The Most healthy Oil on the Planet

Krill oil is the best source of animal based omega-3 dietary fats. Krill oil has the identical fats as fish oil but has a far higher quality source due to astaxanthin protecting the perishable fats and the phospholipids that massively increase the absorption of the fats

Omega-3 fats are essential to the health of your heart and your brain, but new research is emerging revealing many many benefits of this most important natural source of fat.

Most people are very deficient in omega-3 fats and they consume way too many damaged omega-6 fats (damaged by heating them), which are found in vegetable oils and processed foods. The ideal ratio is 1:1, but the average American's ratio is more like 20:1 in favor of omega-6. Because of this great imbalance, you need to supplement your diet with krill oil and reduce your intake of omega-6 oils to bring this ratio into a more healthy ratio.

There are both plant and animal sources for amega-3 fats and there are differences between them. All have different ratios of three important omega-3 fatty acids-ALA, EPA and DHA. DHA is the most important for your brain. EPA is also required by your brain,but in smaller amounts.

Plant based omega-3 sources like flax,hemp and chia seeds are high in ALA, but low in EPA and DHA. Although ALA is an essential nutrient, it is important to remember that the conversion of ALA to the far more essential EPA and DHA is typically quite inhibited by impaired delta 6 desaturase, an enzyme necessary for you to convert the ALA into the longer chain EPA and DHA.

Elevated insulin levels impair this enzyme and more than 80 percent of the U.S. population has elevated insulin levels. Because of this it is important to include animal based sources of omega-3 fats in your diet.

Krill is superior to fish oil in the following ways:

Krill oil may be 48 times more potent than fish oil according to a 2011 study published in the journal Lipids.

Krill oil contains phospholipids which is the form that the body can use. This means krill oil is absorbed very quickly and can cross the brain barrier, so it is able to reach important brain sructures.

Fish oil is quite perishable and subject to oxidation and oxidation leads to the formation of free radicals. Fish oil is weak in antioxidant content, but krill oil contains astaxanthin which is probably the most potent antioxidant in nature making krill oil very stable.

Fatty acids are water soluble, but they can't be transported in their free form in your blood. They require packaging into lipoprotein vehicles. The omega-3s in krill are already in these perfect packages,so your body doesn't
have to do anything to them to prepare them for transport in your bloodstream. Also phospholipids are one of the principle compounds in high density lipoproteins (HDL) which you want more of.

Three studies in 2009 showed that omega-3 fat deficiency might cause or contribute to up to 96,000 premature deaths each year. Omega-3 oil can reduce your risk for metabolic syndrome, obesity and type-2 diabetes.

Omega-3 oil helps protect your brain and nerves. DHA is converted into substances called neuroprotectins. Alzheimer's disease is associated with a shortage of these neuroprotectins. Fats make up about two-thirds of your brain tissue. Myelin, the protective sheath that covers your neurons, is composed of 30 percent protein and 70 percent fat. Omega-3 fats are important to infants and children for proper cognitive development and vision.

A study published in April 2010, found that older adults with higher blood levels of omega-3 fat were 33 percentg less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease and 38 percent less likely to develop dementia than those with lower omega-3 levels.

A 2010 study found omega-3 fat so effective for treating psychotic disorders that they concluded omega-3s are a safe altenative to anti-psychotic drugs. Researchers also stated that omega-3s may delay the onset of schizophrenia.

Low concentration of EPA and DHA are known to accelerate congnitive decline and increase your risk for mood swings and mood disorders. Those suffering from depression have been found to have lower levels of omega-3 in their blood, compared to nondepressed individuals. A 2010 study involving 46 depressed elderly women concluded that omega-3 supplementation is an effective treatment for depression and can improve quality of life.

Salt Intake Linked to Cognitive Decline

A high salt diet coupled with low physical activity could be detrimental to cognitive health in older adults, according to new research.

The study published in the journal, Neurobiology of Aging, reports that older adults who lead sedentary lifestyles and consume a lot of sodium in their diet may be putting themselves at risk for more than just heart disease.

The researchers, led by Dr. Alexandra Fiocco from the University of Toronto, Canada, said the findings may have significant public health implications, by emphasizing the importance of addressing multiple lifestyle factors that can impact brain health.

"We have generated important envidence that sodium intake not only impacts heart health, but brain health as well," said Fiocco. "The results of our study showed that a diet high in sodium, combined with little exercise, was especially detrimental to the cognitive performance of older adults," she explained.

The study followed the sodium consumption and physical activity levels of 1,262 healthy older men and women living in Quebec, Canada, over three years. The adults were recruited from a large pool of participants in the Quebec Longitudinal Study on Nutrition and Successful Aging (NuAge).

Participants were assessed as low, mid or high level sodium consumers based on a food frequency questionnaire they each completed. The researcher team then used a modified Mini-Mental State Examination to measue cognitive function in participants at year one (baseline) and annually for three additional years.

While a sedentry lifestyle and high salt intake was found to be associated with cognitive decline, the researchers noted that individuals with low activity levels, but low sodium intake were associated with cognitive maintenance over 3 years.

"Thus, the combination of low levels of physical activity and high levels of sodium intake is particularly detrimental to cognitive health," said the researchers.

"This study suggests that sodium intake reduction, especially in low physical activiey older adults, may further improve brain health in late life," they added.

"The good news is that sedentary older adults showed no cognitive decline over the three years that we followed them if they had low sodium intake," said Fiocco.

Dr. Carol Greenwood, senior author of the study added that the data from the study is "especially relevant as we know that munching on high salt processed snacks when engaged in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or playing in front of the computer, is a frequent pastime for many adults."

New Evidence for Stop Smoking

My own father died from smoking cigarettes. After his death, I looked at his death certificate. The doctor wrote on the certificate that he had died of the effects of tobacco abuse. For some time after his death, I would have a emotional reaction when I would see someone smoking, wondering how anyone could be smoking.

Studies have shown that cigarettes kill 443,000 people every year in the United States due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, heart disease, lung disease and other causes. In fact, one in every five Americans dies of a smoking related illness.

Even tiny amounts of cigarette smoke harm your lungs and DNA according to a released report by the Surgeon General. The chemicals in tobacco smoke reach lungs quickly ever time you inhale, causing damage immediately. The more you smoke, the harder it is for your body to repair DNA damage or respond to treatment if you develop cancer.

SOME REASONS TO STOP SMOKING:

1. Smokers die young. Smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease
and death in the United States. Half of all long term smokers are killed
by smoking related diseases. Besides COPD, smokers risk cancer of the
mouth, throat and lungs, as well as asthma, chronic bronchitis and
emphysema. They are also more prone to high blood pressure, high levels
of LDL (bad) cholesterol, stroke and heart disease. If you smoke your
risk of dying from a heart attack is 2-4 times greater than a monsmoker's.

2. Smoking is a major cause of depression, in fact smokers are twice as
likely as non smokers to be depressed.

3. Smoking can make you infertile. Female smokers may have a harder time
getting pregnant and male smokers generally have a low sperm count.
Smoking appears to accelerate the loss of eggs and reproductive function
and may advance the time of menopause by several years.

4. Women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to experience life
threatening ectopic pregnancies, in which the fertilized egg begins to
develop in the slender fallopian tube instead of the uterus.

5. Children imitate tgheir parents. If you smoke in front of your children,
there is a good chance you children will smoke. One study shows that
55 percent of children whose parents were smokers plan on being
smokers in the future.

6. You will have 10 times more wrinkles. Smoking accelerates aging. It
inhibits the body's ability to repair damage caused by the environment.
The damage is more than skin deep. Smokers with prominent wrinkles are
five times more likely to suffer from COPD than non smokers. Smokers
also have pale, ashen skin and yellowing teeth, fingers and fingernails.

The good news. Your body begins to heal just 12 hours after your last
cigarette according to the National Cancer Institute. But it will take up to three months for improved lung function and circulation.

Calcium Supplements Increase Heart Disease by 30 Percent

Green Med Info reported, "Calcium supplements... increase the risk of cardiovascular events, epecially myocardial infarction...A reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in osteoporosis management is warranted."

The medical industries for years has promoted taking calcium supplements to promote strong bones. The latest studies show that taking calcium supplements do not increase bone strength, but calcium from natural foods do. Bones are made up of over a dozen minerals and these minerals need to be in the foods that we consume preferably unprocessed foods. Eating a diet rich in fresh, raw whole foods that maximize natural minerals so that your body has the raw materials it needs is the best way to go.

Vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 work together to take the calcium in our foods and deposit it in the bones. Vitamin D3 is obtained from the sunlight that hits the skin or from supplements. Vitamin K2 comes from cheese, natto or green leafy vegetables or from supplements. The very best thing we can do to have healthy hearts and arteries is to see that we have the proper levels of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2.

90 percent of the buildup in our arteries is calcium and 10 percent is cholesterol. Calcium supplents deposit calcium in the arteries and harden the arteries and impair their ability to expand. This is particularly important for postmenopausal women, because hormone balance is necessary for proper calcium signaling which is directing your body to deposit calcium into your bones. When hormones fall out of balance, this signaling causes calcium to slowly exit the bones and become deposited in the arteries instead. This is the reason why heart disease for women rapidly increases to the level of men after menopause. One of the best ways to get strong bones is to get plenty of exercise.

A 2004 study showed that people with excess calcium in their coronary artery and who take statins have A 17-FOLD HIGHER RISK OF HEART ATTACKS than do those with lower arterial calcium levels; RESEARCHERS CONCLUDED THAT THE TWO MOST DEFINITIVE INDICATORS OF HEART ATTACK WERE LDL LEVELS AND CALCIUM BUILD-UP.

A 2001 study from the American Journal Clinical Nutrition found men who consumed more than 600mg calcium a day from dairy products showed a 32 percent higher risk of prostate cancer than men consuming less than 150mg per day and each additional increase of 500mg calcium from dairy was associated with another 16 percent increase in prostate cancer risk.

A 2009 study by the American Journal Epidemiology found that men consumng the most calcium from FOOD were 25 percent less likely to die over the next decade.

The Latest on Atherosclerosis or Heart Disease

First the good news on how to prevent heart disease. A heart healthy diet, regular exercise and if you are overweight, reduce your weight to the right level. A few comments on diet. Diet is very critical to good heart health. Many doctors recommend that you reduce as much as possible the use of sugar and carbs in your diet. They also recommend that you eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and salads.

What causes atherosclerosis? Researchers say that one of the key factors is inflammation. This process is the same that that causes infected cuts to become swollen, red, hot and painful. Inflammation is behind all phases of the disease, from the creation of plaques to their growth and rupture. When microbial invaders threaten to hurt us, inflammation helps to ward off infection. In the case of atheroscleroisi, the inflammation proves harmful.

The clearest picture of inflammation's role in the onset of atherosclerosisw comes from investigation into low density lipoprotein, also called bad cholesterol.LDL particles, composed of fatty molecules (lipids) and protein, transport cholesterol (another lipid) from their source in the liver and intestines to other organs. Researchers have long known that although the body needes LDL and cholesterol, excessive amounts promote atherosclerosis.

It is now clear that the trouble begins when LDL from the blood collect in the intima, the part of the arterial wall closest to the bloodstream. At reasonable concentrations in the blood, LDLs can pass in and out of the intima, which consists mainly of the endothelial cells that line vessel walls, the underlying extracellular matrix (connective tissue), and a smattering of smooth muscle cells (matrix producers). But in excess, LDLs tend to become stuck in the matrix.

As the lDLs accumulate, their lipids undergo oxidation (similar to the process that rust pipes and spil butter) and their proteins undergo both oxidation and glycation (binding by sugars). Cells in the vessel wall seem to interpret the changes as a danger sign, and they call for reinforcements from the body's defense system. Plaque bulds up inside the walls of the arteries. Plaques tend to push outward and so do not slow the flow of blood. Over time however, the plaques will start to push inward and restrict the flow of blood. About 15 per cent of heart attacks are caused when plaques push inward and stop the flow of blood. About 85 per cent of heart attacks occur suddenly after a plaque's fibeous cap breaks open, prompting a blood clot to develop over the break. The plaques most likely to fracture posses a thinned cap, a large lipid pool and many macrophages, and their vulnerability stems, as in earlier stages of atherosclerosis, from inflammation.

As indicated at the beginning of this article, you want to restrict your use of sugars and carbs. High blood sugar plays in inportant role in promoting heart disease. You need to keep you blood sugar level under 100. Most people with diabetes died from heart disease as their high blood sugar greatly harms their blood vessels.