Cholesterol is good for you

Not only is cholesterol not the enemy, but also it is essential to good health and wellbeing. Every cell in the body needs cholesterol in its membrane, where cholesterol plays a critical role in cell communication. Without cholesterol, cell membranes are incomplete and, as a result, their functional role deteriorates. Cholesterol is also used in the mitochondria of the cell and plays a vital role in cell energy production—not to mention its essential role in the brain structure and function. Cholesterol is the starting material of many essential chemicals including vita...

Cholesterol: It’s Not the Killer

Since the advent of cholesterol lowering drugs cholesterol has become “public enemy number one” and has taken nearly all the blame for the increase in CVD. Unfortunately this has led to a lot of misinformation and misdirection in treating the real illness of CVD and its causes. The current ideology is far from the truth and can be dangerous—particularly since the overwhelming current evidence points to CVD as a result of poor lifestyle and dietary choices that lead to inflammation. In reality, CVD is now recognized as a disease of low-grade chronic inflammation of ...

11 things to add to your life to reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke

Eat more vegetables and fruit and extra raw vegetables (salad and smoothie) Eat more nuts and beans Supplement with omega 3, vitamin C, B, antioxidants like grape seed extract and marine pine bark, coq10, alpha lipoic acid and minerals. Drink more water Move more and become more physically active. Just walk a little more Stand more and sit less Socialise with positive friends and groups in your spare time instead of watching television Go to bed earlier and get more sleep Minimize stress and learn to relax (without drugs and alcohol) Meditate D...

Australians are getting fatter and more obese and the young ones are getting it worse.

New modelling predicts 35 per cent of adults will be obese by 2025, with younger people now gaining weight at higher rates than ever before. The modelling out of University of Sydney predicts one in three adults will be classified as obese by 2025. But young Australian adults gaining more weight than they were in previous generations and women will fare worse, with one in six predicted to be severely obese It forecasts obesity among adults will reach 35 per cent by 2025, up from its current level of 28 per cent, while 13 per cent of adults will have a BMI of over 35 ...

Men eat too much meat.

Men eat 57% more meat, more starchy-vegetables and less green vegetables than women. According to the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey there is a big gender gap for eating habits. It appears meat is seen as more “manly”. Other misconceptions are plant based diets don’t have taste and of course the old one that they don’t have enough protein. While there are many misconceptions over meat and protein USA males consume about twice as much protein as they need to. There are also many top male athletes, sportsmen and bodybuilders who are vegetarian o...

Study shows how to reduce exposure to Personal care toxins in adolescent girls

A study released this week in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives showed that using personal care products without toxic endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemicals (EDC’s) for 3 days dramatically reduces exposure levels in girls. These chemicals have been linked with many health disorders including a recent findings showing a very strong link with breast cancer in human and animal studies. Malignant breast tumors are the leading cause of cancer in women worldwide in terms of incidence and mortality. Cosmetics, fragrances, and other personal care products are a ...

Salt Myth

Despite the public outcries to reduce salt the research is not so clear. In fact in support of what I have ben writing for many years now another very large study says that at best salt only leads to a small reduction in blood pressure and reduction in heart disease in hypertensive individuals. However, this lower risk is outweighed by individuals lowering salt below the average which increases the increase the risk of cardiovascular events and death. While there is controversy in the relationship between consuming less salt and lowering blood pressure levels the message...

Low selenium linked with liver cancer (any many other conditions).

Low levels of selenium are reported throughout many countries including Australia where deficiencies are widespread. Some estimates put low selenium levels at around about 80% of the Australian population due to the low concentration of selenium in Australian soils A recent study of over 520000 people confirmed what is already known that low selenium is a risk factor for liver cancer. Higher selenium was associated with around 60% reduction in liver cancer. Given that liver cancer is on the increase and likely to be even higher with the dramatic rise in fatty liver. Eati...

Bringing the nutrients back into our food, Nutrient Density

In the beginning there were healthy, whole foods packed full of nutrients. Today half the world is plagued by starvation and the other half from too much nutrient-depleted, calorie dense food. Times have changed and so must the way we look at food, nutrition and our health. The modern day processed “white foods” such as sugar, bread, white rice, seed-“vegetable” oils and processed breakfast foods are full of empty calories and low in nutritional value. Unfortunately these foods now make up a large portion of the average Western diet. Meanwhile, most people rarely...

Olive oil. The good oil

A liberal sprinkle of olive oil on your food may be good for your health and even help with weight loss. Over the past decade there has been increasing interest in the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. With rates of chronic disease, such as cancer and heart disease, increasing in western societies, rates have remained relatively low in Mediterranean regions. Many studies attribute this to a diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, fresh fish, low processed food, vegetable fats and lots of olive oil. Many of the beneficial effects on human health were origi...