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Triglycerides- When you eat a high-calorie meal, your body uses the calories it needs for quick energy and converts the excess into triglycerides that are stored as fat to use as energy later. In normal amounts, triglycerides are essential to good health.
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Free radicals are harmful substances and unstable molecules that damage cells and are believed to contribute to the development of some 200 different diseases, many of them age-related.
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Silent stroke usually shows no obvious initial symptoms and is detectable only through a brain scan, very often, long after the event.
Research suggests that in later life, there is an increased risk of dementia and a more severe and rapid decline in memory loss, from the brain-damage caused by silent strokes. See Silent Strokes And Alzheimers
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Trans Fatty Acids come from vegetable oils that were chemically modified so they are solid like butter. Because these oils don't spoil as quickly as butter, they are used in most packaged cookies, chips, crackers and other baked goods sold in the supermarket, as well as in margarines.
The solidifying process - called hydrogenation - extends the shelf life of food, but it also turns polyunsaturated oils into a kind of man-made cholesterol. Trans fats can increase your level of "bad" LDL cholesterol, and may increase your risk of heart disease. What's more, these man-made fats are taken up by the body much easier than are omega-3s. So trans fatty acids not only harm your health, they also block the absorption of healthy fats.
How bad trans fats are for you depends on how much you eat. Trans fats can raise your blood cholesterol as much as excess cholesterol (from the diet) can, in some people. To avoid trans fats, look on the nutrition label of packaged foods. They'll appear on the ingredients list as "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oils. If you can, switch to products that don't use hydrogenated oils. The baked goods won't last quite as long in your pantry, but your body will benefit.
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Insulin resistance syndrome is a metabolic disorder in which the body doesn't use blood sugar (glucose) efficiently, significantly boostng the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Insulin resistance occurs when the body begins to lose its ability to respond to the hormone insulin, which is needed to convert blood sugar to energy.
This syndrome is encouraged by a combination of several factors, including obesity, high amounts of abdominal fat, high blood pressure, and elevated blood sugar or insulin levels. It can elevate triglycerides and reduce levels of "good" HDL cholesterol.
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Glycemic Index: Foods high on the index turn to glucose fast and that speed can cause a spike in levels of the hormone insulin, which the body needs to process glucose into physical energy.
Foods low on the index (55 or less) - sweet potatoes, brown rice, leafy greens, fat-free milk - break down slowly and result in lower insulin levels.
Unless you're a diabetic, glycemic index may not be all that important. Since most of us eat a variety of foods in a meal, the accuracy of the index can be questionable.
But what about the notion that glucose from high-index (70 or over) foods is more likely to be stored as fat? The scientific literature is very clear that eating carbohydrates that are embedded in plant cellulose - complex carbohydrates - is always better.
But the reasons it is better are not because it somehow lessens or alters fat storage. Fiber-rich carbohydrates increase the bulk of the meal, making you feel fuller. This in turn, helps moderate the amount of food you eat.
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Aromatherapy is the therapeutic inhalation of the natural fragrance from volatile plant oils, essential oils, infused oils, and herbal preparations, and is one of the ways those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia can use natural fragrances to enhance their wellbeing.
Some mistakenly think that aromatherapy is simply a carry-over hippy practice of burning incense that’s been wrapped up in a new name. But, while the term aromatherapy is new, the practice has been around for thousands of years.
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