A HEALTHY HEART

 FOODS THAT HELP TO KEEP CHOLESTEROL HONEST

Let's look first at the eggplant.There is a remarkly degree of protection against the development of fatty plaques in the blood vessels.The eggplant(brinjal) owes this effect to certain constituents that slow the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine. And the news is that its effects are more impressive when it is eaten not by itself but along with a fatty diet.In other words, it's the perfect accompaniment to cholesterol-rich foods.

 The onion, too, can take the cholestrol sting out of other foods.To test the effect of onion as a cholesterol-lowering agent, K. Sharma of S. N. Medical College in Agra, India, gave a group of men 3.5 ounces of butter spread on four slices of bread first thing in the morning, after a 13-hour fast. On subsequent days, the men got their bread and butter with various accompaniments: once with 50 grams(about 1.75 ounces)of raw onions and another time with boiled onions. On another occasion raw onions were not given until 2 hours after the bread and butter.

 The results? When butter alone was given, cholesterol levels two hours later increased from an average of about 211 to 232. Four hours after eating the butter fat, cholesterol was all the way up to 241, for a total rise of 30 points. But when the raw onion was eaten at the same time, the total rise was 9.4 points.Numerous studies have also shown that garlic has a similar protective effect

 Yogurt, too, actually reduces the amount of cholesterol in the blood.It is the yoghurt bacteria produce or enhance a substances in milk that block cholesterol production in the liver.

 While low cholesterol levels are considered an indication that you're doing something right, high levels don't necessarily indicate trouble ahead. In fact, if your cholesterol is high in the HDL fraction (high-density lipoproteins) as opposed to the LDL (low-density lipoproteins), your prognosis may be excellent. It is the LDL fraction that seems to get stuck in your arteries(atherosclerosis) and is linked to heart disease. The high-density guys, however, appear to be very protective of your heart and arteries. The trick is to increase your HDL and decrease your LDL. How?

 One of the best dietary aids is to soybean lecithin(soy milk,soya chunks,soya seedlings etc..) An apple a day can keep high cholesterol level away because of its pectin content.This helps to lower cholesterol levels by slowing down the digestion of cholesterol-rich fatty foods.Foods that are rich in pectin are Guavas, goyave de chine, Ladies Fingers(LALO),the white membrane beneath an orange peel.

 

 THE SPASM THEORY OF HEART ATTACK

 It is shown that there is convincing evidence that the culprit may be a deficiency of the vital dietary mineral magnesium. One of the earliest clues was the observation that the incidence of sudden death from ischemic heart disease, which is caused by a blockage of blood flow, is the highest in areas where the drinking water or the soil contains only small amounts of magnesium, example in Finland. Studies of the mineral content of soils from various districts in Finland showed that magnesium, calcium and potassium were much scarcer in the east, where mortality rates are the highest, than in the southwest, where they are the lowest. The most pronounced difference, researchers reported, was in magnesium levels.(Magnesium is absorbed in the presence of Calcium in the intestine)