Recommendations For Wellness

Incorporate a regular exercise program into your daily routine. In addition to increasing your HDL cholesterol, thus improving your heart risk ratio, exercise helps strengthen your heart muscle, reduce your blood pressure and helps you take off a couple of pound.

Try a vegetarian diet. Historically, individuals who consumed a purely vegetarian diet had lower cholesterol levels.

Reduce or eliminate foods that contain high saturated fats such as beef, pork, cheese, butter and ice cream. If eating chicken, remove skin to additionally reduce your fat intake.

Use olive oil instead of butter. Olive oil can help to reduce LDL cholesterol from body.

Eating a diet high in fatty acids such as those found in fish, or supplementing with Omega 3 oil has been shown to increase HDL cholesterol and protect heart against heart disease.

Fiber, fiber, fiber! Eating high fiber foods such as beans, whole grains, fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower cholesterol levels. You can also supplement with other forms of soluble fiber such as glucomannan, psyllium hulls, apple fiber, oat bran, guar gum and acacia gum.

Guggul lipid is an herb native to India and has been used for a long time in Ayuvedic medicine to help maintain healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Niacin, vitamin B3, has been proven to lower cholesterol levels. Niacin has been prescribed in higher doses by many doctors to help lower cholesterol. Niacin, however has a number of side effects which can include: flushing of skin (due to dilating blood vessels), itching, head aches, cramps, nausea and skin eruptions. Another form of vitamin B3, niacinamide, does not affect cholesterol levels.

Green tea has also been show to lower total cholesterol levels by decreasing LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL.

Lecithin enables fats, such as cholesterol, to be dispersed in water and removed from body. This can help to prevent fatty buildup in arteries

Vitamin C and vitamin E appear to protect LDL cholesterol from damage. Most cardiologists believe that only damaged LDL increases risk of heart disease.

I used this list of questions to understand a reoccurring pain on outside of my legs. After a little research and a trip to my local running specialty store, I learned pain was IT Band Syndrome. The IT Band is a long fibrous muscle, located on outside of leg. When it becomes inflamed, pain is felt at a point near knee joint. I knew pain usually happened when I was hiking downhill for long periods of time and it went away after a few days of rest. This signified several areas of my body that needed work: weak leg muscles, a tight IT Band, and not enough arch support to stabilize my knee during an activity. I have incorporated following positive measures to help strengthen my body’s weak points: 1. Wearing well-fitted running and hiking shoes with strong arch support. 2. Adding leg strengthening exercises to my daily routine. 3. Wearing neoprene knee braces on a long hike with a lot of downhill climbing. 4. Increasing my daily stretching routine, with particular stretching for IT Band. 5. Doing stretching and warm-up exercises before a strenuous hike or run. 6. Cross-training: running, walking, hiking, biking, weight lifting and using elliptical trainer to provide a variety of exercises to all leg muscles. 7. Using ice therapy immediately after a hike if I feel pain. 8. Working up to a strenuous hike by doing shorter hikes on hilly terrain weeks before big day. 9. Maintaining a normal weight so as not to place added stress on my legs.

Don’t let pain, or your fear of it, be a factor in whether or not you are an active person. Not exercising will result in far worse consequences. Use pain as a guide to become a stronger, more aware and healthier person.

Disclaimer: This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical treatment or consultation. Always consult with your physician in event of a serious injury.