Erythritol is a natural sugar substitute made by fermenting corn, called a sugar alcohol. Other sugar alcohols are sorbitol and xylitol. Because they are all natural, the FDA does not consider them to be food additives. Other artificial sweeteners like aspartame and saccharine are made from chemicals in a laboratory. … Read More
According to the National Institute on Aging, heart attacks and strokes are the biggest risks for senior citizens, but the disease seniors fear most is dementia. By far the biggest cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. What happens when a person has Alzheimer’s dementia is an irreversible and progressive loss … Read More
If you monitor your blood pressure at home, you may notice that your pressure is usually higher in the early morning. This is normal because your blood pressure has a normal variation that follows your body’s biological clock, also called your circadian rhythm. Blood pressure is higher a few hours … Read More
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), alopecia areata is a disease of the immune system that attacks your hair follicles. Your immune system is your defense against foreign invaders like viruses or bacteria, but sometimes the immune system mistakes normal body tissues as foreign and attacks them. This … Read More
Based on some early studies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added a warning on statin drug labels that they may cause memory loss and confusion in some people. [1] This warning led to fears that statin drugs might increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, which is the … Read More
What is a "mild heart attack"? You may have heard the expression and wondered exactly what it means. A bone can have a hairline fracture or a major break. A stroke can have relatively minor consequences or be severely debilitating. So can a heart attack be mild or major? The … Read More
Blood sugar is also called blood glucose. It is a measurement of the amount of sugar in your blood. This measurement is found by doing a blood test, usually after an 8-hour fast. It is important to know this number because it tells your doctor or if you are at … Read More
Despite all their best efforts, some people still can’t keep their lipids and cardiovascular risk at acceptable levels. If you’re one of them, you’ll need a medication to help control your cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Statins are known scientifically as 3-hydroxy- 3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A … Read More
In our post Chocolate Benefits for Your Brain, you learned about the phytochemicals in dark chocolate and cocoa and their impact on your mood and cognitive performance. Here, we’ll continue with an overview of cocoa benefits (from cocoa powder and dark chocolate) on heart health. Chocolate’s polyphenols, particularly its flavanols, … Read More
A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reveals that drinking green tea or taking green tea in capsule form may lower LDL cholesterol as well as total cholesterol. Dr. Olivia J. Phung, of the College of Pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, … Read More
