GOOD FATS, BAD FATS, AND THE POWER OF OMEGA-3s

For years, nutritionists and doctors have preached that a low-fat diet is the key to losing weight, managing cholesterol, and preventing health problems. But more than just the amount of fat, it’s the types of fat you eat that really matter. Bad fats increase cholesterol and your risk of certain diseases, while good fats protect

your heart and support overall health. In fact, good fats—such as omega-3 fats—are essential to physical and emotional health.A walk down the grocery aisle will confirm our obsession with low-fat foods. We’re bombarded with supposedly guilt-free options: baked potato chips, fat-free ice cream, low-fat candies, cookies, and cakes. But while our low-fat options have exploded, so have obesity rates. Clearly, low-fat foods and diets haven’t delivered on their trim, healthy promises.
Despite what you may have been told, fat isn’t always the bad guy in the waistline wars. Bad fats, such as saturated fats and trans fats, are guilty of the unhealthy things all fats have been blamed for—weight gain, clogged arteries, and so forth. But good fats such as the monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and omega-3s have the opposite effect.As a matter of fact, healthy fats play a huge role in helping you manage your moods, stay on top of your mental game, fight fatigue, and even control your weight.
Types of dietary fat: Good fats vs. bad fats
To understand good and bad fats, you need to know the names of the players and some information about them. There are four major types of fats:
1.monounsaturated fats
2.polyunsaturated fats
3.saturated fats
4.trans fats
Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are known as the “good fats” because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health.
GOOD FATS
Monounsaturated fat Polyunsaturated fat
Olive oil soybean oil
Canola oil corn oil
Sunflower oil safflower oil
Peanut oil walnuts
Sesame oil sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Avocados flax seed
Olives fatty fish (salmon,tuna)
Nuts (almonds) soy milk
Peanut butter tofu
Saturated fats and trans fats are known as the “bad fats” because they increase your risk of disease and elevate cholesterol.
Appearance-wise, saturated fats and trans fats tend to be solid at room temperature (think of butter or traditional stick margarine), while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats tend to be liquid (think of olive or corn oil).
BAD FATS
Saturated fat Trans fat
High-fat cuts of meat Commercially-baked products
Chicken with the skin Packaged snack foods
Whole-fat dairy products Packaged snack foods
Butter Vegetable shortening
Cheese Fried foods
Ice cream Candy bars
Palm and coconut oil
Lard
How much fat is too much?depends on your lifestyle, your weight, your age and most importantly the state of your health. The USDA recommends that the average individual:
1.Keep total fat intake to 20-35% of calories
2.Limit saturated fats to less than 10% of your calories (200 calories for a 2000 calorie diet)
3.Limit trans fats to 1% of calories (2 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet)
Simple ways to reduce saturated fat:
Eat less red meat (beef, pork, or lamb) and more fish and chicken
Go for lean cuts of meat, and stick to white meat, which has less saturated fat.
Bake, broil, or grill instead of frying.
Remove the skin from chicken and trim as much fat off of meat as possible before cooking.
Avoid breaded meats and vegetables and deep-fried foods.
Choose low-fat milk and lower-fat cheeses like mozzarella whenever possible; enjoy full-fat dairy in moderation.
Use liquid vegetable oils such as olive oil or canola oil instead of lard, shortening, or butter.
Avoid cream and cheese sauces, or have them served on the side.

How Do Sleeping Pills Work?

Author: Eric Cho
Sleeping pills are sedatives that depress the central nervous system of the human body. This results in tranquility, relaxation, less anxiety, sleepiness, slowed breathing, slurred speaking, staggering gait, poor judgment and slow, uncertain reflexes. They are also called downers, tranquillizers, depressants, anxiolytics, soporifics or sedative hypnotics.

Most sleeping pills are usually prescribed for patients with anxiety problems. However, those described as sedatives are also used to help people sleep. Long term use of sleeping pills is discouraged as they are addictive and could be dangerous to the health of the patient.

The human body has two basic drives which is the waking drive and the sleeping drive. During the day, the waking drive is strong and the brain remains active. As the day wears on, the waking drive becomes weaker and the sleeping drive strengthens. As evening approaches, the sleeping drive builds up and by the time night approaches, the body is ready to go to sleep. What a sleeping pill does is that it strengthens the sleeping drive in the human body. A person with insomnia has imbalanced sleeping and waking drives.

In normal people, the onset of darkness induces the pineal gland in the brain to secrete a hormone called melatonin which prompts the body to go into the sleep drive. The melatonin makes the body less alert, it slows down the body mechanisms and the person begins to feel the need to sleep. The action of sleeping pills is similar. It sends signals to the brain that approximate to the symptoms produced by the hormone melatonin. The central nervous system is dampened and its ability to function is diminished. This makes the person sleepy. Sleeping pills work less effectively when the patient has had long term insomnia or has had trouble staying asleep for a long time.

Most sleeping pills are Benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are minor tranquilizers that belong to a class of drugs that are used to induce sleep. There are several drugs such as Nitrazepam, Loprazolam and Flurazepam that are categorized under Benzodiazepines. However, benzodiazepines are also used to tackle problems relating to anxiety, epileptic seizure and amnesia and it is important to choose the right benzodiazepine as a sleeping pill. Some of the trade names of benzodiazepines drugs are Mogadon, Remnos and Somnite. The natural herb Mandrake is also a common ingredient in these drugs. Mandrake is traditionally known as a drug that helps people sleep.

However, there are possibilities of side effects when taking sleeping pills. Most benzodiazepines have the same side effects- headaches, drowsiness, light-headedness, unsteadiness, confusion, forgetfulness, dependence, withdrawal, increase in aggression and muscle weakness. There are many drugs that one might be consuming that may interfere with the effectiveness of sleeping pills. These drugs themselves may be sleep inducing and taking sleeping pills in addition to such drugs will result in the effect of these pills lasting longer. People with respiratory problem, muscle problems, a history of drug or alcohol abuse or personality disorder, who are consuming sleeping pills, are advised to use it with caution and to consult their physician before taking any sleeping pill.

Moreover, some sleeping pills are known to cause amnesia. Patients have been known to perform several physical activities-even going on a binge on food-while completely asleep under the effects of the sleeping pill. Patients must, therefore, ensure that the instructions are followed meticulously and go to bed immediately after taking the sleeping pill.


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Tips to Get Rid of Plantar Warts

Plantar warts are noncancerous skin growths on the soles of your feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which enters your body through tiny cuts and breaks in your skin. Plantar warts often develop beneath pressure points in your feet, such as the heels or balls of your feet.

Surgery is an option if home treatment and treatment at your health professional's office has failed. Surgery for warts is usually quick and effective. No single surgical method is more effective than another in curing warts. Generally, health professionals start with the surgical method that is least likely to cause scarring.

Cryotherapy sounds like what they did to Ted Williams, and does involve freezing. In this case, doctors use liquid nitrogen to "freeze" your wart. They apply the liquid nitrogen directly onto the plantar wart using a spray-tip or cotton-tip applicator. If you've never experienced cryotherapy before, you might be struck by the sci-fi image of unearthly vapors rising from the nitrogen tank. For children, this method can be too painful and scary, and at any rate, it guarantees neither more nor less success than duct tape or acid treatments. If successful, however, you'll get rid of that plantar wart faster.

It is possible to remove plantar warts. Some success for removing painful plantar warts has been reported by the repeated and extended applications of salicylic acid. The acid, available in drug stores, works by softening the callus over the wart, exposing the virus. Apply the acid at night, and rub the whitened skin off in the morning. During the day, apply a donut-shaped pad over the wart for cushioning and pain relief. Do not use salicylic acid if you have diabetes or peripheral vascular disease.

Cantharidin Doctors and healers have used cantharidin — a substance extracted from the blister beetle — to treat warts for centuries. Today, this therapy is sometimes paired with salicylic acid. Your doctor paints this beetle juice onto your wart and covers it with clear tape. The application is painless, but it causes the skin under the wart to blister, lifting the wart off the skin. Your doctor can then clip away the dead part of the wart in about a week. However, some doctors are hesitant to use cantharidin because it's not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of warts.

Another very low cost way to remove plantar warts is called hyperthermic treatment. Hyperthermic treatment of plantar is very simple and all you need is warm water and a small tube to soak your feet in. It involves soaking your feet in hot water to remove the warts for 90 minutes a day. This is a no-nonsense method on how to remove warts, especially plantar warts. Also, it can relieve the pressure caused by the infection.

Removal of plantar warts using this method may depend on the size of the wart. Usually, it takes about six weeks for the lesion to heal completely. Another disadvantage of the method, aside from the length it takes for the wound to heal, is the pain associated, even if anesthesia is applied, and the scar that forms around the skin area.

Another very low cost way to remove plantar warts is called hyperthermic treatment. Hyperthermic treatment of plantar is very simple and all you need is warm water and a small tube to soak your feet in. It involves soaking your feet in hot water to remove the warts for 90 minutes a day. This is a no-nonsense method on how to remove warts, especially plantar warts. Also, it can relieve the pressure caused by the infection.

Author: Corwin Brown

Signs and Symptoms of Heart Attack

A lot is written about the so called common signs of Heart Attacks and what they are supposed to typically consist of but what is fact and what is fiction? Here we take a look at the basic issues surrounding Heart Attacks or Myocardial infarctions.

A Heart Attack is also known as a Myocardial Infarction or MI or AMI when referred to as an Acute Myocardial Infarction.These occur when the blood supply to part of the heart is interrupted causing some heart cells to die. This is most commonly due to occlusion (blockage) of a coronary artery following the rupture of a vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque.An unstable collection of white blood cells (especially macrophages and lipids (like cholesterol) collectively known as Athersclerotic plaque separate from the wall of an artery.The end result of all of this (called ischemia) which is a restriction in blood supply) has been known to cause damage or death of the heart muscle tissue known as Myocardium.

Though symptoms of a Heart Attack do differ there are certain classic symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, pain in the arm, back and neck, and a growing sense of anxiety (also known as impending doom). Women may experience fewer typical symptoms than men, most commonly shortness of breath, weakness, a feeling of indigestion, and fatigue.{Approximately one quarter of all myocardial infarctions are silent, without chest pain or other symptoms.|It does have to be remembered though that 25 percent of all Myocardial Infarctions occur in silence and without classic symptoms such as chest pain.A heart attack is a medical emergency, and people experiencing chest pain are advised to alert their emergency medical services, because prompt treatment can be crucial to survival. To be quite honest in situations like these, minutes and seconds do matter.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death for both men and women all over the world.Important risk factors are previous cardiovascular disease (such as angina, a previous heart attack or stroke), older age (especially men over 40 and women over 50), tobacco smoking, diet and exercise.

As is also imagined there are considerably more factors that are actually taken into consideration such as additional medical conditions of which potential or actual diabetes is one, obesity, high blood pressure or hypertension and/or incidence of kidney disease

Included in amongst immediate treatment for a suspected or acute heart attack is increased oxygen, the introduction of aspirin and also a liquid form of nitroglycerin known as sublingual glyceryl trinitrate.Pain relief is also often given, classically morphine sulfate.

By: Scott James