Have you discovered the benefits of green coconut water as the new rage in fruit drinks? Yes it’s true, coconut water is quickly becoming the new sports drink for health conscious men and women.

There are several benefits of drinking green coconut water, the quickly new rage health drink for health conscious people. Could it replace Gatorade? There’s a real good chance it could become the new sports drink of the decade. Many athletes and celebrities swear by its benefits.

Instead of down the conventional sports drinks that are high in fructose corn syrup and coloring, many people are going for the all natural, no preservatives added, coconut water. It is called “green” because the water comes from coconuts still not ripe.

If you examine the contents label of most sports drinks, you’ll see that there are 16 grams of sugar in it. Then you look a bit more closely, and you discover there are three (3) servings in the bottle. Therefore, you have downed a whole load of sugar in one drink. Not so with green coconut water. So one huge benefit you get from this drink is little to no sugar.

Another benefit of coconut water is its extremely hydrating properties. It is much more hydrating than most sports drinks. People in other countries and Central America have been reaping the benefits of coconut water for years. Hydration is important for active people to keep them from getting cramps.

Yet still another benefit of coconut water is its high potassium content. You can eat bananas for potassium, but they have quite a bit of sugar. Coconut water is high in potassium without the high sugar content. Potassium is one of the minerals you sometimes don’t get enough of because you skip your vegetables or eat veggies with little food value to them.

Some of the claims is that coconut water has more potassium than a banana, and more electrolytes than most sports drinks. It is also a rich source of magnesium, too.

Further, you can buy green coconut water with no preservatives, too. It is an all natural drink that is healthy, nearly sugar free and full of energy giving properties.

For all this, where can you find a coconut tree with green coconuts on it? Well, you no longer have to go out of the country to find them. Most supermarkets are now stocking these delightfully healthy drinks.

Nutritionists are giving this new coconut water a high rating. They are very much in favor of the nutritional values that the sports drink brings to the general public. Currently, you can find the new drink online for around $12 to 22 for a pack of 12. It is recommended that you drink one bottle per day, especially after a good workout.

Yes, the benefits of green coconut water as a new rage in health drinks are many and one you need to try soon. The benefits far outweigh the slightly high price for the drink; however, you get far more nutrition from one bottle of this water as compared to most energy drinks you can buy. As always, eat healthy my friends. By: Howard Coffey

There has been a dramatic decline in the number of deaths from heart attacks in the last decade. In 1970, nearly a million Americans died of cardiovascular disease; now the annual toll is below 600,000. The cause for this improved mortality rate are unknown, but most experts believe that the increased awareness of cardiovascular risk factors and their correction have played an important role in cutting the death toll.

What are the risks? Eventually, about half of all Americans develop some form of heart disease. The most common is a hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of fatty deposits along the vessel lining. This is a slow process that usually takes many years to develop into serious disease. If the coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart muscle, become severely blocked by the fatty deposits, warning symptoms of heart disease may appear. These include shortness of breath, chest pains (angina pectoris) that are relieved by rest, or a combination of the two. In many people, however, there are no warning signs — the first symptom of heart disease may be a heart attack. This is why it is important to identify and correct possible risk factors before they reach this stage.

In recent years, a number of these risk factors have been identified. Some of them, such as age, sex and family history of heart disease, are things over which we have no control. But there also are a number of factors that can be modified or eliminated, and such action appears to reduce the portability of a heart attack. The three most important controllable risk factors are high blood pressure, high levels of blood cholesterol and cigarette smoking. In fact, many experts attribute the recent decline in cardiovascular deaths to the fact that more people than ever before are now being treated for high blood pressure. Changes in the American diet that have reduced the consumption of butter, eggs and animal fats – and consequently lowered the average blood cholesterol — and a reduction in smoking by middle-aged men also are credited with lowering the toll. Since the likelihood of developing heart disease increases when two or more risk factors are present, modifying the controllable ones helps reduce the hazard of those over which we have no control.

Role of Diet

Studies have shown that population groups whose diets are rich in cholesterol and other animal and dairy fats have more heart attacks that those whose diets are low in these saturated fats. Americans, whose diets are high in meat and eggs, have a higher incidence of heart disease than the Japanese, who end to eat very little meat and other animal and dairy fats.

Studies have also shown that high blood cholesterol — more than 200 miligrams per mililiter of blood — can be lowered by modifying the diet. This means eating more fish and poultry while cutting consumption of red meat, eggs, butter and other dairy fats, and increasing consumption of fruits, vegetables and cereal grains. Substituting polyunsaturated cooking oils (corn, safflower or sunflower oil, for example) for lard or hardened shortening, and using margarines whose labels indicate a high ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fats (for example, 4 to 2) instead of butter or margarines with less favorable ratios (e.g., equal or 2 to 3) also help to lower blood cholesterol.

Role of High Blood Pressure

People with high blood pressure have a marked increase in heart attacks and strokes. The cause of most high blood pressure is unkown, but it usually can be lowered by the use of antihypertensive drugs, reduced salt intake, and weight loss in people who are overweight. Controlling high blood pressure is an important preventive measure because it increases the work load of the heart and also directly contributes to hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis).

Role of Cigarette Smoking

Since 1964, when the Surgeon General reported that cigarette smokers on the average had a 70 percent greater chance of having a heart attack than nonsmokers, many other studies have confirmed that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor. This risk increases with the number of cigarettes smoked, and recent studies hae found that low-tar, low-nicotine cigarettes do not lower the risk of heart disease. Stopping smoking is now considered one of the best things you can do to help prevent a heart attack.

Other Risk Factors

Sedentary life style. Although evidence linking a sedentary life style to increased likelihood of heart disease is indirect, physically active people are known to have wider coronary arteries, which presumably would not be as prone to blockage as those sedentary people.

Type A personality. In recent years, much discussion has focused on the relationship between the type A personality, characterized by anxiety, impatience and perfectionism, and the risk of a heart attack. Although many assessments have confirmed this relationship, scientific proof definitely linking personality type and the development of heart disease is yet to come.

Diabetes. People with diabetes, a serious disease in which the body cannot regulate its blood sugar (glucose), have a higher incidence of coronary disease and heart attacks. The incidence is increased further if the diabetic has other risk factors.

Obesity. the Framingham Study recently concluded that obesity alone increases the risk of heart disease — a hypothesis that has been debated for years. Since obesity often coexists with hypertension, diabetes and a sedentary life style, weight control is an important factor in reducing a number of coronary risk factors.

Sex and age. Some risk factors, such as age and aging and a person´s sex, are unavoidable. Statistics show that men under the age of 45 years are 10 times as likely to develop coronary artery disease as women in the same age group. Between the ages of 45 and 60 years, however, the sex difference diminishes. After age 60 years, the incidence of coronary artery disease is about equally distributed between men and women.

Family history. An inherited susceptibility is also an important risk factor that cannot be avoided. Some manifestations, such as high blood pressure or an inherited tendency to have very high blood blood cholesterol levels (familial hyper-cholesterolemia) can be controlled by drugs and diet.

You can’t go to do sport event, an outdoor activity or even to the corner store without advertisements for energy drinks staring you down. Will these handy beverages give you a jolt of vigor or leave you in a slump? The answer is, both. And that’s not all they’ll do.

The active ingredient in energy drinks are varies, as do their side effects. None are superior, they all carry the potential to do awful things to your body.

CAFFEINE – It’s good enough for coffee and tea, but why not for your energy drink? The answer is because it works like amphetamines, cocaine, and heroin, in the way that it stimulates the brain. A typical 12 ounce can of a caffeinated energy drink contains 70-100 mg of caffeine, or the same as two sodas or a 6 ounce cup of coffee. Guarana, a common ingredient in energy drinks, contains caffeine.

Caffeine works by blocking the chemical that makes you naturally drowsy. The chemical, adenosine, is also responsible for dilating the blood vessels. By hiding adenosine, caffeine also causes the brain’s blood vessels to constrict.

Your heart rate increases, muscles tighten, your blood pressure rises, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles. Dopamine in the brain is also increased by caffeine. Dopamine is one of the chemicals responsible for feeling happy. Caffeine is a cardiac stimulant and mild diuretic.

While the short term benefits may seem positive, long term effects can be a real downer. Once the temporary stimulation goes off, your brain suddenly starts to recognize adenosine and a sudden mental sluggishness hits. Your heart racing is unhealthy unless it occurs naturally and is allowed rest periods. Sleep is affected because the internal effects of caffeine aren’t over when the “high” is. It takes up to 12 hours for caffeine to completely vacate your body.

As a diuretic, caffeine speeds along your urination cycle, taking calcium with it. Long term, heavy caffeine use could lead to developing osteoporosis.

SUGAR – Most energy drinks, except those that are labeled “sugar free” and usually those marketed as “light” are high in sugar. The sugar in an 8 ounce can ranges from 5 to 8 teaspoons and usually accounts for 100% of the carbohydrates (80 – 130 calories). The RDA for sugar is no more than 6 – 7 teaspoons of sugar for each 2000 calories consumed. One bottle of energy drink contains all of the sugar you should eat in a day.

Sugar gives you a quick bump of energy because it is absorbed into the human body much faster than other energy sources, like protein. Studies show sugar can take effect within a minute of entering the body. Sugar raises the blood sugar level and gives you quick energy. This is often short lived, though, because the body quickly releases a blast of insulin, quickly lowering your blood sugar. When blood sugar plummets, so does energy and endurance.

While the short term side effects of sugar – crashing hours after consumption, increased appetite and the possibility of cavities – are somewhat mild, long term effects are not. Type 2 diabetes has been linked to sugar misuse. Weight gain due to the consumption of empty calories is becoming a bigger problem in the US and around the globe.

TAURINE, B VITAMINS AND GINSENG – These three ingredients are also commonly found in energy drinks.

Taurine helps move potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium into and out of cells and generates nerve signals.

B Vitamins are important for many functions of the body including reduction of stress and depression, metabolism and digestive system. However, too much vitamin B can cause nausea, gout, hypothyroidism, insomnia or reduced insulin release, among other side effects.

Gum disease is a bacterial infection of the gum tissue, it is a serious problem which starts as gingivitis and can progress to periodontitis. According to the British Dental Health Foundation “19 out of 20 people suffer from gum disease (gingivitis) at some point in their life making it the most common disease in the world.

During a typical checkup your dentist or dental hygienist will remove the plaque and tartar from above and below the gumline of all your teeth. If you feel like you have signs of gingivitis, your dentist may recommend that you return for future cleanings more often than twice a year. Your dentist may also recommend that you use a toothpaste or mouth rinse that is FDA-approved for fighting gingivitis.

The gum infection treatment for a gum ball, the patient is numbed and the gum boil is cleaned out and drained of pus. An antibiotic chip is placed in the remaining pocket and the patient is given a Tetracycline 500mg prescription to take for a week. This causes swelling and the opposing tooth starts biting down into the swollen gums. In most cases with Pericornitis, the patient is placed on Keflex 500 mg for three to seven days and the wisdom tooth is removed.

To prevent gum disease you can try to floss between your teeth each day to remove plaque from areas in your mouth that the toothbrush can’t reach. Avoiding smoking and using tobacco, limit sweets and sugary foods to meal times, and drink lots of water to keep yourself well-hydrated are also a way to prevent it. Trying not to frequent intake of acidic black cola type soft drinks will also help to prevent gum disease.

Flossing removes food particles from between and around your teeth, including debris that has gotten wedged into the gum. You may not be able to see these particles, but flossing can expose and get rid of them, reducing gum inflammation and eventual infection. Use an eighteen-inch piece of dental floss, with the ends wrapped around each forefinger and grasped by the thumbs. Push it up and down between teeth, moving along the length of the floss for a clean section each time you clean another tooth.

Use a mouth rinse also would help you. An antimicrobial mouth rinse can provide extra help in controlling plaque. Listerine is a good choice and has been approved by the American Dental Association.

Medications may be used with treatment that includes scaling and root planing, but they cannot always take the place of surgery. Depending on the severity of gum disease, the dentist or periodontist may still suggest surgical treatment. Long-term studies will be needed to determine whether using medications reduces the need for surgery and whether they are effective over a long period of time.

Osseous (bone) surgery sometimes accompanies flap surgery. In osseous surgery, some of the bone around the tooth is reshaped. In certain cases, a bone area may be employed to replace lost bone. Splints or other appliances may be used to stabilize loose teeth temporarily and may be necessary after completion of periodontal therapy as well.

Chlorhexidine is a commonly used antiseptic mouthwash. You should rinse your mouth well with water between brushing your teeth and using chlorhexidine. This is because some ingredients in toothpaste can inactivate chlorhexidine. Chlorhexidine may also stain teeth brown when used regularly.

“Eat more greens” has been a common advice for generations. Rich in antioxidants is a fact about green vegetables. They contain various amounts of many phytochemicals including some really important ones like Vitamin C, flavonoids and carotenoids. The brassica group (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, etc) also contain sulphur compounds and indoles, which add extra punch.

Vitamins are found in various food groups. It is quite easy to achieve adequate intake by following a balanced diet according to the “Healthy Food Guide Pyramid” recommendations.Good sources of vitamin B complex include grain products, meats and vegetables. Vitamin B12 is responsible for red blood cell metabolism. Read the rest of this entry »