Yes believe it or not the time of year has come again for flowers, champagne and romantic candle lit dinners. To make sure that you have heart palpitations of love rather than a cardiac arrest here is some information on how to keep the ticker tocking!
A recent study conducted by The British Heart Foundation concluded that 65% of women are more concerned with the health of their family and friends than their own. This perhaps explains why over 50, 000 women in the UK die from heart disease each year with smoking, poor diet, and stress all being contributing factors to the illness.
The good, bad and the ugly……
One of the worse offenders in causing heart disease is cholesterol with research showing that high levels are a major risk factor for arterial diseases such as angina, heart attacks and strokes. Cholesterol is a type of fatty wax that gets into the blood, with some being produced by the liver and the rest coming from a diet high in fatty foods such as cheese, cream and butter. The body does in fact produce two types of cholesterol, the 'good' and the 'bad'. The 'good' cholesterol is known as HDL (high density lipoprotein) and is said to act like a natural pipe cleaner. However, it is the 'bad' LDL (low density lipoprotein) that needs to be monitored closely as if there is too much in the blood it can stick to the inside of the arteries causing hardening and clogging that subsequently can lead to heart disease.
Eat your way to a healthy heart………
There are two main ways in which to reduce the risk of high cholesterol, a healthy, balanced diet and by supplementing this with drugs through your doctor. Whilst we should all be aware of the health message to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, unfortunately a lot of people don't or are already suffering from high cholesterol levels. To remedy this a new food ingredient called Reducol has been developed to cut cholesterol and reduce heart disease in the UK.
Reducol has been formulated from a cholesterol- lowering plant sterol extract of pinewood. Not only is it tasteless but also kind to the pocket, with the new range of spreads, yoghurts, foods and drinks being highly affordable. The new formula has already been taken up by Tesco for a new food range and will be in selected stores from now, with the range including Yoghurt, Probiotic drinks and low Cholesterol spread. For more information visit www.reducol.com
As well as maintaining a diet strong in low cholesterol foods another way is to take supplements such as Cardiozen, a high EPA Omega fish oil with CoQ10, which apparently boosts the 'good' cholesterol. Another added benefit is it also reduces the risk of thrombosis, the blood clot formation can also lead to heart attacks and strokes. Cardiozen is available from www.equazen.com and is also said to increase the health benefits for the hair and skin so that you can keep yourself looking fabulous for the love of you life on Valentines Day!
