Lowering Cholesterol
- Regular Exercise - With regular exercise you can help your body to reduce stress, lose weight, increase metabolism, burn more calories, and more. Steady and regular exercise has been found to help lower cholestrol and reduce triglyceride levels. With regular exercise you can lower your body mass index and achieve a healthy weight. This helps you to reduce your risk for heart disease and diabetes.
2. Cut Out trans-fats - Trans-fats are found mostly in fried and ‘junk’ foods. Avoiding these types of foods limits your calories, fat intake, and helps lower your cholesterol.
3. Remove Stress From Your Life - Stress and anxiety cause chemicals (cortisol), to be released into your body–raising your blood pressure, and reducing blood flow to your heart. Avoid stressful situations–use techniques such as breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, and other similar techniques. This helps your body to deal with stress and minimize the effects on your body.
4. Lose Weight - Being Overweight changes your metabolism and the way your body deals with fat and cholesterol. Losing weight in a slow and steady manner improves your health and lowers your cholesterol. Natural dieting results in consistent weight loss and reduces your risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. It has also been shown to be the single most important factor in extending natural lifespan.
5. Emphasise Healthy Social Relationships - Focus on stress-free family and friendship activities. Sort out your problematic issues if you can. These should fit with a healthy lifestyle and steer away from unhealthy and stressful social behaviors including arguments, drinking, inactivity, and overeating.
6. Get a Pet - Many studies including have shown that caring for a pet reduces stress. A 10 year study performed at the Stroke Research Center at the University of Minnesota found that owning a pet lowers blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, helps with depression, and reduces risks of dying from a heart attack or other diseases.
7. Reduce Red Meat, Eggs, & Whole Milk - Red meats, whole milk, and egg yolks are concentrated cholesterol foods. They should be reduced and replaced with some of the healthier foods that are low in cholesterol. Some examples can be found below.
8. Omega-3 Fatty Acids - Stock up on foods containing Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids raise HDL and lower LDL cholestrol levels. Some good sources include salmon and herring fish, walnuts and almonds, dried cloves, and flaxseed oil. Many of these foods also contain antioxidants and vitamins.
9. Try Oat Bran & Brown Rice Bran - Both oat bran and brown rice bran contain high levels of soluble fibre, for example porage oats. Soluble Fiber binds fats absorbing cholesterol.
10. Blueberries, Garlic, & Apples - These three foods are tasty and can be easily combined with many other foods in home-made recipes. Garlic and Blueberries lower both blood pressure and cholesterol when combined with the other activities we have included. The fiber pectin in apples decrease the amount of cholesterol produced in the liver, mainly by reducing the initial uptake of fats from food eaten in a meal. Using these ingredients in your meals can make a healthy impact on your cholesterol.
Probiotics
Probiotics are a group of supplements that help in restoring the ‘good’ or ‘friendly’ bacteria to the GI tract. There are many different types of probiotic, but most are bacteria similar to those found naturally in our gut, and in the majority of cases from two main groups, lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. Within these groups there are many different species. Some probiotics are yeasts which are different to the friendly bacteria.
Probiotics are available in some foods as well as dietary supplements. Some examples of food substances containing the microorganisms are, yoghurt, miso, soya products. Some foods contain them naturally whilst others have them added during production.
Friendly bacteria are vital for the functioning of the gut and digestion and absorption of food. They also provide protection against microorganisms that cause disease, and are vital in the development of the immune system.
As with most other things, it’s all about balance. The balance of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ bacteria is thrown off in many different ways, the most widely reported being the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics not only destroy the bad microorganisms but also the good, so it is vital for the restoration of health to repopulate this group.
Unfriendly bacteria, yeasts, parasites and fungi, and overgrowth of these organisms can alter the balance, requiring additional supplementation, whilst, equally importantly, addressing the cause of the initial overgrowth.
Other common causes of imbalance are, poor diet, (excess sugar, alcohol, refined foods), stress, some pharmaceutical medications and food intolerances.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is probably the most talked about vitamin around, but at the same time the most under utilized medicine.
It is water soluble and therefore our own stores are minimal, yet it is needed for over 300 bodily functions.
Nature uses Vitamin C to maintain balance when under stress and most mammals produce increased amounts when required. This is not the case for humans. We are dependent on our own ever decreasing stores to counteract external stimuli, and have to increase our consumption accordingly.
Some of the possible health benefits and actions are listed below:
- Anti-oxidant, battles the forces that cause cell and tissue damage.
- Collagen production.
- Acts against viral/bacterial infection.
- Supports immune function.
- Aids recovery after surgery/injury.
- Anaemia - aids iron absorption.
- Helps prevent arteriosclerosis.
- Neutralizes free radicals
- Anti-carcinogenic.
- Detoxifying.
- Natural laxative.
- Adrenal support.
- Transports amino acids across the cell membrane.
Unfortunately most Vitamin C supplements fall short of providing therapeutic amounts of the Vitamin, and its value is thus not fully appreciated.
It is also one of the safest vitamins to consume in large doses due to its lack of toxicity in the body, although individuals undergoing iron therapy should be aware that it increases the absorption of iron. Diabetics should also monitor their blood glucose levels carefully.
If anyone wishes to obtain more information on dosage, please ask for personal advice at your next appointment.
Natural Anti-Inflammatories
Inflammation has a well established role in all illnesses and diseases. Most people suffer the painful consequences to some extent at some time or other.
It is becoming increasingly documented that pharmaceutical treatments have many adverse side-effects and don’t address any of the issues concerning the causes of the inflammation, or helping the body cope with the inflammatory response.
There are many natural remedies that, whilst taken sensibly and on the advice of a health practitioner, can help to reduce inflammation and thus the pain associated with it, and with fewer adverse reactions in the body.
A few are mentioned below.
Serrapeptase
This is an enzyme, originally discovered in the intestine of silkworms, that has been shown to be an extremely powerful proteolytic enzyme. In studies it has been shown to digest and break down inflammatory cells, blood clots, fibrous tissue, cysts and any other non living tissue, leaving body tissues to function normally.
For more information on serrapeptase click in the link below.
www.serrapeptase.info
Omega 3’s
Essential fatty acids and their role in inflammation is often a confusing subject. Whilst inflammation plays a vital role in our bodies defense system, the key is to maintain a balance between the omega 6’s, (which play a necessary role in the production of inflammation), and omega 3’s that have an anti-inflammatory function.
If there is an excess of dietary omega 6’s, (found in vegetable oils and added to many processed and packaged foods), and a lack of antioxidants,(such as vitamin E) and omega 3’s, (found in fish oils and leafy green vegetables), then the result can lead to chronic inflammation having free reign throughout the body.
As always, the key concept is one of balance.
Just to further confuse the issue, olive oil, that may be used to replace the use of vegetable oils, is high in yet another omega, omega 9! Omega 9 has also got anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
GLA’s, found in evening primrose oil, hemp seed and borage oils, although omega 6’s, do not have the same properties, and help to inhibit inflammation.
Curcumin
Curcumin is the substance that gives turmeric it’s bright orange colour. It is in fact a member of the ginger family. Like ginger it has been recognised for hundreds of years, especially in Ayurvedic medicine, as a natural anti-inflammatory and detox aid.
Modern research has focused not only it’s action in the inhibition of the pre-inflammatory enzymes, but also in it’s potential role in the inhibition of unwanted bacteria and viruses.
Curcumin, however, should not be taken by those on blood thinning medication or with bile duct problems. It should also not be taken by those who are pregnant.
As with all supplementations, a healthcare practitioner should always be consulted prior to use.
Breathing
What is diaphragmatic breathing and why is it helpful in reducing tension and stress?
Anatomy of the diaphragm
The diaphragm is shaped like an umbrella, separating the lungs from the abdomen, and is the main muscle in respiration or breathing. The principal function of the breath cycle which occurs thousands of times each day ( in a lifetime), is to allow oxygen from the atmosphere to be absorbed by our red blood cells, whilst at the same time exchanging carbon dioxide (CO2). There is a constant ebb and flow of these blood gasses, regulated by our nervous system, and controlled by the phrenic nerve which comes directly from the brainstem.
The phrenic nerve gets its name from the Greek word phren, meaning mind. Interestingly its other meaning is muscle. This duel meaning is because the ancient physicians understood the relationship between the mind and the physical body, and saw them as indivisible and mutually interrelated.
The diaphragm has been called the muscular equivalent of an umbilical cord, for its capacity to contact our bodies with the outside world.
How the diaphragm works
On inhalation, the diaphragm muscle contracts, and pulls downward, making the ribs flare out slightly. It pulls the bottom of the lungs downward to bring in air. On exhalation, this releases and the air goes out.
This is something you do approximately 18 times per minute, 1,000 times an hour and almost 26,000 times a day – and you don't even think about it.
If you do think about your breath, it's probably only when you're short of it. For patients who want to explore the subject, we’d recommend a new book, Breath in Action, which has contributors from the worlds of science and the arts, exploring how an increased awareness of breathing can impact positively on health, confidence and stress levels.
One of its co-editors, Jane Boston, senior voice practitioner at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, says that paying attention to your breathing can be the best preventive treatment for numerous health issues – notably asthma and high blood pressure, and even aches and pains picked up from bad upper body posture. It can also lead to a better awareness of your sense of self.
"We tend to take sips of a breath," says Boston, "and hold it when we're anxious, both of which can have a ripple effect through the system. One bad habit, like shallow breathing, triggers another. Breathing incorrectly can make you more susceptible to lower back pain. On a philosophical level, breathing properly helps to keep the mind open, enabling you to think about who you are and what and why you're doing something. But primarily, if you breathe in the right way, you'll have better digestion, your balance will be improved, and you'll develop an optimum posture."
Abdominal Breathing
Learning how to breathe from the abdomen is very important; firstly, because the blood in the lowest part of the lungs is the richest in oxygen; secondly, if you emphasize your breathing on your upper chest and shoulders, this will exacerbate any difficulties you suffer with your lungs. So if you have chronic bronchitis, asthma or a stiff rib cage due to poor posture, you should work to strengthen your core muscles around your abdomen and lower back. This will assist in improved lung capacity and a more relaxed state of mind as an added benefit.
How to Breathe Properly
* Learn from Yoga to breathe as deeply and fully as possible through the nostrils. Do not mouth breathe at any stage in the breathing cycle as the composition of gaseous exchange is better when drawn through the nasal passages and turbinate bones of the sinuses. The cells lining the sinus region are called epithelial cells. As well as having fine hairs called cilia along their pathway, they act to both warm the incoming air, and produce nitric oxide gas. This gas relaxes the nervous system and naturally reduces stress levels. That’s how breathing techniques induce a natural feeling of well-being and at peace.
Find an image for the breath in your stomach such as a bellows. This is to help you visualize your breath coming from a deeper part of the lungs and helps reduce a tendency to shallow breathing. Use this image whenever doing breathing exercises.
*Relax your breathing mechanisms. Stand upright, plant your feet firmly on the floor a hip-width apart. Relax your shoulders and slacken off your joints – ankles, knees, hips and lower spine. At the same time, straighten up through the top of the head (called the vertex) to the ceiling, so that you feel loose but have the maximum height. Keep your head straight but allow it to slacken slightly between the atlas and the occiput.
* Breathe the right way round. Place both hands, one on top of the other, over your stomach and over the solar plexus. Breathe in to flatten the diaphragm and feel your stomach expand; breathe ‘out’ and suck the stomach gently back in with the ‘in’ breath.
* Practice wide breathing. Feel the lower chest and rib cage expand as you breathe. Place your hands just above your hips on your bottom ribs – you should feel these expand in and out as you breathe. There is a belt of muscle under your diaphragm and its those muscles that send the breath outwards. Practice expanding your breathing capacity regularly for 5-10 minutes daily, trying to keep to the same time each day for optimum results.
The benefits to regular practice include a more relaxed attitude to life, and an ability to appreciate the link between the old naturopathic adage of ‘a healthy mind brings a healthy body.’ Many patients notice an improved sleep pattern, more energy and improved memory and concentration levels when at work. We recently used this practice with several high level sportsmen and women who reported improved personal best performances, and an improved ability to focus on their pre-performance preparation.
Teach your children how to do it, too. It’s never too young to learn!