Month: March 2014

8 Ways Aloe Can Be Used For Everday Health And Beauty

The Aloe plant is part of the genus, succulent plants, which comprises of over 500 different types of species. It has been cultivated for many years because of its pharmaceutical uses. Dating back 5,000 years to ancient Egypt, aloe was known as a powerful herbal medicine. The plant produces gel and latex, which are both used for medicinal purposes. The gel is the clear gooey substance that is found when you break the plant, and the (yellow) latex comes from right under its skin. Many beauty experts and other health care professionals list aloe as an important plant curing many skin ailments. Here are a few of its suggested uses:

Burns
Applying aloe cream to the skin might help to heal certain burns. A 2009 study found that 30 patients with second-degree burns, who applied aloe cream, healed in areas with minor wounds in less than 16 days.

High cholesterol and Hyperlipidemia
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), preliminary evidence suggests that taking 10 to 20 milliliters of aloe orally daily for 12 weeks can reduce total cholesterol by about 15 percent, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by about 18 percent, and triglycerides by about 25 to 30 percent in people with hyperlipidemia.

Cold Sores
Research suggest that aloe gel speeds up canker sores and helps to alleviate some of the pain

Acne
Some research has shown that aloe helps to heal present acne and acne scars because of its antimicrobial properties. It’s also moisturizing without being greasy.

Dry Hair
The inside of the plant makes a great hair conditioner because of the its hydrating properties. Use the plant’s “juice” and gel in your hair, then rinse and apply your normal conditioner.

Diabetes
The NIH says that, while it’s inconclusive aloe may reduce blood sugar in people with diabetes. “Two studies indicate that taking aloe gel by mouth can reduce blood sugar in women with type 2 diabetes. But another study did not show the same benefit.”

Sunburns
Due to the cooling effect aloe has on the skin, it’s often an over-the-counter recommendation by physicians and pharmacists for minor sunburns.

Weight Loss
Aloe Vera juice made its way last year as a health drink. According to the Daily Mail, aloe contains a number vitamins “including A, C, E, folic acid, B1, B2, B3, B6, and it is one of the few plants that contains vitamin B12, which helps with brain and nervous system function.” As a super food it helps with digestion and clears your skin from the inside.

Source: Medical daily

Unease grows among U.S. doctors over Indian drug quality

Some U.S. doctors are becoming concerned about the quality of generic drugs supplied by Indian manufacturers following a flurry of recalls and import bans by the Food and Drug Administration.

India supplies about 40 percent of generic and over-the-counter drugs used in the United States, making it the second-biggest supplier after Canada.

In recent months, the FDA, citing quality control problems ranging from data manipulation to sanitation, has banned the importation of products from Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, Wockhardt Ltd and, most recently, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

“I’m just beginning to realize the gravity of the problem,” said Dr. Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic. “It’s terrible and it is starting to get a lot of traction among physicians.”

Indian drugmakers are by no means the only companies to recall products or be warned by the FDA about manufacturing problems. For instance, quality control failures at Johnson & Johnson forced the company to recall dozens of products over the past five years, ranging from artificial hips to children’s Tylenol.

And last year, Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim said it would shut down its U.S. contract manufacturing unit, Ben Venue Laboratories, after it was cited for repeated manufacturing violations that led to shortages of the cancer drug Doxil.

India’s drugmakers, a $14 billion industry, reject any criticism that their products are inferior to drugs made in other countries.

“We have heard doctors making generalized statements, without being specific on any product or company,” said D.G. Shah, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, a trade group representing large Indian drugmakers. “This is a deliberate and serious campaign to malign the Indian generic industry.”

If U.S. doctors come across a medicine that does not meet quality standards, they should report it to regulators, he said. “Doctors are not in a position to judge whether manufacturing processes are correct or not. That is the U.S. FDA’s job.”

Generic drugs account for nearly 85 percent of medicines prescribed in the United States and the government is relying on them to help rein in healthcare costs.

“We are losing control over what people are swallowing,” said Dr. Harry Lever, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic who is trying raise awareness of the matter among U.S. lawmakers. “Now, when a patient comes in who is not doing well, the first thing I do is look at their drugs and find out who makes it.”

Increasingly, Lever said, he is recommending patients seek out generic drugs from specific manufacturers outside India.

“I’m tending to stay away from India,” he said. “There’s something wrong. Too many things are happening.”

INDIA DOCTORS HIT BACK

Indian physicians do not share the concerns.

“Our drugs are being sold in many countries and being accepted, so we have no issues,” said Narendra Saini, Secretary General of the Indian Medical Association, a voluntary body of 215,000 doctors. “How do I know that Western drugs are better than our drugs?”

A 2012 report by India’s parliament alleged collusion between pharmaceutical firms and officials at the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), the country’s drugs regulator, and described an agency that was both understaffed and underqualified.

Saini said physicians trust that the CDSCO is taking care of the quality and the standard of the drugs made in India.

“We very much trust those medicines,” he added.

Representatives of Ranbaxy, Sun and Wockhardt were not immediately available to comment.

Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said he is concerned about the quality of generic drugs in general, not just those from India. He cited, as an example, his experience with the diabetes drug metformin.

“When patients open the bottle of medication it smells like dead fish,” he said. Zonszein did not know which company made the foul-smelling drug.

Physicians do not have a say in which generic drug a patient receives, as that depends on which products are stocked by individual pharmacies. If a patient wants to avoid a certain manufacturer, he or she may have to change pharmacies.

Doctors may specify that the branded version of a drug be dispensed, but insurance companies frequently refuse to pay for them.

Dr. Richard Kovacs, who heads a number of American College of Cardiology committees and sits on its board of trustees, said doctors may need to play a greater role monitoring the medications prescribed by their practices.

“The average U.S. cardiologist has been able to assume that the drugs were safe and effective. It now appears we need to be more vigilant as a profession, and assist the FDA by reporting cases where we are concerned about irregularities in the drugs supplied to our patients,” he said.

Source: Reuters

Saturated fat advice ‘unclear’

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Swapping butter for a sunflower spread may not lower heart risk, say British Heart Foundation researchers.

Contrary to guidance, there is no evidence that changing the type of fat you eat from “bad” saturated to “healthier” polyunsaturated cuts heart risk.

They looked at data from 72 studies with more than 600,000 participants.

Heart experts stressed the findings did not mean it was fine to eat lots of cheese, pies and cakes.

Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which can increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Saturated fat is the kind of fat found in butter, biscuits, fatty cuts of meat, sausages and bacon, and cheese and cream.

Most of us eat too much of it – men should eat no more than 30g a day and women no more than 20g a day.

There has been a big health drive to get more people eating unsaturated fats such as olive and sunflower oils and other non-animal fats – instead.

But research published in Annals of Internal Medicine, led by investigators at the University of Cambridge, found no evidence to support this.

Total saturated fat, whether measured in the diet or in the bloodstream as a biomarker, was not associated with coronary disease risk in the 72 observational studies.

And polyunsaturated fat intake did not offer any heart protection.

Dr Rajiv Chowdhury, the lead author of the research , said: “These are interesting results that potentially stimulate new lines of scientific inquiry and encourage careful reappraisal of our current nutritional guidelines.”

The British Heart Foundation said the findings did not change the advice that eating too much fat is harmful for the heart.

Prof Jeremy Pearson, the charity’s associate medical director, said: “This research is not saying that you can eat as much fat as you like.

“Too much fat is bad for you.

“But, sadly, this analysis suggests there isn’t enough evidence to say that a diet rich in polyunsaturated fats but low in saturated fats reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

“Alongside taking any necessary medication, the best way to stay heart healthy is to stop smoking, stay active, and ensure our whole diet is healthy – and this means considering not only the fats in our diet but also our intake of salt, sugar and fruit and vegetables.”

Source: BBC news

Middle-aged? Put down the meat

Eating a high-protein diet in middle age could increase your risk of diabetes and cancer, according to a study published this week in the journal Cell Metabolism. But don’t stay away from meat for too long – the same study showed those over 65 need more protein to reduce their mortality risk.

Insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, is a protein in your body related to growth and development. Past studies have linked IGF-1 to age-related diseases, including cancer. Mice and humans with higher levels of IGF-1 often have a higher risk of developing these diseases.

Scientists believe protein intake plays a role in IGF-1 activity. Eating less protein, studies have shown, can lead to lower levels of IGF-1 in your body. So theoretically, protein consumption could be directly linked to disease incidence and death.

The study

Researchers analyzed survey data from 6,381 U.S. men and women aged 50 and above to understand the link between protein, certain diseases and mortality.

The study participants were split into three groups: a high-protein group who ate 20% or more of their daily calories from proteins; a moderate-protein group who ate 10 to 19% of their calories from proteins; and a low-protein group.

Researchers also looked at the differences in risk between those aged 50 to 65 and those over 65 years old.

The results

People between the ages of 50 and 65 who ate a high-protein diet had a 74% increase in overall mortality compared to those in the low-protein group. The meat lovers also had four-fold increased risk of dying from cancer during the study’s 18-year follow-up.

However, this risk was only seen in those who got their protein from animal sources such as meat, eggs and cheese; the link disappeared if the protein came from plants, such as nuts, seeds and beans.

People who were over the age of 65 and ate a high-protein diet saw the opposite effect. Researchers saw a 28% reduction in death from all causes in this group. Cancer deaths in this older, high-protein group, were also reduced.

Study participants of any age who ate a high-protein diet had a five-fold increased risk of dying from diabetes.

The scientists had IGF-1 data for more than 2,200 people in the study. Analyzing this information, they determined that for every IGF-1 increase of 10 ng/ml, those on a high-protein diet were 9% more likely to die from cancer than those on a low-protein diet.

The study authors concluded that high levels of animal proteins cause increased levels of IGF-1 and possibly insulin in the body, which leads to higher mortality for people ages 50 to 65.

Tumors in mice

Researchers also reported on a separate experiment, where lab mice were either on a high-protein or a low-protein diet. Mice on the low-protein diet had a lower cancer rate than those on a high-protein diet, even after being implanted with 20,000 melanoma cells. The low-protein mice also had smaller tumors on average than those on a high-protein diet by the end of the six-week experiment.

When the mice were switched from a high-protein diet to a low-protein diet, researchers saw a 30% decrease in their IGF-1 levels.

“Almost everyone is going to have a cancer cell or pre-cancer cell in them at some point. The question is: Does it progress?” study author Valter Longo said in a press release. “Turns out one of the major factors in determining if it does is protein intake.”

Takeaway

Eating more than 10% of your calories from animal proteins in middle age could increase your risk of dying from diseases such as cancer and diabetes. But after 65, you may need that extra protein to protect your body from becoming frail.

“The majority of Americans are eating about twice as much proteins as they should,” Longo said. “It seems that the best change would be to lower the daily intake of all proteins, but especially animal-derived proteins.”

Walter Willett, an epidemiologist at Harvard’s School of Public Health, says not much should be made of this study’s findings. It’s unreasonable to treat “animal protein” as one class, he says, as fish, poultry and red meat are all very different.

Willett also noted that the headline on the press release associated with this study – “Meat and cheese may be as bad for you as smoking” – is a vast overstatement. The researchers did not include data on smoking in their study.

The Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board recommends eating about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight every day in middle age. So a 160-pound person should eat about 55 to 60 grams of protein a day.

Source: abc news

 

8 foods for better sex life!

foods for sex

We can’t live without food, and we can’t love without food. Eating the right foods can improve your romantic life in a variety of ways – it can make your skin glow, it can improve blood circulation in your body and infuse you with happiness and energy. Here are some foods that you should eat in order to give your sex life a boost.

1. Walnuts
A new study has shown that walnuts could keep the fertility specialist at bay. According to scientists at the University of California, their research has found eating 75 gm of the nuts each day can increase a man’s virility and the health of his sperm.

2. Banana
Bananas are not only one of the most suggestive fruits of all times due to their phallic shape, they are also rich in nutrients that help produce sexual hormones. They contain male libido enhancing minerals and enzymes, and regulate secretion of serotonin which is known to be responsible for the euphoric feeling after intercourse. They also help replenish low levels of glucose in the body giving you an instant kick of energy after you’ve eaten it.

3. Blueberries
Eating a cupfull of blueberries once a day may help spice up your love life. According to nutritionist Dora Walsh, the berries contain proanthocyanidins, a plant chemicals that is believed to keep blood vessels flexible and blood flowing around the body that could work wonders in your romantic life.

4. Dark Chocolates
Filled with antioxidants, dark chocolate has health as well as sexual benefits. It has been associated with lowering the risk of heart disease and turning on the pleasure sensors in the brain. They contain feel-good chemicals and the ‘love chemical’ PEA (phenylethylamine). PEA peaks during orgasm and induces feelings of attraction and euphoria by releasing dopamine in the brain.

5. Basil
A symbol of love since the Roman era, basil has been regarded as an aphrodisiac for centuries now. Its leaves consist of various nutrients that enhance libido and are a rich source of vitamin A, C, magnesium and potassium.

6. Red Wine
Not only does red wine keep you looking young, it boosts sexual desire in both men and women. A research done at the University of Florence concluded that women who drank a glass of red wine regularly had better libido than others who did not. What’s more, flavonoids present in red wine reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases when consumed in moderation. Red wine is also known to release stress and make you happier.

7. Pomegranate
According to a research conducted by researchers from Queen Margaret University, a glass of pomegranate juice consumed daily helped boost testosterone levels in both men and women. This makes pomegranate a natural aphrodisiac that is great for your sex life.

8. Jeera

Yes, it’s true. The humble seed can up your sexual quotient. Packed with zinc that is important for sperm production and potassium that maintains a healthy heart rate and blood pressure, jeera is an all-rounder when it comes to upping your game in the bedroom. It takes care of fertility issues and helps avoid conditions like ED (erectile dysfunction), PE (premature ejaculation), low sperm count and virility of the sperm. Drink jeera tea on a regular basis on an empty stomach and watch things steam up between the sheets, naturally!

Source: The Health Site

Tequila plant sweetener could help reduce blood sugar, weight among diabetics

A sweetener created from the plant used to make tequila could lower blood glucose levels for millions of type 2 diabetes sufferers and help them and the obese lose weight, according to researchers.The main reason it could be valuable, they explained, is that agavins, a natural form of sugar found in the agave plant, are non-digestible and can act as a dietary fiber, so they would not raise blood glucose.

Their report was part of the 247th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world`s largest scientific society, being held at the Dallas Convention Center and area hotels.

“We have found that since agavins reduce glucose levels and increase GLP-1, they also increase the amount of insulin,” Mercedes G. Lopez, Ph.D said.

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) is a hormone that slows the stomach from emptying, thereby stimulating production of insulin.

“Agavins are not expensive and they have no known side effects, except for those few people who cannot tolerate them,” she added.

In addition, agavins, like other fructans, which are made of the sugar fructose, are the best sugars to help support growth of healthful microbes in the mouth and intestines, she said.

Lopez, who is with Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Biotechnology and Biochemistry Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico, also noted that agavins can help people feel fuller, which could help them eat less.

Agavins contain fructoses, which begs the question: Are agavins like high-fructose corn syrup, a processed sweetener that has gotten a lot of bad press recently?

Lopez pointed out that, indeed, high-fructose corn syrup is loaded with fructose sugars and, therefore, can raise blood sugar levels. But agavins are fructans, which are fructoses linked together in long, branched chains.

The human body can`t use them in that configuration, so they don`t affect blood sugar, she explained. Agavins also sometimes get confused with agave nectar or agave syrup, which appears on many health-food store shelves.

These products contain fructans that have been broken down into individual fructoses, so they are much more similar to high-fructose corn syrup.

Source: Zee news

8 ways to keep your breasts young

In a new study of UCLA medical school is reported that women’s breasts age at a rate two to three years is ahead of the rest of their body. Before you schedule a consultation with the plastic surgeon’s office, here are some natural ways to keep your breasts healthy.

• Sunscreen. Most swimsuits and summer tops make the décolleté a prime target for sunrays, and it often gets missed with that slather of SPF moisturizer during your morning beauty routine. Some companies make all-natural, organic décolleté creams, but a broad-spectrum sunscreen will work too. Just make sure to visit the Environmental Working Group’s website, Skin Deep, to find natural, non-toxic products. You don’t want to add to the aging process by slathering chemicals on your breasts either.

• Organic coconut oil. Your breasts need moisture, especially with all the stretching the skin has to go through in the course of a lifetime. Through pregnancy, weight gain or loss, and monthly fluctuations that coincide with your menstrual cycle, you need to nurture the skin on your breasts. All-natural, organic coconut oil is a great choice, and you don’t have to worry about toxins.

• Support. Reports suggest that approximately 80 percent of women wear the wrong bra size. Lack of support can leave you with back pain, sagging and bad posture – advancing the aging process even further. Although monthly fluctuations are inevitable, getting fitted for new bras yearly will help ensure you are wearing the right size most of the time and avoid poor support that can contribute to advanced aging.

• Self check-ups. Do regular self-exams. If you know your breasts and monitor them regularly, you can detect abnormalities early and improve outcomes. Each month after your period, schedule a monthly self-exam and note changes in size, sensation, color or rashes, discharge, dimpling or bulges.

• Workout. Strengthening your pectoral muscles is an effective way to get a natural lift in the breasts. Your breasts sit right on top of these muscles, meaning if those muscles are sagging, your breasts will be too – and vice versa.

• Posture. Poor posture can cause your breasts to sag and droop, while sitting up straighter can actually make your breasts appear much bigger (and without surgery!)

• Nutrition. Your diet is a key factor for anti-aging, preventing disease and just about anything and everything that has to do with your health and quality of life. Your breasts are no different. Diets lacking in vitamins and minerals cause advanced aging. Vitamins A and C, for example, nourish the skin and promote collagen production, while too much sugar can lead to wrinkles.

• Excess alcohol. Moderate consumption of alcohol has its place, but excessive drinking – even wine – can cause increase in levels of estrogen. Estrogen contributes to increased risk of breast cancer, especially in high-risk individuals. Keep consumption moderate to protect your health. Aging is inevitable, but diligent care and a healthy lifestyle can turn back the clock a few years and preserve your health across the lifespan.

Source: News.am

Parents’ habits may be to blame for child’s child’s obesity

The infant feeding and activity practices of many parents are putting children at risk for childhood obesity, a study suggests.

New research suggests parents may be largely to blame for increasing their child’s risk for obesity later in life due to infant feeding, TV and activity practices.

Over one third of children and adolescents were found to be overweight or obese in 2012.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine were led by Dr. Eliana M. Perrin in an obesity prevention trial named “Greenlight.” The trial took place at four medical centers across the U.S., including Vanderbilt University, the University of Miami, UNC and New York University.

The study analyzed 863 low-income parents and their babies, assessing both their feeding behaviors and activity practices. Most of the parents involved in the study (86 percent) were on Medicaid.

The study found that all parents analyzed used infant feeding and activity practices that are linked to some capacity to the onset of obesity later on in life.

When it came to feeding, about 45 percent of the parents involved in the study exclusively formula-fed their infants, while only 19 percent exclusively breastfed their infants. About 43 percent of the parents put their infants to bed with their bottles, and 23 percent allowed their babies to feed on their own with the bottles propped up, which can lead to over-feeding.

Around 38 percent of the parents encouraged their babies to finish their milk, and 20 percent soothed their crying babies with a bottle.

As far as activity practices, it was found that approximately 90 percent of the infants had been exposed to watching TV, with about 50 percent of babies being intentionally placed in front of the TV by their parents so they could watch it.

Past research has identified a link between watching TV and childhood obesity. In fact, kids with their own televisions in their rooms have a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese.

The findings were recently published in the journal Pediatrics.

Source: The state column

3,000-year-old skeleton with cancer helps scientists understand disease evolution

A research team from Europe recently discovered a 3000 year old skeleton, which was believed to be a young adult male, inside in a tomb in Sudan, and it showed evidence that the person had metastatic carcinoma. The cancer had spread to various parts of the body, so this made it the oldest cancer sample that had ever been found, stated a Durham University press release.

Cancer had always been thought of as a present day condition and it seemed to have been basically non-existent during most of human history, despite being one of the top causes of death in modern times. The skeleton underwent investigation via radiography and also electron microscope scanning. By using these cutting-edge methods, the scientists were able to find that the skeleton was riddled with lesions and tumors that covered the collar bones, upper and lower arms, shoulder blades, ribs, vertebrae, thigh bones and the pelvis.

The findings might be able to aid researchers receive awareness into what was the cause of cancer in the past and how the disease has evolved. Scientists plan on using DNA studies of ancient remains to try and find cancer mutations. Records of cancer from the past have been extremely uncommon and medical researchers think that the modern way of life is behind why the number of cancer cases has risen so radically.

The cancer might have been caused from environmental pollutants such as parasites and wood fires and parasites, or it may have been inherited. It is also possible that some sort of schistosomiasis infection could have been a trigger, as this can cause bladder cancer and is known to be widespread in that area from about 15,000 B.C.

There is very little known about the evolution of cancer in ancient human populations apart from a few written references and a tiny number of skeletons that have cancer signs. Any understandings that scientists can gather from ancient human remains such as the ones found aid in the understanding of the history and evolution of modern diseases. The researches stated that the smaller lesions located on the bones could only have been caused by some sort of cancer from soft tissues in the body even though the precise origin was impossible to figure out from only the bones.

The male skeleton was thought to have been between the ages of 24 and 35 when he died. After this he was buried inside a painted sarcophagus. Before this discovery, there were only two other examples of possible metastatic cancer and they each dated much younger than this skeleton. Scientists believe that by taking an evolutionary line of attack to cancer, information that is discovered from ancient human remains might provide vital elements in finding different ways to look at one of the world’s biggest health problems.

The World Health Organization states that cancer takes the lives of nearly 14 million individuals each year. It is the hope of many researchers that these brand new findings are able to help scientists disentangle the primary causes of cancer so that the disease can be better treated and also stopped. Insights that are found from such remains really help researchers understand the evolution and history of modern diseases.

The research team found the skeleton, which was believed to be a young adult male, inside in a tomb in Sudan, and it showed evidence that the person had metastatic carcinoma. The cancer had spread to various parts of the body, so this made it the oldest cancer sample that had ever been found, stated a Durham University press release.

Source: Liberty voice

Daily Fish Oil Supplement May Not Help Your Heart

People who take fish oil capsules may not be getting the heart-health benefits they desired, according to a pair of new research reports.

Both studies found that the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil supplements do not provide any significant protection against heart disease, when compared to other types of dietary fats.

“Looking at the 17 randomized clinical trials that we combined, the majority of the trials — especially the more recent and large-scale ones — showed consistently little or no significant effect on reducing coronary heart disease events,” said Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury, lead author of a comprehensive review of nutrition research related to fats.

Of the range of fats studied, only trans fats showed a clear negative effect on heart health, according to the review published in the March 18 Annals of Internal Medicine by Chowdhury, a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Cambridge, and colleagues.

Trans fats can still be found in processed foods — look for the words “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredient list.

Saturated fats, long considered a dietary no-no, appeared to pose no additional risk for heart disease according to recent research, Chowdhury said. They carried about the same cardiac risk as unsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids.

Saturated fats are solid at room temperature. They can be found in butter, lard, cheese and cream, as well as the fatty white areas on cuts of meat. By contrast, unsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature — think of vegetable cooking oil or olive oil.

A second study also came to the same conclusion regarding omega-3 fatty acids, via a different route. This study had been reviewing the use of omega-3s for eye health, but researchers used their data to look at whether the supplements also helped prevent heart disease.

That study found no reduction in heart attack, stroke or heart failure among almost 1,100 people taking omega-3 supplements, compared to similar numbers of people taking other supplements for eye health or just an inactive placebo. It appeared online March 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The meta-analysis performed by Chowdhury’s team involved data from 72 studies with more than 600,000 participants from 18 nations. The team combined study findings to assess the heart health benefits of all types of dietary fat — saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and the omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Until now, doctors have said that saturated fats increase “bad” LDL cholesterol, which can cause plaques to form in your arteries and raise your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

At the same time, omega-3 fatty acids were said to improve heart health because it increases your level of “good” HDL cholesterol. Good cholesterol is believed to help the body rid itself of bad cholesterol.

Source: web md