is so important to your movement success and ultimately your
fitness success.

Take home points from this article:

* Train on your feet, in three planes of motion. * Work through
your hips to train your brain * Full body, synergistic routines
send the proper information to the brain about successful
movement patterns.

Ultimately, this will improve:

* Movement * Weight loss * Energy * Balance * Flexibility *
Strength * And help eliminate joint pain and injury possibility.

Good luck, train your brain…your body will thank you.

You want real strength, conditioning and fitness exercise
benefits that can be applicable to everyday activity… Not
ridiculous, absurd promises and fantastic, unbelievable claims.

You don’t need me to tell you that there are physical and mental
benefits associated with exercise and a healthy lifestyle…
everybody knows that.

However, I do feel that there are so many faulty and misleading
claims floating around the fitness industry that I should
discuss the real exercise benefits you can expect to enjoy from
proper physical training.

Keep in mind, these are only a few of the exercise benefits you
can expect…

Real World Performance Improvement

Don’t just perform better in the gym, but have your physical
training efforts translate into usable, functional performance
improvements for sport, work, life. Why improve a physical
ability in a way that it is not applicable to improving
performance in your every day activities?

Increased Functional Strength

Take your maximum strength, your explosive power and your
strength endurance in compound movement exercises to new levels
making you truly “stronger” for all activities. Improving the
entire spectrum of strength in proportion to other skill
advancements will give you more “usable” strength… under a
wide variety of circumstances.

Pack on “Useful” Muscle

Don’t just inflate your muscles for show, but increase muscle
that improves posture, provides better support for your joints,
reduces the risk of injury and increases over-all performance,
making you better at everything you do. It is about muscle
“optimization”… not muscle “maximization”.

Develop Superior Endurance Develop the cardiovascular /
respiratory endurance that allows you to perform better over a
greater spectrum of activity and increase your work capacity to
do more over-all. Slow and steady aerobic training is only one
of three energy pathways that must be trained… to have
endurance for all occasions you must train all three!

Reduce Fat

Unwanted, unneeded fat will melt away, further improving your
performance. With the increase of “optimal” muscle, your basal
metabolic rate will increase… leading to long-term,
sustainable fat loss.

Spend Less Time Training

Short, intense workouts produce the best results. Furthermore,
intense workouts will increase your metabolism for several hours
following the workout… promoting greater fat loss.

Forge Iron Willed Mental Toughness

Just think of how much you will benefit in all of life’s
challenges with the added ability to identify your limitations,
and push past them. Testing and challenging your physical
abilities through exercise will have the added benefit of
training your mind for success… preparing you for all of
life’s challenges.

Avoid Costly, Ineffective and Time Consuming Mistakes

Make greater and faster strength, conditioning and over-all
fitness improvements by avoiding Snake-Oil Salesman promises,
worthless exercise advice and costly equipment.

Feel Better and Happier

Intense exercise can increase the bodies natural levels of
dopamine, serotonin and nor epinephrine, which can fight off
depression and just generally improve your mood. Who couldn’t
benefit from a natural attitude adjustment?

And these are just to name a few of the exercise benefits you
can expect from proper physical training.

The amount of real physical and mental benefits that you will
enjoy from proper physical training, a healthier lifestyle and
improved over-all strength, conditioning and fitness are
innumerable.

Now, isn’t that why you train?

If you are not enjoying these exercise benefits from your
current physical fitness training program… it is time for a
change.

If you’re buying a treadmill, chances are you’ll want to research before you buy. Everyone wants to get the best deal for a discount price. They also want to find the best treadmill to suit their workout needs.

So you’ll probably be interested in looking at various treadmill ratings or reviews. But why are there so many different ratings and which one is the most accurate? Here’s a few things most buyers don’t know about treadmill ratings.

There are really 2 types of treadmill ratings:

1) Consumer Ratings

2) Expert Ratings

User Treadmill Ratings:

Consumer treadmill ratings are done by the layperson who has bought and used the specific treadmill. Many websites allow anyone to go online and post a review of their treadmill.

Customer reviews and ratings can be very valuable when searching for a treadmill - however keep in mind several things:

#1) No treadmill has a 100% perfect track record. Even the BEST treadmill manufacturers sometimes make a dud.

And it’s usually the people that have had BAD experiences that leave negative reviews of their treadmills, not the many that have had good experiences with the same treadmill.

They have every right to do this and hopefully the treadmill manufacturers read these reviews and do something about them. Just remember that one bad review doesn’t prove it’s a low quality brand.

#2) The treadmill industry is growing more competitive each year. And marketing is a huge portion of the treadmill industry since treadmill manufacturers KNOW you’re going to research treadmill ratings before you buy.

So while I’m not making any accusations, I have read ‘customer reviews’ that are clearly NOT written by the average buyer. They sound like they’re written by somebody working for the competition - someone well versed in the art of sales psychology and who knows more about treadmills than the average person. Again, not making any accusations here - just keep this in mind when reading user ratings online.

Rule of Thumb: Use common sense. If it sounds like it’s written by a treadmill salesperson, take the treadmill review with a grain of salt.

Expert Treadmill Ratings:

There are also expert treadmill ratings. These are the ratings written by the experts in the fitness industry. People like Consumer Reports, Runner’s World, Consumer Guide, Men’s Health, Prevention Magzine are just a few out there. These people rate and review various treadmills at various times in the year.

While these ratings are much less likely to be tainted by biased reviewers, here are a few cautions to keep in mind while reading them:

#1) Each rater has a different rating system and may rate treadmills on such factors as price, cushioning, stability, quietness, belt area, warranty, console, electronics, programs, incline and quality of parts.

So while one reviewer may put more emphasis on cushioning the other may put more emphasis on warranty. It’s nothing to get confused over - just understand that different experts value different features. They’ll usually have an area where they list exactly how they rated the treadmills and which features they valued highly in their review.

#2) Expert ratings also usually don’t have time to look at EVERY treadmill brand on the market. Nobody does. We’ve been reviewing treadmills for over 3 years and we still haven’t covered all the brands.

So just because a certain brand isn’t in the ratings, doesn’t make it a poor quality brand. Try to find other reviews on a brand if you can’t find it in your favorite expert ratings list.

One last thing: Many treadmill ratings are also based on comparison to other similarly priced treadmills on the market.

So if you have a $1000 treadmill that gets 5 stars - that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better than a $2000 treadmill that gets 4 stars. It means that compared to other $1000 treadmills it is one of the best values.

By remembering these things when sifting through treadmill ratings, you’re less likely to be confused. And it will be easier to choose the best quality treadmill for your needs.

Kathryn O’Neill is chief editor for Home Treadmill Reviews, a consumer oriented website focusing on the home treadmill market.

For the latest treadmill brand reviews, buying tips & best buys, visit: www.TreadmillReview.net.

Have you been hanging around the buffet table for far too long?
Do your jeans snap open when you do a simple twist? Have you
ever had any part of your body jiggle when you walk? It is an
incredibly frustrating situation when your body does not look
(or even feel) the way you would like.

While some might opt to take the dangerous turn of acquiring
eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia to hasten their
weight loss progress, there is a safer and far more pleasant
feeling method of achieving weight loss. Exercising at least 30
minutes a day may even be enough to do some significant positive
change to your appearance and weight even in just a matter of
one to two months. Couple this with the right kind of diet, but
never deprive yourself food such that your body is legitimately
hungry all the time.

Unfortunately there are people who would really like to lose
weight but are either too lazy or impatient for them to make
healthy lifestyle changes. It is important to note that while
some doctors prescribe weight loss pills or diet pills to their
patients, this doesn’t mean that just about anyone could buy
them from any drug store or pharmacy and just pop them in their
mouths.

1. Think Before You Act

Before buying diet pills, you must first go to a registered
physician or a registered dietician for them to be able to
assess your weight and your body mass index (BMI) among other
health related information that concerns yourself. These doctors
would really have to know your family’s medical history like if
your family tends to lean towards the healthy side or are there
any cases of cancer, high blood pressure or heart attacks in
your family.

2. Risks Associated With Diet Pills

Hereditary illnesses are an incredibly important reference point
for registered doctors and registered dieticians. They need to
know this information so they can prescribe to you the correct
pill. In addition, some people can have allergic reactions from
weight loss pills or a multitude of side-effects.

A popular diet pill that has been around for quite some time
called Xenical. This diet pill acts by draining the excess fat
through constant bowel movements. This may be a little gross or
inconvenient for some (especially those people who are always on
the go) but with the proper diet and exercise this weight loss
pill promises to help you shed off at least twenty pounds in
just a matter of two months. People who have used this weight
loss wonder have had nothing but praise for this drug. However,
they testify that it was incredibly inconvenient, not to mention
a foul smelling experience. Doctors are actually praising this
drug for another reason, it also lowers the risk of high blood
pressure and high cholesterol.

Other diet pills, however, are not as great for our bodies. The
notorious Bangkok pill, which has been circulating all over the
world, promises significant amounts of weight loss in just a
mere 2 weeks. A lot of people fall prey to this unhealthy weight
loss drug because it’s a lot faster than the other weight loss
drugs and doesn’t require you to go the bathroom every now and
then. There are three sets of pills that one must take everyday,
these diet pills are labeled as breakfast, lunch and dinner
(which contains several more packs of diet pills) and you have
to take one or two from each of these packs and take these
weight loss pills after every corresponding meal. The weight
loss effect from these Bangkok pills are indeed drastic but they
are banned and considered as illegal due to their extremely high
chance of causing heart attack or stroke.

When the normally clear lens of the eye have a painless
clouding, it is called cataract. If you do not treat it in time,
it causes blindness. Surgical treatment can however, cure it in
time. Most of the people over 60 do suffer from some clouding of
the lens. But you can prevent them or treat them by following
the simple home remedies below.

If you have cataracts or want to prevent them, do the following
simple home remedies to take care of the situation:

* Drink orange juice: Increasing your intake of Vitamin C will
reduce the risk of developing cataracts. It is recommended that
you take two times the recommended dietary allowance of Vitamin
C to protect against the occurrence of cataract. That means you
should include 11/2 cup of strawberries, 1 cup of orange juice
or 2 oranges.

* Take beta-carotene and Vitamin E: Research has shown that
increasing the beta-carotene and Vitamin E intake offer some
protection against cataract. Have more of orange and yellow
vegetables like carrots, squash and sweet potatoes for
beta-carotene and almonds, fortified cereals, peanut butter and
sun flower seeds for Vitamin E.

* Use sunglasses or hat: Covering your eyes by sunglasses or
hats while out in the sun has shown to reduce the incidences of
cataracts. Choose sunglasses that have UV protection. There is
no need to spend a lot of money on designer glasses. You can
purchase sunglasses from the local shops too.

* Look away from harmful radiation: Whenever you are near a
microwave, oven or x-ray, always look away. Though many
manufacturers claim that their microwaves are safe, it is always
better to avoid looking at them in order to protect the eyes.
The same holds true for x-rays.

* Control your drinking habits: Having occasional drinks will
not harm your eyes. But prolonged drinking will certainly harm
your eyes. This is because alcohol interferes with the
nutritional supplies to the lenses and thus leads to cataract
formation. Even the alcoholics having good diets can have
cataracts due to the interference of the alcohol with the
nutrient supply to the eye.

* Stop smoking: Research has shown that smokers are more likely
to develop cataract than non-smokers. Toxic substances from the
smoke of a cigarette damage the lens nucleus and thus cause
cataract. When you quit smoking, you have the risk of developing
cataracts.

* Take pain relievers: People who take pain relievers like
aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen have a reduced risk of
developing cataracts. This is due to the fact that these drugs,
the rate at which your body uses glucose and lesser the blood
sugar, lower is your risk of developing cataract. This is also
one of the reasons why diabetics are more prone to cataracts.

Copyright 2005 Ash Trivedi

I’m filled with disbelief when asked why people do bodybuilding
it’s as incredulous as asking why get an education. The answer
to both is to improve oneself. Perhaps people’s perception of a
bodybuilder applies only to those guys who compete in the
national level contests or are shown on the covers of the muscle
magazines. Bodybuilding isn’t limited to them; it includes the
recreational gym rat who just wants to look good in his Speedo’s
in the local pool and not be mistaken for a pencil-necked geek.

Besides the obvious health benefits, bodybuilding is the closest
thing available to the Fountain of Youth. There are also
benefits that can’t be measured: self-confidence,
self-discipline, and the esteem of others, since we are often
judged initially on our looks. In short, the benefits, both
tangible and intangible, far outweigh what minor incontinences
there may be of going to the gym and getting hot, sweaty, and
sore.

The world of bodybuilding can be a complicated one, especially
for a beginner. What to eat? What type of exercise? Which
routine? How many reps? How many sets? Etc. There is also
conflicting information and various methods. First and foremost
let’s not kid ourselves. Bodybuilding is about re-sculpturing
you body to any degree that you desire and is going to take a
lot of determination and hard work nothing in life is easy. The
rest is common sense.

A few things to remember when you do take up bodybuilding;

First and foremost, safety must take priority stay within your
limits Having a six pack DOES NOT require special equipment,
only the proper dietary knowledge. Know exact rep and set ranges
for maximum muscle growth. Longer training sessions actually
diminish results. The MOST EFFECTIVE exercises for each muscle
group — common “shaping movements” actually DETRACT FROM MUSCLE
SIZE! Performing exercises in a specific order is crucial to
success. Improve NATURALLY (through training and good diet)
boost hormone levels naturally. High reps do NOTHING to promote
definition. Manipulate sets accordingly for sustained growth.
Varying grips are necessary for complete muscular development.
Aerobics is an effective fat burner and helps to counteract the
anaerobic lifting side. Performing a large number of exercises
for a particular muscle group is a complete time waster and
actually restricts growth. The proper amount of meals per day to
maximize muscle growth AND fat loss is crucial. The calorie
manipulation approach can help to control body fat levels.
Volume based programs (large sets, many exercises, etc) are a
waste of time. Each muscle group requires LESS exercise to
produce MORE muscle! Water in conjunction with food produces
fuller, larger muscles (70% of our body is water).

Diet is important, take in only substances which aid in
improvement

Remember every exercise you do affects more than one body part,
so structure your routine accordingly. Each muscle group needs
time to recover and grow.

Copyright 2005 Mike Spencer

You should always keep in mind that whatever actions you do
today can either help to prevent, delay or minimize the effect
of heart disease or worsen it. The key is to control risk
factors. Granted that you cannot control every risk factor for
heart disease such as family history but you can definitely do
something about your behavior. Age and gender also influence
your risk of heart disease.

Major Risk Factors of Heart Disease

Cholesterol Levels

Cholesterol is a type of a lipid, a soft, fatlike substance that
serves as a source of fuel. Excessive cholesterol can cause
buildup of atherosclerotic plaque. Accumulation of plaque in
arteries can block blood flow and lead to a heart attack. LDL
cholesterol, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, is transported to
sites throughout the body, where it’s used to repair cell
membranes or to make hormones. LDL cholesterol can accumulate in
the walls of your arteries. HDL cholesterol, the so-called
“good” cholesterol, transports cholesterol to the liver, where
it’s altered and removed from the body.

Blood Pressure

Normal blood pressure level is defined as less than 130
millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) for systolic blood pressure and
less than 85 mm Hg for diastolic blood pressure. The higher the
blood pressure, the more likely it is to take a toll on the
heart and on the brain. Blood pressure should be checked whether
or not your levels are high. For normal, check once every two
years. For high-normal, check once a year. If extremely high,
you should get immediate care. Then get multiple measurements to
know if a high level is sustained over time.

Diabetes

Another risk factor for heart disease is diabetes, a chronic
disease of insulin deficiency or resistance. Type 2 diabetes,
the most common type, is associated with obesity and may be
prevented by maintaining ideal body weight through exercise and
balanced nutrition.

Tips For Controlling Risk of Heart Disease

Stop Smoking

The effect of smoking on your lungs can cause almost every other
medical condition.

Get Active

Routine physical activity is highly recommended and helpful in
controlling obesity. Try to perform 30 minutes of moderate
physical activity every day. Fast walking is one of the best way
to prevent heart disease. If you can lose even a small amount of
weight, five pounds for example, it may have a positive effect
on lipid levels and blood pressure preventing heart disease.

Limit Alcohol Consumption

Limit daily alcohol intake to three ounces or fewer to prevent
heart disease. People who drink large amounts of alcohol (six to
eight ounces a day) tend to have higher blood pressure.

Watch What You Eat

Eat five helpings of fruits and vegetables daily to prevent
heart disease.

Maintain adequate dietary potassium, calcium and magnesium
intake.

Reduce saturated fats and cholesterol to stay away from heart
disease.