PreDisease.com Blog

If you have high cholesterol, you are undoubtedly aware that there are many foods that you should avoid. You may be less aware of foods that can help you lower your cholesterol naturally. The following is the short list of powerful cholesterol-fighting foods:

Soy- the American Heart Association has stated that soy does not significantly reduce LDL cholesterol (although it does slightly reduce it); however, soy has less saturated fat than meat does, so it makes sense that incorporating more soy into your diet can help you reduce your cholesterol.

Oatmeal- oatmeal contains water-soluble fiber, which is thought to bind to cholesterol molecules in the bowel and transport it out, allowing less cholesterol to be absorbed into the blood stream. However, instant oatmeal may contain sugar and other less desirable ingredients, so the oatmeal you prepare yourself is likely better for you.

Fish- Fatty fish, such as tuna, salmon, herring and mackerel, contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which have heart-healthy benefits. When using fish as part of a healthy diet, preparation is the key: fish should be broiled or baked, rather than deep-fried or covered in sauces. You should aim for at least two servings a week.

Nuts- Certain nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts and pistachios, are high in fiber, monounsaturated fats, antioxidants, protein and minerals. An ounce per day can be included in your diet to help lower cholesterol. A note of caution: avoid eating large amounts of nuts that are salt-covered; also, nuts are very high in calories.

Pre-Lipid is an all-natural botanical formulation that can be used in conjunction with a healthy diet to lower your cholesterol naturally and safely.

Having arthritis means coping with some level of pain on a daily basis. Pain can have a significant impact on physical, emotional and social well-being. So what can be done about it? The following are some proven tips for fighting arthritis pain:

Make use of assistive devices- there are many devices on the market that can be used to make life easier and less painful. Examples are devices to open jars, easing stress on painful fingers and hands. Shoe horns can make putting shoes on a lot easier. These are just a couple of examples of things that can simplify everyday life.

Try to engage in some form of exercise- many people suffering from chronic pain may find it hard to fathom, but exercise can actually improve arthritis pain, by strengthening the muscles that support inflamed joints. Exercise also releases endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers.

Get plenty of rest- fatigue can add to pain, making it more difficult to cope with. When we are tired, we are less able to cope with pain, both emotionally and physically.

Eat a well-balanced diet- A diet enriched with protein, vitamins, minerals will help you to maintain strength and energy, adding to your sense of well-being.

Keep your weight under control- Maintaining a healthy weight will minimize the stress on your joints. Excess weight means more wear-and-tear on your body and can lead to the development of other health problems as well.

Pre-Arthros is a twice-a-day natural formula designed to help reduce arthritis pain and inflammation.

Janice is 48 years old, and for the past year she has been feeling persistently tired and has had difficulty sleeping at times. Her periods have become less regular and are often heavier than they used to be. She often feels irritable and “not herself” and states she sometimes feels depressed. Over the past year, she has experienced some difficulty with frequent urinary tract infections and complains that relations with her husband are less enjoyable for her due to vaginal dryness. Intercourse is sometimes painful; as a consequence, she rarely feels like being intimate with her husband. She says that her libido is “almost non-existent”.

If you find that you are experiencing many or all of Janice’s symptoms, you are likely in perimenopause, the period of time which can last months or years and precedes menopause, when ovulation ceases to occur monthly. These symptoms can be attributed to fluctuations in hormone levels, and are commonly experienced by many women.

PreMenora is a botanical formula made up of 10 different natural ingredients that help to ease the transition to menopause. Every woman is different, and PreMenora is designed to alleviate symptoms of perimenopause without the serious risks associated with pharmaceutical hormone replacement therapies, such as breast cancer and heart disease. If you are interested in learning more about Premenora, visit http://premenora.predisease.com/product_information.php.

Mary has suffered from arthritis for years. The disease affects her hips, knees and hands, making the most mundane of tasks difficult to perform. She lives alone and finds it difficult to do many of the activities that many of us take for granted. Mary has tried various anti-inflammatory drugs over the years and eventually developed a bleeding ulcer. Now she only takes something for pain when she absolutely must and lives in fear of experiencing another episode of bleeding.

One of Mary’s friends, who also suffers from arthritis, tells Mary that her doctor advised her to try an herbal product called Pre-Arthros, an all-natural botanical product. Mary’s friend has high blood pressure and cannot take anti-inflammatory medications because they raise her blood pressure. She raves about the pain relief she gets from taking Pre-Arthros and urges Mary to try it.

Mary begins taking Pre-Arthros and is delighted to discover that her friend was right- her pain eases significantly and she is able to resume most of her usual activities. Best of all, Pre-Arthros does not bother her stomach, and the cost of Pre-Arthros is less than she was paying for expensive drug therapies. She couldn’t be happier!

Interested in learning more about Pre-Arthros? Visit http://prearthos.predisease.com/.

Sylvia is a busy stay-at-home mother to three active boys. Although slim as a teenager, Sylvia has found that her weight has crept up since giving birth to her sons, and her busy lifestyle means that she doesn’t have as much time to devote to exercise as she would like. On a recent visit to her doctor, she was told that blood tests indicate that her fasting blood sugar is 120 and her HbA1c is 5.5. She was informed that these levels indicate that she is at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

Sylvia is startled by this news. Several people in her family have diabetes, and she herself has had gestational diabetes with her last two pregnancies. Frantic to find some way to avoid the same fate as many of her family members, Sylvia begins to do some research into natural methods to lose weight and, in the process, lower her blood sugar levels.

In her research, Sylvia stumbles upon a product called PreCrea, an herbal product from plant-based sources that naturally promotes reduction in blood sugar levels and weight loss. She begins the twice-daily formulation and also begins exercising more regularly and watching her diet more carefully. Soon, her entire family is on board- they begin pursuing exercise as a family and planning their meals together. Sylvia is thrilled to discover that within six months she has shed the extra weight from pregnancy and, best of all, her doctor informs her that her blood sugar levels are now in the normal range.

If you would like to learn more about PreCrea, please visit http://precrea.predisease.com/product.php.

John S. went for his yearly physical and was surprised to find out that his cholesterol was high. The doctor explained to John that high cholesterol was a risk factor for developing heart disease. John is also overweight and has borderline high blood pressure. The doctor counseled John that he needed to address these issues or risk having a heart attack or stroke someday, especially given the fact that his father and one brother had already suffered heart attacks at a relatively young age. John’s doctor wanted John to start taking Lipitor to combat his high cholesterol, but John was reluctant to use drugs and preferred to try natural methods first.

John began exercising and attempting to lose weight by watching his diet more carefully and including healthier food choices. A friend told him about PreLipid, an all-natural plant-based product that he had used successfully to lower his own cholesterol. John was a little skeptical but decided to try it for three months. He asked his doctor, who could think of no reason why John should not try it.

John returned to see his doctor in three months and was ecstatic to discover that not only had his cholesterol dropped 25 points, but his weight was down substantially. John’s doctor was astounded that John had been able to accomplish so much in so little time without the use of drugs. John continued to take PreLipid in combination with a healthy diet and exercise and his cholesterol is now within normal limits.

If you want to learn more about lowering your cholesterol using a proven natural product, please visit http://prelipid.predisease.com/.

Research which included 90,000 subjects from 13 different studies has shown that there is an increased risk of developing diabetes in people who use statins to combat high cholesterol. Although the risk is low (a 9% increase in the four-year risk of developing the disease), researchers also looked at the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke and concluded that the benefits of taking statins outweigh the risk of developing diabetes. The risk of developing diabetes was highest in the studies that included older people. There was no difference in risk among the statins tested, which included Zocor, Crestor, Lipitor, Mevacor, and Pravachol.

The researchers concluded that physicians should be aware of this risk and, in addition to monitoring liver function and CK (creatinine kinase, which might indicate muscle damage if elevated), doctors should also check glucose levels periodically in their patients taking statins to reduce cholesterol. They also recommended that physicians should weigh the risk of developing diabetes in patients who have a lower risk of heart disease before prescribing statins. The study appears in The Lancet.

Pre-Lipid is an all-natural product designed to safely and effectively lower cholesterol using plant-based ingredients, without the side effects associated with the use of statins.

Source: Diabetes Risk of Statins Outweighed by Heart Benefit

The current guidelines for HRT (hormone replacement therapy) are that women take HRT for the shortest time and in the smallest dose possible to treat symptoms of menopause. Studies in the past suggested that taking HRT early on in menopause protected women from heart disease, but new data does not support this idea.

The Women’s Health Initiative was a huge study of 16,000 women, half of whom received HRT while the other half received placebos. The study was halted in 2002 when it was discovered that the women taking HRT had higher rates of blood clots, heart disease and breast cancer. It was this study that ignited the fierce debate about HRT therapy and its safety that has raged ever since.

Researchers recently turned their focus to the women in the study who began HRT early in menopause and discovered that there was a slight increase in risk of heart disease, although the numbers were not considered significant. The researchers debunked the theory that HRT taken early in menopause has a protective effect against heart disease. It should be noted that the women in the WHI study took higher doses of hormones than women typically use today.

Women should consider the risks and benefits of HRT and should discuss these factors with their personal physician. Many women are choosing to use lifestyle and natural remedies to cope with menopause symptoms.

PreMenora is a twice-daily all-natural formulation that decreases menopausal symptoms by 80% and provides immediate and long-term results. It is easily affordable and offers a safe alternative to HRT.

Source: Early HRT Doesn’t Reduce Heart Risk

Statins are drugs that help to lower cholesterol in humans. They work by lowering an enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) in the liver, the end result of which is the increased clearance of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) in the blood. When taken regularly, they start to work in approximately one week, with peak effect seen in 4 to 6 weeks. Drugs in this class include Pravachol, Crestor and Lipitor, to name a few.

Statins are widely prescribed to people with high cholesterol to decrease their risk of heart attack and stroke. However, their use is not without risk. There are several side effects attributed to statins, including:

• Muscle pain
• Liver damage
• Headache
• GI upset (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea)
• Rash
• Headache

By far, the most serious side effects of statins are liver damage and muscle pain, which may indicate rhabdomyolysis, a rare but deadly condition which results in muscle cell death and can lead to kidney failure. Persons who are taking statins should report muscle pain to their physician; as well, liver function should be assessed through blood tests periodically to ensure the liver is functioning normally.

Could a blood test for rheumatoid arthritis predict who will develop the debilitating disorder? A new study points to this possibility. The secret to prediction lies in cytokines, according to researchers.

Researchers studied blood samples from 86 individuals who did not yet have rheumatoid arthritis and compared these samples to 256 matched controls. The researchers were measuring 30 different cytokines and cytokine-related factors. The results? Those people who later went on to develop rheumatoid arthritis had elevated levels of cytokines; furthermore, the patterns of these elevations distinguished them from members of the control group.

What does this mean? The results show that it may be possible to predict with accuracy who will develop rheumatoid arthritis. Being able to identify individuals at risk of developing the disease will allow earlier diagnosis of the condition and may even allow for prevention of this debilitating disease. At present, rheumatoid arthritis can be difficult to diagnose, and persons with the disease may not be treated until the disease is advanced. Knowing earlier will permit aggressive treatment of the disease, before severe joint damage occurs.

Source: Can Blood Samples Predict Arthritic Rheumatism?