Carbonated Drinks Increase Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke

Carbonated beverages could increase the risk of heart attacks or strokes, according to researchers. This should not come as a big surprise since humans rarely if ever drank carbonated beverages until a century or so ago.  They aren't part of our natural diet.

Fizzy drinks may be linked to a higher risk of heart attacks, researchers claim.

They say high consumption of carbonated soft drinks may lead to an increased rate of heart disease and strokes.

Japanese scientists looked at the drinking habits of 800,000 patients who had to be resuscitated after having a cardiac arrest out of hospital during a six-year period. Read more

80% of Strokes Are Preventable

Joseph Mercola says that eighty percent of strokes are preventable and gives six ways to lower your risk.

The health benefits of exercise cannot be overstated. And while diet accounts for about 80 percent of the health benefits you reap from a healthy lifestyle, exercise works in a synergistic manner with proper nutrition to truly optimize your health.

Exercise benefits such as preventing obesity and diabetes, reducing stress, and lowering your blood pressure are among the most obvious. Maintaining a fitness regimen can also go a long way toward warding off a stroke, as all of these factors also affect your stroke risk. Read more

5 Foods That Can Cause a Stroke

Stroke affects more than 700000 people each year. Here is a list of five food items that cause the damage and leads to stroke.

Few things feel more terrifying and random than a stroke, which can strike without warning. And fear of stroke -- when a blood vessel in or leading to the brain bursts or is blocked by a blood clot, starving brain cells of oxygen and nutrients -- is well founded. After all, stroke is the number-three killer in the U.S., affecting more than 700,000 people each year. Here are five foods that cause the damage that leads to stroke.

1. Crackers, chips, and store-bought pastries and baked goods

Muffins, doughnuts, chips, crackers, and many other baked goods are high in trans fats, which are hydrogenated oils popular with commercial bakeries because they stay solid at room temperature, so the products don't require refrigeration. Also listed on labels as "partially hydrogenated" or hydrogenated oils, trans fats are found in all kinds of snack foods, frozen foods, and baked goods, including salad dressings, microwave popcorn, stuffing mixes, frozen tater tots and French fries, cake mixes, and whipped toppings. They're also what makes margarine stay in a solid cube. The worst offenders are fried fast foods such as onion rings, French fries, and fried chicken.

Why it's bad Read more

The Bacteria Timebomb in Your Home

Angela Epstein tells how to eradicate household bugs that can trigger heart disease, allergies, and stroke.

Most of us never give a second thought to how long we’ve had that old chopping board – or those pillows, even that hairbrush.

But while they may all look clean and serviceable enough, these seemingly innocent household items can actually harbour potentially harmful bacteria if used too long, regardless of how often they’re cleaned.

Here, with the help of scientific experts, we examine how often you should spring clean those everyday household items – and when it’s time to simply throw them in the bin . . . Read more

Ginkgo Cuts Brain Damage from Stroke by Half

Ginko biloba reduces brain damage from stroke by 50 percent, according to a new study. Yet American medicine ignores ginko biloba.

>Ginkgo biloba extract may reduce the brain damage and neurobehavioral dysfunction from a stroke by 50 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins Institutions and published in the journal Stroke. Read more