Low Blood Pressure, Low Cholesterol Still Great for Heart Health

Two old standbys ring true! Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, scientists claim maintaining low blood pressure and reducing LDL, or bad, cholesterol still provide the greatest protection against cardiovascular trouble. For the study, researchers recruited 3,437 men and examined their arteries with ultrasound probes and the men with the lowest levels of LDL cholesterol and the lowest blood pressure levels had the least growth of fatty deposits in the linings of their blood vessels; HealthDay News investigates.

Good thing fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower cholesterol and lower high blood pressure. Healthy plant nutrients and fiber do it naturally. Just don’t be like this guy, his diet was based on butter and when he had emergency surgery to save his life. His heart was coated in fat! The video is very yucky.

And in recent news, salt was found to reduce an enzyme that lowers blood pressure and eating eggs everyday, which are very high in cholesterol, was found to increase heart failure risk by 8% to 23% among middle-aged men and women.

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Obesity Shortens Lifespan the Same as Smoking...

Smoking is a drag, no pun intended, but apparently obesity is equally bad. New findings published in The Lancet found moderate obesity shortens life expectancy by up to 4 years and severe obesity can shave off 10 years. Scientists compare these effects to lifelong smoking. The study followed 895,000 people in Europe and North America. During the study 100,000 participants died. Researchers claim carrying a third more than your optimum weight can shorten your life by roughly 3 years, for most people that is 50 to 60 extra pounds; from Medical News Today.

Obesity news is never good. Just last week obesity was linked to dementia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as poor reproductive ability in women, and just a little bit of belly fat makes it hard to breathe. Maybe that’s because your mouth is always stuffed with food!

So, if you’ve got a weight problem. Consider this. Vegetables are low in calories and high in fiber. This fills your stomach quickly without all the extra calories, i.e. you’ll lose weight.

Image credit: South Park Studios