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Posts Tagged ‘Fruits And Vegetables’

Plant Sterols – What They Are And How They Can Benefit You

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Although you can go to your doctor and get a prescription for just about any health issue known to man, medications have their drawbacks. More and more people today are looking for more natural (and safer) ways to improve their health. As Hippocrates once said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”. This is as true today as it was back then.

One of the best ways to improve your health is by improving your diet. But even if you think you’re eating well you may be missing out on some less-known but vital nutrients, such as plant sterols. Read on to learn more about plant sterols and how they can benefit your health by helping to lower your cholesterol.

What are plant sterols?

Plant sterols, also known as phytosterols, come from plants. These naturally-occurring substances are the plant’s cholesterol. Just as humans have cholesterol, so do plants. Both human and plant cholesterol is critically important in maintaining a healthy state. However, when cholesterol levels begin to exceed normal levels, they turn from good to bad in which high levels of LDL cholesterol can begin to harm the body by increasing the chances of heart disease.

If you were to look at plant sterols under a microscope, they look very similar to human cholesterol. They are found in fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes, seeds, and most types of grain. Because of their many health benefits, several manufacturers are now adding them to healthy snacks and heart healthy foods. These include foods such as healthy chips made from whole grains, orange juice and margarine.

How do Plant Sterols Work in the Body?

Plant sterols and stanols have a structure similar to cholesterol. They compete with cholesterol for access to receptors in the small intestines known as micelles. Micelles help transport cholesterol through the intestine into your blood stream. Imagine 15 people all hoping to get a ride in their friend’s Volkswagen Beetle – not everyone is going to be riding in the car. The same thing happens when plant sterols are introduced into the small intestine along with cholesterol. Only so many can hop a ride on the micelle and those left behind are exited from the body. Over 140 clinical studies have been conducted and have shown that sterols and stanols reduce LDL cholesterol levels by between 5 and 14 percent.

While there are more and more heart healthy snacks and heart healthy foods available today, those which have plant sterols (meeting specific FDA criteria) can sport a statement on the package indicating they may help lower the chances of heart disease.

Health Benefits of Plant Sterols

Nearly a quarter of a century of research has shown us that plant sterols may benefit your health in a multitude of ways. In addition to lowering cholesterol, some studies suggest that they may also:

• Help reduce inflammation
• Reverse immune system abnormalities
• Benefit the health of cells
• Assist in balancing various hormones
• Decrease the body’s auto-immune responses
• Help with chronic fatigue syndrome
• Help reduce symptoms associated with menopause
• Reduce symptoms associated with an enlarged prostrate
• Inhibit the growth of certain types of cancer
• Benefit conditions such as asthma, gallstones, and migraines

How much plant sterols are needed?

If lowering cholesterol is your goal, experts recommend that to get the maximum benefits you should consume between 1.5 to 3 grams of plant sterols per day. To begin to see any benefits you need to consume a minimum of 0.8 grams per day. Most Americans get approximately 0.25 grams per day of plant sterols from the foods they consume today. While it may be difficult to get this amount naturally from heart healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, it is very achievable if you add foods fortified with plant sterols such as specific chips, breads, and margarines.

What foods should I eat?

The following list contains several healthy foods which may have plant sterols added (check the label to ensure it reads: “contains plant sterols”):

• Spreadable margarines
• Salad dressings
• Orange juice
• Healthy chips such as Corazonas Whole Grain Tortilla Chips or reduced fat Potato Chips
• Corazonas Oatmeal Squares
• Cereals
• Yogurt
• Granola bars

Take the Corazonas Cholesterol Challenge and reduce your Cholesterol in just 28 Days. We’re so sure you will be successful, if you don’t lower your cholesterol we’ll pay for the snacks – Guaranteed!


Corazonas Potato Chips, Tortilla Chips and Oatmeal Squares are heart-healthy snacks proven to help lower cholesterol, made with less fat, whole grains and plant sterols.
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How To Clean The Colon

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

The colon is often overlooked by many people who don’t have an idea on the important role that this part of the body has in the digestive process. Colon is the part of the digestive system which takes out water and salt prior to excretion. It is prone to numerous problems such as constipation and indigestion – digestive-related ailments that may seem ordinary yet pose as great threats to one’s overall health. Cleaning the colon is important given its critical role. There are many ways on how to clean the colon that any one can follow.

One of the best ways to clean the colon is to take regular and adequate water. Water assists in the movement of waste materials. The lack of water within the body can result to the stools forming far from the rectal pouch, which often results to constipation. Aside from drinking at least 8 glasses of water everyday, eating water-rich foods is highly recommended.

Another way of cleaning the colon is to have regular bowel movement. One should never suppress the urge of going to the bathroom. Doing so can result to waste materials getting stuck in the colon, which results to dehydration of the waste materials as well as development of hard stools.

Another effective way of cleaning the colon is to take fiber-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables. These foods have fiber that helps the colon to turn the waste materials into stools that are easy to excrete.

Cleaning the colon can also be done with the help of a colon cleanse product. A typical colon cleanse item is specifically geared at cleaning the colons and removing unwanted toxins inside this part of the body.  One of the more effective and highly recommended colon cleanse products available today is Bowtrol colon cleanser which boosts of all natural ingredients effective in removing toxins and other waste materials in the colon.


Get a free bottle of Bowtrol colon cleanser and get rid of the toxins in your colon today Click Here
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Loosing Weight Can Be Fun And Very Cheap

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

To some people, trying to loose weight seems to be the most difficult thing in the world. This should be the case if only you follow the right procedure to shedding weight with ease. There are tons of effective and cheap ways of achieving your desired body weight and having fun while you do it.

2 Useful Tips.

1. MUSIC: Literally, your iPod is an analgesic. Working out with good music will almost completely eliminate the boredom and body resistance you encounter during exercise. Music has the potential to elicit a small but significant effect on your performance. It provides an ideal accompaniment for working out and training. There are certain genres of music that will help you move your body continuously and before you know it, you will find yourself exercising for a longer amount of time than you planned.

2. YOUR DIET: You do not have to starve yourself all in the name of trying to reach your desired body weight. Some people find it difficult to eat a complete healthy diet because they are concerned about carbs. By feeding only on fruits and vegetables, you are denying your body of essential nutrients needed for everyday activities. You can still eat those nutritious starchy foods you like without the fear of getting fat. What really counts is the amount of sugar calories stored in your body from these starchy foods you eat. After eating these starchy foods, your body breaks down carbohydrate molecule into sugar with alpha amylase, an enzyme that is produced in the pancreas. 
Excess sugar calories get accumulated and stored as fat in the body. However, there is a cheap and natural product called Dietrine Carb Blocker, made out of white kidney beans and have been proven to be very safe. It subdues the digestive enzyme, alpha amylase before it can convert starch into glucose, thereby reducing the amount of carbs absorbed. What this means is that you do not have to starve yourself thereby making your efforts to achieve your dream weight, a horrible nightmare.

For more information about Dietrine Carb Blocker and to get more tips on effective ways to loose weight with a chance to get a free lifetime membership to a weight management club, please visit http://www.herbalcaremall.com/category/overview/Weight_Loss

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