A good laugh a day, goes a long way.

We all love to have a good laugh, And we all know that laughing does makes us feel better, but now scientist have proven that the hearty jiggly of the belly can be good for your heart. Scientists has tested the blood vessels of 20 healthy patients after they watch a comedy and a drama and found out that laughing dramatically improve the working of the endothelial the lining of the blood vessels they dilated or open up better.

the blood flow improved 22%, the reverse was through of the drama, the blood vessels were constricted or clamp down, blood flow decreased 35%. Mental stress maybe associated with increase likelihood of heart disease and heart attacks. There is likely a stronger mind and heart connection, maybe you don't need to be a stand up comic, but the researchers now say that 15 minute of laughter a day goes a long way towards a good health.

The good thing about laughter is if you do it daily, There's going to be a lot less wear and tear, and you don't have to worry about heart breaking. So just like those who don't exercise or don't eat a good diet Perhaps the jokes have been than those of us who haven't taken the time t have a good chuckle.

So if life has been stressing you too much, try to watch a funny movie or shows and have a good laugh. It's not that hard, really! LOL!

How many cups of coffee?

Coffee maybe one of the most confusing food in the world, many studies shows some good and bad effects of drinking coffee. Here are some of the few health benefits that would give you an idea about your favorite latte.

Based on recent studies shows that your morning coffee routine may lead to a better health, We all know that there is nothing like starting your day with a cup of coffee.
A little caffeine pumps you up, it stimulates your nervous system. Boosts mental alertness, and based on the those studies that a few cups a day may be good for you.

Those studies shows that regular coffee drinkers may have a lower risk for death and heart disease, What causes this benefit? It must be something other than caffeine because the protective effects were also found in decaffeinated coffee drinkers. Coffee is plant based. It contains ingredients that reduce the inflammation and improve blood vessel function. these chemicals are fenols with antioxidant properties.

Now this study might get the attention of all those coffee drinkers, but it doesn't mean that you have to double your intake. Always remember that moderation still matters. Anything that is too much can be bad. Based on another recent study of moderation study of coffee, found that men who drink 6 cups of coffee a day, almost doubled their risk of heart disease. But women who drinks only 2 cups a day reduce their risk of heart disease by 25%. So, this shows that moderation does matters.

The symptoms of heart failure

Just this morning me and my grandma our having discussions about heart failure, and like most people my grandma is a bit confused with heart failure and heart attacks, So I had to explain some stuffs I know, and would like to share this to everyone as well.

When you have heart attacks, one of the arteries of the heart is blocked, people have severe chest pain.When you have heart failure, the the whole muscle of the heart hasn't pump and that is the difference though however heart attacks can cause heart failure.

There is one risk that is important, though there are many. One would be hypertension so high blood pressure is one of the major risk for developing heart failure, and if you don't have symptoms of heart failure, if you have hypertension and you can't treat the high blood pressure, then you can't prevent the development of heart failure, there are other things like that of obesity.

Some people don't have any symptoms, but on the other hand there are two main symptoms, one is shortness of breath, the other one is fluid retention, so you can get fluid in your leg. One of the most important thing everyone should remember which is very common to a lot of people is at night when people had shortness of breath when they sleep and they had to get up, and then they had to sit down in bed and breathe, that is very common symptoms of heart failure, as well as fatigue.

Now how are you going to prevent this from happening, there are many therapies one would be if you can prevent blood pressure then you can reverse ore prevent heart failure, there are also medicines that you can ask from your doctor.

Why do you need to lose some weight

Are you one of those very few people who are very much happy or let's just say satisfied with your weight? Well, Congratulations! However, weight loss still may be needed. Many people who are overweight say that they are happy with their bodies, but the fact remains that weight loss in order to achieve a healthy weight is very important. There are a number of reasons you should consider weight loss, even if you don’t mind having a few extra pounds.

First a foremost, if you are overweight, you are at risk for a number of diseases. The main health risk you will probably experience is heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. Many heart attacks are deadly. Heart disease develops when you heart has to work extra hard to pump the blood to the body, which causes it to become fatigued. This can occur simply because you are overweight, or can be a result of high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

Along with heart disease, having high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can also put you at risk for a stroke. Strokes occur when blood, and therefore oxygen, cannot reach the brain. This can happen due to high cholesterol. When you have high cholesterol, the fatty deposits build up on your artery walls. If a piece of this plaque breaks off and travels to the heart, it causes a heart attack, and traveling to the brain causes a stroke.

Being overweight is also bad for women who wish to become pregnant. When you’re overweight, the hormones in your body are changing, and if you don’t get the right nutrients you may find that your body does not produce the right chemicals for the hormones needed to ovulate or carry a child. Even if you become pregnant, being overweight puts you at risk for a miscarriage or health problems with the baby.

Beyond the health world, being overweight can also affect your daily life. You may find it difficult to purchase clothing in your size or you may find that the clothing that does come in larger sizes is more expensive. This is simply due to the manufacturer need more material to make the same article of clothing. Problems extend beyond shopping when doing things like visiting theme parks, where you may not be able to ride all of the rides, or using public transportation, where you may feel crowded in seats made for smaller people. Losing weight, even if you are currently happy with your own weight, is always a healthy and smart option, until you reach a normal weight.
However, weight loss still may be needed. Many people who are overweight say that they are happy with their bodies, but the fact remains that weight loss in order to achieve a healthy weight is very important. There are a number of reasons you should consider weight loss, even if you don’t mind having a few extra pounds.

First a foremost, if you are overweight, you are at risk for a number of diseases. The main health risk you will probably experience is heart disease, which can lead to a heart attack. Many heart attacks are deadly. Heart disease develops when you heart has to work extra hard to pump the blood to the body, which causes it to become fatigued. This can occur simply because you are overweight, or can be a result of high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

Along with heart disease, having high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels can also put you at risk for a stroke. Strokes occur when blood, and therefore oxygen, cannot reach the brain. This can happen due to high cholesterol. When you have high cholesterol, the fatty deposits build up on your artery walls. If a piece of this plaque breaks off and travels to the heart, it causes a heart attack, and traveling to the brain causes a stroke.

Being overweight is also bad for women who wish to become pregnant. When you’re overweight, the hormones in your body are changing, and if you don’t get the right nutrients you may find that your body does not produce the right chemicals for the hormones needed to ovulate or carry a child. Even if you become pregnant, being overweight puts you at risk for a miscarriage or health problems with the baby.

Beyond the health world, being overweight can also affect your daily life. You may find it difficult to purchase clothing in your size or you may find that the clothing that does come in larger sizes is more expensive. This is simply due to the manufacturer need more material to make the same article of clothing. Problems extend beyond shopping when doing things like visiting theme parks, where you may not be able to ride all of the rides, or using public transportation, where you may feel crowded in seats made for smaller people. Losing weight, even if you are currently happy with your own weight, is always a healthy and smart option, until you reach a normal weight.

Why your heart is your most important asset?

Image by Bob.Fornal via Flickr

The heart is the fist-sized muscle organ between your lungs and just beneath your fifth rib. It is vital to your overall body health and functionality because it is mainly responsible for pumping blood and nutrients throughout your body.

In spite of it's size, the heart does quite an exhausting job with all that pumping- an average adult heart pumps as much as 1,000 gallons of blood through over 60,000 miles of blood vessels, and beats an average of 100,000 times a day for as much as 70-100 years in life time.

The heart helps bring oxygenated blood into other parts of the body, which gives life to all other organs, Nutrients also travel through our blood, which improve how our organs function.

So you have to keep your heart healthy, so how are you going to do that?

Studies shows that Men who are physically active reduce the risk of dying cause by coronary heart disease by almost 50%. At a minimum try injecting 30 minute of cardiovascular everyday of the week. These cardiovascular exercise that works out your heart and your lungs- brisk walking, running, or jogging, biking aerobics or rowing to name a few.

Evil boss = Heart Disease

I just want to share something that i think a lot of people would benefit. Especially those who are working. Few years ago, I worked with an International company that i really, really like, but there is just one problem...... my boss. Well, at first i thought it was just me, but then i found out that almost everyone i know in the company are all planning to leave because of our boss.

I've been stressed and yes i quit. but i still consider it as a great experience, but did you know that Those kind of bosses may increase the risk of heart disease of their subordinates.

I got this news that a team from Sweden have found a link between bad leadership and the risk of heart related diseases and heart attacks among (3,000) employed men.

Study shows that the effect may be cumulative - the risk went up the longer an employee worked for the same environment, same company and same boss.

This research study was published in occupational and environmental medicine.

Stressful environment

Experts said that the feeling of not valued and unsupported at work can cause a lot of stress, which often encouraged unhealthy behaviors, such as lack of sleep, smoking, drinking etc that can lead to heart disease.

Their studies has also shown that unfair bosses can drive up their employees' blood pressure, and persistent high blood pressure can increase heart disease risk.

It just shows that having a good working relationship with your manager may help to protect you against heart disease..

image courtesy of flickr.com

High cholesterol? Best ways to lower cholesterol.

High cholesterol? Manage your cholesterol and live your life to the fullest.
People who are already in between 25 to 54 years old. Based on research studies, This is the age bracket wherein the highest cholesterol levels are found. Most of these people has 86% chances to develop Parkinson's disease in the next 18 years, compared to those who have low cholesterol and those who are just in the normal level.

Experts proved that there is no clear relations between cholesterol and Parkinson's Disease to people 55 years old and above.High cholesterol also increases the risk of heart problems and other diseases.

Of course the best ways to reduce high cholesterol are the following:

1. add oat bran, oatmeal, walnuts, almonds, fish and omega 3 fatty acids, and soy in your daily diet.

2. Reduce you fat intake.

3. Exercise, and more exercise. (Walking, running, cycling etc. Plan your exercise. Few minutes of daily exercise, reduce bad cholesterol.

4. Try not to eat read meat as much as possible.

5. Quit smoking and reduce your alcohol intake, or better yet totally remove it from your habit.

6. Try to add garlic in your daily diet, my grandmother has been taking garlic pills and it really helped her a lot. You can easily get it over the counter. Just make sure you ask your doctor about it.

Prevention is always better than cure so help yourself, And you might add few more years to your life.

Healthy food to super food?

Experts gave the latest range of foods that they call super foods. This superfoods will be good to our health if consumed often. Because it prevents cancer, Heart diseases, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Super foods are blueberries, salmon, walnuts, soy, yogurt, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, hot peppers and almonds. Most of these super foods are known to prevent illnesses. But it is still important to know that taking these foods will not cure or prevent diseases immediately. But well-balanced and planned meal with will be the key to a healthy body. So super foods or just your good old healthy foods, They both need balance diet

Here are some of the simple strategies to make those Healthy foods, super effective.

1. Make sure that half of the grains that you consume are whole grains. Whole grains are very popular in preventing heart diseases, Cancer, Gastro intestinal health, Diabetes and definitely good in weight management.

2. When choosing protein-rich foods try to choose lean protein sources like fish, chicken, low-fat beef, soy at legumes. It makes you feel full without the guilt, thus making you stick to your diet. But still getting the right amounts of protein.

3. Limit your sugar and salt intake, read the label. Reading labels will let you know if you just take the right amount of sugar/ salt or not.Try to make this a habit and it will help you in the future.

4.. Try to choose calcium-rich foods, like low-fat cheese, milk and yogurt.

5. Eat fruits, Fresh fruits. There is a big difference with fruit juices in carton boxes and instant fruit juices. You can drink these juices but try to limit and get used to eating fresh ones.

Eating healthy doesn't mean you are healthy. You got to plan and balance what you eat and make those health foods super effective so Happy eating!

Atherosclerosis: You may already have it but you don't know

Athero....what? That is the first question i asked my friend (MD) while she is trying to explain what exactly it is. Coming from the geek words athero(gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). Atherosclerosis involves deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, and other substances in the artery 's inner lining. Called plaque this build up usually affects both large and medium sized arteries.

It starts as early as childhood. A slow complex disease, it often progresses as people age. In some people though the progress is more rapid and happens even in their twenty's Scientists believe that this disease begins with damage to the innermost layer artery, called endothelium.

Researchers show that males and those with family history of premature cardiovascular disease have a greater risk of atherosclerosis.Unfortunately these factors cannot be controlled. However, reducing the controllable risk factors of atherosclerosis prove to be beneficial: these controllable risk factors include:

• High blood cholesterol
• Cigarette smoking /exposure to tobacco smoke
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes mellitus
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity

knowing these factors, you should be able to control it in your own ways like lose weight, eat well-balanced diet. quit smoking, try to expose yourself to outdoor activities or engage into different sports. A healthy body should have a healthy heart, So love your heart and add more years to your life.

Life extension: 4 simple techniques to add more birthdays!

There are so many ways to make our lives longer, or extend our lives. A lot of people are taking so many food supplements and vitamins believing it will extend their lives. There is nothing wrong with food supplements and stuff like that. There are just some things/ food that are often taken for granted, and they are the ones who are helpful to us.

At the moment billions of people are still hoping for longevity. Experts said that this is not impossible. Especially if it will be combined with proper diet and healthy lifestyle. This is an important key and it could be better with the addition of:

1. Eat fish - Countries like Italy, Greece, Israel, France and Spain are the leading countries that has longer life span.Their biggest secret lies in the consumption of complete meal rich with whole grains, olive oil, fresh vegetables and fish that are irresistibly delicious. eating fish can :

• helps form red blood cells
• maintains nerve and gastrointestinal tissues

and of course fish has essential fatty acids or EFA that are found in fish oils. A very popular Omega 3 can help us reduce heart attacks, heart failure, stroke and others. so no wonder some fish are close to our hearts.

2. Know the latest - Watch news, read the latest magazines, wear new clothes, surf the internet.
keep yourself updated. Some people says that the news nowadays can give us heart attacks instantly. but of course you have to know more than that. If you keep your self updated to almost anything. It can actually make your brain younger.

3. Laugh - of yes we all know that laughter is the best medicine,( do we always laugh?) but sometimes people forget to laugh, we tend to be serious most of the time. When there are so many problems. Most of the people take things so serious that they get depressed, pressured and unhappy. be happy. watch Comedy shows/movies. laugh with your children. Make fun of yourself every now and then. Remember feeling young can actually make us look young. Extend your lives, laugh!

4. Drink and drink more. Drinking more water, coffee, tea and wine ( in a well balanced way) Can give you benefits especially when you take the enough amounts, again.. enough amounts. Wine and tea prevents heart diseases and certain cancers. While coffee makes diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Kidney stones and liver diseases maintain it's normal condition. Prevents it from getting worst. always remember! Right amounts only! Again.. Prevention is always better than cure.

Stay happy!