Macadamia Nuts To Lower Your Cholesterol and Lose Weight.

There is no food is a better source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) than macadamia nuts. In 100 g of macadamias contains of 60 g of MUFAs. These beneficial fats are known to reduce LDL cholesterol levels without reducing HDL cholesterol levels, and to reduce the body's need for antioxidants. Macadamias nuts also contain a little more than 0.1 percent plant sterols, the compounds added to "smart" margarines used to lower cholesterol.

For these reasons, eating macadamias lowers total cholesterol and LDL and raises HDL, even though they are a high-fat food. Australian researchers Manohar Garg, Robert Blake, and Ron Wills recruited seventeen middle-aged men with total cholesterol levels of 237 to 300 mg/dl. They instructed them to maintain their diet and lifestyle but also to eat 40 to 90 g (1-1/2 to about 3 oz) of macadamias every day, the men who ordinarily consumed the most calories given the most nuts. At the end of four weeks, the men's average total cholesterol had been lowered by 3.0 percent. LDL cholesterol was down 5.3 percent, and HDL cholesterol was up 7.9 percent.

Eating macadamias also slightly lowered concentrations of n-6 fatty acids (which the body uses to make hormones that raise blood pressure) and slightly raised concentrations of n-3 fatty acids (which the body uses to make hormones that lower blood pressure). Triglycerides and homocysteine were unaffected. Despite increasing their total daily food consumption by about 160 calories and increasing the percentage of fat in their diet from 31 percent to 37 percent, the men lost weight, an average of 0.54 kg (a little more than a pound), and their body mass indices (BMIs) also were reduced.

The researchers explained these results by the unusual combination of beneficial nutrients in the nuts. Cholesterol-lowering margarines are made with 1000 times more sterols than occur naturally in macadamias, but the combination of MUFAs, sterols, and other fats in the nuts makes them as beneficial as artificial margarine-with the added benefit of lowering weight.

How to Take a Blood Pressure Reading

How to take a blood pressure reading. To get an accurate blood pressure reading is neither easy nor straightforward. The reading itself is not difficult, the difficult part is the process of actually finding one's blood pressure. A device must be inserted into the patient to get this most accurate of readings to get the most precise reading. This procedure is invasive, not too commonly used as such accuracy is rarely necessary.

More commonly used is an instrument called a sphygmomanometer. The sphygmomanometer is normally referred to as the blood pressure cuff. An apt description since that is how it is placed on the upper arm. It is in fact a long pressurized sock, wound round the upper arm giving the appearance of a cuff.

Usually wound round the upper left arm, the cuff is placed more or less at the same vertical height as the patient's heart. The person must be sitting down in an upright position as this is the optimal position for blood to flow through the body as it should. The cuff is then inflated with a small pump until there is sufficient pressure on the brachial artery to give a reading.

Systolic pressure will be taken first. The doctor places his stethoscope against the inside of the elbow joint. He will decrease the pressure in the cuff until he hears the Korotkoff sounds through the stethoscope. This is when the systolic reading is taken.

He will continue to deflate the cuff until the Korotkoff sounds cease and this is the reading for the diatolic pressure.

Nowadays, the digital blood pressure cuff has become popular. Both systems have their pros and cons. For the unskilled patient who takes his own blood pressure at home or have it taken in a drug store, the digital cuff is easier to use. The digital cuff is more practical in a noisy environment since there is no listening for the Korotkoff sounds required. The digital cuff types work by measuring the mean arterial pulse, and it derives both pressures (systolic and diatolic) from that. It is limited in that it cannot be used by all patients, those with particular health problems.

Doctors and health care practitioners normally use the manual sphygmomanometer. It takes skill to operate it but it is more precise than a digital one. It takes a certain amount of practice to master listening for the Korotkoff sounds while manually pumping the cuff. Without the necessary skill and practice, people find the manual sphygmomanometer difficult to operate.

This article and Be Well Again web site and sub-directories are for people interested in taking responsibility for their own health. Information is provided only for educational and informational purposes and is not meant to substitute the advice of your own medical professional. You should not use the information contained herein for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing any medication.

Asbestos Lawyers And Cancer Laws

Asbestos is believed to be responsible for many diseases including the lung fibrosis disease, which has been named asbestosis. Prolonged exposure to asbestos is also believed to cause an extremely potent form of cancer, in the chest and abdominal cavities, called mesothelioma. This is because of the nature of asbestos, which becomes carcinogenic when inhaled.

Asbestos litigations and lawsuits of the eighties and nineties forced many state governments to pass amendments and reform bills. For instance, under a reform bill in Texas, it is mandatory for asbestos cases to get neutral medical tests, while Georgia puts the onus on the plaintiff to provide prima facie evidence of the injuries having been caused by asbestos itself through a reform bill.

There are changes and amendments happening regularly and any good asbestos lawyer will be aware of these, as well the most important cancer laws. The most important thing about a cancer lawsuit is that one has to act quickly, because of the statute of limitation imposed by every state that restricts filing for lawsuits beyond a stipulated period.

A qualified asbestos lawyer will also be aware of the implications and know how to deal with the various parties involved, such as the guilty company and the insurance firms that may try negotiating a settlement.

Apart from the compensation for financial losses like medical expenses and loss of employment both present and future, there is also compensation for another kind of suffering. This is for the anxiety and mental stress that is caused by asbestos related diseases. An asbestos lawyer will be well aware of this.

How to Lose Weight Safely Without Risk, Danger Or Disease

How to lose weight safely without risk, danger or disease. Theth truth about lots of popular weight loss programs being promoted online is most of them are unsafe! It's true...and if you are like many of other peoples, you have probably leapfrogged from one " it is too good to be true" diet offer to the next, wondering just which one is going to get you to fit into that dress in time for Christmast Party or New Year's Eve. And while we are all looking for the magical solution, the simple truth is that real weight loss requires at least a little bit of work, and anything that promises you none....is just trying to get one hand into your pocketbook instead of telling the truth. But did you know that some of the herbs, supplements and "natural" weight loss solutions you can buy online are actually unsafe? As many herbs and other natural ingredients can simply be a euphemism for stimulants which can wreak devastation on your body in rapid fire turn around time.And how about water fasts, cabbage soup diets and all of the other nefarious nonsense being promoted by ill meaning entrepreneurs of all types and stripes? Stay away!The truth is your body needs respect, and treated with care - and depriving it of calories without an underpinning of sensible strategy has probably caused more harm for dieters around the globe than being overweight. So what does a woman who needs to lose weight do? Have to pick a proven program that works, has been endorsed by doctors around the country, conforms with accepted principles of health and wellness and is proven solution to really lose weight to boot! What people recommend is a proven, Doctor Recommend Weight Loss Program That Has helped over 1 million people just like you finally get the body they deserve! Who is it for? anyone who has struggled with weight loss, yo yo diets, size self esteem and in 2009 is once and for all ready to do something about it!

Prenatal Vitamins Versus Over the counter Drugs Which Works Better

f you are planning to conceive or are already on the family way, taking prenatal vitamins is a must. Prenatal vitamins provide important minerals and nutrients that help support a healthy pregnancy. There are several prenatal vitamins being sold in the market today some can be bought over-the-counter and there are those that are specifically prescribed by your healthcare provider. Is there a difference between the two? In this article, we will show the basic difference between prescription and over-the-counter prenatal vitamins and why prescription does matter. The biggest difference between over-the-counter drugs and prescription prenatal vitamins is the amount of folic acid they contain. Many prescription prenatal vitamins contain 1.0 mg folic acid (1000 mcg) while many over-the-counter prenatal vitamins contain less or approximately 800 mcg of folic acid. Folic acid is especially important during the first three months ofpregnancy because it helps your body produce healthy blood cells. It also helps prevent brain and spinal or neural tube defects. What are neural tube defects, you may ask. Neural tube defects typically occur during the first few weeks of pregnancy, which means expectant moms need to get enough folic acid every day. According to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended daily allowance or RDA of folic acid during pregnancy is 0.6 mg with an upper intake of 1.0 mg per day. In an informal comparison of four over-the-counter prenatal vitamins and nine prescription supplements reveals that the over-the-counter vitamins, though considerably higher in almost all the micronutrient levels, were usually lower in iron and folic acid. In this case alone, one can argue that prescription supplements really do outweigh over-the-counter prenatal vitamins.

Medicare

Medicare is a governmental program which provides
medical insurance coverage for retired persons over
age 65 or for others who meet certain medical
conditions, such as having a disability.

Medicare was signed into legislation in 1965 as an
amendment to the Social Security program and is
administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) under the Department of Human Services.

Medicare provides medical insurance coverage for over
43 million Americans, many of whom would have no
medical insurance. While not perfect, the Medicare
program offers these millions of people relatively low
cost basic insurance, but not much in the way of
preventative care. For instance, Medicare does not pay
for an annual physical, vision care or dental care.

Medicare is paid for through payroll tax deductions
(FICA) equal to 2.9% of wages; the employee pays half
and the employer pays half.

There are four "parts" to Medicare: Part A is hospital
coverage, Part B is medical insurance, Part C is
supplemental coverage and Part D is prescription
insurance. Parts C and D are at an added cost and are
not required. Neither Part A nor B pays 100% of
medical costs; there is usually a premium, co-pay and
a deductible. Some low-income people quality for
Medicaid, which assists in paying part of or all of
the out-of-pocket costs.

Because more people are retiring and become eligible
for Medicare at a faster rate than people are paying
into the system, it has been predicted that the system
will run out of money by 2018. Health care costs have
risen dramatically, which adds to the financial woes
of Medicare and the system has bee plagued by fraud
over the years.

No one seems to have a viable solution to save this
system that saves many people throughout the country.

Prescription Insurance Policies

Some health insurance policies do not provide for
prescription coverage and a separate policy must be
purchased for prescription medications.

This is an area where it pays to do some homework and
research and find the best policy for you.

Prescription coverage insurance is not a necessity;
like health insurance coverage, it is a calculated
risk, although the risk is not as high.

Usually you can buy prescription insurance at any
time, so if the doctor determines that you need an
expensive maintenance drug, you may opt in at that
time.

It is important to know that if you presently have
prescription insurance you can usually only change it
at a specific time of the year, although you can add
new prescriptions, you can’t change plans.

The person who seldom takes prescription medications
probably does not need prescription insurance;
however, a person who takes maintenance drugs for high
blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart disease or
immune disorders most likely needs insurance against
the high costs of drugs.

Prescription insurance policies usually have "tiers",
which usually means that a generic drug is at a low or
no co-pay, a tier 2 level may be the brand name
genuine, and a tier 3 may be a brand new expensive
drug that the co-pay could be a set high-percentage of
the cost.

In choosing prescription insurance, you should first
list the prescriptions that you take and the retail
amount of them. If you chose not to purchase
insurance, this would be your monthly cost.

Find out from the provider what the monthly premium
for you would be, then what the prescription co-pay
amount would be and add these two figures together.

Help Alcoholics From Drinking With Monthly Shots

A monthly shot can help keep holiday drinkers on the black Maria.

David Rosenbloom, a specialist in drug abuse at Boston University School of Public Health, said for people battling alcoholism, holidays pose a strong danger of backsliding.

"Because a few it's the stress of being lonesome, for other people it's the stress of being with folks," he said.

The pressure level can be overmuch for some teetotallers, especially during Christmas and New Years when swarming pressure and chances to drink are especially high.

Many convalescing alcoholics take tablets containing naltrexone, a content that reduces the desire to drink by blocking the receptors in the brain responsible for the high that drinking brings.

“On the vacation season, pressures often beat back alcoholics to stop taking the tablets,“ said Sandra Lapham at the Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Now there's afresh slow-release formulation of naltrexone, where the drug is came in into muscle once a month and researchers believe it could be a saving grace for recovering alcoholics who give into holiday pressures and stop taking their pills.

The Journal of drug abuse Treatment published a small study of 28 patients who received full-dose naltrexone shots, compared with another 28 given placebos. For heavy drinkers (five or more drinks a day for men, and four for women) the shots reduced the frequency of drinking days, the number of drinks and the percentage of days classed as heavy drinking sessions.

And researchers say the drug was just as effective during the holidays as it was for the rest of the year.

Rosenbloom said the injections could be hugely significant for public health, especially during the hectic holiday season when 40 percent of road deaths over Christmas and the New Year involve at least one driver impaired by alcohol. He said he would like to see courts offer naltrexone shots to repeat drunk-driving offenders.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the naltrexone injections in 2006. However, naltrexone injections must be given with care, because they can cause abscesses if the drug is deposited into fatty tissue, Lapham warned.

Where To Find Cheap Health Insurance

Health insurance costs are rising all the time. Many people feel they cannot afford health insurance. Others feel that they don’t need it because they are healthy and have never had any major medical problems. This is definitely faulty thinking on their part. As a matter of fact, you do need health insurance, and there are a lot of ways to get affordable health insurance for yourself or your family. Health insurance is protection against the possible health problems that could happen in the future, and you have absolutely no way of knowing what those might be.

For people who are low income, every state has a Medicaid program that they could possible qualify for. The requirements vary form state to state, but all it takes is a trip to your local Division of Family Services office to get an application. You might be surprised at the number of people who would actually qualify for this service that don’t think that they would. You will need to fill out the application and provide some documentation about your finances. This program can cover the health insurance needs of the entire family, including dental work, eye care, doctor visits, emergency care, prescriptions and more. For people with children who don’t get insurance through their work, this is a very good option to check out. It is free and a fairly painless process, and if you qualify, it could make you like a lot easier.

Another option for cheap health insurance is to look on the Internet. There are a ton of companies that offer all types of health insurance plans, and it is very possible that you could find one that is perfect for your family and fits your pocketbook. The costs vary, so do plenty of research before choosing one or another. It is a smart idea to find out how long the company has been in business, and what kind of reputation they have. Ask for a quote from several sources, and see what kind of a deal they can get for you. Make sure they are also licensed in your state, because it does no good to get insurance if they can’t operate in your state.

Still other options include your local insurance agencies. Ask around to find out about the different agents and their policies. Many agents will work very hard to get you an affordable health insurance plan for your family at a cost you can live with. Even if you can’t get every type of coverage you want, some is better than none.

Follow up with advertisements for prescription card plans and alternative health care plans. While some of them won’t be suited to your needs, there may be one that is perfect for you. An affordable health care insurance plan can be found, but you might have to do some searching.

Fortis Health Insurance

For more than a century, the company, Fortis Health Insurance has focused solely on health insurance coverage. Fortis has a reliable variety of health care coverage available to individuals and families, small group employers, and specialty health insurance coverage. This is perfect for those who are self-employed, or for those working for an employer who does not provide health insurance. You will find that our specialty medical products include international and student health insurance coverage, and that our company provides long term or market leading short term insurance for all needs. Fortis Health Insurance also has a variety of discount plans that include Prescriptions and Dental-Vision. Check our website to see which one of our Fortis Health Insurance services can meet your needs at this time. With this wide variety of available insurance plans, Fortis Heath puts insurance back in the hands of you, the consumer, providing health insurance at an affordable price and as you want it.

Muscle and fat tissue

Some people[who?] incorrectly believe that muscle tissue will turn into fat tissue once a person stops exercising. This is not literally true — fat tissue and muscle tissue are fundamentally different — but the common expression that "muscle will turn to fat" is truthful in the sense that catabolism of muscle fibers for energy can result in excess glucose being stored as fat. Moreover, the composition of a body part can change toward less muscle and more fat, so that a cross-section of the upper-arm for example, will have a greater area corresponding to fat and a smaller area corresponding to muscle. This is not muscle "turning into fat" however — it is simply a combination of muscle atrophy and increased fat storage in different tissues of the same body part. Another element of increased fatty deposits is that of diet, as most trainees will not significantly reduce their diet in order to compensate for the lack of exercise/activity.

Targeted Fat Reduction

Spot Reduction is a myth that exercise and training a particular body part will preferentially shed the fat on that part; for example, that doing sit-ups is the most direct way to reduce subcutaneous belly fat. This is false: one cannot reduce fat from one area of the body to the exclusion of others. Most of the energy derived from fat gets to the muscle through the bloodstream and reduces stored fat in the entire body, from the last place where fat was deposited. Sit-ups may improve the size and shape of abdominal muscles but will not specifically target belly fat for loss. Such exercise might help reduce overall body fat and shrink the size of fat cells.

Exercise Benefits

Physical exercise is important for maintaining physical fitness and can contribute positively to maintaining a healthy weight, building and maintaining healthy bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility, promoting physiological well-being, reducing surgical risks, and strengthening the immune system. Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression. Strength training appears to have continuous energy-burning effects that persist for about 24 hours after the training, though they do not offer the same cardiovascular benefits as aerobic exercises do. There is conflicting evidence as to whether vigorous exercise (more than 70% of VO2 Max) is more or less beneficial than moderate exercise (40 to 70% of VO2 Max). Some studies have shown that vigorous exercise executed by healthy individuals can effectively increase opioid peptides (aka endorphins, a naturally occurring opiate that in conjunction with other neurotransmitters is responsible for exercise induced euphoria and has been shown to be addictive), positively influence hormone production (i.e., increase testosterone and growth hormone), benefits that are not as fully realized with moderate exercise. Exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functioning via improvement of hippocampus-dependent spatial learning, and enhancement of synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. In addition, physical activity has been shown to be neuroprotective in many neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. For instance, it reduces the risk of developing dementia. Furthermore, anecdotal evidence suggests that frequent exercise may reverse alcohol-induced brain damage. Physical activity is thought to have other beneficial effects related to cognition as it increases levels of nerve growth factors, which support the survival and growth of a number of neuronal cells. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise also work to increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart by increasing cardiac volume (aerobic exercise), or myocardial thickness (strength training). Such changes are generally beneficial and healthy if they occur in response to exercise. Not everyone benefits equally from exercise. There is tremendous variation in individual response to training: where most people will see a moderate increase in endurance from aerobic exercise, some individuals will as much as double their oxygen uptake, while others will never get any benefit at all from the exercise. Similarly, only a minority of people will show significant muscle growth after prolonged weight training, while a larger fraction experience improvements in strength.This genetic variation in improvement from training is one of the key physiological differences between elite athletes and the larger population. Studies have shown that exercising in middle age leads to better physical ability later in life.

Types Of Exercise

Exercises are generally grouped into three types depending on the overall effect they have on the human body: Flexibility exercises such as stretching improve the range of motion of muscles and joints. Aerobic exercises such as cycling, swimming, walking, rowing, running, hiking or playing tennis focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance. Anaerobic exercises such as weight training, functional training or sprinting increase short-term muscle strength.

Physical exercise

Physical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health. It is performed for many different reasons. These include: strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, and weight loss or maintenance. Frequent and regular physical exercise boosts the immune system, and helps prevent diseases of affluence such as heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity. It also improves mental health and helps prevent depression. Childhood obesity is a growing global concern and physical exercise may help decrease the effects of childhood obesity in developed countries.

Physical Fitness

Physical fitness is used in two close meanings: general fitness (a state of health and well-being) and specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is the functioning of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and muscles to function at optimum efficiency. In previous years, fitness was defined as the capacity to carry out the day’s activities without undue fatigue. Automation increased leisure time, and changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution meant this criterion was no longer sufficient. Optimum efficiency is the key. Physical fitness is now defined as the body’s ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypokinetic diseases, and to meet emergency situations. Fitness can also be divided into five categories: aerobic fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

Health

In 1948, World Health Assembly defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition is still widely referenced, but is often supplemented by other World Health Organization (WHO) reports such as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion which in 1986 stated that health is “a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.” Classification systems describe health. The WHO’s Family of International Classifications (WHO-FIC) is comprised of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).