Myths about Heart

1. All kinds of exercise are good for the heart

Among some of the most common myths related to heart care, according to renowned cardiologist Dr Ashok Seth, is that all kinds of exercise is good for the cardiovascular system.

‘A 45-minute brisk walk, or aerobic exercise is good for your heart. But weightlifting and gym exercises are not necessarily good for your cardiovascular health,’ Seth told IANS. (Read: Is running bad for your heart?)

2. Women are less prone to heart ailments

It’s also a misconception that women are less prone to cardiovascular ailments.

‘Cardiovascular disease is the biggest cause of death in women, six times more than breast cancer,’ Seth said. ‘But traditionally it’s seen that in most Indian families this doesn’t appear as a concern vis-a-vis a woman’s health. If the man has a slight discomfort, they rush to the hospital, but the women, maybe because they have a high tolerance level, simply ignore any such discomfort’.

‘Even while going for health check-ups, a mammogram or a pap smear test is listed (to detect cancer), but not a heart check-up, which is very necessary,’ he added.

Agreed K.K. Talwar, cardiologist at Delhi’s Max hospital. ‘Although women have the protection cover of the estrogen hormone, lifestyle habits like smoking, unhealthy eating habits and contraceptive pills make them prone (to heart ailments). And after menopause, the risk increases,’ Talwar said. (Read: Indian women more vulnerable to heart diseases now)

3. Young cannot be affected by heart ailments

That the young cannot be affected by heart ailments is another myth, Talwar says.

‘It’s no longer true that only those in their 50s and 60s can have cardiovascular problems. Even those in their 30s are coming with such problems these days. In fact, because of lifestyle habits like junk food, alcohol consumption and smoking, plus stress, they are prone to acute heart attacks that can be fatal,’ he said.

According to Talwar, about 20 percent of heart attack patients in Max hospital are in the 30-40 age group. In the West this number is 5 to 10 percent lower because South Asians are more prone to cardiovascular problems at a younger age than their Western counterparts. ‘Five to seven percent of those who come for angiography are below the age of 35,’ Talwar told IANS. (Read: More young people falling prey to hypertension)

4. Heart pain, indicating emergency, will be on the left side of the chest

It’s not necessary that heart pain, indicating emergency, will be on the left side of the chest, Sunita Choudhury, another cardiologist, emphasised. ‘It may also be in the right arm, upper abdomen, and usually in the left arm,’ she said.

5. A particular brand of oil is good for your heart

Much against TV and print commercials promoting a particular kind or brand of oil as being good for the heart, doctors say that such information should be taken with a pinch of salt.

‘Trans-fatty acid is bad for the heart, and one should look out for food containing that. Other than that, there is no truth that only a particular kind of oil is good, like the trend is of olive oil. Even mustard oil is good,’ Talwar said. But even as the Mustard Research and Promotion Consortium says that mustard oil can prevent coronary artery disease, many doctors say that it’s best to keep changing one’s brand or kind of oil every few months.

Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.

6. Nuts are bad for your heart

Nuts, a rich source of oil, are also not at all bad. ‘Almonds and walnuts are good for the heart, and one should have 8 to 10 pieces of almond, soaked in water, every day,’ Seth said. But don’t go overboard – fried almonds are a big no. As doctors say, it’s often a thin line separating information and misinformation.

9 Reasons To Stop Drinking Any Kind of Pasteurized Milk

Pasteurization is a dangerous method of heating our foods with tragic side effects which are largely ignored bu the FDA and downplayed by the dairy industry. To accept these facts would be to surrender after a hundred-year war indiscriminately waged against all bacteria--a hundred-year war that has now turned to attack the immune systems of the public. Here are 9 reasons why pasteurization destroys the nutritional and enzymatic value of milk and why you need to avoid it.

Raw milk contains vast amounts of nutrients including beneficial bacteria such as lactobacillus acidolphilus, vitamins and enzmes, and only a very modest source of calcium (if left unpasteurized).

To understand what heat does to a good bacteria, we need to know about its structure. A bacterium is a single-celled organism. Think of it like a studio apartment, one room containing all the things a person needs to live: food, water, air. The walls of the apartment enclose the electrical wiring and gas pipes that deliver energy, along with the sewage pipes that get rid of waste products. In contrast to the size of this single-celled organism, even an animal as small as a mouse would be like a huge city with thousands of buildings and extensive infrastructure to keep it "alive."

When the temperature gets hot enough, the enzymes in the bacterium are denatured, meaning they change shape. This change renders them useless, and they're no longer able to do their work. The cell simply ceases to function. 

Heat can also damage the bacterium's cell envelope. Proteins and fatty acids making up the envelope lose their shape, weakening it. At the same time, fluid inside the cell expands as the temperature rises, increasing the internal pressure. The expanding fluid pushes against the weakened wall and causes it to burst, spilling out the guts of the bacterium. 

Pasteurization constitutes one of the milder forms of thermal processing. Ultra-high temperature and sterilization methods kill all microorganisms in the food, while milder heat treatments like thermization and pasteurization only kill some of them. Why not use a higher temperature if it will kill more pathogens? The answer is that higher temperatures change the characteristics of the food.

At higher temperatures, as with Ultra High Temperature Pasteurization, several things happen to milk that make it less desirable to consumers: 

High-Temp Pasteurization - Milk is heated to 161F for 31 seconds in order to sterilize the milk. The problem is that this also kills enzymes, much of the healthy microorganisms, and more importantly it denatures the proteins. Essentially, high-temp pasteurization kills the milk and makes it much more difficult for your body to digest. This can typically lead to inflammatory bowel disease, among others. 

Ultra-Pasteurized - This is the majority of our milk today, what you would typically find in a grocery store. Ultra-pasteurization heats the milk to 280F for only a few seconds. The reason for using ultra-pasteurization is because it kills everything. Ultra pasteurization not only kills potentially harmful bacteria in the milk, but also damages all of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients originally contained in the milk. This process also kills the healthy enzymes which help your body digest the milk, and drinking it without the enzymes can lead to lactose intolerance.

Low-Temp Pasteurization - Milk is only heated to 145F. This is significant because it’s below the temperature that kills most of the beneficial enzymes and the proteins remain in-tact. The main downside to low-temp pasteurization is that some of the enzymes and probiotics can be damaged. But, by culturing (fermenting it with good bacteria) this dairy and making yogurt, kefir or amasai, many of those probiotics are added back. This also improves the digestibility of the dairy. Low-temp is the closest to raw milk products most of us in the US can get. 

Most cow's milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins (up to 200 times the safe levels), up to 52 powerful antibiotics, blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses. 

9 REASONS TO STOP DRINKING PASTEURIZED MILK

1) Pasteurization Used To Mask Low-Quality Milk
Heat destroys a great number of bacteria in milk and thus conceals the evidence of dirt, pus and dirty dairy practices. It’s cheaper to produce dirty milk and kill the bacteria by heat, that to maintain a clean dairy and keep cows healthy. To combat the increase in pathogens milk goes through ‘clarification’, ‘filtering’, ‘bactofugation’ and two ‘deariation’ treatments. Each of these treatments uses heat ranging from 100-175 degrees Fahrenheit. Dairies count on many heat treatments to mask their inferior sanitary conditions: milk filled with pus, manure and debris. Consumer Reports found 44% of 125 pasteurized milk samples contained as many as 2200 organisms per cubic centimeter (fecal bacteria, coliforms)

2) Pasteurization Destroys Nutrients
It destroys vitamin C, and damages water soluble B vitamins diminishing the nutrient value of milk. Calcium and other minerals are made unavailable by pasteurization. The Maillard reaction, a chemical reaction between proteins and sugars, occurs at higher heats and causes browning, discoloring the milk. 

3) Pasteurization Destroys Enzymes
Milk enzymes, proteins, antibodies as well as beneficial hormones are destroyed by pasteurization resulting in devitalized ‘lifeless’ milk. Milk enzymes help digest lactose and both enzymes and milk proteins help to absorb vitamins. Protective enzymes in milk are inactivated, making it more susceptible to spoilage. 

4) Causes Asthma
Pasteurized milk causes asthma, and as a result doctors prescribe a diet without pasteurized dairy products. Milk triggers asthma by destabilizing MAST cells, which release histamines that cause inflammation, mucus production and bronchial spasm. Pasteurized milk is a partial food product that is missing digestive enzymes and nearly all of its beneficial bacteria. Pasteurized milk (with rare exceptions) comes from cows fed a ration based on corn and soy rather than pasture and forage. Pasteurization warps and distorts fragile proteins, making them allergenic. Unpasteurized milk is the opposite and heals and prevents asthma by stabilizing MAST cells and reducing inflammation as shown by dramatic lowering of C-reactive protein levels. Unpasteurized milk rebuilds immunity by allowing the safe consumption of biodiversity in our diets. These bacteria then re-colonize the gut and become our immune protective and digestive ecosystem armies.

5) Allergenic and Disease Causing FoodCow's milk is the number one allergic food in this country. The milk of each of the over 4,700 mammals on earth is formulated specifically for that species. There are special lactoferrins and immunoglobulins (cow specific immunizing stuff) that in humans serve as allergens. It has been well documented as a cause in diarrhea, cramps, bloating, gas, gastrointestinal bleeding, iron-deficiency anemia, skin rashes, atherosclerosis, and acne. It is the primary cause of recurrent ear infections in children. It has also been linked to insulin dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, and leukemia. The protein lactalbumin, has been identified as a key factor in diabetes (and a major reason for NOT giving cows milk to infants). 89% of America's dairy herds have the leukemia virus. Cows diagnosed with Johne's Disease have diarrhea, and heavy fecal shedding of bacteria. This bacteria becomes cultured in milk, and is not destroyed by pasteurization. Occasionally, the milk-borne bacteria will begin to grow in the human host, and the results are irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn's Disease.

6) Kills Bone Density
The dairy industry has been hard at work the last 50 years convincing people that pasteurized dairy products such as milk or cheese increases bioavailable calcium levels. This is totally false. The pasteurization process only creates calcium carbonate, which has absolutely no way of entering the cells without a chelating agent. So what the body does is pull the calcium from the bones and other tissues in order to buffer the calcium carbonate in the blood. This process actually causes osteoporosis. Pasteurized dairy contains too little magnesium needed at the proper ratio to absorb the calcium. Most would agree that a minimum amount of Cal. to Mag Ratio is 2 to 1 and preferably 1 to 1. So milk, at a Cal/Mag ratio of 10 to 1, has a problem. You may put 1200 mg of dairy calcium in your mouth, but you will be lucky to actually absorb a third of it into your system. Over 99% of the body's calcium is in the skeleton, where it provides mechanical rigidity. Pasteurized dairy forces a calcium intake lower than normal and the skeleton is used as a reserve to meet needs. Long-term use of skeletal calcium to meet these needs leads to osteoporosis. Dairy is pushed on Americans from birth yet they have one of the highes risk of osteoporosis in the world. The test for pasteurization is called the negative alpha phosphatase test. When milk has been heated to 165 degrees (higher for UHT milk) and pasteurization is complete, the enzyme phosphatase is 100 percent destroyed. Guess what? This is the enzyme that is critical for the absorption of minerals including calcium! Phosphatase is the third most abundant enzyme in raw milk and those who drink raw milk enjoy increased bone density. Several studies have documented greater bone density and longer bones in animals and humans consuming raw milk compared to pasteurized.

7) Antibiotic Effectiveness
Pasteurization killed antibiotic effectiveness for all of us. By creating a commodity dairy market system that relies heavily on antibiotics fed to heifers and dry cows at CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operation) mega dairies to support massive milk production, the antibiotics now used in American hospitals for humans no longer work. Tens of thousands of Americans now die each year because of superbugs created by CAFO antibiotic abuse. MRSA and VRA drug resistance is now a major cause of death and there are fewer and sometimes no antibiotics left to kill the bad bugs and save human lives. FDA has conceded antibiotic use in farm animals must be phased out but refuses an outright ban or limit of the use of antibiotics in CAFO feed and instead testifies in defense of antibiotic use by the CAFO industry.

8) Cancer Fuel 
Of the almost 60 hormones, one is a powerful GROWTH hormone called Insulin- like Growth Factor ONE (IGF-1). By a freak of nature it is identical in cows and humans. Consider this hormone to be a "fuel cell" for any cancer... (the medical world says IGF-1 is a key factor in the rapid growth and proliferation of breast, prostate and colon cancers, and we suspect that most likely it will be found to promote ALL cancers). IGF-1 is a normal part of ALL milk... the newborn is SUPPOSED to grow quickly! What makes the 50% of obese American consumers think they need MORE growth? Consumers don't think anything about it because they do not have a clue to the problem... nor do most of our doctors. 

9) Forces Cows Out Of Green Pastures And Into Diseased World
Pasteurization kills cows on green pastures. Seventy-five years ago there were friendly cows on green pastures all over America. Pasteurization has effectively paved the pastures and now forces the cows to be fed soy protein concentrates and forty pounds of grain per day, along with antibiotics and hormones. These CAFO dairy feeds increase milk production to numbers never seen before in the history of earth. It is not uncommon for some CAFO dairy cows to produce twenty gallons of milk per day and be crowded into pens deep in manure with thousands of other cows. The stress of being milked up to four times per day and lying on artificial rubber beds shortens their lives to just forty months. A cow on pasture will produce much less milk (four to five gallons per day) and easily live ten years or more in true happiness and health. 

Try Coconut Milk
Compared to cow’s milk coconut milk is easier to digest because the body uses 3 less enzymes for its digestion as opposed to cow’s milk. It also contains a high level of omega 3, 6 and 9 fats along with high amounts of amino acids. This excellent combination of fats and amino acids make it a complete meal in and of itself.

The high level of omega 3, 6 and 9 fats and protein in this milk are more bio-available to humans compared to all other animal fats and most vegetable fats. This bio-availability results in the body’s ability to assimilate all its nutrients.

It’s very healing to the digestive tract and even heals damage done to the system in cases of IBS, Crohn’s disease and severe malnutrition.

Coconut milk also helps maintain balanced blood sugar levels by being a good source of manganese. This mineral is usually deficient in people with blood sugar issues. 

Preventive Healthcare & Technology

Why one must QUIT SMOKING?

ENOUGH reasons to quit smoking – NOW!!

Some might fancy their favorite stars on the big screen, smoking and puffing away those silver rings in the air and find it “oh-so-cool”. But in reality, do you have any idea about the havoc it creates within your body and how it brings you closer to be several life threatening diseases?

Smoking statistics

• Around 90,000 Indians die of tobacco related disease every year 
• 56.6% of cancer in men and 44.8% cancers in women are caused by tobacco 
• Smokers are thrice more likely to develop tuberculosis than non smokers 
• Tobacco users are twice at risk for developing heart diseases and paralysis 

Still not convinced? Hang on! Now go through the reasons why you should think 1000 times before lighting a cigarette:

Cancers of all sorts: Lung, mouth, cheeks, oral, pharynx, larynx, stomach, kidney, penis, urinary and gall bladder cancers are more mostly because of the ill effects of tobacco.

Heart diseases: Heart attack, angina (chest pain), sudden cardiac death, stroke, peripheral vascular disease (gangrene of legs), and paralysis hits people who are used to nicotine consumption. It reduces flow of blood to heart and increases blood pressure. A smoker has a weak heart and is prone to develop plaque around the coronary arteries and narrows them eventually.


Range of lung diseases: Chronic bronchitis, tuberculosis, emphysema and several other respiratory tract diseases develops in smokers.


Lower stamina: Smoking decreases stamina and power for physical activity. Smokers tend to get tired and drained easily while doing any strenuous activity.


Sexual dysfunction: Impotence, early menopause and decreased oestrogen levels comes along free with heavy smoking. When combined with birth control pills, chance of stroke for women increases.


Accelerates ageing: Smoking can make you age faster than nature does.


Aesthetic turn off: Stained teeth, darkened lips, wrinkled skin, less hair on scalp, bad breath, and smelly clothes – oh what a put off!!


Passing illnesses to loved ones: A smoker unintentionally and unknowingly passes on grave illnesses to others nearby him. Being a passive smoker, anyone around a smoking person is bound to inhale the harmful chemical that comes out of the exhaled smoke.


Pinch your pocket: Isn’t it amusing that we spend so much money on something that can is killing us internally? Smoking not only is exceedingly damaging for health but also dents the pocket severely.

Article taken from:
http://articles.indushealthplus.com/smoking-kick-the-butt-why/

Milk Vs. Yogurt: Which is Healthier?

Since centuries it has been said that a person should have a glass of milk everyday. Health experts say that milk has many important nutrients which are good for growth and maintenance of the body. However, many people today have lactose intolerance, such people simply can't have milk and milk products. But, there is one milk product which seems healthier and easier to digest than milk itself. This product doesn't give a stomach upset to people with lactose intolerance. 

Here is a comparison between milk benefits and yogurt benefits:

Easier to digest than milk: Many people who cannot tolerate milk, either because of a protein allergy or lactose intolerance, can enjoy yogurt. The culturing process makes yogurt more digestible than milk. 



Contributes to colon health: There's a medical truism that states: "You're only as healthy as your colon." When eating yogurt, you care for your colon in two ways. First, yogurt contains lactobacteria, intestines-friendly bacterial cultures that foster a healthy colon, and even lower the risk of colon cancer. Secondly, yogurt is a rich source of calcium - a mineral that contributes to colon health and decreases the risk of colon cancer. Calcium discourages excess growth of the cells lining the colon



Improves the bio-availability of other nutrients: Culturing of yogurt increases the absorption of calcium and B-vitamins. The lactic acid in the yogurt aids in the digestion of the milk calcium, making it easier to absorb. 

Boost immunity: Researchers who studied 68 people who ate two cups of live-culture yogurt daily for three months found that these persons produced higher levels of immunity boosting interferon.

Aids healing after intestinal infections: Some viral and allergic gastrointestinal disorders injure the lining of the intestines, especially the cells that produce lactose.  

Decrease yeast infections: Research has shown that eating eight ounces of yogurt that contains live and active cultures daily reduces the amount of yeast colonies in the vagina and decreases the incidence of vaginal yeast infections. 

Rich source of calcium: An 8-ounce serving of most yogurts provides 450 mg. of calcium, one-half of a child's RDA and 30 to 40 percent of the adult RDA for calcium. Because the live-active cultures in yogurt increase the absorption of calcium, an 8-ounce serving of yogurt gets more calcium into the body than the same volume of milk can.  

Excellent source of protein: Plain yogurt contains around ten to fourteen grams of protein per eight ounces, which amounts to twenty percent of the daily protein requirement for most persons. 



Lowers cholesterol: There are a few studies that have shown that yogurt can reduce the blood cholesterol. This may be because the live cultures in yogurt can assimilate the cholesterol or because yogurt binds bile acids, (which has also been shown to lower cholesterol), or both.

Yogurt is a "grow food.": Two nutritional properties of yogurt may help children with intestinal absorption problems grow: the easier digestibility of the proteins and the fact that the lactic acid in yogurt increases the absorption of minerals.

Yogurt & Curd
There is a lot of confusion about yogurt and curd. These two milk items might seem similar, but are not. They are produced by two different methods. Curd is liquid milk, which gets transformed into solid form by adding an acidic substance to it like, lemon juice or vinegar. While yogurt is produced by adding live bacteria to milk and the lactose part gets metabolized. Also, yogurt is more liquid form, compared to curd.

Why Digestive System Doesn’t Function Properly: Reasons & Solutions

Your digestive system plays a major role in the overall health of your body. Digestive problems are particularly common in Western society and have become part of the daily routine of many of us, but in normal condition they are not supposed to appear at all. Too many people have become accustomed to living with digestive disorders such as abdominal pain and bloating, irritable bowel and constipation.

Here I would like to show you 5 factors that can affect your digestive system and cause it to function improperly. I will also suggest you solutions to overcome these factors:

1. Stress


You don’t need a doctor to know that stress plays a major role in the health of our gut. The biochemical changes that occur when we are stressed have significant and immediate impact on our gut function. When the brain feels very stressed, it releases  various hormones that cause changes to the digestive system in the short term, such as lack of appetite, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain. In the long term, prolonged stress can worsen chronic diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and heartburn.



It not only affects existing chronic diseases, but may also lead to the development of a variety of gastrointestinal diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcer disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and even food allergies. Stress can cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal system, and makes you more susceptible to infection. A healthy lifestyle should include stress reduction techniques that will improve not only your digestive system, but your overall well-being.

2. Enzyme Deficiency

There are many factors that can affect your body’s ability to produce a high enough enzyme level to maintain good health. These can be: unhealthy diet, air pollution, emotional stress, lack of sleep and more. Enzyme deficiency is the root of many digestion problems in our society. Your digestive enzymes, which are mostly produced in your pancreas, help you break down the food into nutrients so that your body can absorb them. Enzyme deficiency results in poor digestion and poor nutrient absorption,  and this creates a variety of gastrointestinal problems, including: constipation, bloating, cramping and heartburn.

We get many enzymes from the foods we eat, especially raw foods that directly help with our digestive process. To maintain a healthy enzyme levels it’s important to eat raw foods that are enzyme-rich. Consuming them helps your body’s to produce its own enzymes and reduces the burden on your body to produce the enzymes it needs. In addition to raw foods, read my article how to make digestive enzyme detox smoothie which contains digestive enzymes that help to ease the burden of the complicated process of digestion.

3. Magnesium Deficiency

Magnesium deficiency causes, among many other things, constipation and digestive-related disorders. Your body uses this important mineral to aid in the digestion process. Without magnesium, your body cannot properly digest foods, as it activates enzymes that let the body digest and break down food into smaller pieces for energy, and it also works to produce and transport energy during digestion.

You may not get enough magnesium in your diet. Having the right amount of magnesium in your body is important to your digestive and overall health, so make sure to include magnesium-rich foods, such as dark green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, lentils, avocados, bananas and dried fruits. Magnesium is also available as a supplement, but you should not take magnesium supplement without a physician’s approval as it can interfere with current medications that you take.

4. Intestinal Flora Imbalance

Our intestinal tract is full of various species of bacteria and yeasts that help digestion, kill harmful and pathogenic infections as well as helping to produce many vitamins and other chemical substances needed for our health.  These organisms that live in our intestines are called the intestinal flora. When the good or friendly flora are missing or in low concentration, it allows other harmful pathogens to multiply in the intestine. This affects the digestion of food, and can cause many other symptoms, since the pathogens create toxins that are absorbed into the body.

The causes for intestinal flora imbalance can be due to illnesses, improper diet, antibiotic use,  other medications, food chemicals and more. In these cases you may want to consider taking probiotics. You can refer in this matter to my article 9 reasons to take probiotics and why it’s so good for you. Or you can eat live-culture yogurt that often provides plenty of probiotics and is the simplest way to get them.  Make sure that the label states that it is live culture yogurt, as some companies pasteurize or kill the probiotic organisms after they have fermented the milk to make yogurt.

5. Heavy Metal Toxicity

The presence of toxic metals, such as too much mercury, aluminum, cadmium, arsenic, lead and nickel, has a damaging effect on the intestinal flora for some people. These metals flood the environment and can be found in cookware, household cleaners, cosmetics, air pollution, insecticides, herbicides and smoking that causes cadmium poisoning. They invade our body and cause or contribute to a long list of diseases.

To help fight heavy metal toxicity you can use clay to detox your body, or consume foods rich in pectin fibers (such as apples). Those fibers bind cholesterol and heavy metals to cleanse blood and intestines. Cilantro or coriander also aids our body to get rid of mercury and other heavy metals that end up in our bloodstream. Also chlorophyll rich-foods are food in this case. Chlorophyll is the green color in green leaves ,fruits and veges. It is not just a pigment, it connects with the toxins and free radicals and turns them into neutral materials. Studies have shown that chlorophyll helps in cleaning heavy metals that tend to accumulate in our body in different places, and has anti cancer properties, that specifically affect the liver. Read more about it in my article how to detoxify your body using chlorophyll. Also the green algae chlorella has been shown to help remove heavy metals, such as cadmium and mercury, pesticides and industrial pollutants from the body, thus helping to detoxify it. You can find more information in my article how to boost your health by eating seaweeds and algae. You can also prepare herbal infusion from red clover blossoms that also cleanse heavy metals and chemical toxicity, include those caused by the use of drugs.

Source of article:
http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/reasons-your-digestive-system-doesnt-function-properly/