Natural ways to prevent heartburn

Most people have experienced heartburn, a burning feeling in the chest or throat, at some point. (I’ll never forget the first time I had heartburn—the hypochondriac in me thought I was having a heart attack.) This common problem—also called “gastroesophageal reflux disease” (GERD) when it occurs on a regular basis—is caused by regurgitation or reflux of gastric acid into the esophagus, which connects the mouth and the stomach.

What triggers heartburn varies from one person to the next, but common causes include fatty foods, caffeine, chocolate and peppermint.

Your drink choices can bring on heartburn too. Drinking too much alcohol can irritate your stomach lining and relax your lower esophageal sphincter—the valve that prevents stomach acid from backing up into your esophagus. This can cause heartburn or bleeding. And people who drink carbonated soda are at higher risk of developing heartburn, especially at night, according to researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Sodas are high in acid and introduce carbon dioxide into the stomach.

Overeating or eating just before bed also can bring on heartburn. Eliminating these foods (or behaviors) one at a time can help you pinpoint—and then avoid—your individual triggers.

Here’s the good news: preventing heartburn isn’t just about avoiding triggers. There are actions you can take as well.

• Eat at a leisurely pace. Enjoying one of life’s great pleasures is reason enough to linger over a good meal. But research suggests that eating at a leisurely pace has a practical benefit too. At the Medical University of South Carolina, 20 volunteers were invited to eat a 690-calorie meal consisting of a chicken burger, French fries and a 16-ounce soda on two separate days. The first meal they scarfed down in five minutes flat. The next occasion they consumed the food over a leisurely half hour. Episodes of heartburn were much less likely to occur when people ate slowly. One reason may be that the volunteers chewed more and produced more saliva, which neutralizes stomach acid.

• Up your fiber intake. Eating foods high in fiber may be protective.  In a study published in the journal Gut, researchers found that people who consumed the most fiber had a 20 percent lower risk of experiencing serious heartburn. Previous studies have shown that high-fiber diets protect against the risk of cancer of the esophagus. “Fiber may help bind food and especially noxious substances in the stomach and prevent them from escaping back,” says lead researcher Hashem El-Serag.

• Slim down. Better yet, slowing down and eating more high-fiber foods could fight heartburn in another way. Weight-loss experts have long counseled dieters to eat more slowly so the stomach has time to signal when it’s full. There is good evidence that high-fiber diets help people feel full on fewer calories. If that in turn helps people shed pounds, it could also ease heartburn. “Being overweight or obese adds to the risk of gastric reflux because the extra weight puts pressure on the stomach,” says El-Serag, “making it more likely that food can be forced back into the esophagus.”

• Get moving. Walking can also ease heartburn, says El-Serag, probably simply because it keeps people upright and uses the force of gravity to keep food down. Stretching out on the sofa after a big meal is the worst thing you can do—for more than one reason. 

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/natural-ways-to-prevent-heartburn-2551479

By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

15 Surprising Ways to Improve Your Cholesterol

The Fountain of Youth may be fiction, but there really is a magic gene pool in northern Italy. A few decades ago, researchers discovered that, despite unhealthy cholesterol levels, 40 inhabitants of the village of Limone sul Garda were seemingly immune to heart disease. Turns out it wasn't the famed Mediterranean diet at work, but rather a variation of a protein in HDL cholesterol (the good kind) called ApoA-1 Milano. In less scientific terms, the villagers were born with self-cleaning arteries.

Researchers immediately went to work creating a synthetic version of the plaque-busting protein. And in 2003, they created one. Problem is, the drug is still too expensive to mass produce.

Luckily, you don’t have to wait for a magic drug to improve your cholesterol. Here are 15 ways to raise your HDL or lower your LDL (the bad cholesterol) today. The best part: Doing so will literally cost you peanuts—or even less.

1. Eat more nuts. In an analysis of 25 different studies on walnuts, pecans, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, and macadamia nuts, researchers at Loma Linda University found that eating 67 grams of nuts per day—that’s a little more than two ounces—increased the ratio of HDL to LDL in the blood by 8.3 percent. And Australian scientists found that when men replaced 15 percent of their daily calorie intake with macadamia nuts—12 to 16 nuts a day—their HDL levels went up by 8 percent. Even better: You can eat nuts covered in chocolate or rolled in cocoa powder; a Japanese study found that the polyphenols in chocolate activate genes that increase HDL production.

YOU, IMPROVED: Click here for surprising ways to improve your life instantly!

2. Boost your endurance. Researchers in Japan found that exercising for 20 minutes a day increases your HDL by 2.5 points. That’s not much, but for every additional 10 minutes per day you keep huffing in the gym, you add an extra 1.4 points to your HDL. It doesn’t matter whether you pull a rowing machine or power through a tough barbell routine, just keep your activity level at a point where you’re panting but not out of breath.

3. Build killer quads. Ohio University researchers discovered that men who did lower-body work—squats, leg extensions, leg presses—twice a week for 16 weeks raised their HDL levels by 19 percent. For legs and HDL levels that are something to look at, follow the lead of the men in the study: Do three sets of six to eight repetitions of the half squat, leg extension, and leg press, resting no more than 2 minutes between sets. Use a weight that's about 85 percent of the amount you can lift just once.

4. Pop a milk pill. In a study published in the American Journal of Medicine, people who took a daily 1,000-mg calcium supplement saw their HDL-cholesterol levels rise by 7 percent. Choose a brand that contains calcium citrate (not coral calcium) and 400 international units of vitamin D for maximum absorption.

5. Make a date with Mrs. Paul. When Canadian researchers compared a steady diet of whitefish with regular consumption of lean beef and chicken, they found that the fish-eating folks experienced a 26 percent increase in HDL2, a particularly protective form of HDL. Remember: Fish sticks aren't health food—unless they're baked, like Healthy Selects Sticks from Mrs. Paul's.


6. Learn how to pronounce “policosanol” (poly-CO-sanol). This mixture of alcohols derived from sugarcane wax is the rare natural supplement that may actually live up to its hype. Doses of 10 to 20 mg a day can increase HDL by up to 15 percent, according to David Maron, M.D., a cardiologist at Vanderbilt University medical center. Two brands to try: Naturals and Nature's Life, both sold at health-food stores.
7. Drink cranberry juice. University of Scranton scientists found that volunteers who drank three 8-ounce glasses a day for a month increased their HDL-cholesterol levels by 10 percent, enough to cut heart-disease risk by almost 40 percent. Buy 100 percent juice that's at least 27 percent cranberry.

8. Eat grapefruit. One a day can reduce arterial narrowing by 46 percent, lower your LDL cholesterol by more than 10 percent, and help drop your blood pressure by more than 5 points.

9. Don't let your tank hit empty. A study in the British Medical Journal found that people who eat six or more small meals a day have 5 percent lower LDL cholesterol levels than those who eat one or two large meals. That's enough to shrink your risk of heart disease by 10 to 20 percent.

10. Eat oatmeal cookies. In a University of Connecticut study, men with high LDL cholesterol (above 200 mg/dL) who ate oat-bran cookies daily for 8 weeks dropped their levels by more than 20 percent.

11. Switch your spread. Buy trans fat-free margarine, such as Smart Balance Buttery Spread. Researchers in Norway found that, compared with butter, no-trans margarine lowered LDL cholesterol by 11 percent.

12. Take the Concord. University of California researchers found that compounds in Concord grapes help slow the formation of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol. The grapes also lower blood pressure by an average of 6 points if you drink just 12 ounces of their juice a day.

13. Swallow phytosterols or phytostanols. Both substances—derived from pine trees and soy—lower bad cholesterol levels by an average of 10 to 15 percent. Besides being available in supplements, the compounds are in cholesterol-lowering spreads like Benecol and Take Control.

14. Be a part-time vegetarian. Researchers in Toronto found that men who added a couple of servings of vegetarian fare such as whole grains, nuts, and beans to their diets each day for a month lowered their LDL cholesterol by nearly 30 percent.

15.  Switch to dark chocolate. Finish researchers found that consuming 2.5 ounces of dark chocolate each day boosts levels of HDL by between 11 and 14 percent.

One final tip: Your heart will benefit more from a few long-term health improvements than from a flurry of activity followed by a return to the dangerous norm. Above are the tools to protect yourself. Work five of them into your daily routine over the next month. When they become second nature, try five more. By year's end, you will have given your heart a beating chance.

6 Easy Ways to Extend Your Life in One Minute or Less

If your reason for not adopting healthier habits is that you don't have enough time, consider your problem solved: I've put together a list of practices that could literally add years to your life, and each one can be done in 60 seconds or less.


Get Up Every Hour
A recent study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologydiscovered that people who sat for four or more hours a day outside work had a 50 percent greater risk of dying from any cause than those who sat less than two hours a day. I recommend taking a minute-long walk at least once an hour. Every step counts toward the 10,000 you should be taking every day.

Eat an Egg
This nutritional powerhouse does a body good: One egg provides 13 percent of your daily protein requirement and only 4 percent of the average recommended daily calorie count. Plus, it contains a hefty dose of lutein, an antioxidant that protects your eyes from macular degeneration and UV damage. An egg a day may even help prevent Alzheimer's: The yolk is a significant source of choline, a nutrient that reduces inflammation in the brain.


Take Chromium
Research shows that the trace mineral helps maintain proper blood sugar levels by increasing cells' sensitivity to insulin, steeling your body against type II diabetes. Swallow 200 micrograms a day of chromium polynicotinate.

Don't Forget to Floss
When left to their own devices, the bacteria hiding between your teeth will infect your gums and enter your bloodstream, where they can cause inflammation in your arteries and contribute to plaque buildup on blood vessel walls. Recent studies have linked gum disease to other problems, too, ranging from respiratory infections to neurodegeneration.

Check Your Pulse
Before you get out of bed in the morning, press your index and middle fingers against the inside of your wrist below your thumb and count the beats for 30 seconds. Then double that number. A 2010 study found that compared with a normal resting rate of 60 beats per minute, a rate of 90 or above triples a woman's risk of dying from heart disease. If your heart rate is high, consider adding more omega-3 fatty acids to your diet.


Do Self-Massage
Stress damages every organ in your body. For quick relief, press your thumbs against the sides of your nose just below your browbone; then walk your index and middle fingers across your brows and finish by lightly rubbing your temples. Massage prompts a drop in cortisol and adrenaline and a surge in feel-good endorphins.




http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/6-easy-ways-to-extend-your-life-in-one-minute-or-less-2543283/
By Dr. Mehmet Oz

10-Year-Old 'Workout Kid' Has Grade Schoolers Sweating And Football Coaches Drooling

C.J. Senter may or may not be the next Tony Horton or the next Barry Sanders, but he is definitely the next 10-year-old to watch.

Granted, when most people hear "child prodigy," they rightfully raise an eyebrow and wonder who is pulling the strings. Add a workout DVD by a fourth-grader with sculpted muscles to the mix and "cute" can turn to "concerning." But it turns out the story behind "C.J. The Workout Kid" is a lot more inspiring than insidious.

C.J. started working out five years ago when his football coach told him and his teammates to go home over a weekend and get some exercise. He did some push-ups and sit-ups and loved it. Not too long after, he saw a P90X infomercial and loved that too. He's been working out ever since. C.J. does his own routines three times a week, after school and homework, and he's given new names to some old and boring moves, like the burpee, which involves a squat, push-up, and jump. C.J. calls that one the "shredder." He even teaches a class of (mostly older) kids at the gym near where he lives in Locust Grove, Ga.

"It feels great," C.J. says by phone from his Georgia home. "I love staying fit and healthy."

But wait a minute. Research shows kids shouldn't be touching weights until at least age 15.

"I don't use weights," C.J. says.

Not even bench press?

"I don't bench press," he says. "It's not good for kids."

Surely he's on some insane diet, right? His dad feeds him wheat grass and cow brain, perhaps?

"I'm not on a diet," C.J. says. "I eat everything."

Disbelieving? So is Carlos Senter -- C.J.'s dad. Carlos has spent most of his son's life in shock, ever since C.J. somehow climbed out of his crib -- at seven months old.

"It was two, three o'clock in the morning," Carlos says, "and boom! My wife would go look in his room and here he comes, crawling out. He would go into the refrigerator, too."

Carlos can't quite figure out how his son got to be so fit. He says his relatives put on muscle easily, but not this easily. C.J. has an older brother and a younger sister who don't really love sports as much. And Dad isn't exactly chiseled like Terrell Owens. In fact, he admits C.J.'s work ethic has shamed him and his wife into getting into better shape.

"He doesn't really eat candy," Carlos says. "I have no idea why."

And for that matter, Carlos has no idea why his son doesn't have an attitude. "This kid will score a touchdown, take the football to the ref and act like nothing ever happened," Carlos says. "If it was me, well, I probably would be a little different."

But as much as the "Workout Kid" routine is working -- C.J.'s DVDs are in so much demand that his dad hired a PR rep -- Carlos says he gives most of the DVDs away for free and the primary objective is to help kids get off the couch.

C.J.'s primary objective has always been the same thing: make it to the NFL. He's a running back and safety, modeling his game after another C.J. -- Titans speed demon Chris Johnson.

C.J.'s already been named MVP for the state of Georgia as an 8-and-under, and last year he played in the 10-and-under group as a 9-year-old. Carlos says that the team run by former NFL running back Jamal Lewis expressed interest in having C.J. commute to Atlanta to join up, but the drive was simply too far.

High school coaches are already aware of C.J., but Carlos, who runs a local barber shop, insists on not looking too far ahead.

"As long as he's happy," Carlos says, "I'm happy."

C.J. does seem happy, even though he's a little bit tired of when kids come up to him at school and ask, "Are those your real muscles?"

The next generation of Atlanta prep football players is about to find out.

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201107/10-year-old-workout-kid-has-grade-schoolers-sweating-and-football-coaches-d

Written by: Eric Adelson                   July 17, 2011