Posts Tagged ‘Drugs’

Can I Lower My Cholesterol Without Drugs?

January 25th, 2010 admin

It’s been 20 years since I completed the Ironman Triathlon. Now my Olympic dreams have given way to the nightmare of paying for my kids education. Still, I workout regularly, eat well and almost fit into the jeans I wore in the ’80s. So…

How Could I Possibly Have A Cholesterol Problem?

Since I’m your doctor, I’m a little embarrassed to reveal my cholesterol numbers. But if we’re going to beat it together-here they are:

?My total cholesterol is 213 (not terrible, since the goal for total cholesterol is below 200).
?My LDL (low density aka bad cholesterol) is 155. The ideal for bad cholesterol is below 130 (100 if you have heart problems). LDL, cholesterol’s evil step brother, got its bad reputation by filling your arteries with fat causing high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes and dementia. The LDL may be the single most important number we measure.
?My HDL (good cholesterol) is 55. HDL should stay over 45 for men and 55 for women. The higher the better since HDLs remove the fatty plaques from your arteries and brings them to the liver for elimination

The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL is important to measure. It tells us the amount of fatty material floating around in comparison to the amount being removed. The ideal ratio is 3.5 or less. So if my HDL is 55, to have an ideal cholesterol to HDL ratio of 3.5, my total cholesterol has to be 192 or less (your HDL x 3.5 = the highest total cholesterol you can have and still be ideal.) Try it out…plug in your HDL, multiply it by 3.5 and see if your cholesterol is out of balance.

All Men May Be Created Equal, But All Fats Aren’t

The leading causes of death in the U.S. are heart attacks, cancer and strokes. These diseases all have one thing in common; they are all related to the type of fat we eat. Notice that I didn’t say the amount of fat. That’s not nearly as important (although obesity is!).

Some fats actually improve our health. They correct our cholesterol balance, prevent heart attacks, reduce the chance of stroke and prevent inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.

You’ll spot the good fats. They’re liquid at room temperature and consist of:

?Monounsaturated Oils like olive oil, canola oil, oils derived from nuts and avocados.
?Polyunsaturated Oils like corn, soybean, and safflower oils and fish.

Some Fats Aren’t So Good. They’re solid in room temperature and are called:

?Saturated Fats. They’re found in whole milk, red meat, chicken skin, butter, cheese, chocolate and even coconuts. Basically, milk products and meat contain saturated fats. They raise both good and bad cholesterols, but hurt the proper cholesterol/HDL ratio.

Some of us have to be more careful than others since 75% of our cholesterol is manufactured by the liver. In other words, if you’ve got the bad cholesterol genes and your liver continually pumps out cholesterol, you need to act on this newsletter. Others can just pass it on to those who aren’t so blessed.

The Most Evil Fat of All is:

?Man made and prematurely ages and kills thousands of people every year.
?Not safe in any amount to anyone (Institute of Medicine).
?Responsible for Significantly Raising our Bad Cholesterol While Lowering Our Good Cholesterol.
?So unhealthy that even bacteria and mold won’t grow on it.

They are called Trans Fats

These are fake, man made fats. They started as real oils but were heated then cooled until they became solid. This process is called hydrogenation (because it adds hydrogen). You know who they are; they’re the fried foods, fast foods, commercial packaged baked goods, margarine, vegetable shortening and all products that say “hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients.

You’ll see them all over packaged foods because they never die or go bad. They nearly last forever, since mold and bacteria won’t even grow on them. Nothing will!

In fact, The Nurses’ Health Study found when they replaced only 30 calories of carbohydrates with 30 calories of trans fats the risk of heart disease nearly doubled. When they replaced 80 calories of carbohydrates with 80 calories of either polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats (the good fats), your chance of heart disease dropped by 30 to 40 percent. THAT’S A BIG HEALTH GAIN WITH LESS THAN 100 CALORIES OF DIET CHANGE!

Let’s put it another way…

By replacing that glob of margarine with olive oil, you’ll lower your chance of heart disease by one-third.

Is it worth it?

This is so important that in January 2006, a law requiring all food packaging to state whether it contains trans fats goes into effect.

To summarize, fats can be either liquid or solid at room temperature. Always choose liquids, they are the good fats. Fats that are solid at room temperature should be avoided. When cooking with oil, stir fry…don’t deep fry.

If you need to buy foods with trans fats, make sure they are listed as low as possible on the ingredient list. The higher on the list, the more in the food.

Is There Anything I Can Take, Naturally, To Balance My Cholesterol?

There appears to be three or four effective products worthy of a try, such as:

Garlic: While there is disagreement in the literature, the garlic that hasn’t had its odor removed (wild garlic) may lower your total cholesterol, bad cholesterol and triglycerides (circulating blood fat) about 10%.

Fish Oil: An abundant quantity of research seems to conclude that 1-2 grams of a fish oil supplement per day reduces your chance of a heart attack and stroke by preventing dangerous, irregular heart rhythms, thinning the blood, lowering triglycerides and preventing inflammation. In fact, one large trial found that by taking just 1 gram per day of fish oil over a 3.5 year period reduced the risk of dying from heart disease by 25 percent in those who already survived one heart attack. While it significantly lowered triglycerides, it seemed to slightly raise bad cholesterol.

Since women’s hearts are especially sensitive to high triglycerides. Those whose levels are high may benefit from taking 4 g/day of fish oil. Adding apple pectin (a type of fiber) to the fish oil seems to increase its triglyceride lowering ability even further. Flax seed oil, also an Omega 3 fatty acid (like fish oil), doesn’t seem to lower triglyceride levels.

So make sure it’s fish oil not just Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
Niacin: (Nicotinic acid) Lowers bad and total cholesterol and raises good cholesterol. It also can lower triglycerides. Unfortunately the dose needed for treatment is about 100 times more than the Recommended Daily Allowance and can potentially be toxic, especially to your liver. It should be considered a medication and taken only under your doctor’s directions if the other natural alternatives weren’t effective or appropriate.
Plant Sterols and Stanols: These plant products are added to some margarines and prevent the absorption of cholesterol in our intestines. In daily use, it has consistently lowered bad cholesterol about 10%.3,7 So far it does not appear to have long term negative effects. Life long use is predicted to result in a 20% decrease in coronary events.

But, The Best Is Saved For Last

Policosanol: A sugar cane derivative that lowers total cholesterol by 16% to 21%, bad cholesterol by 21% to 29% and raises good cholesterol by 8% to 15%. Although it’s triglyceride lowering effects have not been consistent, other cardiac benefits such as the prevention of clots and the dangerous oxidation of bad cholesterol have been demonstrated. Three year follow-ups have not shown negat
ive side effects. 10-20 mg/day seems to be just as beneficial as higher doses.

Standard pharmaceutical treatments today include Statin Drugs, such as:
? Mevacor
? Zocor and
? Pravachol

They work by interfering with the liver’s ability to produce cholesterol and increasing its ability to remove cholesterol from the blood. Although statins can lower LDL cholesterol by as much as 60 percent, they can also damage the liver and, in rare incidences, cause a serious or deadly illness.
But, there’s good news. The chances of dying from the three leading causes of death (coronary vascular, cancer and strokes) are largely under your control.

Don’t Tell Me These Three Steps Are Too Hard…

1. Test your cholesterol (good, bad and total) and triglycerides

2. Watch the type of fats you eat.
o Eat fats that are oils at room temperature
o Moderately limit meat and dairy fats
o Severely limit margarine, fried foods and packaged food with the word “hydrogenated” in the ingredients.

3. If your cholesterol or triglycerides are elevated or out of balance, talk to us about whether you are a candidate for natural treatments. They can be very effective and may prevent the need for medications. Sometimes medications are necessary but the supplements may allow you to take a lower dose.

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Lower Cholesterol Naturally Without Drugs

January 24th, 2010 admin

Diet to lower cholesterol is very simple if you know which type of cholesterol in the foods you must keep off. The best diet to lower cholesterol is one designed to lower blood pressure: * [the DASH diet, the all-around best diet for controlling cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure and weight. A diet to lower cholesterol is only a small factor in influencing your body’s total cholesterol level. There are also supplements on the market that can make it easier to lower cholesterol naturally. Changing your diet to lower cholesterol is usually the first step in cholesterol maintenance, before medicines are added.

Dietary cholesterol is found only in foods that come from animals. Diets have gotten worse because poor people are eating crappy food, not because the diet fairy left them with the pork rinds rich people didn’t want. Diet can be a very effective tool for lowering blood pressure. Dieting to lose weight will certainly improve your health but if you already have existing health problems , then you need to have a healthy diet based on what foods you need to include and what foods you need to omit at mealtime. Diets rich in beans, peas, rice bran, barley, oat bran, whole grains, citrus fruits and apple pulp can help lower cholesterol levels, especially when additionally cutting back on animal products and fats. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, raw when possible.

Most doctors and fitness specialists recommend that you exercise for at least 30 minutes a day for optimal health benefits. Be aware that lifestyle factors such as diet, health and fitness levels will all play a part in maintaining overall health and routine cardiovascular health. It’s really nice to know that now fast-foods establishments even offer low-fat or non-fried food options, helping those on the road to fitness stick to their plans.

Exercise and eating healthy foods is the key to long healthy life with out worry and fear of being within the high risk groups for hypercholesterolemia. It is important however to remember regular exercise and herbal supplements along with a lowering cholesterol diet to get the most benefit from it, as those two things are just as important to get the best results. Another benefit of regular exercise is weight loss, which can also help increase HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol levels. Exercise itself doesn’t directly lower cholesterol, but will strengthen the heart and entire circulatory system. Buying a rebounding video is a good idea if you’d prefer structured exercise instruction. Exercise 30 minutes a day as often as you can in a week.

Just a few diet changes, a good combination of supplements, vitamins, herbs, spices, and exercise is all that is needed to get started on a diet for

lowering cholesterol. Not just any herbal supplements, but those which only contain natural ingredients. It’s also critical that you only purchase supplements made from what are called standardized herbal extracts. Some of these supplements will actually help you to extend your life by insuring against poor health. Supplements lower cholesterol naturallyResearch also shows that improvement results can be dramatic if you were to strongly consider the combined use of regular exercises and the regular use of nutritional supplements, which are clinically proven to lower cholesterol naturally with no side effects. Supplements such as Omega-3, inositol hexaniacinate, pantethine, and guggulipid can be effective in lowering cholesterol. Remember

that the approach with drugs and / or dietary supplements is to supplement and not to replace a healthy diet and exercise.

How to lower cholesterol by 14 percent without cholesterol medications and without side effects. You can lower cholesterol naturally with many different cholesterol lowering herbs and nutrients. Dieting to lose weight will certainly improve health but if existing health problems already exist, such as high cholesterol, a diet to lower cholesterol is essential. The conclusion of the experts is that good regular exercising and a diet to lower cholesterol is a must.

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What You Need To Know About Cholesterol Drugs And Medications

January 24th, 2010 admin

It is extremely important to educate ourselves before using any kinds of drugs or medications for any kind of illness or medical problems, especially if it something as serious as high cholesterol. This is because it can turn out to be fatal if neglected. That is why we should learn more about drugs and medications used to treat high cholesterol.


Cholesterol is a waxy, fat like substance which is found in our cells and blood stream. Cholesterol is important for our body because it produces hormones and cell membranes. Our body needs some cholesterol to function. However, too much cholesterol will clog our arteries and cause coronary heart disease. This can in turn lead to a heart attack.


Although our body produces the cholesterol it needs, we also accumulate it through our intake of food products which contains it such as: egg yolks, poultry, butter, cheese and whole milk. There are two types of cholesterol which are: the LDL or low-density lipoprotein, which is the bad cholesterol and HDL or high-density cholesterol, which is the good cholesterol. When our bad cholesterol level is high, we must do everything we can to lower it, including the use of drugs and medications.


Choosing The Right Cholesterol Drug


Many cholesterol drugs are now available on the market. Although some of these drugs can be obtained over the counter, you need to consult your doctor before you purchase and start taking any cholesterol medication.


Some cholesterol drugs may have serious side effects which may do you more harm than good. Your doctor is the only person who can advise you which cholesterol drug is best for you since he is the only one who knows your medical history, your state of health and which cholesterol medicine is suitable for you.


One of the types of drugs your doctor prescribe for cholesterol medication could be the statin drug. This drug is known be effective in reducing cholesterol levels. Your doctor may also prescribe an enzyme supplement with the statin drugs because your body will need more of a certain type of enzyme when taking statin drugs.


Another type of drug your doctor may prescribe is a bile acid sequestrate. It will help control bile acids that are secreted in the liver and gall bladder. It will travel through the intestine and softens fatty material in food, helping it become absorbed in a better way through your system.


Non Medical Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol


Besides taking cholesterol medications, you can try other non medical ways to lower your cholesterol. You can lower your cholesterol levels by modifying your diet and start taking only low or no cholesterol foods. Avoid trans and saturated fats from your diet as they are the main causes that raise your bad cholesterol level.


Besides modifying your diet, you should also increase your physical activities. Remember to exercise regularly, as it will not only help you lose weight, but lower your cholesterol level too.


Taking The Right Cholesterol Medication


If your doctor has confirmed that you suffer from high cholesterol levels after a series of tests, he may prescribe a cholesterol medication to help you lower your cholesterol levels and achieve a normal and healthier cholesterol level. Your doctor may also suggest that you make some lifestyle changes, altering the way you live your life and modifying the food you eat to help you achieve normal cholesterol levels quickly. If you take the right medication and make the right lifestyle changes as your doctor advises you, you should be able to achieve a healthy cholesterol level within a short period of time.


You should also be aware that cholesterol medication can be quite expensive. Remember that it can have many side effects that may cause problems for you. That is why you should always consult a doctor before you take any kind of cholesterol medications.


Stop taking any cholesterol medication if you are concerned about a side effect that occurs after taking it. Always consult your doctor should this occur and inform him of the side effects so that he can advise you if you have to discontinue the medication. Also remember that it is important to follow all the instructions on the medication because improperly taking any medication can cause serious problems for you.

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Weight Loss Drugs – How Can They Help?

January 24th, 2010 admin

Unfortunately, obesity is no longer just the realm of adults; the worrying factor is that school children are also affected by this, according to recent studies. Although there are many ways to lose weight, some still choose the ?easy’ surgical option, whereas others opt for a healthy lifestyle by taking regular exercise and making changes to their diet. Weight reduction should be approached as a long term proposition especially when you consider it takes considerable time to become overweight so the use of weight loss drugs should be used with caution.

These drugs work in a variety of ways but mainly they try to fool the brain into thinking the stomach is full and increase the person’s metabolism. It was only after scientists discovered that these drugs had side effects and were related to heart valve disease that they were taken off the shelves. Not to be defeated though, manufacturers have introduced updated drugs, prescribed by doctors but the FDA approval process is slow.

The use of drugs that help weight reduction has become so commonplace that it is almost certain that you know of someone who has tried them. It is a tempting proposition, to lose weight while still maintaining the same diet; who would say no? Many millions of dollars are spent each year in The United States alone whilst the drug manufacturers spend huge sums on further research into weight loss drugs.

Weight control pills can be purchased either over-the-counter or prescribed by a doctor but even with the advances in medical technology they can still cause a lot of health related problems which can be unpleasant such as diarrhea and vomiting. But they are not the only side effects and some can be more harmful than others. These include heart attacks, tremors, strokes, hallucinations and renal failure.

It is always a good idea to see your doctor first before you take any course of drugs; this can lower the possibility of some side effects occurring, although this may depend on the genetic makeup of the person using them. Other problems may also occur when the pills are discontinued. These effects can be equally unpleasant as the side effects occurring as a result of taking weight control pills.

Despite all the bad publicity, weight loss drugs do work but they are more successful if they are used in conjunction with a low calorie diet and regular exercise, preferably using a properly worked out exercise regime. This means eating a good diet containing food from all the food groups that includes vitamins and minerals; fiber can be found in oats, rice, potatoes, cereals, vegetables and fruits.

Exercise can be done in whatever form suits the individual best but it should incorporate fat-burning exercises that will burn up any excess calories. The best exercise plans should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises as this helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase a person’s metabolism and assist with weight loss.

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Guide Of Choosing The Cholesterol Lowering Drugs

January 24th, 2010 admin

Cholesterol is a waxy, greasy like substance that our body needs in order to produce a number of hormones and cell membrane. There are two types of cholesterol, the good and bad cholesterol. While the good cholesterol is accountable for the proper functioning of our body, the bad cholesterol will lead you to have heart related diseases like coronary heart attack.


Today’s normal diet contributes to problems with high cholesterol. High cholesterol contributes to problems with heart disease and can lead to heart attacks. Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs in your liver, and this cholesterol will help make and maintain cells, insulate nerves and produce hormones, and even helps your body to digest fat. The cholesterol you don’t need comes from your food.


Controlling Your Cholesterol


In order to control cholesterol you need to know what the correct levels are you should have at first: a minimum of 40mg/dL or more for the good cholesterol and bad cholesterol should not over 200mg/dL. One thing you should know that cholesterol is not measured depending on your body weight through if your body weight is over the normal levels you may be at risk if you have a high bad cholesterol levels.


You are able to purchase a cholesterol lowering drug over the counter, and then there are some that can only be administered through a prescription by doctor because of their side effects. It is highly suggested that before you even consider taking any type of drug that you should consult your physician first so that they can help you to decide on which cholesterol lowering drug is best for you.


How Cholesterol Medicine Works


Different types of cholesterol medicine are very helpful combined with diet and exercise to lower your cholesterol. Most types of cholesterol medicine are: niacin, statins, bile-acid resins or fibric acid derivatives. Statins is to block the production of cholesterol in your liver; bad cholesterol and triglycerides are then reduced and good cholesterol can be increased a bit.


If you require cholesterol medicine, your doctor may prescribe a statin. Your doctor will then watch for such side effects such as intestinal problems and liver damage. A small handful of people can suffer muscle tenderness.


Niacin, aka nicotinic acid, is a B-vitamin. This cholesterol medicine is a natural ingredient in food and is also added to some manufactured foods. Higher doses can be prescribed. Niacin lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol. Side effects such as flushing, itching, tingling and headache may happen. Bile-acid resins work within the intestine.


Bile is largely composed of cholesterol. Ideally, your body should make good cholesterol, integrate it into the bile which travels into the intestine and is reabsorbed for distribution throughout your bloodstream. Bile-acid resins bind to bile to prevent its reabsorption. Side effects like constipation, gas and stomach upset may be encountered. Fibrates limit production of triglycerides and can help increase good cholesterol.


All cholesterol medicine has side effects such as digestive problems, allergic reactions and muscle aches. The most dangerous side effect of cholesterol medicine is signalled by muscle aches. You shouldn’t take more than one kind of cholesterol medicine at a time or take them with anticoagulants. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can hinder with the metabolization of cholesterol medicine. Over the long term, effective cholesterol medicine can help you maintain a healthy life.


Taking The Right Cholesterol Medication


If you have determined that you have high cholesterol through a doctor, you may want cholesterol medication to help lower your cholesterol levels back to a normal or healthier level. Your physician, along with suggesting a cholesterol medication, should also advise that you make some lifestyle choices that will change the way you live your life and the food you eat to help mould it to a better and healthier environment for your cholesterol levels. With the right medication and the right lifestyle changes, you should be able to get back to a reasonable level of health in a period of time.


The thing to know about cholesterol medication is that it can be quite costly. It can also feature a host of side effects that may be difficult, so always consult a doctor before you take any sort of medication. Do not continue taking medication if you observed a side effect. Consult with your doctor at once and you should stop your medication for any reason. It is important to also follow all of the information on the medication itself so that you can prevent any problems that may arise from improperly taking your medication.


Other Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol


Most foods that we eat everyday contain cholesterol such as, poultry, meats, eggs, butter and milk. The trick to eat all those items and still keep your cholesterol levels low is to minimize your quantities. Once you require taking a cholesterol lowering drug, you need to watch your diet closer and take necessary measures not to reach in an emergency situation.

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Health Benefits of Ed Drugs

January 24th, 2010 admin

Erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs like Kamagra, Caverta,Meltabs, Apcalis, and Edegra have become the household names that every man in this world knows. ED drugs give the man a hard and rigid erection that remains for the ample period during the sexual intercourse. The main constituent observed in these ED drugs is Sildenafil, Tadalafil, or Vardenafil. ED drugs solve the main problem of lack of blood supply to the penis by supplying excessive amount of blood to the penis during the sexual intercourse. Along with the treatment of erectile dysfunction, the ED drugs also have some health benefits.

The health benefits we get after taking the ED drugs are as follows:

1. The first and the most important benefit of ED drugs is that you start enjoying your sexual life. You start to get involved in the sex more frequently than before. Because of more sex your burn the extra calories and fat that were not necessary for your body. It improves your stamina and you don’t feel tired.

2. ED drugs improve the blood circulation in the body along with the penis and solves the problem of high and low blood pressure. Due to the increased blood flow, the arteries that were blocked with plaque gets open up and you are saved from the diseases like atherosclerosis.

3. According to latest research, ED drugs makes your heart healthy. People who have previously suffered with the heart disorders, after taking the ED drugs have found the development of resistance to the heart disorders and the proper functioning of the heart is observed.

4. People having the problems of irregular of uneven heartbeats have observed a tremendous recovery from this problem after taking the dosage of ED Drugs regularly under the doctor’s supervision.

5. Ed drugs increases the frequency of sex among the couples and increases the immunity of the both the partners. The individuals who do sex more than thrice a week develops the antibody IgA is more amount in their body. Thus, these couples makes themselves free from the common cold and flue.

6. The intake of ED drugs on regular basis keeps the diabetes in control of the individuals who were suffering with the higher level of sugar in the body. Both Type I and Type II diabetes are found to controlled through the intake of low dosage of ED drugs on regular basis.

7. ED drugs are found to effective in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia that is increase in size of the prostate in middle-aged and elderly men. The intake of Ed drugs on regular basis along with the erection problems also reduces enlarged size of prostate in men and also treats the symptoms of the benign prostatic hyperplasia.

8. Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) in Men can be treated with the help of the Ed drugs. LUTS is observed generally among the old men but nowadays is also seen in the young men. ED drugs when taken in the low concentration for the 10-12 days as per the doctor’s prescription showed a considerable relief in the patients suffering from LUTS. ED drugs when taken treated the symtoms of LUTS like frequency and urgency of urination.

9. Men get indulge in the sex more times due to the ED drugs and thus the weight of the man as well as his female partner is kept in control. Because of low weight men and women remains fit and fine. The chances of suffering with obesity are reduced.

10. ED drugs can be used in the treatment of High altitude pulmonary edema associated with altitude sickness such as that suffered by mountain climbers.

Thus along with the treatment of erectile dysfunction, ED drugs has many health benefits and thus are very good for health if taken as per the recommended dosage.

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