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Be it the Parle G Biscuits that we have all grown up with or the bourbons that we lick only the cream off; the biscuit has long been a part of life. It is now that it has suddenly been termed as healthy, with extra fiber, fortified with minerals and having no Trans fat. It was such a big part of our life, that did we ever consider whether it was actually healthy before?

So, let’s see if biscuits are as healthy as the companies claim them to be.

First let’s glance through what generally most of the biscuits contain

Wheat Flour- Another word for Maida, the wheat flour mentioned on the packages is generally refined wheat flour. Eating refined wheat flour is not `recommended because during processing, the brown cover of the wheat is removed that contains essential vitamins and also the necessary fiber that supplements the process of digestion and supports weight loss.

Hydrogenated oils- They may seem harmless enough, but these hydrogenated oils mean that they contain the most dangerous kind of fats- Trans fat. Trans fat is known to increase bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol. They also increase chances of diabetes and heart disease.

Sugar: Most of the biscuits are sweet and they contain moderate to high amounts of sugar. This high amount of sugar gives a sudden spike of energy but does not fill us. Also the diabetics really have to be careful of choosing the right kind of biscuit that is low in sugar. You can check the amount of sugar present in the biscuits by checking out the package.

All in the terms of what they replace: In case you are wondering, all the above contents make biscuits not very healthy option Dr. Shweta Iyanger however says that, “whether biscuits are healthy or not, is relative to what they replace. If biscuits replace fruits, then they are bad but if they are taken in place of the other packaged food items like chaklis and chiwdas, then they are healthy.”

So let’s be clear about what biscuits are not:

Biscuit is not low on calories

Marie which is considered to be one of the lighter biscuits contains 56 calories in just two of its pieces.  You will require 30 minutes of aerobics to lose those calories. If Marie adds so many calories then imagine the number of calories other sweeter biscuits add.

Biscuit is not a good source of fiber

Don’t totally believe what they say in the advertisements. Even with the fiber that is added in the biscuits, that content is much lower than the daily requirement for fiber. So instead of looking at biscuits for fiber we should look at fruits and vegetables for our requirement of fiber.

Biscuit is not a healthy snack replacement

A good time to have biscuit is after exercises and heavy activities. Because it is high in glucose it can give boost to your energy. But as a snack by itself, it would not give you nutrition that you should especially after an activity. So eating cereals or fruits will be the better option.

So should you give up on all the biscuits?

No, feels Dr. Shweta Iyengar, she says “biscuits are better option when you are on the move and only options like samosas and vada pavs are available. Biscuit is then the safer, hygienic and healthy option.”

Let’s see the types of biscuits that you should keep away from, if you are dieting:

• Khari, Nankhatai and other bakery products: These are strictly to be avoided because they contain lots of maida, vanaspati ghee and margarine which are a source of trans fats.
• Cream Biscuits: Kids absolutely love cream biscuits. But these have to be avoided for being extremely sweet and containing artificial colors and flavors. You should keep them to the minimum and choose other kinds of biscuits.
• Cookies: Good day, Hide and seek and the other dry fruits biscuits are what we serve to the guests, but did you know, most of the cookies contain butter and are as bad as cream biscuits.To read more about Biscuits- Are these really Healthy?

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Almost everyone wants to eat a healthy diet but, for one reason or another very few of us do. Some people think that they never have time; others think that it doesn’t really matter. Most people in truth know little or nothing about what it really means to eat healthy and how education and good sense can improve all of out diets significantly.

The first step is to choose foods that are healthy first, and avoid foods that are known to cause problems like diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Carbohydrates have been in the limelight in recent years but watching your calorie intake is still very important.

The recommended daily calorie intake for an active adult is about 2000 calories, depending on your age and gender. Try to start eating foods you have never tried before like fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. Take moderate helpings. And with all that food you want to make sure to drink plenty of water.

Everyone loves sweets. Processed sugar, salt and refined grain products are not good for your system, each making the body overwork in order to process them. Drinking one 12 ounce can of Coke a day for a year can increase you body weight by almost 20 pounds.

Here are a few examples of food types and what they can do for you and to you:

• Bad carbs have been stripped of all of the sugar, fiber and starches by heavy processing. White flour, sugar, and white rice will digest so rapidly that it can cause in blood sugar, weight gain, or even diabetes.
• Whole grains contain phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help prevent against cancer and heart disease. Look for the words on the package, “Stone ground”, “Multigrain”, or 100% wheat/bran before you buy.
• High fiber is a must. Fiber helps you feel fuller and cuts the amount you eat, keeps your blood sugar under control and helps maintain a healthy colon.
• Cut the amount of saturated fats from red meat and whole milk, to lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) which increases your risk of heart disease.

If you are on one of the fad diets that tell you to lower the amount of carbohydrates, fat, proteins, etc. from your diet, ask your doctor what they think. Our bodies all need a good balance of all of those and protein and minerals as well.

Talk to your doctor about outlining a diet that meets your specific needs and pay attention to your body.

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The heart is the most vital organs for humans. Healthy heart will result in quality of life better. However, not everyone has a heart condition that functions perfectly.

Unhealthy life can trigger a variety of diseases. Heart disease most commonly found are coronary heart disease, chest pain (angina)

Coronary heart disease is heart disease which many sufferers the most. This disease attacks the blood vessels and can cause heart attacks. A heart attack caused by clogged arteries that impede the distribution of oxygen and nutrients to the heart. However, not all heart disease caused by blood vessel problems.

The heart that beats too slow (below 60 beats per minute) is called bradyarrhythmias. While above 100 beats per minute is called tachyarrhytmias. All the disorders are usually caused by heart disease and usually are inborn.

Although many kinds of heart disease, but particularly heart disease caused by blockage of blood vessels can be overcome or avoided by eating foods containing fiber. Another thing that is also important as lowering blood cholesterol levels is by exercising regularly.

Heart Healthy Foods – What Is It?

Various studies show, eat fiber foods can reduce levels of bad cholesterol (low densy lipoprotein / LDL) in blood. If the blood levels of LDL in the low, heart health becomes more secure.

Oats or wheat fiber is soluble fiber that can lower LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) without lowering HDL (good cholesterol). That way, oatmeal is good for diabetics because someone who has consumed this fiber, the sugar level is low.

High LDL is the main cause of increased cases of coronary heart disease. Although pharmacological therapy more quickly to lower LDL, with wheat cereal consumption is more healthy and without side effects. But it takes time.

Oatmeal is a good source of nutrition because it contains vitamin E, zinc, selenium, copper, iron, and magnesium. Oatmeal also can be a good source of protein for the body.

Other fiber sources, in addition to wheat, can also be found in avocado, grapes, apples, berries and citrus fruits. Avocados contain antioxidants glutathione and monounsaturated fats. This substance is useful to neutralize free radicals and fat, both of which are destructive in the body.

Grapes contain flavonoids, such as catechins quercentin and can prevent bad cholesterol oxidation reactions, accelerate blood flow, and reduce the formation of plaque in blood vessels. Grapes also contain vitamin C that can neutralize free radicals.

An apple contains a lot of pectin, the type of fiber can help lower blood cholesterol levels. Pectin binds cholesterol that comes from food, such as from milk, meat, and eggs.

Green leafy vegetables are also rich in flavonoids, such as bean leaf, papaya leaf, leaves, cassava, sweet potato leaves.

Soy proteins also contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are healthy food ingredients to the heart. A diet rich in soy protein can lower triglycerides, which helps prevent cardiovascular disease and keep the heart to stay strong and healthy. Soy protein is also good for those who have high cholesterol because the protein-rich soy poliunsaturated fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Health experts recommend, not just the food that must be observed in maintaining heart health, exercise regularly, not smoking, and controlling stress are a few things. So, keep your heart health.

I am Emma Arsanti. I am a blogger spesialized in healthy natural foods. Nowadays, people consume many kinds of foods but they didn’t realize that foods maybe not good for the health. Healthyfoods are not expensive, especially if we compare with our health. Get the latest information about healthy foods on http://healthyfoods-first.com

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Cholesterol is something that we all have. This fatty substance found in every cell in your body and plays an important role in a variety of vital functions, including maintaining cell membranes, hormone synthesis, and production of vitamin D.

However, the body naturally produces adequate amounts of cholesterol to sustain optimal body and so any extra cholesterol added to our diet is unnecessary and when levels become too high in cholesterol becomes potentially dangerous.

The body manufactures two types of cholesterol – LDL (bad form of cholesterol) and HDL (good form of cholesterol).

When LDL levels are too high, fat, or plaque, can begin to accumulate on the walls of your arteries, reducing the amount of blood that can go through and putting a greater risk of heart attacks, arteriosclerosis or heart disease.

Healthy levels of HDL cholesterol help clear this up in the arteries before I have a chance to build. To maintain healthy levels, we need to maintain low levels of LDL and HDL levels up.

Being diagnosed with high cholesterol can be a scary thing and something that can not be ignored. The good news is that cholesterol can be controlled and many people use this as an opportunity to make positive life changes.

Diagnosis of high cholesterol:
To measure cholesterol levels, your doctor will collect a blood sample is sent to a lab for a profile or lipid analysis. This analysis can tell you what your total cholesterol, LDL (bad cholesterol), HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides (a type of blood fat).

What are the symptoms of high cholesterol?
Like high blood pressure, often referred to as the silent murderer, high cholesterol has no symptoms and is usually discovered only during a routine checkup. If your cholesterol levels are too high, you may notice small yellow nodules beneath the skin of his eyes, eyebrows or elbows.

However, a blood test is the only way to measure cholesterol levels and according to the American Heart Association, all adults over the age of 20 should have their cholesterol levels checked every 3-5 years, especially if you are overweight have a cholesterol problem or if there is family history of heart disease or high cholesterol.

Cholesterol is measured in milligrams per deciliter of blood and there are some standard guidelines that will help you determine if your cholesterol levels are too high.

Note that cholesterol levels change from person to person depending on the presence or absence of a number of factors that may put you at increased risk of heart disease. These factors include smoking, age, family history, blood pressure and HDL cholesterol levels. For the most accurate measurements, do not eat or drink anything (except water) for nine to 12 hours before the blood test.

What causes high cholesterol?
There is a definite link between high cholesterol and a diet high in dietary cholesterol and saturated fat, although genetic factors also play an important role. Smoking, diabetes, lack of exercise and fat can also contribute to high cholesterol levels.

Help for high cholesterol:
It is very important to take steps to control their cholesterol levels. If untreated, high cholesterol can have serious medical consequences such as heart disease.

The good news is that high cholesterol can be controlled by combining a healthy lifestyle with proper medical treatment. Treatment can include synthetic prescription medication, natural remedies or a combination of both.

Combination of natural remedies, regular exercise and dietary changes can make a significant difference to LDL levels and reduce or even eliminate the need for prescription drugs.

Natural remedies and red rice yeast are well known for their beneficial properties to reduce LDL (“bad”) and triglyceride levels while increasing HDL (good). With some changes in lifestyle and a little help from nature, cholesterol levels can be managed.

Read more on Cholesterol Lowering Supplements and How should Guggul be used for high cholesterol problem

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High cholesterol as we all know by now can lead to some serious health problems. It causes a condition known as atherosclerosis, which is a narrowing and hardening of the arteries. This condition can eventually lead to diseases such as high blood pressure, angina, heart attack and stroke. These health problems do not manifest themselves over a period of days or months, but over a period of years.

Our bodies use cholesterol for binding cells together, production of vitamin D and hormones and the manufacture of substances that aid it the digestion of the foods that we eat. We get cholesterol from two sources, our liver which produces almost all that we need and the foods that we eat. Plants such as fruits and vegetables do not produce cholesterol; it is only manufactured by animals. The main source is from meat, chicken, fish, butter and milk to name a few. The problem is when we have too much cholesterol in our blood.

The cholesterol that is manufactured in our livers needs to be transported to the tissues where it is needed. Just like oil and water do not mix, cholesterol, being a fat will not mix with our blood and will separate. To overcome this cholesterol is surrounded by a protein to form a “cholesterol complex” which is termed as a lipoprotein. There are two types of these lipoproteins, LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol. The LDL’s are responsible for transporting cholesterol from the liver to the tissues in the body that need it. The problem comes into play when we have too many of these LDL’s because they release there cholesterol and form the plague in our arteries that lead to atherosclerosis. The function of the HDL’s is to pick-up this extra cholesterol and return it to the liver. Now it can either be re-packaged for later use or discarded. This is the reason why we are told that having low levels of LDL’s in conjunction with high levels of HDL’s is the best for our health.

To date, medical science does not know specific reasons why some people are more prone to high cholesterol and others are not. It is believed to be a combination of how fast a person’s body manufactures and uses it up along with the diets that we eat. They have however been able to determine some risk factors for high cholesterol that we should all be aware of. Some of these risk factors such as diet, weight and the amount of exercise that we get are within our control. Others such as heredity, age and sex are not something that we have control over.

In conclusion, we all need to understand the role that high cholesterol plays in our overall health. There are more than 1 million heart attacks in the United States each year that result in about 550,000 deaths. A blood test is really the only way to know if you have a problem with cholesterol levels. If you feel that you may be at risk due to lifestyle or other risk factors you need to consult with your doctor so he can monitor the situation.

John Bradstreet is an experienced Biochemist with extensive knowledge in nutritional supplementation. He is committed to a healthy lifestyle through natural means. To learn more about the benefits of controlling cholesterol we have included additional links at the bottom of the page to help educate you on the subject. Or you can subscribe to our Vitamin and Supplement blog where you will find information on topics concerning natural supplementationArticle Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/we-need-to-understand-the-role-of-ldl-bad-and-hdl-good-cholesterol-for-our-health-1175272.html

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