HealthBasic.org http://www.healthbasic.org Last 10 Updates Was Atkins Right After All? http://healthbasic.org/nutrition/carbohydrates/ Nutrition > Carbohydrates Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Is it just possible that Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right? That his high-fat, low-carb plan, ridiculed for 30 years as dangerous nonsense, actually is a good, safe way to lose weight?

The dietary elite are not ready to change their collective mind, but a half-dozen or so new studies have taken an objective look at the presumed evils of Atkins, and the results have been little short of astonishing:

During a few months on the Atkins diet, people lose about twice as much as on the standard low-fat, high-carbohydrate approach recommended by most health organizations.

]]> Why Is Exercise So Important For Diabetics? http://healthbasic.org/disease/diabetes/ Disease > Diabetes Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Thirty-five percent of all Americans will develop diabetes, which can cause heart attacks, strokes, blindness, deafness, impotence, amputations, kidney failure and sudden death. Three studies show why virtually all diabetics should exercise. The first study shows that exercising before a meal markedly reduces the rise in blood sugar that usually peaks 20 minutes after you eat (Lipids in Health & Disease, October 2005). The second shows that exercise lowers HBA1C in diabetics (Journal of Obesity, October 2002), while the third shows that exercise lowers high blood pressure (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, August 2005)

]]> Fish Oil http://healthbasic.org/nutrition/fish_oil/ Nutrition > Fish Oil Thu, 10 Jan 2008 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Fish oils, also known as marine oils, are essential fatty acids (lipids) found in fish, particularly cold water fish, and other marine life such as phytoplankton. These oils are rich sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) of the n-3 (omega-3) type. The two most studied fish oil fatty acids are the 20 carbon eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and the 22-carbon docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Following ingestion EPA and DHA are transported by the circulatory system to various tissues of the body where they are used mainly for the synthesis of phospholipids. These phopholipids in turn are incorporated into the cell membranes of blood platelets, blood cells and central nervous system cells, as well as many others. DHA, in particular, is a vital component of the phospholipids which make up the cellular membranes of the brain and retina.

]]> Stress Busters: 10 Ways to Manage Stress http://healthbasic.org/stress/10_ways_to_manage_stress/ Stress > 10 Ways To Manage Stress Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Are you stressed out to the max? Do you need help managing your stress? According to a survey conducted by the American Institute of Stress, 54% of Americans are concerned about the level of stress in their everyday lives. Are you among these? The best way to bust stress before it gets out of control is to manage it properly. Here are the top ten ways you can manage stress, starting now:

]]> Treatment For Gum Disease Could Also Help The Heart http://healthbasic.org/disease/gum_disease/ Disease > Gum Disease Sat, 01 Dec 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Scientists at University College London (UCL) have conducted the first clinical trial to demonstrate that an intensive treatment for periodontitis (gum disease) directly improves the health of blood vessels. This study, conducted in conjunction with Professor Maurizio Tonetti (University of Connecticut, USA), and reported in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, may have relevance for the prevention of heart attacks and stroke.

]]> Cigarette Smoking as a Cause of Cancer http://healthbasic.org/disease/cancer/ Disease > Cancer Sun, 11 Nov 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Tobacco use, particularly in the form of cigarette smoking, is the single most preventable cause of excess mortality in the United States. Each year, more people die prematurely from smoking than die from automobile accidents, drug abuse, AIDS, and alcohol combined (USDHS, 1989). An estimated 434,000 Americans died as a result of their smoking last year alone. Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has called cigarette smoking "...the chief, single, avoidable cause of death in our society and the most important public health issue of our time" (USDHS, 1982).

]]> Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, and Satiety http://healthbasic.org/nutrition/carbohydrates/ Nutrition > Carbohydrates Sat, 03 Nov 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST The Glycemic Index is a numerical Index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body). Glycemic Index uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose serves as a reference point, and is given a Glycemic Index (GI) of 100.

]]> Waist-Hip Ratio Measures Heart Attack Risk http://healthbasic.org/disease/heart_disease/ Disease > Heart Disease Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Waist-to-hip ratio, not body mass index (BMI), is the best obesity measure for assessing a person's risk of heart attack, concludes a global study published in this week's issue of the British medical journal The Lancet.

]]> Erectile Dysfunction May Warn Of Heart Disease http://healthbasic.org/disease/heart_disease/ Disease > Heart Disease Sun, 02 Sep 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Erectile dysfunction may provide a warning sign of significant coronary heart disease researchers from the University of Chicago report in the January 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Although recent studies suggest an association between erectile dysfunction and atherosclerotic vascular disease, this is the first study to link ED with abnormal results on cardiac stress testing, including evidence for severe coronary artery blockages and markers of a poor cardiovascular prognosis.

]]> Belly Fat Raises Risk Of Disease http://healthbasic.org/disease/obesity/ Disease > Obesity Fri, 17 Aug 2007 00:00:00 00:00:00 EST Having a little paunch is just no good with a Speedo or bikini. Health-wise, it\'s none too pretty either. That bulge is the outward sign of a deeper problem: visceral fat, a kind of biological monstrosity that, in excess, wreaks havoc on the body, raising the risk for heart disease, diabetes, possibly even dementia and some types of cancer.

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