How To Live Longer

How To Shrink Your Prostate Naturally And Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:49:00 +0000

I get a lot of people asking questions about their prostate on this blog. People looking to lower PSA levels with food or to keep their PSA count lower. Other people are simply looking for ways to decrease the size of their prostate glands.

For this reason I wanted to provide a simple and short resource list to make it easier to answer these questions.

Above all the best way to stay healthy in all aspects of your life is to eat a more nutritious diet and to stay physically active. This helps keep cholesterol lower and helps prevent insulin resistance and diabetes.

Diet and exercise also have a lot to do with prostate health so it’s worth keeping this in mind.

In tune with the topic at hand however I’ll leave you with this short list of resources on shrinking your prostate. The authors of these resources are more authoritative on the subject than I am which is why I am directing you to them.

These Guides Can Help You Naturally Decrease The Size Of Your Prostate

They do cost a bit of money so consider their value before buying. Also please note that I have used affiliate links in this post.

The Chronic Prostate Disease Handbook – This manual covers all aspects of naturally treating and managing various prostate problems such as enlarged prostate, elevated PSA, urinary tract infects, and prostatitis.

If you are looking for a great resource for fixing your prostate then this is my #1 recommendation.

Healthy Prostate: The Extensive Guide To Prevent and Heal Prostate Problems – Along the same lines this is an ebook that was recently published in traditional book format. Its author explains how to naturally shrink your prostate gland and deal with many common prostate problems naturally.

It’s 322 pages of high quality information. This is far more information than I can provide on this blog and it is highly recommended.

Alternatively you may find some value in reading some success stories from men who were diagnosed with prostate cancer but lived long and fruitful lives thereafter.

In 7 Real Prostate Survivor Stories seven men go into great detail on how they dealt with their condition and thrived after their diagnosis.

The ebook isn’t cheap but it does provide a lot of information on how you can emulate their success, shrink your prostate, get your PSA under control, and beat prostate cancer. Results for them may not be exactly the results you experience but their stories and advice are valuable.

Disclaimers – As previously noted each of the links above are affiliate links and any purchases you make may result in me receiving compensation. You are under no obligation to use any of my links or buy any products mentioned in this post.

Also, prostate cancer and other serious prostate problems HAVE to be treated by a doctor. Taking steps to proactively fight prostate issues naturally through lifestyle choices and diet is smart but a doctor should always be involved. Make sure you see your doctor as soon as possible to go over his or her advice on what kind of prostate treatments are best for you.

Common Symptoms Of Blocked Arteries You May Be Overlooking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 23:05:00 +0000

If you’ve done any research on heart disease you know that most forms of the disease can be seen coming a mile away. The common symptoms of clogged arteries often come in conjunction with many physical conditions that are hard to miss.

If you are in the habit of visiting your doctor and having your blood tested annually you probably know what your blood pressure and cholesterol levels are. High cholesterol and blood pressure are serious early warning signs for artery blockages.

If this is you then make sure to read this post of lowering cholesterol levels and follow the advice of your physician.

If however you start recognizing some of these overlooked signs and symptoms or blocked arteries you should seek medical assistance right away. These may be false alarms but many people who experience them also experience significant cardiac events.

Often Overlooked Blocked Artery Symptoms

Pain in the neck or jaw – Not everybody experiences this and even if you do there is no way for you to know for sure that neck pain is a sign of blocked arteries. It may be worth seeing your doctor right away for professional advice.
Unnatural fatigue – Just being tired from normal everyday things isn’t usually cause for concern. If however you are constantly tired and you aren’t physically overexerting yourself and you aren’t sleeping poorly you may want to see a doctor. Your doctor can better diagnose your condition. Fatigue may be a sign that you have blocked or clogged arteries and that oxygen isn’t circulation through your body as it should be.
Shortness of breath – Much like the previous symptoms shortness of breath can indicate blocked arteries which limit blood flow to various parts of the body. Feeling out of breath is a potential symptom of this happening and should be looked into.

Of course main indications of weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure may be excellent ways to predict risk for blockages in the future; these symptoms can indicate potential problems that exist in the immediate time frame.

If you experience any of these get assistance from a professional as quickly as you can. Otherwise follow a quality treatment plan at home on your own as well as any prescriptions or personalized advice your personal doctor has given to you in the past.

In the mean time see this post on lowering LDL cholesterol levels naturally and take action. Knowledge is nothing if you never act upon it.

Stem Cell Therapy Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:39:00 +0000

Stem Cell Therapy Cream is an anti-aging cream by BioLogic Solutions. Biologic Solutions is a company in the market of producing top quality skin care topical creams like this one and offering them at prices which no deal seeker can pass up.

What Is Stem Cell Therapy & How Does It Work?

You probably know what Skin Cell Therapy Cream is already but for those new to this product it is an anti-wrinkle cream that is designed to help you look your youngest and best in as little time as possible. It’s not a miracle or a product that makes a splashy entrance and then fades into the night. It requires routine care and maintenance like any good product and you can’t expect the impossible.

Like many anti-wrinkle creams on the market this is a topical cream that is meant to be applied daily to work. If you have experimented with topical anti-aging creams before then you know that a daily application is almost universal and that prices for these creams can be somewhat steep if used daily for a long time.

You probably also know that anti-aging creams come in a variety of categories. Some creams work by plumping up the collagen so that fine lines are filled. Others work by stretching the skin out to fill in wrinkles. This cream like a number of competitors, seeks to improve the function of the skin stem cells so that new skin cells replace old skin cells more frequently just like they did naturally when we were young. You can see this post for more on anti aging creams and how they work differently from each other.

Many competitors to this product go about this differently. They try to limit the damage to existing skin cells so that a slowing regeneration of skin cells is fast enough to decrease the appearance of aging skin. This product works to increase the function of the skin stem cells in the first place. Instead of limiting the natural damage to skin cells over time Skin Cell Therapy aims to increase the regeneration of skin cells, which it does quite well.

You can see the Stem cell Therapy advertisement here for more on how this product works in their own words:

Stem Cell Therapy Cream Reviews

I know that a lot of reviews for this product are biased; this article is biased. Many reviews are simply sales pages for the cream. I have been blogging on How To Live Longer for a long time now and I can say that I recommend this product to anyone but I also recognize it’s not right for everyone.

This is an anti-wrinkle cream which is designed to stimulate new skin cell regeneration in people who have seen a natural decline in the regeneration of stem cells.

Who Should NOT Buy Stem Cell Therapy Cream
If you are under the age of 30 then you are most likely not going to see much benefit from this product. The simple fact of the matter is that your skin cells are most likely regenerating just fine. It’s not until you get older that they start slowing down. Just as the body starts slowing down in metabolism as you age so does the regeneration of cells in the body: hair, skin, nails, brain cells, etc. We age, it’s a part of life.

If you are tight on cash then this product is also not for you. They do offer a first month of product for free, just to try it out, but after that it is roughly $50 per jar which is a one month supply. basically your first year will run you $550. This is far less then many plastic surgery procedures and anti-aging injections you may get but it’s a lot to pay for the struggling housewife who wants to look young again but needs to pay her bills every month.

There are other topical creams which are less expensive and could be perfect for someone on a tight budget. Examples of these include peptides, retinol, or coenzyme Q10; all of which are less expensive and address some of the issues of aging skin in different ways.

Who SHOULD Buy Stem Cell Therapy Cream
This is debatable. The average person receive no physical benefits from looking younger. The benefits are all psychological or social. If you have the money to spend on this product – roughly $500-$600 a year and you are the type of person that would get anti-wrinkle injections or other expensive types of anti-aging procedures like facelifts or related procedures then by all means this product is worth a try.

You can get a free month’s supply on Stem Cell Therapy Cream by visiting their sales page and signing up. You can then buy one month and get a second month for free. This will in essence give you three months of product for the cost of one month. Basically it will give you three months of product for around $50. The price will then go back to normal at that point – around $50 per month – if you feel it’s working for you but that give you ample time to decide if it’s worth it.

By The way: – I highly recommend buying directly through the company and not through second hand retailers. The company gives you the month for free and gives you a money back guarantee on the products which you may not be able to get if you are buying from miscellaneous retailers both online and off.

In addition to being able to financially support purchasing a monthly supply of Stem Cell Therapy Cream you have to be older for me to truly recommend this product for purchase. Younger people would be better advised to buy products like Idebenone which is aimed at stopping damage to skin cells by free radicals. If you are young your skin stem cells should be king in full gear but damage to existing skin cells should be minimized. Idebenone’s can help stop this damage while Peptide products can support healthy collagen production, preventing the fine line from forming.

Is Stem Cell Therapy Cream A Scam?

I am the first to tell you that this is a sales page. I believe this product is worthwhile; I don’t have very many sales pages on this blog. I have hundred and hundreds of posts and I believe that living as long as possible as healthy as possible is important. Why would we want to live short and die young? Why would we want to live long and be unhealthy for the whole time? Why would we want to live long and not look out best? I think we should strive for longevity, lasting and meaningful health, and an appearance that look youthful and vibrant.

If you are 80 years old you should look like a youthful 60. If you are 40 years old you should look like a youthful and vibrant 30 year old. Basically it’s good for our souls to look good. When we look good we feel better about ourselves and we live lives which are more fulfilling.

I don’t want to preach. You don’t have to look young to live a fulfilling life but it sure does help… especially if you are doing things which are impactful in the lives of others in a meaningful and positive way. I don’t believe Stem Cell Therapy is a scam but I also know that it’s not right for everybody. I gave you examples above of why you shouldn’t buy this product and if you fit that criteria and buy this product you may feel cheated. Use your own judgment and make an informed decision.

You can take a look at the manufacturer’s website here and read (and watch) what they have to say about it and then, if you feel like the product is worth a try, sign up for the free trial. Buy yourself a bottle and get a second free and then you get three months for the price of one. If you don’t trust yourself after three month then you can’t trust anyone.

Stem Cell Face Cream Reviews & Comments From Real People

This post has gone on for long enough. Check out the site and sign up for a free trial if you think this is worth some personal experience.

PLEASE – If you have tried Stem Cell Therapy Cream leave your comments on the product below in the comment section. I know this is a sales page and plenty of people distrust sales pages so let everyone know your thoughts on the product below. I will not moderate the comments in any way so if you feel that Stem Cell Therapy doesn’t work feel free to say so and vice-versa.

If you have other ideas which you feel are better than this product for certain people or for everybody please leave your thoughts on those products and services below as well. Thanks for reading and good luck to you all.

Click Here to Find Out More About The Free One Month Trial & The 2 for 1 Offer

5 Things You Can Do Today To Lower Fasting Blood Sugar Levels Tomorrow

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 03:59:00 +0000

Want to live longer? Most people do but when you ask them they usually qualify it with a statement along the lines of “I don’t want to live to extreme old age if it means living in pain, discomfort, or confusion.” This is natural and completely understandable.

One thing we can do to ensure we do live longer and live healthier and more fulfilling (comfortable) lives into old age is to look to the leading causes of death list to see what conditions typically end lives in America and what conditions cause the most amount of discomfort in old age. Once we know what these conditions are we can then cherry pick which conditions we want to avoid.

Major Health Conditions American’s Face

If you clicked through the list above you probably noticed that heart disease is number one followed by cancer and stroke and then diabetes a few more spots down. Cancer is a beast that has many known and unknown causes. Obviously many smart people are looking for ways to beat this problem and stroke is related to heart disease.

Heart disease is another beast that is largely, although not entirely, self-inflicted. In fact many people who have heart disease enjoy their lives right up to the very end. Unfortunately that end may come early but it is not always uncomfortable.

Diabetes however is another story. For generations diabetes was a genetic problem and developed in childhood. Adult-onset diabetes, which we now commonly call type-2 diabetes was somewhat rare. These days this is not the case. And what is not evident in the statistics is that diabetes is often times the cause of other conditions which actually do end up ending one's life.

The Type 2 Diabetes Epidemic

Over the course of the past 50 years or so type 2 diabetes has increased in prevalence and is now one of the leading causes of death. Diabetes increases one’s odds of developing obesity, heart disease, stroke, and possibly dementia. This condition, with some exceptions, is often brought on by the person himself. Unlike heart disease diabetics are not always happy and comfortable up until the very end. Many diabetics start experiencing some debilitating effects of the conditions it sets in over the course of many years.

When someone starts developing diabetes it usually means their blood sugar levels are too high too often. The types of foods we eat play a major role in our blood sugar levels as do the activities we take part in.

In generations past simple carbohydrates were less abundant in everyday diets and activity levels of average American’s were higher as walking and physical labor were a bigger part of the average person’s daily life. As a result the normal blood sugar levels for American’s were almost always in a safe range, which is why type 2 diabetes was so rare.

Today a normal blood glucose range for men and women is higher simply because of the choices we make in our everyday lives. If we want to live longer, healthier, more fulfilling lives we have to get back to the lifestyle choices that made type 2 diabetes a rare event. Luckily this is possible and I’ll share a few things you can do today to lower fasting blood sugar levels to help prevent the onset of diabetes.

5 Ways To Lower Fasting Blood Sugar Levels

Decrease Your Fasting Glucose Levels By Eating Less Food

This goes without saying. People who eat more gain more weight and increase their propensity for developing type 2 diabetes. If you eat less food at every meal then your sugar levels will not spike as high, your weight will moderate, and you should experience a gradual decline in glucose levels on average.

Of course decreasing the right types of foods is still important. You can’t decrease the amount of fresh veggies from your plate without changing any other dietary pattern and hope all goes well. Veggies are a very important part of your diet and they should always be included in your diet in abundance.

If however you were to take not change what foods you eat but rather cut the volume of those foods in the same proportions you would have a much easier time in lowering your fasting blood sugar levels over the long run.

Lower Fasting Blood Sugar By Eating More Foods Low On The Glycemic Index

This method of lowering fasting glucose levels has to do with changing the proportions of the foods you eat for the better. Unlike the previous step this step requires you to look at the foods you typically eat and identify which foods are high on the glycemic index and which foods are low on the index.

Once you identify the foods which you commonly eat that are high on the index then you need to find ways to eat those foods less often. On the flip side once you identify the foods low on the glycemic index which you already eat you need to start adding these foods to your meals more often.

One simple example of this concept is eating rice versus quinoa. Many people eat rice with their meals almost on a daily basis. Many of these same people may substitute rice for quinoa from time to time however making this substitution more often will help significantly over the long term. Quinoa is far lower on the GL scale than rice is and can help keep your blood sugar levels lower.

For more ideas make sure to find a good food list for low and high glycemic index foods to find your best ways to make substitutions.

Lowering Blood Sugar Throughout The Day By Increasing Insulin Sensitivity

It’s no surprise to anyone that insulin sensitivity goes hand-in-hand with hyperglycemia. When your body digests food and converts it into glucose for distribution throughout the body and the insulin produced doesn’t deliver that insulin quick enough you can see how blood sugar levels remain high for too long. Low levels of insulin sensitivity cause spikes in blood sugar to magnify. Although your body may be able to work off these high levels of glucose it is not efficient as it should be.

Certain foods and supplements have been shown conclusively to improve insulin sensitivity in a meaningful way. One extra special nutrient found in leafy green vegetables like spinach or collard greens is called alpha-lipolic-acid otherwise known as ALA. Studies show that this nutrient helps with converting glucose to energy, the primary purpose of insulin.

In conjunction with eating more foods low on the glycemic index consuming more foods rich in alpha-lipolic acid can help improve your sensitivity to insulin and keep fasting glucose in the blood lower in time.

If You Walk More Insulin Resistance And Fasting Glucose Levels Will Decline

One excellent way to lower fasting blood sugar levels over time is to start walking more. It really doesn’t take much more than that. Many studies show that general activities levels which are higher correlate closely with improved and reduced insulin resistance. Basically as you get more active your body doesn’t resist insulin and converts glucose into energy more efficiently.

Walking is about as stress free as any kind of exercise and as a result is one of the easiest forms of exercise you can take up. This is very handy for those people with high blood sugar levels who have a hard time pushing themselves to exercise.

If you do start exercising or simply walking everyday make sure to get a pedometer and track your steps in a day. Every week add up your steps and try to hit that mark or exceed it the following week. After a while you will have set in easy habits that will make a difference in your insulin resistance and blood sugar levels both after eating and in the morning.

Eating Fiber With Every Meal Helps To Reduce Blood Sugar Spikes & Lower Blood Sugar

One final way to lower fasting blood sugar levels is to emphasize eating more foods with fiber at every meal. This does not mean take a fiber shake or supplement at bedtime to make up for your fiber deficiencies throughout the day. No, you need to add fiber to every meal because studies show that eating fiber with your meals results in lower spikes in blood sugar.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that if blood sugar doesn’t spike as high it shouldn’t take as long to return to normal levels either which is why it’s worth fitting into your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Luckily, all the veggies that you add to your meals tend to have more fiber in them so this should help cover some of the deficiencies. For the remainder look to the foods you already eat and identify those which are fiber rich and try to add them to more meals than you have in the past.

Does This Help?

I find the preceding info very simple to implement and extremely important. I have a number of close family members who have diabetes and have battled the effects of the condition for many years. The end of days for diabetics is not always pretty, managing your glucose levels as best as possible really should be more commonly emphasized.

These simple tips are lifestyle decisions that take dedication to follow but they can easily help reduce your risks for developing diabetes. This post goes into more on reversing diabetes naturally before it progresses too much. I hope you’ll read it and share your experiences with diabetes treatment options below in the comments.

If you don’t have diabetes but are concerned about your blood sugar levels anyway then make sure to read this post for more ways to lower insulin resistance.

Blog Archive

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 02:49:00 +0000

How To Lower LDL Cholesterol Levels Naturally With Your Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:27:00 +0000

Looking to lower LDL cholesterol levels naturally as a supplement to your doctor’s prescribed medication? You should be. Lifestyle and dietary choices are most often the cause of clogged arteries and despite the fact that there is a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol changing your diet can go a long way to lowering cholesterol and getting healthy again.

In past posts on this blog I’ve noted a number of findings which correlate various lifestyle choices to increases in cholesterol. A well known correlation is smoking. Smokers tend to have higher cholesterol levels and higher rates of heart disease and other medical problems. Another obvious choice is physical inactivity. This may mean skipping your trip to the gym on occasion but all to often this actually means complete and utter inactivity.

When you sit at a desk all day and then come home and sit on the couch all evening only getting up to walk to the car, kitchen, or the bathroom then you are going to have problems.

Lower Your Cholesterol Levels Eating The Things You Love

If you are like most people there are certain things you love to eat. Many of them are not good for you at all and others are quite good for you. The trick to eating healthy is to not eliminate foods from your life but to minimize the consumption of bad foods and increase the consumption of good foods. Even the foods that raise your cholesterol have a part in your diet, you just have to figure out how to moderate them.

I came across a book on this very topic: Cholesterol Down: Ten Simple Steps to Lower Your Cholesterol in Four Weeks (Without Prescription Drugs). We all could use a little help in staying healthy, lowering bad cholesterol, raising good cholesterol, and knowing how to pair foods for our benefit. This book can help and it will help you find ways to lower your cholesterol, unclog arteries, and get back to living a healthy life without forcing you to change your entire lifestyle.

There are obviously many books and guides available on this topic but this book has just about the best reviews of any I've ever seen on the topic. Click here to see the book details and reviews on Amazon.

This goes without saying you should always be working with a physician, especially when you have high cholesterol, blocked or clogged arteries, or other serious medical conditions. If your doctor prescribes treatment you should follow his or her advice but so long as he or she is ok with your nutrition plan there’s no reason why you can’t attack your cholesterol problem naturally with the foods you eat at the same time.

How To Reduce Cortisol Levels With Your Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 23:17:00 +0000

A while back I posted on this blog my experience with a nurse checking my blood pressure. She noted my blood pressure was barely elevated and asked if I drank much coffee. I happily smiles and said yes and she stated that this may be causing my cortisol levels to get too high. You can read the original post on lowering cortisol levels naturally here.

For that post I did some research on cortisol because it was a topic that was new to me. What I found certainly didn’t give me any reason to drop coffee from my diet but it did shed light on how stress affects the body. As I note in my guide to living a longer life and as is a main theme to Dan Buettner’s book on Longevity: The Blue Zones, people who have low stress levels tend to live much longer lives. Buettner actually noted that the cultures in which people actually were able to keep stress levels to a minimum always seemed to be able to live longer than their peers.

A while back I’ve written how studies have shown that people who drink alcohol in moderation tend to live longer lives on average and this was backed up in this awesome documentary series I found on YouTube a while back on the world's longest lived people. I’m specifically referring to those centenarians interviewed that still enjoy an afternoon brandy on a daily basis. Drinking like this is a stress relief and shouldn’t be discounted. Other stress relievers include exercise, prayer and meditation, yoga, massage, and vacationing. There are, however, other things you can do to relieve stress in your body in the form of inflammation. Systemic inflammation is correlated with shorter lifespans as I discussed in these posts on the calorie restriction diet and on decreasing inflammation with walnuts a while back.

Foods That Reduce Cortisol Levels

Basically the premise behind lowering your cortisol levels naturally by eating the right foods relies on the science behind eliminating stresses on your body by eliminating inflammation which is sometimes called the silent killer. Basically you can’t always easily tell that inflammation exists. It’s been found that people who don’t floss tend to have higher levels of inflammation and hence live shorter lives. People who eat certain inflammatory foods also tend to live shorter lives and there is a whole host of people who have inflammation in their digestive tract due to the effects of gluten. These days, more people than ever are realizing that gluten intolerance is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The inflammation resulting in your intestines may only be a nuisance to you now but it may be adding to your stress levels and causing your cortisol levels to increase needlessly.

To reduce cortisol levels you need to cut out foods from your diet that cause undue stress and inflammation. Common culprits are wheat in those with gluten intolerance. If you don’t know if this applies to you then see your doctor and ask him or her about it. If he or she feels there is a risk for this then you can get a simple blood test to test it out. If you are intolerant to gluten then you should see a remarkable improvement in your systemic inflammation by simply removing gluten from your diet. There are plenty of gluten free meal plans to follow so just find one that works for you if you need to cut gluten from your diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids are also well known to help minimize inflammation throughout the body. These can easily be found in abundance in many common fish varieties and can easily be supplemented with OTC vitamins found at any health food store or grocery store. The best prices will tend to be found online and when shopping in bulk. This is a good option for omega-3 supplementation however anything that is convenient for you should be fine. Other sources of omega-3’s which can easily be found in normal every day food include flaxseed which can be found in many cereals, kidney/navy beans, and walnuts. If you do a lot of cooking you should also make sure to use olive oil more often because this is also a source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Lastly it’s important to decrease the quantity of fatty red meat from your diet. Your don’t have to eliminate it but nutritionists have known for years that lean meats like chicken, pork, and seafood anti-inflammatory when compared to red meats. Protein is an important part of any diet but getting the balance right in quantity of meat in your diet and the right mix of meats in your diet is even more important. If you can decrease the quantity of meat in your meals and replace the lost calories with additional vegetables instead then you should experience a decrease in inflammation and most likely a reduction in stress on the body which could manifest itself as a reduction in cortisol levels.

Of course you want to support your system naturally with your diet and in cases where high cortisol levels are particularly problematic taking a cortisol support supplement may help. In a future article I plan on detailing out additional ways to lower stress in your body with the intent of decreasing cortisol levels and improving your long term health. Thanks for reading!

Natural Treatments For Clogged Arteries

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 23:23:00 +0000

Natural treatments for clogged arteries and other related health conditions are popular but also risky. Before diving into this article please make sure you follow the advice of a trained medical professional who knows your personal situation. As you might expect a blockage of your arteries is very serious and could be fatal. The content of this article is simple informational in nature and shouldn’t replace the opinion and prescriptions of your physician.

Having said that however it should be noted that there are natural reasons why arteries clog and there are natural ways to address these problems. After all most people who eat foods which can slowly block arteries with plaques and cholesterol do not end up with blocked arteries. In most people the body is able to maintain healthy arteries on it’s own; therefore we can surmise that there are natural treatments for artery blockages and that many of these treatments require a new way of thinking and a new way of living one’s life.

What Causes Blocked Arteries

It’s not a secret what causes blocked arteries. Most people know it whether they do anything about it or not. Plaques buildup in the arteries and slowly cause damage to your circulatory system. When these plaques grow large enough they can start to choke blood flow off to one area of the body and depending on where the blockage occurs the more serious the condition becomes. For instance clogged arteries in the neck can lead to reduced blood flow to the brain which is commonly referred to as a stroke. Blocked arteries can also lead to heart attacks if the heart becomes starved for blood due to blockages in that area.

Sometimes blocked arteries in the legs can even cause these and other problems when blockages break apart and float through the blood stream in the form of clots. In this case it may be a problem in one area of the body compounding one another problem in another part of the body resulting in a situation which is even more serious than the two problems separately. A clot in the legs can easily result in a stroke if the clot breaks off and floats through the blood stream through the neck into the brain.

What many people don’t know about plaques is that they are not entirely caused by eating foods with fat and cholesterol. They are also formed by people who have low levels of HDL cholesterol flowing through their veins as well as people who exhibit high levels of blood pressure despite relatively normal levels of cholesterol.

Basically plaque buildup in the arteries is caused by micro-tares in the inner lining of the blood vessels. This is often the result of high blood pressure. These tares then provide perfect pockets for HDL cholesterol to deposit and settle in while the tear in the endothelium slowly heals. Ideally a person will have high levels of good HDL cholesterol running through their arteries because the HDL cholesterol acts like an usher escorting LDL cholesterol from your body but when there is not enough HDL cholesterol the inner walls of your arteries will harden as the LDL cholesterol remains caught in the damaged artery walls. Once the tares begin to heal the cholesterol is trapped behind the newly formed endothelium and scar tissue resulting in a bulge in the inner lining of your artery walls. Over time these bulges will grow and form blockages and if not addressed early can result in life threatening situations.

How To Treat Blocked Arteries Naturally

To effectively treat blocked arteries and reverse clogged arteries you have to stop the damage from occurring in the first place. Doctors have a whole host of medications designed to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels but you don’t have to rely on them solely. In fact taking the medications prescribed by your doctor can be even more effective if you change some of your lifestyle habits which help perpetuate the problems. By taking steps to improve your health naturally you can slowly lay the groundwork for treating clogged or blocked arteries yourself: These are just some of the most important things you can do to treat your arterial blockages:

• How To Lower Blood Pressure Naturally
• How To Lower LDL Cholesterol Naturally
• How To Increase HDL Cholesterol Naturally
• How To Lower Systemic Inflammation Naturally

As you read through the linked resources above and begin to implement these natural and simple ideas into your routine you need to make sure you stay connected with your doctor. If he or she prescribes any supplemental medication make sure to follow his or her advice carefully. It is highly likely that your doctor will also advise taking up an exercise routine designed to drop some excess weight. This is not to be ignored. Although countless patients hear this from their doctors every checkup very few really take it seriously. If your arteries are clogged or even if they aren’t a healthy body in a safe weight range is a body that is ready to live many more healthy years to come. Find an exercise regimen that works for you and take it seriously. It could save your life.

If you want to monitor your progress at home you may want to get your hands on a good at home blood pressure monitor and an excellent heart healthy cookbook to plan all your meals in advance. If you are serious about exercising and regaining your health many at home exercise programs come prepackaged with a good meal plan that you should follow… just make sure it’s going to help improve your cholesterol levels and not just beef you up on protein with low carbs.

Lastly, thanks for reading and I hope this helps. Please share this page with the buttons below and make sure to check out my guide to living a longer life.

Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy Risks In Women

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Growth hormone is always a controversial topic and no matter why you may be taking it or why you or your doctor may be considering this therapy you should know that the risks for growth hormone replacement therapy in women are higher than previously thought.

Researchers presenting at the Endocrine Society revealed findings that women who have undergone this form of hormone treatment were two and a half (250 percent) more likely to die of heart disease than the average person.

What is more interesting about the findings is that men had no increased risk of death at all when they underwent the treatment.

This tells us something that seems quite important on face value but really just opens up more questions in my eyes. For instance was the group of women screened ahead of time. Was there some other risk factor for heart disease that could have been at play that wasn’t adjusted for? Or are women who undergo growth hormone replacement really that more at risk – could it be that simple?

One thing that is unclear is whether lifestyle factors can minimize this increase in risk but it should be safe to assume that positive changes to one’s lifestyle should improve your chances for preventing heart attack. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America and preventing it alone would dramatically increase the life expectancies of the general population. If you are a women getting growth hormone replacement and are concerned about the risks then this should at least be motivation to you to take up activities that proactively improve cardiovascular health and limit heart attack risk.

For more on heart attacks see these posts on the risk of heart attacks in relation to BMI, what to do after a heart attack as well as this post on heart attack recovery, and be sure to know the common symptoms of clogged arteries.

You may also want to read some more general information on how to live longer with some of these longevity secrets.

Source: http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/PreventiveCare/26905

How To Prevent Silent Strokes In Seniors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 18:58:00 +0000

Strokes are one of the most common health complications that seniors face. They are in fact the number 3 cause of death in America. Many strokes are obvious. They are accompanied by obvious changes in body movement, language, and appearance but in people, seniors especially; silent strokes can hit and rarely be diagnosed immediately.

There is new evidence however showing that your risk for developing a silent stroke can be lowered by simply exercising. And this exercise shouldn’t just be the standard exercise that most seniors take part in. As reported in the journal Neurology on June 8

"MRIs of people who exercised at higher levels were significantly less likely to show silent brain infarcts [which were] caused by blocked arteries that interrupt blood flow and are markers for strokes [compared to] people who exercised lightly."

Preventing Silent Strokes In Seniors

According to the study people who participated in moderate to intense exercise were 40 percent less likely to have suffered a silent stroke within the following six years. Sure walking is good for you but this suggests that exercising a little more vigorously with jogging, tennis, or other types of sports may be better at preventing silent strokes.

You can read more about this in the study linked below but you may also want to read these older blog posts on how you can also help prevent strokes by limiting depression, how binge drinking plays a role in preventing strokes, and how your risk of having a stroke increases with rises when you have high systolic blood pressure and clogged arteries.

Because strokes are so serious doing whatever you can to prevent them or limit your risk for having one can help significantly in increasing your lifespan. Click through to see more longevity tips and to learn how to live longer.

Related - If you find this post interesting and/or helpful make sure to read this recent post on the blog on treating clogged arteries naturally. By treating your artery blockages and minimizing them you can lower your chances for strokes and for heart attacks.

Source: http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2011/06/08/WNL.0b013e31821f4472.abstract

Review of Longevity Pro Vitamin Supplements

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 30 May 2011 19:35:00 +0000

One industry in explosive growth these days is the industry of longevity and anti-aging products. As people are living longer and longer every year the industry of living healthier as longevity increases is booming. One new longevity vitamin supplement which hit the market in 2009 is LongevityPro, which is a mix of regular over-the-counter vitamins and longevity supplements packaged into a simple to use longevity vitamin supplement for normal every day use.

Longevity Pro Vitamin Supplements

Longevity Pro Vitamins

What I like about Longevity Pro supplements is that they don’t contend to be anymore than they really are. They are vitamin pills which do not mix in any mysterious ingredients. It is really just a blend of simple vitamins that you could put together yourself. The difference however is that the vitamins are conveniently packaged into pills contained in one bottle so that you don’t have to stock so many individual vitamins at the same time.

LongevityPro is kind of like a conventional multi-vitamin, a one-a-day designed not to deliver all vitamins but only those special vitamins believed to help increase one’s lifespan. You can easily head down to your local supermarket or drugstore and pick up One-A-Day multivitamins but they are not formulated with the popular supplements believed to play a role in long lifespans.

The LongevityPro Supplements contain some of the standard vitamins you might expect such as vitamin D, which is believed to play a major role in preventing many diseases but also a mix of the most popular extracts and longevity supplements such as Resveratrol, ALA, CoQ10, Green Tea Extract, Pomegranate Extract, as well as some other well known ingredients. In other words, instead of having to piece all of these supplements together yourself these pills can deliver them all in one bottle for a fair price.

Where To Buy LongevityPro Vitamin Supplements

If you are looking for LongevityPro reviews then you may find some people which don’t like the price but the simple fact in my opinion is that the price is just fine for the ingredients you get. This product is currently sold on the LongevityDrugstore.com website.

The site doesn’t sell a hodgepodge of other items but they do also have a related longevity vitamin supplement called KrillPro which is a supplement source of Omega-3. If you haven’t purchased longevity supplements before or are looking for a newer or better source of your vitamins then I encourage you to see the product page for LongevityPro and see if it’s worth it for you and your health.

As the author of a blog on longevity and overall health I think it’s also important to direct you to my main pages for longevity naturally. If you haven’t yet read it please see my guide on how to live longer as well as my posts on popular longevity secrets and longevity tips.

Why Walking After Eating Is Good For You

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 22:23:00 +0000

A while back I posted on the benefits of walking after eating fats – in that posted I mentioned a study that showed that after eating a high fat meal the levels of cholesterol in the arteries spiked causing a resemblance to arterial disease. That study showed that exercise could effectively return the arteries to a healthier state if performed right away.

As many people will tell you it’s hard to actually exercise very hard after eating a meal. The body wants to go into digestion mode and the energy of the body is transferred from the muscular system to the digestive system; this is why many people can get cramps if they swim or run right after eating a meal. It’s also contributory to the reason why we all like the idea of napping right after eating a big meal. It’s not just Thanksgiving that does this to us.

Despite these natural phenomenon walking after eating is actually a good thing if you can keep it to a regular task you perform and if you can keep it to a minimal amount of effort. You don’t want to overdo exercise after eating because the body isn’t designed that way but a little walking can go a long way. Not only does the walking help with bringing cholesterol levels in the artery back to normal quicker but it can also help with managing blood sugar levels as well.

Another Reason Why Walking After Eating Is Worth Doing

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog exercise or physical activity is the best way to improve insulin sensitivity. The food you eat does play a large role in short term spikes but staying active also plays a large role in managing blood sugar spikes on average over the long term. Another reason why exercise after eating is good for you is that it pushes the body to use more energy and burn more calories. This gives your body the extra push it needs to be even more sensitive to insulin.

We all know what it’s like to eat a meal and then want to crash on the couch and take a nap. This is fine on occasion but over the long term it trains the body to store energy rather than use it. The food you eat goes in and is transformed into glucose, the fuel your cells need to produce energy, but if you are not using it then the cells have less reason to use the glucose. As a result your blood sugar levels remain higher longer than they need to remain elevated.

Exercise, Lifestyle & Longevity

I noted in my post on reversing type-2 diabetes naturally and in my post on normal blood sugar levels that high blood sugar can slowly cause damage to the body. Even if you are not an advanced diabetic you should place some emphasis on keeping your blood sugar levels stable… if at the very least to simply feel normal around the clock. You don’t want to have to feel exhausted every time you eat so start walking.

For the better part of two years now I’ve been blogging about longevity and trying to answer the question of how to live longer. I wrote that post over a year ago and it’s very relevant but I’m beginning to realize that aside from staying active and eating right we really have to focus intently on preventing the diseases which are classified diseases of old age. Many types of cancers such as advanced prostate cancer, heart and arterial diseases such as clogged arteries, and more poignantly the prevention of type-2 diabetes or the better management of blood sugar.

If you are already taking the steps necessary to improve your chances for living a long life then you need to start maximizing those steps by practicing them in the most efficient way possible. Exercise is great but doing it in bursts throughout the day instead of in one long stretch has been shown to be better for you. Eating certain nutritional foods together (food pairing) enhances the positive effects of each individual food. Going walking is good for every aspect of your body; you might as well do it at times of the day that can enhance the positive effects. When you take your vitamins make sure you are taking vitamins that you can actually absorb – if you can’t look for ways to improve this rate. Some vitamins are fat soluble, some are not. Just be smart about what you are doing already.

Start looking for ways to enhance your health without substantially changing anything. You may even want to consider treating your skin with some respect as well. There are some top notch men’s moisturizers on the market as well as some excellent anti aging products for women which can keep you looking as great as you feel. You may be surprised how much healthier you feel just by taking care of your body, staying active, and looking great.

Normal Blood Sugar Levels

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:38:00 +0000

One of the best ways to ensure you live a longer life is to stay regular when it comes to visiting your primary care doctor. Just as you should have regular checkups your doctor should also be ordering the regular round of tests including simple tests such as blood pressure readings to lab tests like fasting blood sugar levels.

In this era where diabetes is one of the most prevalent conditions affecting American’s it makes more sense in the world to identify the early development of diabetes by monitoring your blood sugar range, that way you can take action if necessary.

What Are Normal Blood Sugar Levels?

Normal blood sugar levels in men and in women are based on the duration of time it’s been since you last ate. Most blood glucose tests are performed at least 10 hours since the last food was eaten. This is called fasting blood glucose levels and an ideal level would be less than 100.

In people who have just eaten, glucose levels are almost always higher because food is broken down in the stomach and turned into glucose which is used as fuel for your body. The glucose however doesn’t simply fuel your body but it is delivered to the cells of the body via the blood stream. The problem with type-2 diabetes is not the breaking down of food into glucose it’s the glucose not being delivered properly to the cells.

Insulin, produced by the pancreas, is supposed to metabolize glucose and allow for delivery to the cells. In many diabetics or pre-diabetics glucose testing shows elevated blood sugar because the body is resisting the insulin. Basically insulin resistance is responsible for blood sugar levels staying too high for too long and this is what regular fasting blood sugar testing is looking for.

Usually pre-diabetes or insulin resistance is classified as people who have fasting blood sugar levels in the 100-120 range. These levels are worrying but there are steps that you can take to reverse insulin resistance and return to normal blood sugar levels. For more on this you click here if you want to know more about how to reverse type-2 diabetes naturally - you will have to catch it early but that's what these doctor's visits are all about.

Normal Blood Sugar Levels After Eating

It’s hard to say exactly what a normal blood sugar range is after eating because it has completely everything to do with what kinds of food is consumed. For instance certain foods which are consistent with the insulin resistance diet are far better at keeping glucose levels from spiking. Generally whole grains and vegetables do much better at managing blood sugar spikes especially when compared against foods which are high in fats, sugars, and those which are generally low in nutritional value.

If you want to know how to live longer then you need to manage your blood sugar levels better. Have them checked routinely when you visit your doctor and stay as active as possible as this action alone is the single best way to improve insulin sensitivity and keep fasting glucose levels in a healthy range. You don’t want to have to deal with diabetes so take the steps necessary today to improve your health for tomorrow.

Buy The Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 01:10:00 +0000

Looking to buy the Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer for the best price possible. I first wrote about this men’s moisturizer a few months back and it has consistently been one of the best selling anti aging products and face creams for men that I’ve seen to date.

Click Here To Read The Reviews

Best Men's Moisturizer At The Best Price

As I said in my last post on the best men’s moisturizers the Neutrogena Men’s Face Moisturizer is one of the best price anti-aging moisturizers and also has the best reviews. You can try to find it in regular stores but it’s somewhat hard to find unless your local store has a large men’s section. Mine doesn’t.

Alternatively the best price and best availability of this product is consistently here so head over and give a look at the price.

Click Here For The Lowest Price Neutrogena’s Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer

For some related posts see these posts:

Lowering PSA Count Naturally With Your Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:43:00 +0000

Men with elevated PSA levels should absolutely be under the supervision of a physician. No matter what course of natural action you take to control PSA count and help foster a healthy prostate your doctor should be part of the equation. Having said that however there are some easy steps you can take yourself to help with lowering PSA count naturally. They are all simple, cost effective, and safe so any man should consider implementing them into his daily routine.

How To Lower PSA Count Naturally

First of all it is important to note that science has not yet identified elevated PSA count as a cause for prostate issues like enlarged prostate and prostate cancer, however those men who develop these conditions are more likely to experience elevated PSA count before their conditions set in. That’s why it is important to treat high PSA levels and prevent them if possible before worse health conditions develop.

Update: Do to popular demand I've just posted: How To Shrink Your Prostate Naturally. Check it out.

Simple Steps To Lower PSA Count Naturally

Eat The Right Foods – many studies have shown that certain foods have a dramatic affect on some men when it comes to them having healthier prostate glands. First of all eating a healthy diet has major benefits when it comes to preventing clogged arteries as well as preventing diabetes and other forms of cancer but your diet plays a major role in promoting a healthy prostate.

To lower PSA count and promote healthy prostate you need to learn a bit about food pairing. Eating tomatoes is quite common in most households as is eating broccoli. What most people don’t realize however is that eating these two foods during the same meal can help significantly with promoting a healthy prostate. If you want to naturally reduce your PSA count then make sure to eat more of these vegetables in tandem. You can read more about this in my article on prostate cancer prevention.

Another set of food choices that you need to make sure to implement into your life is to start eating more cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. These vegetables and others which contain high levels of glucosinolates have been shown in studies to be correlated with a 50 percent reduction in the rate of aggressive prostate cancer when men eat them routinely on a weekly basis. You can read more about how these vegetables lower PSA count and help prevent aggressive prostate cancer here.

Lastly another major change to your diet that you need to implement is to add pomegranates to your routine diet. A study back in 2006 showed that there was a notable improvement in managing high PSA levels when subjects routinely consumed pomegranates. The study claimed the antioxidants in the fruit was likely responsible but nevertheless getting more fruits into your diet never hurt anyone.

Eating pomegranates like apples may be difficult but there are many pomegranate juices on the market today which may make sense for you to start drinking regularly. The most popular pomegranate juice on the market today is Pom Wonderful which is a bit pricey but is much more affordable when purchased in larger quantities.

Prostate Health & Living Longer
Each of the above ways to lower PSA count and improve prostate health are good ways to generally improve your overall health. Changing one’s diet for the better is one of the best steps you can take to improve longevity. It is one of the most significant “longevity secrets” that anyone should follow.

If you want to learn more about how to live longer make sure to implement an improved diet into your life and please read my past post on the same topic.

I hope this post helps out in some way – if so I’d ask you to share it with your friends and family and link to it if you are on Twitter, Facebook, or maintain your own blog. Thanks!

Signs Of Clogged Arteries In Women

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Do you know what the most common signs of clogged arteries in women are? Many of the signs and symptoms of blocked arteries in women are different than they are in men. The warning signs may overlap some but many women simply fail to recognize these signs because they do not initially scream heart disease. Even still they are quite serious and all men and women should know them so that getting help is still possible.

What Are The Signs Of Clogged Arteries In Women

Unlike men the initial symptoms of clogged arteries are a little more subtle. Here is a quick list of symptoms for you to review. Individually many of these symptoms may be inconsequential but when experienced as a group may be quite troubling. Make sure you see your doctor immediately for a thorough examination. Only your doctor can correctly diagnose your current state of health.

And if you want to take a stand against heart problems such as high cholesterol and blood pressure then make sure to start exercising more, eating better foods, and consider following a program designed by a medical professional. This guide (aff) by licensed nutritionist Lisa Nelson, RD titled Heart Health Made Easy (aff) is an excellent tool in your arsenal. Check it out.

Common Signs Of Clogged Arteries

Click To Learn More!

Angina is the most common sign of clogged arteries. Angina is pain in the chest, shoulders, arm or neck. Sometimes the pain is more of a tightness or a feeling of heaviness. If you are experiencing this then make sure to see your doctor immediately. For more on Angina see this resource.
Shortness of Breath is another common symptom of blocked arteries. When arteries are clogged or blocked circulation can be limited leading to this feeling. When felt in conjunction with angina this can be a significant warning sign.
Cold sweats or simply sweating may be another warning sign.
Feeling of nausea, indigestion, or vomiting may be a warning sign for blocked arteries.
Irregular heart beat or increased speed of heart beats.
Dizziness or a feeling of lightheadedness is another common sign of clogged arteries.

Women in particular often feel fatigue, shortness of breath, and dizziness, often up to a month prior to heart attacks. This is not always the case but when these signs and symptoms arise they should be reported to a physician for professional care. As always medical doctors are your best defense against a worsening condition.

Preventing Heart Disease And Living Longer
Unfortunately many women simply do not recognize the early signs of clogged arteries. Many of the symptoms start earlier before heart attacks occur and build up slowly over time. As such many women simply do not notice the warning symptoms and do not get treated before they worsen.

In America heart disease is very prevalent and many of our lifestyle choices tend to increase the odds that we will develop heart disease at some time. The expected life span of many women can easily be increased if we can simply prevent clogged arteries in the first place but in the mean time simply noticing the early signs of clogged arteries in women and in men can help significantly in increasing healthy years of one’s life.

If you haven’t yet read it, I’d invite you to head over and read my piece on how to live longer. Many of the ways noted in that article can help with preventing clogged arteries and can help with giving you a higher quality of life as well. I also recently published a post on natural treatments for clogged arteries which I invite you to read and share with your network of friends and family.

Recommended Reading
Heart Health Made Easy (aff) - A guide to help you lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

How To Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 21:15:00 +0000

Looking to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally? Reversing diabetes naturally or with the help of your doctor is very hard, in fact many people may consider it impossible, and it may be if you are in bad enough condition but assuming you are not in dire straights and assuming you are willing to work hard at it there are some things you can do to help improve your condition.

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

Fist of all a very well encapsulating guide to reversing type 2 diabetes is available here – it is a guide you have to purchase but when your diabetic condition threatens your lifestyle and health it is a small price to pay.

What the guide provides however is a roadmap to reversing diabetes by treating the pancreas where insulin is produced. In type 2 diabetes a diabetic person has one of two issues going on and likely both. The first issue is that their body is not producing enough insulin to keep blog glucose levels in a safe zone. The second issue is that the body is resistant to the insulin that is produced and even with high levels of insulin production blood sugar levels can still creep higher and higher.

The guide to reversing diabetes naturally focuses squarely on the first issue, which by the way is one area where few people really focus. It teaches you how to change your diet for the better so that you can return your pancreas to normalcy so that it can be more efficient at producing the insulin your body needs to effectively manage blood sugar.

I’ve gone over many of the topics on this blog already but in a far less organized manner. To increase insulin production you have to eat the right kinds of foods and avoid many others which are common in our modern diets. The roadmap of what foods to eat and which one’s to avoid however are complex which is why it’s worth considering purchasing Reverse Diabetes Today.

Alternatively let me suggest you drop your email in the form below and I'll send you a summary of the aforementioned guide on the house.

Reversing Insulin Resistance Naturally

It’s important to remember however that increasing insulin production is not the only thinking you need to focus on. I’ve touched on the topic of improving insulin sensitivity many times on this blog and you really have to take these steps to reverse type 2 diabetes. Just like you can’t rely solely on insulin injections to manage your diabetes you can’t neglect your body’s sensitivity to insulin.

The absolute best way to reverse insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity is to eat less food and get more active. Both of these work well on their own but in conjunction they help you lose weight and that helps improve insulin sensitivity too. Of everything exercise and regular physical activity is the most important.

Science has shown us a dramatic correlation in patients fighting insulin insensitivity having better results by exercising than by doing any other thing. Watching what one eats helps but getting physically active helps more. If you haven’t gone back into the archives of this blog I’d invite you to take a look at my post on reversing insulin resistance, improving insulin sensitivity, and following an insulin resistance diet. Each of these posts should help with learning how to improve your body’s natural response to insulin.

If you have type 2 diabetes working on reversing insulin resistance is paramount in reversing type 2 diabetes naturally but it is one part of the process. You have to also take the natural steps necessary to repair your pancreas and its ability to produce insulin efficiently. The guide Reverse Diabetes Today can help significantly in taking you down the steps needed to get your body producing insulin efficiently and naturally so that you can scale back the severity of your diabetes and potentially reverse it all together.

Obviously you would never want to “go-it-alone” on a natural type-2 diabetes treatment program so make sure to keep your doctor informed as to what you are doing and always follow his or her advice. These natural steps to reverse diabetes shouldn’t interfere with any medicinal treatment he or she prescribes but they shouldn’t replace medical treatment from a doctor, they should merely compliment that treatment.

Advanced Prostate Cancer Treatment Options - Jevtana

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 19:40:00 +0000

Prostate cancer treatment options include everything from surgery to taking medicine to doing nothing at all and everything else in between.

As many of you know elevated PSA levels are not a guaranteed forewarning for developing prostate cancer but the rate of men who get prostate cancer who also have high PSA levels is significant. The best thing you can do as a man is to participate in regular prostate cancer screening and to take steps to keep your prostate healthy and keep your PSA levels low before you ever are diagnosed with a problem.

If however you do have advanced prostate cancer however you may want to take these steps to manage your condition at home while constantly keeping involved with your doctor on the latest medicinal treatments.

As reported by the AP, Wall Street Journal, and WebMD one new drug has recently passed the FDA as a potential treatment fro advanced prostate cancer:

Jevtana May Help You Live Longer With Prostate Cancer

From WebMD:

Called Jevtana (cabazitaxel), the chemotherapy drug is used in combination with the steroid prednisone and has been found to lengthen survival by nearly 2 and 1/2 months in men who have run out of treatment options…

… Those on the Jevtana regimen had a median overall survival of 15.1 months (half lived longer, half less) or about a year and three months, compared to 12.7 months, about a year, on the comparison regimen...

… The new treatment is not without side effects. Among them are a decline in white blood cells, anemia, low platelet counts, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, infections, and kidney failure. Even so, the differences in survival were significant, according to the researchers.

Prostate cancer is one of the most notable cancers that men face as they grow older. It is akin to breast cancer in woman and it was contributory to an estimated 27,000 deaths in 2009 alone.

Again, make sure you do what you can to prevent prostate cancer by taking care of your body, exercising, and eating the right foods. This old article I published on Prostate Cancer Prevention may help with some easy ways that you can help prevent this disease by simply changing the foods you eat.

This article also has some good ideas for ways to lower PSA levels which may help some men mitigate their chances for developing prostate cancer.

Source: WebMD - http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20100617/fda-oks-new-drug-for-advanced-prostate-cancer

Diabetic Walking Shoes Can Help You Live Longer With Diabetes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:56:00 +0000

If you’ve followed along with my long running series on diabetes with my recent posts: how to increase insulin naturally, normal blood sugar range, and The Insulin Resistance Diet then you probably know that diabetes is one of the leading causes of death and it is growing ever more prevalent with each passing year.

Looking at the most recent year’s statistics Diabetes is number 7 on the list taking sole responsibility for 2.9 percent of all deaths nationwide however the statistics are more sobering when you consider the fact that diabetes is a main contributing factor in heart disease and stroke because many of the problems that lead to the development and worsening of type-2 diabetes also contribute to the development of these other conditions which act much faster when they attack.

Additionally diabetes is often diagnosed in people who are overweight, in those who do not eat a well balanced diet in the correct proportions, and in people who do not exercise enough. Unfortunately for most people with diabetes the condition is preventable until it sets in but once it’s there it’s something you have to live with. Fortunately however it is possible if you are diligent and disciplined.

How Diabetic Walking Shoes Can Help You Live Longer

I’ve spoken a lot on this blog about how people with insulin resistance should be taking the time and energy every day to exercise because it helps improve insulin sensitivity and can help in managing blood sugar level better than just about any single action or medication you can take. Clinical research has shown over the year quite conclusively that exercise is the number one way to manage diabetes and insulin resistance but what is often left unsaid is how to get that exercise in when your feet are suffering from a diabetic condition.

You see what happens when you develop diabetes your body slowly starts getting damaged by the effects of chronically high blood sugar levels in your blood stream. In some people the pancreas is able to produce more insulin to help offset the insulin insensitivity but this too can cause long term damage to the blood vessels.

As a result from all this damage the smaller blood vessels such as the capillaries and some large vessels in the extremities and feet begin losing circulation and in turn begin losing their ability to circulate oxygen to the region, heal wounds in that part of the body, and fight off infection. What this results in is an area of the body extremely prone to wounds and an area of the body that has difficulty in healing the wounds that do happen.

When a diabetic person, especially one that has been diabetic for a long time, begins exercising the pressure put on the feet cans sometimes be too much for the foot. Pressure points from walking and running or whatever activity is taking place begin to take a toll on the foot and foot ulcers can begin cropping up. These wounds can be very painful but can also go unnoticed especially if neuropathy of the nerves has set in. If the wound is bad enough and infection spreads it is entirely possible to lose tissue and sometimes the bone altogether.

This obviously is bad and could be an obvious reason why someone with diabetes may have a shorter life span however it shouldn’t be an excuse for not exercising. Diet alone is not enough to manage diabetes and insulin resistance you have to get active and treat the condition with physical activity and the best was to do that is to practice the best foot care you can by washing your feet, keeping them dry and moisture free, inspecting them for small cuts or sores, and minimizing irritation put on them by the shoes and socks you wear.

When you exercise you have to wear the right shoes, you simply cannot afford not to. People with diabetes are always going to have a shorter expected life span and it’s because the condition contributes to both heart disease and stroke and because it can end up causing people to go lame and/or blind.

If you follow a sound diet, wear the best diabetic shoes you can afford when you go exercising, and make sure to monitor your body for physical changes or abnormalities you should be much more likely to live a longer life.

If you have diabetes and want to learn how to live a longer life with diabetes, simply do what you need to do and be thankful that your health is in your control.

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For related reading you may also want to see my older post on walking after eating or this handy post on the best anti aging products… since you should be taking the right steps to live longer anyway.

Maca Root Extract: A Medicinal Plant That Promotes a Longer, Healthier Life

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:39:00 +0000

The following is a guest post by by Joy from An Apple A Day.

While I want to live far into old age, one of my biggest fears is to find myself old and alive, but not well. I dread the idea of living long enough to watch my grandkids grow up, but being unable to happily interact with them and impart my hard-earned life lessons.

So I’m constantly looking for things that extend life, while also promoting vitality. Living longer itself is great, but living longer in a vital, energetic way is even better.

Recently, I’ve come across a medicinal plant called maca that research has shown to contain a vitalizing and life-extending cocktail of chemicals. The plant has long been a traditional herbal remedy and food staple in the Andes mountains of Peru. Warriors of old are said to have eaten large amounts of it before going into battle. As new studies come out, science is backing up the herbalists’ claims that the plant has anti-cancer, hormonal balancing, and virility-bringing powers.

Scientists have studied the chemical makeup of maca and have shown that it’s full of antioxidants. If you read How to Live a Longer Life often, you’re familiar with the anti-cancer properties of antioxidants.

Oxidation of the cells is what causes our cells to age; sometimes oxidation can cause regular cells to go into massive replication, creating cancerous tumors. Free radicals are the cause of this oxidation, and antioxidants act as free radical scavengers. They absorb the free radicals and keep them from hurting cells. Maca’s array of antioxidants is the scientific basis for its anti-cancer and life-extending properties.

Maca also balances out hormones in both men and women. The root has been used traditionally to ease menopausal symptoms, and researches have found a scientific basis for these claims.

In animal studies, maca kept female animals from developing post-menopausal osteoporosis, which is caused by estrogen deficiencies. Beyond these bone-helping properties, balancing estrogen levels can ease the mood swings associated with menopause and lead to feeling more emotionally and mentally balanced.

For men, as mentioned before, maca acts as a virility booster. Doses of maca have increased sperm count and testicle size in animals. If you’re having trouble conceiving, or simply want to take a natural aphrodisiac, consider getting some maca.

Maca root extract is relatively cheap and can be bought online in both pill and powder form. Buying it in powder is more economical; a one-pound bag can be purchased for around $20 from herbal and nutritional stores.

The recommended dose is 500-1000 mg three times daily, so be sure to take this into account when you’re buying pills. An upside of the pills is that the powder has a strong, earthy odor that some might not like. I usually take the powder in a glass of orange juice or some other very flavorful beverage, and this mostly masks the smell. If you don’t have a scale, 1000 mg of maca is approximately half a teaspoon.

While people will shell out hundreds of dollars for prescription drugs to increase virility or ease menopausal symptoms, maca acts as a “neutraceutical” with similar effects, at a fraction of the price. And, there are no known side effects. And it also has life-extending properties.

So, mix that powder into your orange juice, ignore the earthy odor, and enjoy your old age.

Joy Paley is a blogger for An Apple A Day and a writer specializing in phlebotomist careers for Guide to Healthcare Schools.

Is The GNC Acidophilus Supplement The Best Probiotic Complex

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:01:00 +0000

This week I was recommended by my doctor to try taking probiotics. I had never even really head about probiotics before and didn’t know the difference between acidophilus supplements or any of the other many types and strains of probiotics so this was all new ground for me. This may be too much information but I’ve been feeling like I’ve had poor digestion lately and I’ve been burping a lot more than normal and he suggested that this might help.

Research In Probiotic Supplements – Align Probiotics

In actuality my doctor prescribed an over the counter probiotic supplement called Align seeing as though it had been thoroughly studied in clinical settings with placebo and double-blind research. The Align probiotic in these studies was shown to have statistical significance in decreasing the symptoms of IBS in women.

Obviously I’m a man and the study was on women but still the doctor thought this may help and would be the best shot over the other potential probiotics which had not shown any clinical evidence either due to research which showed no help or due to a lack or research.

In any event I went home and researched probiotics and found the research study performed on the Align Probiotic complex, which you can read here in abstract form, and I learned that probiotics are a little hocus pocus right now because there are so many different strains of probiotics that one strain may be helpful whereas another could be a waste of money and with a lack or clinical research in the field it can be almost impossible to identify the probiotics which can help and which will do nothing.

What Is The Best Probiotic Complex

The Align probiotic vitamin supplement study even showed that the number of CFU in probiotics could be deceiving. One would expect that the higher the CFU the better the results. The price is even higher for higher CFU so this would make sense however the high CFU dose of Align in the study didn’t show improved results with IBS it was the middle ground CFU that showed results. This goes to suggest that a particular probiotic supplement that is the right strain and combination of probiotics may still not help much unless the CFU is in the right zone.

Quickly it’s become obvious to me that taking probiotics for my digestive issues may be an exercise in futility seeing as though I haven’t been diagnosed with IBS nor am I a woman. Even further making this a crap shoot I couldn’t even find Align probiotics in the store. I went to a few stores actually and because I couldn’t find it I decided to buy a different probiotic complex as a way of comparing two types on my own. I decided I would take the GNC Acidophilus Supplement, a probiotic complex with 4 billion CFU consisting of 40 percent acidophilus, 40 percent bifidum, 10 percent helveticus, and 10 percent thermophilus.

GNC Acidophilus Supplement vs. Align Probiotic Vitamins

Now I’m still pretty new to this but I felt this was a good baseline acidophilus supplement to compare to the Align probitotic supplement which my doctor recommended. And since I couldn’t find the probiotic complex my doctor recommended in the store I figured I’d pick it up on Amazon and compare the two by taking the acidophilus supplement for the month of September and then the Align probiotic for the month of October and deciding for myself which is the best probiotic complex for my personal situation.

Will my results be applicable to anyone else? I’m not sure. If I find that the acidophilus supplement is the best probiotic supplement then that may be simply the best probiotic complex for me and my situation alone as I’m learning that this is really a hit or miss area without the testing completed to backup health claims. I’ll have to report back here with my personal findings. And speaking of which I still need to report back on my experience with the men's face moisturizer I purchased a week ago to help with sunblock and anti aging. I'm only 30 but it never hurts to start early I guess.

If you have experience with probiotic supplements I’d love to hear your thoughts down below.

Align Research Source - http://www.nature.com/ajg/journal/v101/n7/abs/ajg2006294a.html

Whats The Best Face Moisturizer For Men With SPF

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:31:00 +0000

I started shopping today for the best face moisturizer for men with SPF. I didn’t start this week thinking I would need a good moisturizer for men but the wife looked at me a couple days ago and peered deeply into my forehead and informed me that she didn’t like the growing tan line or discoloration that was slowly appearing near my hairline which was most likely caused by sun damage.

Taken aback with surprise I looked into the mirror and what do you know; she was right – I did have a noticeable line. And now that I’m 30 I should probably start caring a little more about my skin and my appearance… especially after crafting such a fine post on the best anti aging products on the market today. Why am I not following my own advice and taking care of my skin.

The wife ended up telling me she wanted me to start wearing sunscreen on my face and I am happy to please her – so thus started my search for various face moisturizers for men which were both oil free, natural, would help with anti aging attributes, and were generally the best moisturizers for men that money could buy.

Finding The Best Men's SPF Moisturizer

I started my search by simply browsing through the top selling products at Amazon because frankly I’ve written a bit about anti aging creams but haven’t researched men’s products specifically. What I found was a lot of claims that Nivea for men moisturizer was one of the best however I quickly realized that it was simply a cheap men’s moisturizer and little more. Upon doing a little more digging however I stumbled upon the Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer which I quickly realized was on my wish list.

This facial moisturizer for men is fragrance free, oil free, all natural, and uses retinol (vitamin A) to work to moisturize the skin and reduce lines and wrinkles. It also packs SPF 15 for all day protection against skin damage and should be a great way to spend al little more money on skin moisturizer to get more benefits than the cheapest but less expensive than the top of the line. In my mind this is the best facial moisturizer for men as it is affordable but very beneficial – much more so al least over the cheapest kinds.

Is the Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer really the best skin moisturizer for men? I don’t know but it appears to be the best moisturizer for my money. I has what I value and at a price I can afford and feel good about paying and recommending others to buy.

If you want to give it a try or have any thoughts about Neutrogena or any other related products I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Did I make the wrong choice? Let me know and tell me what men’s moisturizer is better. I’d love to know.

You can take a look at the product I purchased here on Amazon and give it a try for yourself - Neutrogena Men Age Fighter Face Moisturizer.

How To Boost T Cells

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:56:00 +0000

Over the past year a few posts I’ve written on how to boost T cells have become rather popular. Despite the fact that this blog is about longevity and anti aging topics I can’t help but want to feature these posts as a group so that they can be referenced on occasion as a collection.

In the future I will likely write a little more on the topic of boosting T cells and improving your immune system and when those posts go live I’ll update this page to reflect the added topical information.

Of course T cells, white blood cells, and the immune system is a very complex subject and probably more scientific in nature than I could ever fully represent as a simple blogger. For that matter I would hope that every post on the subject not be taken as scientific fact but rather be analyzed by you the reader and placed in better context as applicable to you and your knowledge.

My posts in order of publication are:

Obviously if you are having trouble with your T cell levels your doctor should be guiding your treatment process. These articles are merely informational and should not replace any information or opinions expressed by your doctor. The task of boosting T cell count is ultimately in his court and rightfully so.

The Best Anti Aging Products On The Market Today

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:44:00 +0000

Being the author of a longevity blog I was curious what the best anti aging products on the market were. Personally I don’t use product on my skin or eyes, or any other area of my body but my wife has started too and she has been encouraging me to start. After all, I just turned 30 and we don’t want to age too quickly to fast.

As a man, this is kind of a weird subject because not many men care enough to use anti aging products, creams, masks, and serums. Many of us do work our hardest to stay healthy and in shape. And like myself many of us want to live a longer life full of health and happiness so I guess it makes sense that if I plan on living on this earth for many more decades I might as well try to look good while I’m doing it.

Last year, I took the time to investigate the differences between various types of anti aging creams. If you missed that post, let me encourage you to go back and review it. I learned a lot doing that research. To expand a bit on it however I did some more research and selected what I consider to be a decent list of the best anti aging products on the market. Of course my opinion is biased towards simplicity and cost-effectiveness. I shy away from high priced formulas and potential scams; but I suppose that many of these products are just fine assuming you don’t rely on them entirely.

---UPDATE - I've recently posted a review of Stem Cell Therapy Cream - this cream is designed to help speed up the regeneration of skin cells and help your look younger. Check it out.---

My methodology in these selections is not an exact science. I’m merely looking at the top selling anti aging products by product type which I identified in the previous post and hand selecting what I consider to be a good choice for someone just starting to dive into the products.

Best Idebenone Anti Aging Product

Idebenone, as I previously stated, is designed to prevent damage to the skin from occurring. As opposed to other anti-aging products which try to repair damage and make you look younger this type of product actually try’s to slow aging by preventing damage. This places this type of product high in my opinion as I really value prevention.

Click here to see the best selling Idebenone products on Amazon or you can just look into my favorite of the product group: Idebenone Anti-aging Anti Wrinkle Face and Skin Care Serum from Bathouse Naturals. This is my favorite because I believe that the active ingredient is all that really matters so why get a complicated formula for way too much money. Just get the Idebenone and use it with your favorite moisturizer.

Best Anti Aging Moisturizer

In my opinion the best anti aging moisturizer is an affordable moisturizer containing Retinol. Retinol is an antioxidant found in Vitamin A. Applying it directly to the skin is a much more efficient mechanism than consuming it in our foods. Because most people use moisturizers anyway make sure to use one with Retinol to help decrease skin damage and to help maintain collagen production in the skin.

Amazons list of top selling retinol moisturizers are here but I suggest the Skincare LdeL Cosmetics Retinol Day Cream from Skincare LdeL Cosmetics as it is not too fancy or expensive but also includes SPF 20 for more protection. You can easily add the Idebenone right into the mix and kill two birds with one stone.

Best Anti Aging Peptide Night Cream

Lastly I recommend a quality yet inexpensive night cream moisturizer based on a peptide complex. Peptides help boost collagen production and are thus a good at preventing lines and visual effects of aging due to a loss of collagen production. When used in conjunction with retinol and Idebenone this trio of products should be the best combination of affordable anti aging products you will ever need.

Here is a list of Amazon’s top selling peptide creams but I suggest you just pick up a cheap, simple, and affordable bottle of Olay’s Olay Regenerist Daily Regenerating Serum, Concentrated Amino-Peptide Complex and apply nightly before bedtime.

Combined these three products will cost you less than $50, which is far less expensive than certain individual products and should give you a perfect combination simple anti aging protection.

As for me; I’ll continue thinking about starting my own regimen using products like this. My wife has long been suggesting I at least start with a basic moisturizer, Vaseline for men anyone? I suppose it will be worth it as I continue to age. Let me know your thoughts below and give me some motivation to get over my manliness and start taking care of my skin. :)

Stop Heart Disease – Leading Cause of Death In America

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:50:00 +0000

Heart disease is well known to be the leading cause of death in America and it has been so for a long time. Over the years previous leaders like infection and influenza have been overcome by modern medicine while other leaders have emerged such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Despite the changes over time however, heart disease is easily the current leader in American and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon.

If you want to live a longer life then you have to take steps to minimize your risks for developing heart disease and prepare yourself to recover from it should it form despite a healthy lifestyle.

Causes of Heart Disease

Heart disease is caused for a number of reasons but most predominantly it is due to genetics, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices. Of these three, lifestyle choices account for the vast majority of heart disease cases and should be the starting point for any program designed to prevent heart disease.

Heart disease is caused primarily due to plaque buildup in the arteries and arterial plaque build up is caused mostly due to poor cholesterol levels, obesity, and hypertension. Digging a little deeper you may want to read about the leading causes of hypertension, how to lower cholesterol levels, or learn a bit about what are normal blood sugar levels, as this contributes to metabolic syndrome and heart disease.

Another one of the leading causes of heart disease is smoking and the related affects of it. People who smoke consistently have a shorter life span than people who don’t and the quality of life in the end is almost always worse off.

Why Heart Disease Is The Top Cause

So why is heart disease a leader? The answer can be simplified or discussed in thesis form but as this is merely a blog I’ll say this. Tobacco is a habit that can lead to heart disease and many people started smoking well before this was known or before they cared to understand.

Additionally fast food quickly gained in popularity at a time that was unique in American history. The women’s movement allowed many mothers to exit the home and enter the workforce causing the demand for convenience food to soar. This alone is not a problem but the convenience food found in fast food restaurants contributes in a major way to the development of heart disease because it is often loaded with sodium and fat; which makes the food cheap and allows it to last a long time.

To compound the problems that have allowed heart disease to inflate over the decades is the rise in popularity of soda and sweetened beverages. Many people do not realize it but drinking sodas, sweetened teas, and juices adds an amazing amount of calories to our diets which in the past would have been occupied by water. These calories add to our waist lines and cause obesity which increases the likelihood of developing heart disease.

Lastly, because modern medicine has nearly eliminated or minimized many of the conditions that were so significant in the past we all live longer today than ever before. This allows conditions like heart disease to develop over a lifetime. In the past people didn’t live long enough to have heart disease in abundance but now as life expectancy is much higher these diseases of long life become more apparent.

How To Prevent Heart Disease

So how do you prevent heart disease? It should be clear. Each of the above mentioned causes are lifestyle choices we all make. If we are expected to live so long and more than a quarter of us succumb to hart disease then preventing this condition by not smoking, not eating fast food, not drinking soda, and not developing obesity seems only natural. If you want to improve longevity and quality of life in your extreme old age then all you have to do is be a little proactive. Eat right live longer and live a healthier life.