For The ‘Health’ Of It

Do you and your family have health problems that you are having trouble finding the answers for? For me, it was congestive heart failure. Is it hypertension, cholesterol, or a complication thereof? These articles hopefully will give some direction and help solving them. Stay tuned after this, there is more to come.

Sometimes we have to go beyond normal thoughts, go outside the box, so to speak, and look at other things that might be a root cause for some of the problems we have. Over the past decade, a couple of risk factors have had more research and made more noise in the medical field. The first one that needs to be mentioned is called C-reactive protein, and is often thought to carry more weight than homomocysteine and other risk factors. It is more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, and death from cardiovascular disease than those with elevated levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol because of elevated C-reactive protein levels. If you have been told you have heart problems, it is very important to have your levels checked. One of the best ways to reduce the amount of inflammation caused by this problem is to concentrate on your omega3/omega 6 fatty acid ratios. Omega-3 acids are anti-inflammatory, while omega-6s are pro-inflammatory, so you want your omega-3s to be higher than your omega-6s.

Short term minimization of your omega-6s, especially the hydrogenated oils that are present in many processed foods such as crackers, cookies, potato and corn chips, is a good place to start. When shopping, make sure you read the labels, and if they contain any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, don’t buy them. Make the switch to olive oil if you are not already using it, and even with that, make sure it is first press, cold pressed. It retains more flavor and vital nutrients that way. Vegetable oils are 100% omega-6 fatty acids. And the best source of omega-3 fatty acids is fish and fish oils. A recommended supplementation is one tablespoon of cod liver oil and 1500 milligrams of DHA daily. Also, while taking extra essential fatty acids, make sure you also add 400 IU vitamin E as mixed tocopherols with it.

One risk factor that many people experience when their protein levels get jacked up is blood clots. The protein that is responsible for these clots is fibrinogen, and is well known as a stroke risk factor. It is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, although it is not a very well-known factor. The problem is that fibrinogen levels increase with age, although no one is sure why. But there is hope for those with elevated levels from a well- known kitchen spice, turmeric, which is better known as an ingredient for flavoring curry. One of its components, curcumin, can lower fibrinogen levels to normal. It is recommended that you take either 500 milligrams of turmeric twice daily or 200-500 milligrams of curcumin daily. Also, eating fish two to three times a week or taking fish oil lowers the levels by as much as 20 percent. If you can’t stand fish oil, take DHA/EPA, 2 to 3 grams daily. Do don’t take your heart health or your wealth for granted. Follow my lead, and you can improve both. And stay tuned for more to follow. Take the first step to improved health and wealth.