C-reactive protein (CRP): The simple blood test that could save your life

You probably know your blood pressure, and whether your cholesterol is high, low, or normal. But what about your C-reactive protein (CRP)?

Heart Inflammation

Short for C-reactive protein, CRP is a general indicator of inflammation within the body—a condition that can contribute to a host of serious ailments.

“Chronic inflammation can do serious damage to the arterial walls”

“Chronic inflammation can do serious damage to the arterial walls,” says Michael Roizen, MD, YOU Doc and best-selling author. ”Chronic inflammation causes swelling and reduction in the diameter of the arteries that can lead to blood clots and accelerate the buildup of plaque and subsequent atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.”

According to the American Heart Association, people with high CRP are twice as likely to suffer cardiac arrest as those with low levels. “This makes C-reactive Protein the most important cardiovascular risk factor we have for men and women over age 50—a more important factor than age, family history, blood pressure, cholesterol, and whether you smoke,” says Roizen.

Understanding your CRP levels is good for a lot of things…

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Purified Omega 7: “Just a little does a whole lot”

In this 4-minute video, Dr. Michael F. Roizen, Chairman of the Wellness Institute of The Cleveland Clinic, talks about atherosclerosis and heart disease, its causes and consequences: heart attack, stroke, memory loss, impotence, and wrinkling.

Dr. Roizen shares how purified Omega 7 (palmitoleic acid) can potentially help in the fight against diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis. This is exciting news because Purified Omega 7 “antagonizes” all three because it has been shown to decrease insulin resistance, decrease hepatic fat accumulation, and decrease acute and chronic inflammation - with no side effects.

“This could have a huge benefit for our populations as a whole”

To conclude, Dr. Roizen puts purified Omega 7 into perspective: “This could have a huge benefit for our populations as a whole because metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and diabetes are big things we need to tackle for us to be more competitive for jobs, and the United States to be more competitive as a society.”

[Read more...]

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The Napalm Connection to the Inflammation in Your Body

If you only knew what’s lurking inside the foods you’re eating (you probably wouldn’t eat them). Or at the very least, you’d be equally mindful of what you leave out of your diet as what you put in it.

What to leave in, what to leave out

Many experts now recognize inflammation as a key factor in many human ailments, especially those associated with the metabolic syndrome, which consists of the triad of insulin resistance, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

The word “napalm” is derived from the words naphthenic acid and palmitic acid

 

One of the biggest culprits we unwittingly consume whenever we eat foods with saturated fats is a fatty acid called “Palmitic Acid”.

“ First, do no harm”

While there have been many treatments designed to lessen the harmful effects of inflammation in the body, perhaps the best advice to follow is that of Hippocrates that says:   First, do no harm, and avoid or consume in moderation the foods that contribute to inflammation.

[Read more...]

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Omega 7 Palmitoleic Acid: A New Hope

There is a new fight–a struggle between good and evil.

It’s happening in our own bodies. It’s happening with our food choices.

Many of the foods that are killing us are hiding in plain sight–many contain a saturated fatty acid called palmitic acid, which is prevalent foods that are high in saturated fats, such as processed meets, cheeses, and dairy products.

Body Wars

There is a War for Good and Evil in our own Bodies

Not all Fatty Acids were created equal

On one hand you have Palmitic Acid, a “bad fatty acid”. A saturate, it is well documented that palmitic acid has been shown to have toxic effects on pancreatic beta cells, leading to a greater chance for insulin resistance and subsequent development of diabetes.

On the other hand you have Palmitoleic Acid, a “good fatty acid”. A Monounsaturated fatty acid, it protects against the negative effects of Palmitic Acid. You can reduce the negative impact of the saturates in your diet by ingesting higher concentrations of the “good fatty acids”.

The evil empire is everywhere [Read more...]

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A Good Fat? That helps you lose weight? For real?

It is common knowledge in the scientific community that adipose tissue (commonly known as body fat) produces hormones. Leptin, for example, which regulates weight gain.

A breakthrough discovery

Omega 7 Palmitoleic Acid

The thin mouse was administered Palmitoleic Acid

In the fall of 2008, the journal “Cell” reported the discovery of a new type of adipose hormone. What was unusual about this one is that it is a “lipokine“, a  new class of hormone that is not a steroid or protein–but a fatty acid.

The newly discovered liopkine is called C16:1n7-palmitoleate. It is a particular version of a sixteen-carbon chain derived from the monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) palmitoleic acid.

The positive health benefits of monounsaturated fats… [Read more...]

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Ice cream may target your brain before targeting your hips

Dr. Deborah Clegg

Dr. Deborah Clegg and colleagues suggest that fat molecules from certain foods can change brain chemistry in a very short period, causing appetite-suppressing signals to be ignored.

Reprinted with Permission of Dr. Deborah Clegg

 

Blame your brain for sabotaging your efforts to get back on track after splurging on an extra scoop of ice cream or that second burger during Friday night’s football game.

Findings from a new UT Southwestern Medical Center study suggest that fat from certain foods we eat makes its way to the brain. Once there, the fat molecules cause the brain to send messages to the body’s cells, warning them to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin, hormones involved in weight regulation.

The researchers also found that one particular type of fat — palmitic acid — is particularly effective at instigating this mechanism.

“Normally, our body is primed to say when we’ve had enough, but that doesn’t always happen when we’re eating something good,” said Dr. Deborah Clegg, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the rodent study appearing in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. [Read more...]

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Why Heart Disease is the #1 Killer in the US (and 4 things you can do to avoid being becoming a statistic)

About every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event

Heart MonitorThe most common heart disease in the United States is coronary heart disease, which often appears as a heart attack or a stroke. In 2010, an estimated 785,000 Americans had a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack. Every 25 seconds, an American will have a coronary event, and about one every minute will die from one.

And it’s a shame because in many cases the lost lives are tied directly to lifestyle–particularly diet. The chance of developing coronary heart disease can be greatly reduced by taking steps to prevent and control factors that put people at greater risk.

The link between nutrition and heart health

As part of Heart Health Month, the American Heart Association wants everyone to take a good look at the things in our lives that we can control. Such as re-evaluating our diet and getting regular blood tests to determine our cholesterol numbers.

With one quick look it’s easy to see that we humans were never meant to eat the types of foods we consume every day. There is a direct link between nutrition and heart disease. Poor eating habits could very soon lead to the fist generation of Americans to live shorter lives than the generation before them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. [Read more...]

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