Important Health Updates

Here are some health updates we should all know about. Nothing about them is complicated, and they are easy to implement into your life. The problem will be consistency, however, if you want to maintain your health, and increase your life span - then it would be worth making all or some of them a part of your life.

What About Dietary Fat

It is now being said that olive oil and canola oil, which are mono-unsaturated oils, aren't any better for your heart than oils like sunflower, soybean and corn.

We've always been told that mono-unsaturated oils were good for reducing cholesterol, but the fact is, it doesn't make a difference unless we decrease all fat intake, especially saturated fats.

When you reduce your fat intake by eating less high-fat dairy products and meats, try increasing your intake of grains, vegetables and fruits.

Green Leafy Vegetables and Your Eyes

If you're like me, you don't eat as much leafy green vegetable as you should. But by increasing your intake of vegetables like spinach, greens and other dark green leafy vegetables that have carotenoids, it may decrease your chance of developing macular degeneration by 43%.

Something Else To Fight Cancer

Fruits and vegetables not only contain vitamin C, that is good for fighting cancer, they also contain chlorogenic acids and p-coumaric.

These cancer fighting acids block cancer causing carcinogens compounds called N-nitroso, and the best fruit you can eat to provide you with the best concentration of these acids is the tomato.

Alcohol To Prevent Heart Attacks and Strokes

Well we all know that alcohol can either help you, or hurt you. It depends on how much alcohol you consume.
Evidence now shows that you can reduce your chance of having a heart attack by 25 to 40 percent, just by having one or two drinks a day.

The study also showed that by having one to three drinks a day, you can reduce your chance of having an is-chemic stroke. This type of stroke causes clots in your artery.

It is believed that alcohol has the ability to increase your HAL cholesterol, which helps to remove the harmful cholesterol, and that it could also reduce the stickiness of your blood platelets.

Vitamin E and Your Cholesterol

Vitamin E works wonders by itself, but combine it with vitamin C and beta-carotene to clear your arteries of any fatty plaque. Taking these vitamins together stops oxidation of the bad cholesterol by about 50 percent, and it's this oxidation process that causes plaque to form in your arteries.

Sit Ups And Your Stomach

Some of us do believe that the more sit ups you do, the better your abdominal muscles will look, and this is not necessarily true.

The more sit ups you do, causes your body to start using other muscles besides your abdominals. This is why you can do 100 sit ups a day and still have that little stomach pooch.

Instead of 100 sit ups, try doing quality sit ups rather than quantity. When you do your sit ups, contract your abdominal muscles as hard as you can, then slowly sit - holding the position as long as you can. When it becomes harder to do your sit ups, it's time to stop. You won't gain anything by over doing it.

Life Extending Exercise

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that exercise is good for you, and that it will help to prolong your life. Studies have been done for the pass 20 years that show men who were unfit lessen their chances of dying by 44 percent - when they started exercising.

Men that were exercising and already fit lessen their chance of dying by 67 percent, but only if they maintained their fitness.

Small Or Big Changes In Eating Habits

A lot of us believe that if we gradually change our eating habits, that this is best for us and our bodies. But the fact is that doing gradual changes in our eating habits can leave us feeling frustrated, hungry and really not showing any improvement in our weight lost.

If you're trying to improve you're blood pressure or cholesterol by cutting back on red meat, this won't be enough to show improvements.

You need to follow a diet low in fat, but filled with vegetables, fruit and grains - combined with exercise and stress management. It's easier to follow this type of program, and you'll get the results you want.

Eating More Fish Makes You Healthy

This is true, but you have to be aware of what kind of fish you're eating and how much. Eating too much of certain types of fish can actually be detrimental to your health.

Some tips for this is to never eat freshwater fish, lake trout and bluefish that come from inland lakes that contain PCBs. Eat tuna or swordfish only once a week, this avoids mercury poisoning, eat two medium sized cans of tuna a week.

If you live in a tropical location, then don't eat snapper, grouper, barracuda or amber jack that was caught locally. It just might have parasites. You may also want to stay away from fresh tuna, mahi mahi and bluefish for the same reason.

You are probably safer with haddock, cod, sole, salmon, Pacific halibut, ocean perch, flounder and catfish. Also stay away from fish caught out of the great lakes.

This completes the list of health updates we should all know, and I hope you found something of value you can take with you, that will help you live a long and healthy life.