High cholesterol sufferers have been told for decades to reduce or even eliminate the eggs they ingest, but recent research might bust the egg-cholesterol myth right out of the water.

The study focused on how changing the diets of participants with metabolic syndrome to a low carbohydrate, protein-rich regimen would affect the collection of symptoms of the syndrome, which include high LDL (bad) cholesterol, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and more.

Participants included a lot of eggs in their new diet plans and the results were very encouraging. Even though eggs might raise the total cholesterol levels of someone eating them, it is believed to be because of the increase in HDL (good) cholesterol.

The low-carb, high protein diet was shown to improve all areas of concern for most of the participants in the study.

Discover easy, natural cholesterol solution…

Reduce high blood pressure naturally…

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A group that studies the effects of metabolic processes and the occurrence of cancer recently revealed that even though malignant melanoma, or skin cancer, is associated with exposure to UV radiation, it has also been linked to chronically high blood pressure.

The Metabolic Syndrome and Cancer Project, or Me-Can, conducted a mega-study looking a data from over 540,000 people over a 12-year period of time.

Their findings, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, showed that men with high blood pressure showed a much higher occurrence of melanoma, while women with high blood pressure were more likely to die from melanoma cancers.

Reduce your blood pressure safely and without drugs…

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People’s awareness of the importance of using natural approaches rather than suffering the side effects of medication has improved drastically in the last decade and the natural health industry has skyrocketed. We now have organic and health food stores in even the smallest towns around the world.

After almost twenty years of helping people cure themselves of various health problems as well as improving their lives in other areas, however, I’ve learned that all these natural products you can buy (including my own) are useless without applying one character trait.

With it, on the other hand, I’ve witnessed miracles happen. People have used this character trait against seemingly impossible challenges such as eliminating “incurable diseases.”

And best of all, we all have this character trait and don’t have to buy anything to apply it.

What is this character trait?

Persistence!

How many of us have been guilty of going on a diet and then giving up long before we intended to, or learned about new natural method, tried it once or twice and then forgot about it?

Most methods take time to work. Even traditional medications usually have some adjustment time. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels don’t drop to normal the day you take the first pill. You actually feel the side effects long before you reap the “benefits” (if any).

Most natural methods also take time to work. And you may even experience something close to side effects in the beginning. Oftentimes in the first few days or weeks of applying lifestyle changes, especially in drastic ways, you may experience flu-like symptoms, moodiness or just feel like a dead dog.

This is because in your body’s change-over to a more healthy function, you are experiencing a touch of withdrawal. The immune system is also waking up and clearing out all kinds of unwanted stuff. This takes a toll on your energy and you may not have the power you felt you had before. However, after the shift is done, you’ll feel better than ever.

This is a little bit like the sore muscles you feel after working out for the first few times. But you know once you’re in better shape, your muscles will work better than before and you won’t feel sore anymore.

Without persistence, however, you’ll give up as soon as you feel the “side effects” kick in. You’ll think something is wrong instead of realizing that it’s part of the process of making it to the healthy side of life.

Let me give you an example…

My 3-step plan to cure type-2-diabetes has worked wonders for thousands of people. I’ve received hundreds and hundreds of emails from people all over the world that are now completely cured of diabetes.

For those whom the program “doesn’t work,” it’s usually because they give up in step one or two. This is the period where the body is shifting and you may actually not feel like you’re experiencing much benefit. But then all of a sudden after maybe 15-20 days, your blood sugar level begins to balance and you begin to feel better than you’ve felt in decades.

You must apply persistence to get through the tougher parts in the beginning. You can learn more about my 3-step plan to defeat diabetes here…

Shelly Manning has told me many people experience the same challenge curing themselves of arthritis using her 21-day plan to beat arthritis.

It may actually even be harder when things go well in the beginning.

Anyone who has ever gone on a diet knows that you lose most weight in the first few days. It’s oftentimes only water your body is dumping, but also some fat (ie your body is comfortable getting rid of some level of fat as well as adding on some level). Then comes the period where it seems that no matter what you do, you can’t lose more fat. That’s where people give up instead of going through the wall with persistence.

Then there are times when you seem to be cured overnight. That’s another challenge of persistence.

Christian Goodman has created an amazing high blood pressure program. In as little as nine minutes per day, most people manage to get their blood pressure down to a healthy level within a week. Oftentimes clients have reported an immediate drop in blood pressure the very first time they use these simple exercises.

Now here is the mind trap. Because the exercises work so quickly, people often think they’re cured and stop doing them prematurely. The end goal is, of course, to not have to do them anymore but unless you stick to these exercises for a while, very likely the blood pressure will rise again. It doesn’t take much persistence to commit to 9 minutes per day but it’s very often a challenge. You can learn more about Christian’s blood pressure exercises here…

Christian’s snoring exercises work in similar way to cure snoring. Again they only take maybe 3 minutes per day and you can do them anywhere. And again people’s snoring stops literally overnight. But unless you stick to them for at least a month, the snoring will most likely return.

But Christian has also told me about people whom the snoring program didn’t seem to work for in the beginning. But their persistence was so strong that they stuck to the 3-minute exercises for over a month without apparent results. Then all of a sudden, it was like something kicked in and the Stop Snoring exercises began to work. And in a few days or weeks they were permanently cured. In those cases it really took persistence.

So the message I hope you take from today’s article is that no matter what challenges lie ahead, they’re possible to overcome if you apply persistence. Pick a method you want to use and then stick to it no matter what. It will work!

But first, please let us know what you think. Share your insight on the effects of persistence below.

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The study published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases comparing treatment differences between men and women found that there is a noticeable and significant finish line for men and women when searching for a diagnosis.

In what experts refer to as “patient delay,” or the time from onset of symptoms to a referral, researchers looked at the lag time between when symptoms first appear and treatment is sought from a professional. Women routinely were much later on the gun to seek and receive help than men.

While total delay between both sexes was very long (an average of 16 weeks), men typically were able to receive the referral and subsequent treatment in about a third of the time it took women.

Arthritis symptoms, causes, and natural treatments explained here…

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Recent study revealed unbelievable results from simple lifestyle changes on high blood pressure. If this study goes viral, it may bankrupt some of the drug companies.

The American Journal of Cardiology recently published a study following more than two thousand men and women from many ethnic backgrounds who had high blood pressure but weren’t taking medication.

After 12 weeks, with the only interventional treatment being changes in lifestyle, more than 60% of the participants saw their blood pressure readings drop to normal, healthy levels.

Not only did blood pressure improve, but the behavioral counseling, diet changes, and exercise also showed drastic improvements in bad cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Natural health professionals in a variety of fields heralded the study as yet one piece in the body of evidence proving that drugs don’t have to be a life sentence.

Natural methods to reduce high blood pressure…

Getting blood sugar under control without drugs…

Lifestyle changes for beating high cholesterol for good…

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Most of the time it’s pretty sound and is frequently backed by studies that support whatever it is they are trying to convince people to do or stop doing.

Online articles like this one are the same. The reason they’re so prevalent anymore is that I think most people by and large are honestly interested in health topics- but we still continue to have problems. Why is that? If so many people are consuming this free info, why are there so many preventable diseases still running rampant through society?

It’s amazing the proliferation of reality health shows, news programs, and health columns there are for public consumption anymore. People just can’t seem to get enough of experts telling them what changes they need to make in their lives to increase health and reduce disease.

But why isn’t all that advice translating to better health in reality? With so much information available one would think that people would eventually ‘get it’ and start taking real action.

Old habits, however, die really hard. We can read and watch and listen to all the sound advice in the world, but unless we know that the changes we need to really make are easy to make and even easier to maintain, we tend to fail.

Below, we’ll look at 10 things you can start doing right now to beat back the annoying symptoms of arthritis and maybe even reduce your dependency on arthritis medications.

Let’s start with number ten and work our way to the number one easiest and most important change to make.

Ten- Get a diagnosis. In order to face an enemy, you have to be able to see it and know what you’re dealing with. Tests like Ultrasound for arthritis are being used a lot more these days as a more accurate, less invasive, and much cheaper alternative to x-rays and MRIs.

Nine- Get other diseases under control. If you suffer from diabetes or high blood pressure, you are naturally going to be at higher risk for being negatively affected by damaging inflammation. Get your other diseases and stress under better control and reduce your likelihood of having arthritis in the first place.

Eight- Stop inflammation in its tracks. Countless studies have shown that inflammation is the cause of arthritis…not the effect. Diet is the biggest player, so go back through all the articles you’ve read and ‘logged away’ that talk about what foods to stop eating if you are suffering from inflammation processes and start making some changes to get rid of the fire-causing food.

Seven- Start adding in foods that heal. You might not like some types of herbs or vegetables now, but try to find a way to chop up the vegees you don’t eat a lot of right now and hide them in the food you do like. Start increasing the amounts of vegees and cut slowly back on the delicious-but-offensive foods until you’ve shaped your taste buds to be more responsible

Six-Get off your duff and get moving. Exercise for arthritis, when done properly and in moderation, can become not only something you can be consistent in doing, but you’ll eventually get to where you crave it if you make incremental changes right now. Overdoing it can cause a lot of problems, though, so just start slow and maybe consult a professional trainer who works with arthritic clients.

Five-Get more Vitamin D. Deprivationof this absolutely critical vitamin causes problems all over the body. This is like the superhero fighting the villainous bad guy.

Four- Start cutting back on the pain pills. You’ll want to talk to your doctor to find out how to do this the safest way, but over the long term arthritis pain relievers end up causing more harm than good. This only perpetuates the problem. You may find, anyway, that as you start making changes with your diet and exercise habits that you don’t need as high of a dose as before the changes were implemented.

Three- Keep a diary. Studies show that people who not only record what they eat and when they exercise but also how they feel are more successful in their long-term goals and sticking to a plan.

Two- Stay on the rails. If you start feeling better and you decide, “I’m cured!” and go back to bad habits, where do you think you will wind up?

One- Make a plan. If you are going to start a journey with a destination in mind, wouldn’t it be easier to get there (and less expensive, less apt for getting lost and less frustrating) if you had a map or some traveling directions? Make a general plan with a few achievable goals to start with. Once you master those, you can add a few more in. Eventually, you’ll find yourself in the place you’d always dreamed of being.

Finding the right information is easy. Knowing what to do with it and acting on it- consistently- is a little harder. But you’ll know when whay you are doing is working and that can be really energizing for the motivation to keep going.

Here is a great and easy-to-follow guide to beat arthritis naturally…

Weigh in below and join the discussion… what are you doing to beat arthritis?

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There is a ton of research out there that extolls the virtues of making sure not to eat or drink anything within 3 hours of going to bed. For the most part, the results of improved sleep are not necessarily because of avoiding food and drink. They are generally because of avoiding other problems that tag along with food and drink.

It’s not food’s fault you can’t sleep, it is generally portion or type that is to blame. Below, we look at a handful of foods that are not only filled with nutrients that promote better sleep, but are considered okay to have right before bed…just don’t overdo it. More than 8 ounces- total- of anything before bed is a recipe for sleep trouble.

Then, we’ll look at the ones you want to avoid before bed (or even entirely) because of the problems associated with sleep.

Do Have:

Hot oatmeal- studies suggest that a small, warm dose of a carbohydrate snack before bed helps aid not only is falling asleep but also staying asleep. This can be oatmeal, warmed up Grape Nuts or Shredded Wheat, or even a small scoop of granola heated up in a bit of milk.

Bananas- while you’re at it, toss a bit of sliced banana in the hot cereal mix. The potassium in bananas right before bed soothes angry nerves in the muscles of the legs, reducing the chances of being woken in the night due to leg cramps.

Chickpeas- The Vitamin B6 in this little veggie during the day helps in the production of serotonin. At night, it promotes the body’s natural release of melatonin, which is the compound that makes a person feel sleepy.

Jasmine tea with chamomile- not only do these herbs have wonderful compounds in them that make the body feel sleepy, but even just the smell of them helps to promote the body to relax and prepare for rest. For people who can’t drink anything before bed due to bladder issues, aromatherapy including these herbs in essential oil form are very helpful.

Cherry juice- while not necessarily acting as a sleep aid per se, this fruit has been shown to promote staying asleep. For frequent wakers, this is helpful-but only the tart cherry variety. It is used by naturopaths to aid in sleep mostly because of its restorative powers with respect to muscle tissue.

Water- dehydration is frequently the culprit in frequent waking. Not getting enough water to drink during the day makes the body much less likely to make use of the nutrients you spent so much time consuming earlier in the day. For the many systems in the body to even absorb those vitamins and nutrients, they have to have adequate water to even take them in.

Don’t Have:

Soda…EVER. You might be thinking that because you have a caffeine-free version of a soda it solves the nighttime problem. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The excess sodium in pop interferes with cells’ ability to balance potassium in the bloodstream. This imbalance, while potentially unnoticeable during the day, can spell can’t stay asleep” disaster all night. It also has been shown to increase blood pressure, which is a problem for insomniacs generally, anyway.

Spicy food- this just causes stomach upset, ‘power surges’ or mini-hot flashes, and stink to emit from your skin. Spicy food also contributes to dehydration as there is generally a lot of salt in many spicy dishes, especially if the spice used is a manufactured, packaged variety.

Dairy- other than a bit of yogurt with the granola or a quarter cup of milk with the hot oatmeal, you want to completely avoid large amounts (anything over 8 ounces) of dairy. Many people like a large glass of warm milk before bed or even a dish of ice cream. This just causes the stomach to be upset. Dairy should be limited in the hours preceding sleep.

Deli meats- the tyramine in deli meats and aged cheeses spell disaster for a weary brain that just wants to rest. Tyramine is the product of a natural process of tyrosine breaking down in food as it ages. Since deli meat is generally a preserved version of pork, beef, and chicken, it is definitely aged. Tyramine acts as a bit of a stimulant and has even been linked to migraine as a major trigger. It’s also going to just make you thirsty at night, a cause of frequent waking.

Spaghetti or pizza sauce- it doesn’t even have to be all that spicy to wind up with its own place on this list. Consuming this food within 6 hours of bedtime without adequate water consumption will cause the body to dehydrate. Even if you eat no meat on your pizza or just have breadsticks and sauce…the seasoning and processing this food undergoes is wrought with potential for reflux and dehydration.

So there you have it…clearing up the myths about eating (or not) before bed time and how to improve your chances of falling and staying asleep.

To really be able to sleep good, check out our #1 method to eliminate insomnia here…

But first: What helps you to fall asleep? Leave your comments below.

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Doctors need to educate themselves better if they are to stem the tide of the 13% of all global death due to hypertension, researchers from the European Society of Hypertension said at a press conference in London.

The number two initiative behind better education for clinicians was patient awareness. Doctors suggest that a better partnership between patients and providers is only possible when both sides get better educated on the issues and possible solutions,

For solutions that are drug-free and 100% natural, click here to learn how to resolve high blood pressure…

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In a study published in May’s issue of the Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that sodas are linked with a marked increase in risk for stroke, especially for women- regardless of whether or not they were diet or filled with sugar.

At the same time, coffee drinkers were found to have slightly reduced risk of stroke. Decaffeinated and caffeinated types both showed a reduced risk.

Many studies have correlated other health issues with soft drink consumption, such as blood pressure, weight gain, and sleeplessness, but this was one of the first to directly focus on stroke.

For natural way to lower blood pressure…

Easily drop cholesterol levels without drugs…

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They wanted me well. They didn’t want to lose me. But as a natural health researcher (and one stubborn son of a gun), I decided not to give in till I’d done my homework thoroughly.

What I discovered about high blood pressure medications was so terrifying that I became even more determined to pursue a natural approach. Not only were the side effects scarier than the worst terror movie, many studies have found the medications useless at best to prevent diseases like stroke and heart attack. They may even contribute to the risk.

What’s more, there is no reason to believe that blood pressure can’t be completely managed naturally without side effects. Scientists have yet to contribute a rise in blood pressure of more than 5-6 points to genetic causes. And that’s in rare cases.

Even if high blood pressure quote “runs in your family” it’s more likely due to family lifestyle than to genetic causes. I was, for example, raised on a sheep farm and never saw fresh salad on the dinner table till I was a grown up. We worked hard day and night when needed and never complained. Even if my father had mostly turned to other business and the sheep farm was only a hobby for me, we kept in many ways the same lifestyle and mentality as had been for generations.

I’m sure you can find many similarities to your parents’ and grandparents’ lifestyles, even if the world has been completely turned upside down in the last fifty years.

But the fact was, that once I had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, I had made several drastic lifestyle changes to lower it. And although it had helped some, it didn’t do enough to get it under control- far from it. In fact, I often said I’d tried ‘everything’ and nothing worked.

So why was I still resisting blood pressure medications?

First of all, I’m not telling you not to take medications. I’m not a doctor. And you should never change your medication dose without consulting your doctor. The withdrawal symptoms of going cold turkey can be deadly. I’m only sharing what I consider the truth for me.

The real deal-breaker for me was reading up on the side effects of blood pressure medications. I’m not going to count them all (that would take pages). But some of the most common range from fatigue to risk of heart attack (wasn’t that what they were supposed to prevent?). In the long haul they can even raise blood pressure, which means you have to take more blood pressure medications to suppress it again.

Not only are the side effects often severe, they are also not isolated. Almost everyone I ask can name me at least couple of things they experience as side effects from their blood pressure medications. If I have to take medications, I want them to make me feel better not worse.

I admit that part of my resistance was due to the silent effects of blood pressure. You don’t feel the pain like you do if you had arthritis or migraine. You just have to trust the doctors that it’s true that blood pressure causes this and that disease in the future. But there is no immediate pressure. If I had realized back then just how serious high blood pressure really is, I may have been more flexible.

But then we have the studies showing that blood pressure drugs may not be that effective in preventing heart attack and stroke (the two main causes of death due to high blood pressure).

According to research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, for example, blood pressure medications did very little, if anything, to prevent stroke and heart attack unless people also applied drastic lifestyle changes. And then you have to consider- was it the medication that helped or the lifestyle changes?

Another study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine compared the positive effects (if any) of blood pressure and cholesterol drugs for diabetic patients to the side effects they suffered. That way they calculated what they called “quality-adjusted life-years” or QALY.

The QALY is a pretty neat term. It refers to the extended time on earth that we can truly enjoy. Where we’re not tied to hospital beds with tubes coming out of every artery. We have to die of something but I think we should make the most of it while we can.

The researchers only found an increase in QALY among type 2 diabetic individuals who took blood pressure and cholesterol medications among those with the highest, most severe levels of hypertension. For others, the side effects overwrote any length of lifespan the medications might deliver.

Now the risk level of high blood pressure is set at 120/80. What’s called pre-hypertension is between 120/80 to 140/90. Many doctors consider the upper limit acceptable for elderly. The fact is, however, that studies have found that the risk of heart attack begins for individuals with blood pressure exceeding 115/75.

What I’ve discovered since I began writing about high blood pressure and communicating with hundreds of people with high blood pressure is how seldom the blood pressure medications make a big dent. Yes, they almost always lower blood pressure somewhat but rarely do they bring it down to 120/80 or the preferable 115/75. The only time it does is in borderline cases where lifestyle changes could have done the same. So by taking blood pressure medications I would have been looking at severe side effects without even having the full benefits of bringing my blood pressure down to a preferred level.

The main reason, however, for why I resisted blood pressure medications with such a determination was quite personal. As I mentioned before, I was raised on a farm. And I was raised with the old fashioned thinking that every man and woman should stand on his or her own feet. We should provide for ourselves with honest, hard-earned money. And we should not be dependent on anyone else. I just hated the idea of putting my life in the hands of my doctor and the pharmaceutical companies. No matter how kind-hearted my doctor really was. I just couldn’t do it.

I think that since you’re reading this article and seeking natural methods to improve your health, you probably have a somewhat similar mentality.

The fact is, that once you’re on blood pressure medications, most people are on them for life. I later learned that it’s quite possible to get off BP medications and use natural methods instead. But back then my doctor put it to me bluntly that once I took the first pill, there would be a pill (or two or three) a day for the rest of my life.

What’s even worse is the mentality that we all have the tendency to develop once we’ve entered the medical realm. We begin to trust and rely on the medications and not take as much self-responsibility. It’s even been proven that people who take supplements tend to eat less healthy food because they trust the supplements will take care of all their nutritional needs (which they don’t).

But through my writings and communications I’ve also learned how many people are out there who are as terrified of this disease as I was. After all, high blood pressure has been determined to be the number 1 preventable cause of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization. Nothing else even comes close. And none of us are ready to die yet, are we?

And as with my example, people often claim they tried everything they could to lower their blood pressure naturally. I may sometimes sound harsh when I say “no you haven’t.” We can always do more.

This website and the whole Internet is loaded with all kinds of free information on lifestyle changes that have been proven to work. I often suggest to people who say they’ve tried everything that they make drastic changes for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. Maybe try to be a vegan for two weeks or go strictly on the cave man diet. Stick to it for some time because often things take time to work. If that doesn’t help, try something else for a couple of weeks.

My “aha moment” finally appeared with the discovery of the three easy Blood Pressure Exercises I teach in my Blood Pressure Exercises Program. I’ve since witnessed thousands (literally) of people having the same results as I had. Some used additional lifestyle changes but many without changing a thing. You can learn more about these simple exercises here…

No matter what natural methods you choose to use, if you’re on blood pressure medications, you should never change your medications without consulting your doctor. The results can be deadly. What I recommend instead is that with natural interventions, as you experience your blood pressure to go down, ask your doctor to lower your BP medicine dose. Then keep on doing the natural intervention as the blood pressure keeps on improving. Then ask your doctor to again lower your dose. Little by little you’ll be off medications.

Now as we reach the end of this long, very personal, philosophical article, I would love to hear what you think of this whole thing. What’s your opinion on BP medications and other drugs? What do you perceive as the side effects and positive effects. Remember that facts may be wrong but opinions never are.

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