Garlic helping blood pressure

How does garlic fight high blood pressure symptoms?

How do I take garlic?

Taking garlic regularly can help prevent many chronic health conditions.  Studies show garlic is a natural antibacterial and antifungal.  It helps with lowering cholesterol naturally and simultaneously acts as a blood thinner. It boosts immunity due to its antioxidant properties and research has shown it prevents both cancer and cardiovascular disease.  Perhaps one of the most promising actions of this natural “wonder drug” is its ability to lower blood pressure.  But contrary to its pharmaceutical counterparts, garlic can accomplish all of these health benefits without the plethora of side effects!

Garlic contains allicin, one of the most beneficial high blood pressure remedies.  A study conducted by researchers from the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences investigated the effects of time-released garlic powder tablets on men with mild to moderate high blood pressure. The research showed that taking a 600 mg time-released garlic tablet decreased blood pressure levels.

As the body increases production of an enzyme called angiotensin I-converting enzyme, or ”ACE”, blood pressure increases. Pharmaceutical drugs called ACE inhibitors work by blocking the formation of this enzyme. Garlic contains gamma-glutamylcysteine, a natural ACE inhibitor.  This chemical, in combination with the high allicin content, give garlic its ability to dilate arteries, thereby lowering blood pressure.

A fresh clove of garlic (4 grams) contains 1% allicin.  You can dice up one fresh garlic clove daily and add it to your dishes, but it may leave you with rather unpleasant breath. 

Garlic supplements are available in several forms such as pills, powders, oils, and extracts ranging anywhere from 100 mg up to 5,000 mg.  Since some garlic supplements contain little or no allicin, be sure to check the label for adequate allicin levels.  You can also buy pure allicin supplements. 

 In this case, follow the manufacturer’s dosage instructions.  If you choose garlic extract, take 600 to 1200 mg divided in three doses per day.

Tips to Lower Cholesterol Level

The only way to check your cholesterol is to visit your doctor and have a blood cholesterol test.

 If you are over 40, you should have your cholesterol level checked each year.

 High cholesterol levels are the result of three main factors.

1.  Our genes
2. Our diet
3. Our lifestyle.

We can’t change our genes, but we can change our diet and lifestyle. To lower your cholesterol level, here are five simple tips:

1. Reduce your total fat-intake.
2. Eliminate your consumption of saturated fat.
3. Increase your consumption of soluble fiber. Unprocessed plant foods, like vegetables, dried beans, lentils, fruit (esp. berries, bananas, apples and citrus fruits) and oats or oat-bran are good sources of soluble fiber.
4. Stop smoking.
5. Take regular exercise.

Natural Home Remedies for High Cholesterol

Here are the natural Home Remedies for High Cholesterol

1. Add one teaspoon of honey and one teaspoon of lime juice in one cup of hot water. Take it daily in morning for natural lowering cholesterol
2. Take lecithin rich diet like egg yolk, vegetable oils, wholegrain cereals, soyabeans, and unpasturised milk. With proper intake of lecithin, cholesterol cannot build up against the walls of the arteries and veins. It is one of the most effective cholesterol lowering diets.
3. Take foods rich in Vitamin E like sunflower seeds, safflower, soyabean oils, butter, and sprouted seed and grains
4. Take Vitamins B6, choline and inositol rich diet such as wheat germ, yeast or vitamin B extracted from bran
5. Boil two tablespoons of dry seeds of coriander in a glass of water and strain the decoction after cooling. Take this decoction twice a day for lowering cholesterol
6. Take onion juice to reduce cholesterol, clean the blood, and regulate the heart
7. Add a teaspoon of methi powder in a glass of water. Take it empty stomach for one month
8. Take fenugreek seeds to control high serum cholesterol

What is Good or Bad Cholestrol?

Very good article that helped you to understand about ABC of Cholesterol and also what to eat and avoid to reduce LDL and to improve HDL.

If you’ve been wondering about commonly used cholesterol terms like HDL and LDL, or good cholesterol and bad cholesterol, then you’ve come to the right place. For instance, did you know that cholesterol deposits in your lower body’s arteries could give you foot ulcers?

Read what cardiologist, Dr. Rahul Gupta, has to say about the truth behind cholesterol:

What is Cholesterol? 

Cholesterol is a fat like substance essential to human health. It is an integral part of cell membranes and is used in the production of vitamin D, various hormones and bile acids in our body. Cholesterol is made in our liver and is also present in foods derived from poultry, like meat.

What is LDL and HDL?

LDL or Low Density Lipoprotien and HDL or High Density Lipoprotien are essentially transport vehicles for cholesterol. LDL transports cholesterol to tissues and arteries where the cholesterol can create blockages and hence is bad. On the other hand, HDL transports the cholesterol back to the liver from tissues and prevents deposition in the arteries and hence is good.

So, if the amount of LDL is high and cholesterol gets deposited in your arteries, it is bad for you as it could make the arteries narrower. The effect of the narrowing depends on which artery is affected. The different complications that could take place as a result are: Angina, heart attacks, heart failure, stroke or kidney diseases. The narrowing of arteries in the lower limbs could also lead to ulcers in the foot.

When should I get my cholesterol checked?

 Due to increasing changes in our lifestyles and the junk-food culture, the incidences of heart attacks among younger generations have gone up. Therefore, it is recommended that you get your first cholesterol check done at 20 years of age, and then follow it up with cholesterol checks every five years. People who have raised levels of cholesterol and those who already suffer from conditions like hypertension, diabetes or have a family history of heart disease, and smokers should repeat it more frequently.

What a cholesterol test involves: 

The level of cholesterol is determined by a blood test done after 12 hours of fasting.

How can I keep my cholesterol levels in check? 

A combination of a healthy diet and lifestyle will keep cholesterol levels in check. This includes reducing your intake of saturated fats by reducing the butter, cheese, coconut oil, cream, egg yolks, poultry skin, red meat and whole milk in your diet.

MUFA (Mono unsaturated fatty acid) and PUFA (Polyunsaturated fatty acid) are heart healthy fats and their intake should be increased for better cholesterol levels. Almonds, canola oil, cashews, hazelnuts, olive oil , peanut butter, peanut oil, sunflower oil, avocados, soya bean  and soya bean oil, walnuts, corn oil, tuna, pumpkin seeds etc. are good sources of MUFA  and PUFA. Poultry without skin and fish are low in cholesterol. Cereals, fresh fruit, and vegetables contain no cholesterol.

Alterations in the diet should be combined with regular exercises like brisk walking, brisk cycling, running, and swimming to help keep cholesterol levels low.

Medication for cholesterol is recommended only to those who are at a high risk of heart disease and who have been unable to control their cholesterol with diet and exercise.


This post was orginally posted at http://healthmeup.com/news-healthy-living/what-is-good-or-bad-cholesterol/3148

High Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease

Too much cholesterol in the blood, or high blood cholesterol, can be serious. People with high blood cholesterol have a greater chance of getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol on its own does not cause symptoms, so many people are unaware that their cholesterol level is too high.

Cholesterol can build up on the walls of your arteries (blood vessels that carry blood from the heart to other parts of the body). This buildup of cholesterol is called plaque (plak). Over time, plaque can cause narrowing of the arteries. This is called atherosclerosis (ath-er-o-skler-O-sis), or hardening of the arteries.

Special arteries, called coronary arteries, bring blood to the heart. Narrowing of your coronary arteries due to plaque can stop or slow down the flow of blood to your heart. When the arteries narrow, the amount of oxygen-rich blood is decreased. This is called coronary artery disease (CAD). Large plaque areas can lead to chest pain called angina (an-JI-nuh or AN-juh-nuh). Angina happens when the heart does not receive enough oxygen-rich blood. Angina is a common symptom of CAD.

Some plaques have a thin covering and burst (rupture), releasing fat and cholesterol into the bloodstream. The release of fat and cholesterol may cause your blood to clot. A clot can block the flow of blood. This blockage can cause angina or a heart attack.

Lowering your cholesterol level decreases your chance for having a plaque burst and cause a heart attack. Lowering cholesterol may also slow down, reduce, or even stop plaque from building up. Plaque and resulting health problems can also occur in arteries elsewhere in the body.