The Role of Fish Oil in Health

Research and the role of omega-3 fatty acids in growth, development and in health and disease has expanded over the past 15 years. In the 1950′s the emphasis was on vegetable oils and their high cholesterol effects whereas today the important functions of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly eicosapentanoic (EPA) from fish oils or fish in hardening of the arteries, inflammation, blood clot formation and cancer are being investigated.

Diets today are high in omega-6 fatty acids because of the increased production of oils from oil seeds such as corn, safflower, cottonseed, and other vegetable oils for cooking. Over the past 40 years, there has been an increase in hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils increase cholesterol and lower HDL (good lipids). The increase in consumption of saturated fats from animal sources and hydrogenated vegetable oils has led to a drastic reduction in EPA intake. Today the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3′s is 35:1. This number has changed drastically over the years-it used to be 1:1!

Numerous studies involving animals and humans indicate ingestion of fish or fish oils lowered blood lipid levels. They also show populations with a high consumption of fish, such as Eskimos and Japanese have lower rates of heart disease and may in fact prevent atherosclerosis. Studies in 1983 show EPA have a positive effect on arthritis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis (including constipation), lupus and asthma. Therefore, regular ingestion of EPA should have a beneficial effect on numerous disease states, which include inflammatory and autoimmune condition, ulcerative colitis, heart disease and even cancer. New research has found promising benefits for brain disorders such as Dementia, Alzheimers and ADHD.

For more cutting edge health

Discover Aerobic Exercise For Your Health

With health concerns such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes on the rise, aerobic exercise has come to be a major issue in health news throughout the nation.  In a perfect world aerobic and anaerobic (muscle building) exercise should be combined to create a well rounded exercise plan.  It is possible to be in fantastic muscular shape yet lack endurance due to a lack of aerobic exercise in your fitness plan.  Aerobic exercise carries many health benefits that weight training alone can’t attain.

Aerobic exercise is activity of low intensity performed for an extended period of time that increases the heart rate and level of oxygen in the blood.  The goal of aerobic activity is to achieve and sustain a target heart rate determined for women by subtracting their age from 220 then multiplying by a factor of 60% and for men by subtracting their age from 226 then multiplying by a factor of 60%.  Intermediate and advanced level exercisers should multiply by a factor of 80%.

When an individual starts exercising their body initially burns glycogen for the energy it needs.  As you achieve and maintain your target heart rate your body switches to using fat stores to supply its energy source which can result in burning off extra fat for significant weight loss. This may decrease, eliminate or prevent the occurrence of obesity and the many health issues that it can trigger such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

Another important benefit of aerobic exercise is strengthening of the heart muscle. When the heart is stronger it increases the blood flow to the body and it is able to manage more strenuous activity without having to beat as quickly.  This is a major factor in preventing heart disease and high

The Real Truth About Health, Nutrition And Nutritional Supplements

Nowadays many people live in a fast paced world that leaves them reaching for a fast meal from convenience stores and fast food restaurants. Unhappily, these types of food include chemicals and food colors that are harmful to health.

Nutrition Supplement a Real Live Nutrition

The term “Nutrition supplement” is very well-known to most of us but do we understand why it is so essential? Nutrition, by phrase-book definition, is the summation of the processes by which someone takes in and utilizes food substances. The most important advantage of using food substances are the ingestion of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, herbs, etc. These are some of the stuff that keeps our body hale and hearty.

What is Nutrition Supplement?

When folks do not get sufficient nutrients through food and while diet does not work, people go around getting help from various types of nutrition supplements. A nutrition supplement is added to the diet to compensate the deficiency. The supplement increases the intake of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, etc. Without proper nutrition, you wont be healthy and fit. Health and fitness go hand-in-hand and it is truly possible for everyone to improve their lives through dietary changes and regular exercise.

How To Use Nutrition Supplement?

These days, lot of people use some type of nutrition supplement. In 1996 alone, people spent more than .5 billion on dietary supplements, according to Packaged Facts Inc., a market research firm in New York City. Nutrition supplements are found in several forms: nutrition bars, tablets, capsules, powders, liquids, etc. A lot of supplements do not need any recommendation. You can buy them in health

Few Americans Would Sign Up For Public Health Insurance Plan

The New York Times: “More and more, the Great Health Care Debate of 2009 is a numbers game. And the longer the debate goes on, the squishier the numbers seem to get. For months, many leading Democrats, including President Obama, have pushed for the creation of a government-run insurance plan to compete with private insurers. A main argument was that a public plan would save people money. It would not be under pressure to earn profits, pay high private-sector salaries or deny needed care.” After the release last Thursday of the House Democratic leaders’ health care bill, the Congressional Budget Office said “the public plan would cost more than private plans and only six million people would sign up” (Herszenhorn, 11/1).

The Associated Press: Coverage numbers regarding the Democrats’ legislative push “for a government insurance plan to compete with private carriers are finally in: Two percent. That’s the estimated share of Americans younger than 65 who’d sign up for the public option plan.” That statistic “is raising questions about whether the government plan will be the iron-fisted competitor that private insurers warn will shut them down or a niche operator that becomes a haven for patients with health insurance horror stories.” The CBO also said the plan would likely attract a “less healthy pool of enrollees” and would likely have premiums higher than the average for private plans (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/1).

Kaiser Health News: The actual figure estimated to enroll in the public  option would be about six million. “And that number could shrink because states may decide to opt out of a public insurance plan, an escape clause that’s likely to be included in the Senate plan. … The CBO reasoned that the plan may not be able to

Omega 3′s – To Your Health

There has been a lot of health news lately regarding omega-3′s, and it seems like everywhere you turn, new foods are being enhanced with this essential fatty acid, or labeled as an excellent source. What people don’t know is that there are different types of omegas, and eating too much of one kind can actually be harmful to your body.

Omega-3s are so important to heart health and to our general holistic wellness that most longstanding recommendations have been to consume two to three servings of fish per week or to take a fish oil supplement if you don’t eat fish. The American Heart Association recommends eating at least two fish meals a week. I personally eat fish often and also take 2-3 grams of supplemental fish oil a day.

Cod liver oil, and fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, albacore tuna, sardines, herring and salmon all containomega-3′s. Fish are the best sources because they are high in two particular fatty acids that are crucial to good health, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).

However, fish is not the only source of omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts, flaxseed, leafy vegetables, hemp seed and some animal fat, especially from grass fed animals, provide alpha-linolenic acid, which the body converts to the omega-3 fatty acids it needs. The only problem with plant and animal sources of these nutrients is that some people may not be able to convert alpha-linolenic acid to the longer-chain forms, EPA and DHA that occur in fish (which are the ones the body needs).

Then there are omega-6s These fats are found in eggs, nuts, chicken, red meat and vegetable oils such as corn, soy, safflower, and sunflower oil. Omega-6s are high in LA (linoleic acid), which is converted by the body into GLA

What’s the Real Truth About Health and Nutrition?

Live Whole Nutrition: Nutrition supplement is a term known by most of us. So what is nutrition supplement and why is it so important? Nutrition, by dictionary definition, is the sum of the processes by which someone takes in and utilizes food substances. One of the main advantages of utilizing food substances is the intake of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, herbs, etc. These are the things that make our body healthy.

Nutritional Products: When people don’t get enough of nutrients through food they intake and when the planned diet doesn’t work, people turn to the get help from some type of nutrition supplements. A nutrition supplement is added to the diet to make up for a nutritional deficiency. The supplement increases the intake of vitamins, amino acids, minerals, etc. But you have to be careful when thought of buying some supplement, since supplements are required to meet FDA standards.

Nutrition Supplement – How To Use?: These days, lot of people use some type of nutrition supplement. In 1996 alone, people spent more than .5 billion on dietary supplements, according to Packaged Facts Inc., a market research firm in New York City. Nutrition supplements are found in several forms: nutrition bars, tablets, capsules, powders, liquids, etc. A lot of supplements do not need any recommendation. You can buy them in health food stores, grocery stores, drug stores, or through online shopping. But you should be very careful about buying because many supplements available on the market do not meet FDA standards.

Nowadays there are many scammers hanging over internet or online to fraud customers by there inexpensive and fake supplements. Constantly buy from well-known and truthful manufacturers and

Health Supplements For Sports Nutrition

If one wants excellent performance, he must train well and fill himself with good nutrition. This must be clear to all athletes and health buffs. One cannot cope with mere exercise.

A healthy diet and good nutrition must be the springboard of all activities. If that is the case, optimum performance will come almost automatically and naturally.

Unfortunately, though, not all essential nutrients are available in food. At times, also, some people have certain limitations when it comes to food intake. With this, sports nutrition supplements are very important as they effectively fill in the gaps.

Sports nutrition supplements need not be complicated. In the first place, health must be within reach and never difficult. However, it should not be seen as mere swallowing of pills or tablets. Sports nutrition supplements are simple in a way that they generally mean three things.

First, smart training must be done in whatever sport one is in. Second, one must be sure that most of the nutrients that he is taking in come from healthy food. Third, sports nutrition supplements must be taken to fine tune performance.

To identify what one needs to take sports nutrition supplements for, he must watch what he eats. He must record what he craves for before, during, and after the workout.

From there, he will see the trend of what nutrients he normally gets because of the food he eats and what he does not get at all. He will then be able to identify what needs sports nutrition supplements.

Indeed, both healthy eating and workout must be practiced well to eventually be incorporated in one’s daily routine. If one happens to lack the

Impact Of Mass Media On Adolescent Health: ”the Dark Side”

     The period of transition from childhood to adulthood is called Adolescent with accelerated physical, biochemical and emotional development. It is a unique period of dynamic change which may be referred to as â??Growing upâ?. Adolescence is the time period that begins with the onset of puberty and lasts nearly a decade i.e., from the age of 12-13 to around 20 years of age. It is a period of rapid growth and maturation in human development. It is this period that the final growth spurt occurs. If the growth of a teenager is not as good as it should be, it is going to affect his/her future health as an adult.

        Now HEALTH according to WHO â??is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.â? Nevertheless, adolescents and young adults engage in a range of behaviors that can affect the quality of their health and the probability of their survival in the short terms as well as affect their lifetime health and survival. If we look only at disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for the adolescent age group, adolescents appear to be relatively healthy. Nonetheless, more than 33% of the disease burden and almost 60% of premature deaths among adults can be associated with behaviors or conditions that began or occurred during adolescenceâ??for example, tobacco and alcohol use, poor eating habits, sexual abuse, and risky sex (WHO 2002).

     Mass media (television, radio, magazines, newspaper, pamphlets, internet etc.) plays a paramount role in today’s society. Mass media are tools for the transfer of information, concepts, and ideas to both general and specific audiences. Communicating about health through mass

Dr. Joseph Mercola Shows the Way to Good Health!

Dr. Joseph Mercolaâ??s mission is to help you achieve a healthier you. How? By using his extensive knowledge and experience in osteopathic and natural medicine to guide you through the lifestyle changes needed to stay healthy in todayâ??s world.

Welcome to one of the most popular health sites on the Web. At Mercola.com, your health is the top priority. But the first thing you need to realize is that there are no shortcuts if you want to become as healthy as possible. You have to go back to the basics. This may mean that you have to add or eliminate something from your regular diet, minimize the stress you deal with at home or at your workplace – or start doing things that youâ??ve never done before!

Begin your journey to good health by visiting www.mercola.com. It provides practical, long-term and hype-free solutions to your everyday health concerns.

â?¢ Find out if what youâ??re eating is good for you.

â?¢ Learn how to take better care of yourself.

â?¢ Get the latest natural health news and more for free by subscribing to the worldâ??s most popular natural health newsletter.

â?¢ Or ask Dr. Mercola himself by sending him an email at Ask Dr. Mercola.

Mercola.com is a treasure trove of information on a wide number of health topics and issues. The articles it contains will help you make the choices that will allow your body to maximize its full potential. From nutrition tips to healthy habits, Mercola is the reliable resource to guide you on the road that leads to good health, one day and one step at a time. Start the journey now! Let Dr. Mercola be your partner as you work towards a healthier you!