Medigap Insurance Plans Are Reliable For Making Maximum of Medicare Original

February 16, 2011 · Posted in diets to lower cholesterol · Comment 

Health insurance is all good for securing your health in your old days. After retirement you will have no income source like when you have your job. You will have your pension policy or pension but there is a big room for doubt that how much the income would then help you to recover from some dangerous or severe disease like diabetes, high blood pressure cholesterol, heart disease, asthma and so on. All these can be dangerous and fatal in terms of affecting health. One such plan is called the Medicare original plan which saves all your tension about your health and unknown crisis. This plan comprises of different small policies which help you in the time of crisis providing you with the expenditure that will be billed by your hospital. But there is a problem. There are a lot of medical costs that are covered by the Original Medicare plans. Rather to say almost all of the medical costs are covered by the original Medicare plans. So you can solute your problem now by doing or applying for a health insurance like Medicare health insurance. This will help you to save your future and health when you would need that.

But still there remain some costs that the Original Medicare does not cover therefore in such situations there is the need for the Medicare Supplement Plans. It helps the beneficiary to pay for those costs are not been included under the policy coverage of the original Medicare plans. It is the complete solution as there is some more you can do by doing a parallel insurance policy side by side with Medicare policy. And that is Medigap insurance plans. From the very name you can understand the cause of the policy. It is to strengthen your original Medicare plan by supplementing that. It supplements the original and makes it viable to make you 100% beneficiary. In reality it is seen that you would not get all the money promised to you by the Medicare policy because of insurance law. It is normal and common to all insurance policies. Therefore you would not be able to get the benefits from the insurance. But if you do a Medigap Health Insurance Plans or a supplemental Medicare plan then you can snatch the most benefits of an original Medicare policy. There are 12 plans to help you out in your trouble situation. These 12 different plans or policies are named after alphabetical words like A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K and L. They claim different kinds of benefits to theirs policy holders. But the basic benefits are provided by plan Ass and B. They are the backbone of this supplement plans. They are called basic plans of these insurance because these two provides benefits similar to the Original Medicare.

You can consult with a medigap insurance advisor and choose your option and plan to secure your health. You can do a Medigap insurance California which is a reliable insurance company which provides you all the benefits of medigap policy and makes your life tension free and full of enjoyment.

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The Medicare supplemental plans, Medicare supplement insurance and Medicare supplement plans available here.

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Understanding What is Bad Cholesterol

August 18, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

Cholesterol is a very familiar medical term almost to anyone, particularly the middle age group. It is a common thing the word will never be a part of teen-age lingo. The main reason is, most of the dreaded ailments accompanying “high cholesterol” levels are associated with hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and other long term and acquired conditions, which does not could also happen to younger generation as juvenile complications. To make it clear, when the majority is talking about lowering cholesterol, it is all about alleviating the further progress of bad cholesterol.

There are two kinds of cholesterol accumulating or present in the human body. Bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein is harmful because it can cause atheroma. Atheroma is considered to be the plaque of the arteries, commonly referred to as fat streaks. If not watched carefully, accumulation of ‘macrophage white blood cells’ can happen to a child even before the age of 10. 

The early symptoms may start as early as 5 years old, while the child grows up and the condition is accumulating quietly in the veins. Most of the time, the exact symptoms are only given prognosis after the onset of heart attack or stroke, which is already too late for the patient. The attack of silent killers may not cause death but chances are it can lead to lifetime disability.

It is debilitating to imagine how high levels of bad cholesterol can cause serious consequences to the body. When most people may appear healthy all the time, cholesterols can only be checked through lab tests. Sometimes it surprises people to find out how high their cholesterol build-up has soared for the past years. 

There is no mystery behind the strengthening of bad cholesterol other than high consumption of saturated fats in the diet. In the advent of labels or guides in processed foods like canned goods and other packed products in the groceries, it is easy to see the amount of cholesterol a food has. This is just a small matter on how to grasp the essence of being cholesterol conscious.

The major way to lower down cholesterol levels in the body is to understand how it metabolizes in the body. Cholesterol doe not actually come from diet alone. It is a whole process within where diet is just one of the contributing factor. Good cholesterol aids in the body’s biochemical functioning like producing bile, regulating of vitamins that are fat soluble such as A, K, D, and E. 

It also has impact on the synthesis of the body hormone. After cholesterol has been utilized in the body, it excretes as excess lipids in the liver and gall bladder as crystal particles. Because cholesterol is not water soluble, it circulates over and over and gets converted to bad cholesterol (low density lipoproteins). For normal individuals with healthy metabolism, bad cholesterol is minimal and comes in as  large quantities. The harmful ones are those that come in many number of small sizes trapped in the veins as accumulated clogs. 

When it comes to lowering high cholesterol, basically there is nothing to ponder about genetic weaknesses, the key is watching over food intake. Cholesterol is highly present in animal meats and fats, especially pork and beef. It is easy to watch fatty foods with all the precautions available today. But it takes discipline to live a life with less cholesterol consumption.

For tips on cholesterol ratio and low cholesterol foods, visit the Cholesterol Guidelines website.

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Alternative Ways to Lower Your Cholesterol

January 28, 2010 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

Cholesterol is a steroid normally found in all body cells and plasma. It is the most abundant steroid in the body. Gonadal and adrenal hormones are produced from cholesterol.

Do you know the function of cholesterol in your body?
What can you do to lower cholesterol naturally? Are we a society deficient in statin drugs?
Why is your cholesterol high in the first place?

If your cholesterol is too high (a total cholesterol over 230), the problem is not the cholesterol, as your body has raised its levels in order to play some type of ESSENTIAL role(s) for your survival.

The cause of high cholesterol is high starch carbohydrate, hydrogenated fats and low thyroid function. Emotional and physical stress can also influence cholesterol levels.

In general, cholesterol is increased in most endocrine or organ hypofunction and decreased in most endocrine and organ hyperfunction.

New research has revealed that LDL or “bad” cholesterol inhibits the breakdown of fat in adipocytes, or fat cells, suggesting that it is a regulator of fat stores. If a person has elevated cholesterol levels, it is a sign that their body, emotions or intellect are subject to excessive stress.

The majority of excess cholesterol is manufactured in times of psychological stress and dehydration. Elevated LDL can be caused from the body attempting to produce hormones as cholesterol is a precursor to hormone production. In addition, those with low thyroid suffer high cholesterol.

Remember that cholesterol is necessary and healthy because it is involved in cellular repair and reducing inflammation; it is oxidized cholesterol that is unhealthy.

Increased triglycerides, in conjunction with decreased HDL, is a more significant factor for coronary artery disease than elevated cholesterol by itself.

In 1990, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that normal cholesterol was considered around 200. Today normal is considered 160! Individuals with cholesterol levels below 160 cannot make sex hormones.

So much has been written concerning the evils of increased cholesterol, however very little has been reported concerning decreased cholesterol. Decreased cholesterol can be normal for a vegetarian and some people with a genetic predisposition to decreased cholesterol.

In addition, individuals with cholesterol levels below 160 are associated with compromised immune system, ‘ risk of depression, anxiety, respiratory illness, stroke and brain-related deaths such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s. Individuals with low adrenal or hypoadrenic (Addision’s disease) suffer low cholesterol. Low cholesterol is one of the signs of cancer (JAMA, Dec 1980).

Myths:

Cholesterol causes heart disease

Cholesterol is bad

Eating fat is unhealthy

High cholesterol is caused only from eating unhealthy foods

High cholesterol means you’re unhealthy

Lowering your cholesterol is healthy

Cholesterol Tips:

Every hormone in your body requires cholesterol as a precursor

Approximately 80-90% of all cholesterol is made inside your body and does NOT come from the foods you eat.

Elevated cholesterol may be caused from:
” Consumption of too many refined carbohydrates/sugars.
” Congested liver
” Excess amounts of stress either physical, emotional, chemical, electromagnetic, psychological
” Hormonal imbalances
” Inflammation

Cholesterol is vital for:

A precursor to sex hormones, vitamin D, and bile production

A repair substance – repair molecule

Cell membrane integrity helping maintain proper permeability

Child development in mother’s milk

Controlling free radical damage

Digesting the fats you eat

Female hormones. Women with higher cholesterol live longer.

Helping your cells receive serotonin

Side effects from statin drugs include:

Cataracts

Cognitive loss, dementia and memory loss

Deficiencies in fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K

Diarrhea, constipation, gas, nausea

Difficulty breathing or swallowing

Dizziness, fuzzy thinking

Elevation of liver enzymes – Liver damage

Headaches

Increased risk of cancer

Increased risk of suicide

Lack of energy

Muscle weakness

Pain and tenderness in muscles or joints

Rhabdomyolisis (serious degenerative muscle tissue breakdown)

Rashes, hives itching

Robs your body of CoQ10 enzyme which can increase your risk for heart disease

Suppressed immune system

What can you do to lower your cholesterol naturally?

Consume plenty of organic fruits and vegetables, grass-fed beef and free-range poultry

Consider supplementing with:

o Biotics Beta-TCP to lower bile viscosity. This is one of the most important steps to take in high cholesterol.
o Biotics LipidSirt
o Omega-3 fish oil – Biotics EFA Sirt Supreme
o Pantethine, the coenzymatic form of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) and cysteamine
o Reservertrol, an antioxidant found in red wine
o Tocotrienols – Delta and gamma tocotrienol were found to possess the greatest ability to inhibit cholesterol synthesis
o Vitamins C and E
o Vitamin D – BioD Mulsion Forte

Decrease the amount of refined grains, sugar, dairy, fast food and alcohol. These increase inflammation in excess = ‘ triglycerides which = ‘ cholesterol.

To reduce inflammation: eliminate trans fats, sugars, grains, a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, stress, overcooked foods, excessive cardiovascular exercise and excessive alcohol consumption

Drink plenty of water. Bodyweight x .7 = the number of daily ounces to be consumed.

Natural products such as plant sterols and green tea extract can be used to prevent the absorption of cholesterol from the intestinal tract. Green tea extracts have a cholesterol lowering effect.

Eat more good quality fats (raw butter, coconut oil, avocados, extra virgin olive oil and wild salmon).

Identify what you feel stressed about. Reduce the amount of stress in your life by adding in daily meditation and create time for yourself to relax every day even if it’s only 5 minutes.

Implement one change at a time. Gradual, consistent progress over time.

Lab testing to see where there may be hidden inflammation, specifically C-reactive protein (CRP) and homocysteine. CRP is a protein that circulates in the blood, especially when there is inflammation in the body, including inflammation of the coronary arteries. CRP is a biomarker for systemic inflammation and a confirmed risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Homocysteine is an excellent predictor of cardiovascular disease. An elevated homocysteine level is also a risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease.

o Doctors are finding that CRP is a far more accurate indicator of a future problem with heart disease than cholesterol levels alone. The simplest way to lower the CRP level is to reduce inflammation in the body.

Turn the lights out by 10pm. Turn the television and computer off by 8pm. Get restful sleep.

Read more about cholesterol in my book, THE POWER OF 4 – Your Ultimate Guide Guaranteed to Change Your Body and Transform Your Life.

Copyright 2007 Paula Owens

Sources
Cholesterolmyths.com
naturalnews.com/025866.html
Westonaprice.org
Anderson RF, et al. Green tea catechins partially protect DNA from hyrdroxyl radical induced strand breaks and base damage through fast chemical repair of DNA radicals. Carcinogenesis, vol 22, no.8, pp 1189-1193, 2001
Skogsberg J, Dicker A, Rydn M, strm G, Nilsson R, et al. 2008 ApoB100-LDL Acts as a Metabolic Signal from Liver to Peripheral Fat Causing Inhibition of Lipolysis in Adipocytes. PLoS ONE. 2008;3(11): e3771 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0003771

Author: Paula Owens
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Cholesterol and Heart Disease – The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

December 22, 2009 · Posted in cholesterol · Comment 

And if you have high cholesterol, you would feel the same as if you had low cholesterol because there are no side effects, no symptoms of having high cholesterol. Mark Spitz, winner of 9 Olympic gold medals in swimming.

Heart disease remains the leading killer of men and women in the United States. Each year, 1,200,000 people suffer a coronary heart attack, and about 40% of them die. An American dies of a coronary event roughly every 65 seconds. Abnormal cholesterol, besides smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and physical inactivity, remains one of the main modifiable risk factors for coronary heart disease.

I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol. Comedian Steven Wright. But we should. Abnormal cholesterol levels can clog up your arteries. There are several hundred studies confirming the dangerous health effects of abnormal cholesterol levels. The Framingham Heart Study found that under age 50, total cholesterol levels directly correlated with 30-year overall and cardiovascular mortality. For each 10 mg/dl increase in cholesterol, there is an overall increase in death of 5% and cardiovascular death of 9%. Abnormal cholesterol levels are also implicated in contributing to stroke, limb amputation, erectile dysfunction, Alzheimers disease and kidney failure.

Cholesterol is not totally a bad thing. Cholesterol keeps cell membranes fluid, flexible and functional. Cholesterol helps in the manufacture of bile, and thereby helps in the digestion of fats. It is also important for the metabolism of fat soluble vitamins, including vitamins A, D, E and K. It is involved as a major precursor in the synthesis of vitamin D and many steroid hormones, including the adrenal hormones cortisol and aldosterone, and the sex hormones progesterone, estrogen, testosterone, and their derivatives. Cholesterol is water insoluble, and is carried to its destinations by lipoproteins. About 80% of the cholesterol is made by the liver via carbohydrate metabolism through the HMG-CoA reductase pathway. This amounts to about 1000 mg per day. Diet in the Western countries adds about 200 – 300 mg for intestinal intake. Most of dietary cholesterol comes from animal food, including meat, poultry, fish, egg yolk, butter, cheese and whole milk. Trans fats are hydrogenated fats and are found in margarine and many commercially prepared processed and deep fried foods like cookies, cakes, crackers, french fries and donuts. These are also unhealthy and consumption is associated with atherosclerosis. Plant sources of food ( fruits, vegetables, nuts and cereals ) are free of cholesterol. Phytosterols found in certain plant products like flax seed and peanuts may actually help lower serum cholesterol. However, cooking oils of plant origin, especially palm and coconut oil, are high in saturated fats and are heart unhealthy. But there’s another kind of fat called essential fatty acids. These are unsaturated fats and include omega-3 and omega-6 fats. These help are cell membranes and are required for the production of certain hormones that are essential for blood clotting, blood pressure control, and eye and brain function. Overall, they lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and reduce mortality from heart disease.

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up tall, there’s a land where they’ve never heard of cholesterol. Musician Allan Sherman. However, in the real world, we have to monitor its levels. Total cholesterol should be measured after a 9 to 12 hour fast. A level of less than 200 mg/dl is desirable. A level of 200 to 239 mg/dl is borderline high and a level above 240 mg/dl is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease. However, a lipoprotein analysis is more reliable as it better profiles the risk. A lipid profile gives the levels of the bad low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, the good high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and the triglycerides. LDL levels should ideally be less than 100 mg/dl. Levels over 160 are high and associated with an increased risk of heart disease. HDL provides protection against heart disease if it above 60 mg/dl. A level less than 40 mg/dl is associated with increased heart disease. Triglyceride levels should be less than 150 mg/dl. Higher levels, especially when associated with abnormal LDL or HDL levels, increase your risk of heart disease.

Does lowering cholesterol help? Scientific medical literature is filled with research data confirming the beneficial effects of lowering cholesterol. A 1995 study called the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS) followed 6500 men with high cholesterol levels for 5 years. One half the people were given a cholesterol reducing statin drug, provostatin, while the other were given a placebo. The drug reduced the total cholesterol levels by 20 percent and the bad LDL cholesterol levels by 26 percent. The heart attack risk was reduced by 31 percent in those receiving the statin drug. The need for bypass surgery or angioplasty was reduced by 37 percent. Overall deaths from all causes were reduced by 22 percent, and deaths from cardiovascular causes by 32 percent. In 1998, the results of the Air Force/Texas Coronary Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (AFCAPS/TexCAPS) showed that cholesterol lowering with another statin drug, lovastatin, also reduced the risk of a first major coronary event by 37 percent when given to generally healthy men and women with average cholesterol levels. The total cholesterol levels in the treatment group were lowered by 18 percent and LDL-cholesterol levels by 25 percent, after a year of treatment. Like in the WOSCOPS study, significant reductions in events were also noted: heart attack was reduced 40 percent, unstable angina 32 percent, the need for bypass surgery or angioplasty 33 percent, and all cardiovascular events 25 percent. Recent scientific data suggests that higher doses of statins may provide even greater benefits.

The commonly used drugs to lower high total cholesterol or the bad LDL cholesterol are statins. The statins lower cholesterol by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Inhibition of this enzyme in the liver results in an increased clearance of LDL from the bloodstream and a decrease in blood cholesterol levels. Results are seen as early as after one week. Maximal effect occurs after four to six weeks. There are over ten statin drugs available commercially in the United States. Other agents are also available to reduce total cholesterol and LDL levels and act mainly by preventing absorption of the cholesterol in the intestines. They are often used in combination with the statins. Although the statins can raise the good HDL cholesterol, this effect is small. HDL can be raised by the common vitamin niacin. A class of drugs called fibrates not only help raise HDL but also help lower triglycerides.

There are many ways to improve the lipid profile without drugs. Reduce the amount of animal fats and saturated fats you consume. Regular exercise and weight loss not only will help reduce the LDL and triglyceride levels, but also raise the good HDL levels. Moderate alcohol intake also increases HDL cholesterol .Eating more fruits and vegetables and consuming more monounsaturated fats also improves the lipid profile. Remember, our health always seems much more valuable after we lose it. So let us listen to the motivational speaker Jim Rohn, who said, Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.

Author: Shashi Agarwal MD
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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