How Do Clogged Arteries Happen

If you're concerned about your heart health, you've no doubt heard that your arteries can become clogged.  You may wonder how this can happen to your blood vessels.  It helps to understand some basics about how your body works.

Your blood vessels are made of smooth muscle cells.  When they're healthy, they are smooth and elastic.  They can stretch to accommodate higher blood pressure and then go back to their original size.  They're slick and smooth inside and blood flows easily through them.

However, many people are walking around with blood vessels that are less than healthy.  The problem can begin when you develop high blood pressure.  Being overweight and having a stressful lifestyle can lead to high blood pressure. When your blood pressure is too high, it can cause your blood vessels to become hardened. That's because the constant high pressure against the blood vessel walls causes them to become damaged.

Then, when you eat a diet that's high in cholesterol and saturated fats, the cholesterol gets caught on the rigid sides of the blood vessel walls. Much like a pipe that gets narrowed because of a build-up of hair and soap scum, vessels become narrower.

This is what's known as clogged arteries.  But what's the big deal about having clogged arteries'  This is a very dangerous condition for your heart and can lead to heart attacks and strokes when left without treatment or lifestyle intervention.

As your blood vessels get more and more clogged, there's the possibility that some of the cholesterol deposits can collect blood clots and shear off,  causing a blockage in the blood vessels of the heart or brain.This causes a heart attack or a stroke.  These can cause major health problems and can even lead to death.  And heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women.  So it's important not to ignore the risk factors.

There are several things you need to pay attention to when it comes to your lifestyle.  People who are overweight or obese have a higher risk of having high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  You may also have genetic factors that put you more at risk.

Make sure that you keep track of your health numbers such as blood pressure and cholesterol.  Then if you find that either are too high, work with your doctor to determine what can help you get healthier.

Often, weight loss, dietary changes, exercise, and medications will be discussed as ways to keep your heart healthy. By making healthy changes you can protect your heart, extend your life, and improve your quality of life.

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Win the Weight War with Fermented Foods

If you have struggled with being overweight or obese, fermented foods may be just the tool to help you fight fat and win.   New research has shown that fermented foods actually help people to lose weight and keep it off.

Fermented foods are those that have added bacteria and other microbes added to them.  This process helps to preserve food safely and helps to break down nutrients into usable forms.  In addition, it provides your body with healthy bacteria that it needs.

This type of food isn't as foreign as you may think. 

If you've eaten yogurt, pickles, or sauerkraut you've already experienced fermented foods.  But there are many more you could add to that list.

Fermented foods contain many good bacteria that your digestive system needs to function properly and to digest your food.  If you've struggled with acid reflux, constipation, or diarrhea fermented foods can help you get back on track.

You'll still need to make sure you're eating a healthy overall diet and moving your body, but adding fermented foods on a daily basis can help you to lose more weight and keep it off than a diet without it.

When you add more fermented foods you'll find that you're not as hungry.  That's primarily due to the fact that your intestines can actually digest the nutrients your food provides. 

You'll get more nutrition but you'll eat less food.

Studies comparing animals eating the same diet but with different levels of gut bacteria have shown that those given probiotics lost weight or maintained a healthier weight than those not given the probiotic foods.

You can also see this in babies.  Many scientists believe that the live bacteria transferred to babies through breastfeeding contributes to breast fed babies having a lower incidence of obesity as they get older than formula fed babies.

You'll want to add a wide variety of fermented foods to experience this benefit. 

Fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir are easy to add.  You might also try pickled cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, and turnips.

Many people enjoy drinking a fermented tea known as kombucha that is a refreshing, fizzy treat.  You can even make this drink at home very easily.  Drinking a serving of it each day can restore your gut's healthy bacteria levels.

Adding fermented foods and following a sensible diet plan of eating whole foods can help you to conquer your weight war once and for all.

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Can Fermented Foods Cure Food Allergies?

It appears to be food allergies and sensitivities tend to be more common than ever.  People have bad reactions to nuts, dairy, soy, and gluten at higher rates than ever before.  And in many cases, if you don't experience a severe allergic reaction, you may find that that you are sensitive to many foods.

One possible reason for these food issues lays in the bacteria levels of the gut.  Your intestines need to have a wide variety of good bacteria living in them in order to function properly. 

The bacteria in your gut do most of the breaking down of food.You may suffer from a lack of good bacteria as a result of stress, illness, antibiotics, toxins in the environment, and toxins in your food related to genetically modified foods and artificial additives and preservatives.

The result of this imbalance is inflammation and a lack of digestion.  The bacteria in your gut can't stand up to the job of breaking down the foods you ingest and instead the walls of your intestinal tract are actually broken down. This condition is known as a leaky gut.

Some common symptoms of food sensitivities include diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, gas, bloating, headaches, joint pain, acne, eczema, psoriasis, and frequent illness. But you can heal many of these problems and even reverse food allergies by improving the conditions in your intestines.

One of the best ways to do this is to add fermented foods to your diet.  These are foods high in healthy bacteria that can keep your gut running smoothly.  Your gut may be able to process foods better when you add these and lower your sensitivity to specific foods.

You can eat foods such as yogurt, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, raw aged cheeses, and kefir.You'll also get the benefits from pickled vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, and cabbage.These foods will help to restore the gut flora that you need to properly digest food.  By following this simple step and avoiding foods that contain artificial ingredients such as preservatives you can improve your digestion dramatically.

It may take several months of eating fermented foods on a daily basis to restore the health of your intestines.  This change may be enough to eliminate food sensitivities you're experiencing or reverse food allergies.

In addition to improving your tolerance for specific foods, you'll also develop a stronger immune system, better digestion, a reduction in inflammation, and a reduced risk of chronic diseases and cancer.

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