Maintain Healthy Cholesterol Levels With Beta Sitosterol A Plant Phytosterol

Beta Sitosterol is a plant phytosterol that offers many benefits to your health. Many of these are due to its effect in reducing both total and LDL cholesterol in the blood, although that is not the only effect that phytosterols can have on your body. Phytosterol is one of many phytochemicals that are beneficial to your health, and the term ‘phyto’ simply indicates that the substance is obtained from plants. Phytosterols are not obtainable in your diet from animal sources, and beta sitosterol is mainly found in seeds, soy and corn oils. Because of this, most of the population do not have high intake, and so supplements are generally the most common source of this valuable material.There are commonly two types of cholesterol: HDL and LDL, and it is the LDL form that is said to be the ‘bad’ cholesterol. In fact the terms refer to the high density and low density lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol around the body. Cholesterol itself is fat soluble, and does not dissolve in water. It therefore cannot travel through the blood without the aid of a water soluble protein, which is what the lipoproteins are. Low density lipoproteins consist of a charged protein portion and a lipid, or fat, frequently a triglyceride. The charged protein portion is water soluble, and can carry the lipid and cholesterol round the blood. Cholesterol is not a bad substance, but carries out many useful functions, one of which is repairing damage to blood vessels: a bit like a sticking plaster. However, the LDL can become oxidized by free radicals in the body, and it is this oxidized LDL that reacts by depositing fatty plaques of cholesterol onto the arterial walls and ultimately blocking them. The HDL carries cholesterol from the blood to the liver where it is destroyed and then secreted, which is why it is sometimes termed ‘good’ cholesterol. Beta sitosterol significantly reduces the amount of both LDL and total cholesterol levels in the blood. Once the total cholesterol level has dropped to a certain level, then the body produces more HDL cholesterol and so maintains balance that is higher than normal in the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. The way that phytosterols do this is believed to be by reducing the absorption of dietary cholesterol in the gut, because the sterols have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol and can occupy the cholesterol absorption sites. Beta sitosterol is particularly effective in this mechanism. Rather than the body absorbing cholesterol it passes it thorough the gut unchanged and eliminates it. The National Cholesterol Education Program has recommended that the optimum blood LDL cholesterol level is below 100 mg/dl and that the total of LDL and HDL be below 200 mg/dl. A regular intake of beta sitosterol can help to maintain these levels without reducing your cholesterol to a dangerously low level. As previously stated, cholesterol is an essential component of your normal biochemistry, and too low a level could be dangerous. What you need is natural regulation of the LDL form, and that is what beta sitosterol and the other phytosterols do. However, beta sitosterol does more than just control your cholesterol balance.It also supports the health of your prostate. Studies indicate that a daily intake of 60 mg – 130 mg beta sitosterol can reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the Sunday name for non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate. This could be due to its effect on LDL cholesterol levels, since other studies have indicated a possible connection between high cholesterol levels and prostate enlargement. This might again be due to the occupation of receptor sites in the prostate cell membranes by the phytosterol. Saw palmetto, commonly used to treat prostate problems, contains beta sitosterol. It also appears to modulate the biochemical synthesis of cytokines, which are responsible for the inflammatory response of the immune system to foreign invaders and tissue damage. It also appears to boost the activity of NK-cells, and also of the proliferation of lymphocytes in general. Another effect of beta sitosterol is in normalizing the insulin and blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes. It does this by inhibiting the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase that is responsible for the conversion of carbohydrates to D-glucose which raises blood sugar levels. The upshot is that the onset of age related Type 2 diabetes is delayed. In general, beta sitosterol displays many properties beneficial to your health. It displays anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, is believed to be responsible for the suppression of cancers of the colon and prostate, and lymphocytic leukemia. It appears to act as an anti-inflammatory, and has a beneficial effect on ulcers and cramps. There is even evidence that it can help to cure allergies, although more studies are required to confirm this. Those suffering from specific allergies have reported a lessening of the effects when taking beta sitosterol supplements, although it is possible that other dietary factors were also involved.Beta sitosterol is contained in some concentration or another in most plants, but those richest in the phytosterol are wheat germ, peanuts, soybeans, corn oil, pumpkin seeds and rice bran. None of these form a particularly large part of the western diet, and a supplement is likely the best way to ensure a sufficiently adequate frequent intake as to have a significant effect on your LDL cholesterol level. Although a daily intake of 300 mg has been cited by some sources as adequate, there have been no reported ill effects of taking this supplement at higher dosages. As already stated, your cholesterol levels are self regulating to a minimum level and you cannot completely block its absorption. Hence, it is not possible to take so much beta sitosterol as to reduce your LDL cholesterol to a dangerously low level.There is sufficient evidence for the effects of beta sitosterol on the body to indicate that if your diet is low in those seeds, nuts and beans that contain significant quantities, the a supplement will provide you with benefits to your health, particularly if you have high blood cholesterol levels or problems with your prostate gland.

Maintain Healthy Cholesterol Levels With Beta Sitosterol A Plant Phytosterol

Beta Sitosterol is a plant phytosterol that offers many benefits to your health. Many of these are due to its effect in reducing both total and LDL cholesterol in the blood, although that is not the only effect that phytosterols can have on your body. Phytosterol is one of many phytochemicals that are beneficial to your health, and the term ‘phyto’ simply indicates that the substance is obtained from plants. Phytosterols are not obtainable in your diet from animal sources, and beta sitosterol is mainly found in seeds, soy and corn oils. Because of this, most of the population do not have high intake, and so supplements are generally the most common source of this valuable material.There are commonly two types of cholesterol: HDL and LDL, and it is the LDL form that is said to be the ‘bad’ cholesterol. In fact the terms refer to the high density and low density lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol around the body. Cholesterol itself is fat soluble, and does not dissolve in water. It therefore cannot travel through the blood without the aid of a water soluble protein, which is what the lipoproteins are. Low density lipoproteins consist of a charged protein portion and a lipid, or fat, frequently a triglyceride. The charged protein portion is water soluble, and can carry the lipid and cholesterol round the blood. Cholesterol is not a bad substance, but carries out many useful functions, one of which is repairing damage to blood vessels: a bit like a sticking plaster. However, the LDL can become oxidized by free radicals in the body, and it is this oxidized LDL that reacts by depositing fatty plaques of cholesterol onto the arterial walls and ultimately blocking them. The HDL carries cholesterol from the blood to the liver where it is destroyed and then secreted, which is why it is sometimes termed ‘good’ cholesterol. Beta sitosterol significantly reduces the amount of both LDL and total cholesterol levels in the blood. Once the total cholesterol level has dropped to a certain level, then the body produces more HDL cholesterol and so maintains balance that is higher than normal in the ‘good’ HDL cholesterol. The way that phytosterols do this is believed to be by reducing the absorption of dietary cholesterol in the gut, because the sterols have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol and can occupy the cholesterol absorption sites. Beta sitosterol is particularly effective in this mechanism. Rather than the body absorbing cholesterol it passes it thorough the gut unchanged and eliminates it. The National Cholesterol Education Program has recommended that the optimum blood LDL cholesterol level is below 100 mg/dl and that the total of LDL and HDL be below 200 mg/dl. A regular intake of beta sitosterol can help to maintain these levels without reducing your cholesterol to a dangerously low level. As previously stated, cholesterol is an essential component of your normal biochemistry, and too low a level could be dangerous. What you need is natural regulation of the LDL form, and that is what beta sitosterol and the other phytosterols do. However, beta sitosterol does more than just control your cholesterol balance.It also supports the health of your prostate. Studies indicate that a daily intake of 60 mg – 130 mg beta sitosterol can reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the Sunday name for non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate. This could be due to its effect on LDL cholesterol levels, since other studies have indicated a possible connection between high cholesterol levels and prostate enlargement. This might again be due to the occupation of receptor sites in the prostate cell membranes by the phytosterol. Saw palmetto, commonly used to treat prostate problems, contains beta sitosterol. It also appears to modulate the biochemical synthesis of cytokines, which are responsible for the inflammatory response of the immune system to foreign invaders and tissue damage. It also appears to boost the activity of NK-cells, and also of the proliferation of lymphocytes in general. Another effect of beta sitosterol is in normalizing the insulin and blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes. It does this by inhibiting the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase that is responsible for the conversion of carbohydrates to D-glucose which raises blood sugar levels. The upshot is that the onset of age related Type 2 diabetes is delayed. In general, beta sitosterol displays many properties beneficial to your health. It displays anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, is believed to be responsible for the suppression of cancers of the colon and prostate, and lymphocytic leukemia. It appears to act as an anti-inflammatory, and has a beneficial effect on ulcers and cramps. There is even evidence that it can help to cure allergies, although more studies are required to confirm this. Those suffering from specific allergies have reported a lessening of the effects when taking beta sitosterol supplements, although it is possible that other dietary factors were also involved.Beta sitosterol is contained in some concentration or another in most plants, but those richest in the phytosterol are wheat germ, peanuts, soybeans, corn oil, pumpkin seeds and rice bran. None of these form a particularly large part of the western diet, and a supplement is likely the best way to ensure a sufficiently adequate frequent intake as to have a significant effect on your LDL cholesterol level. Although a daily intake of 300 mg has been cited by some sources as adequate, there have been no reported ill effects of taking this supplement at higher dosages. As already stated, your cholesterol levels are self regulating to a minimum level and you cannot completely block its absorption. Hence, it is not possible to take so much beta sitosterol as to reduce your LDL cholesterol to a dangerously low level.There is sufficient evidence for the effects of beta sitosterol on the body to indicate that if your diet is low in those seeds, nuts and beans that contain significant quantities, the a supplement will provide you with benefits to your health, particularly if you have high blood cholesterol levels or problems with your prostate gland.

Maintain Healthy Cholesterol Levels With Beta Sitosterol A Plant Phytosterol

Beta Sitosterol is a plant phytosterol that offers many benefits to your health. Many of these are due to its effect in reducing both total and LDL cholesterol in the blood, although that is not the only effect that phytosterols can have on your body.

Phytosterol is one of many phytochemicals that are beneficial to your health, and the term phyto simply indicates that the substance is obtained from plants. Phytosterols are not obtainable in your diet from animal sources, and beta sitosterol is mainly found in seeds, soy and corn oils. Because of this, most of the population do not have high intake, and so supplements are generally the most common source of this valuable material.

There are commonly two types of cholesterol: HDL and LDL, and it is the LDL form that is said to be the bad cholesterol. In fact the terms refer to the high density and low density lipoproteins that carry the cholesterol around the body. Cholesterol itself is fat soluble, and does not dissolve in water. It therefore cannot travel through the blood without the aid of a water soluble protein, which is what the lipoproteins are.

Low density lipoproteins consist of a charged protein portion and a lipid, or fat, frequently a triglyceride. The charged protein portion is water soluble, and can carry the lipid and cholesterol round the blood. Cholesterol is not a bad substance, but carries out many useful functions, one of which is repairing damage to blood vessels: a bit like a sticking plaster. However, the LDL can become oxidized by free radicals in the body, and it is this oxidized LDL that reacts by depositing fatty plaques of cholesterol onto the arterial walls and ultimately blocking them.

The HDL carries cholesterol from the blood to the liver where it is destroyed and then secreted, which is why it is sometimes termed good cholesterol. Beta sitosterol significantly reduces the amount of both LDL and total cholesterol levels in the blood. Once the total cholesterol level has dropped to a certain level, then the body produces more HDL cholesterol and so maintains balance that is higher than normal in the good HDL cholesterol.

The way that phytosterols do this is believed to be by reducing the absorption of dietary cholesterol in the gut, because the sterols have a similar chemical structure to cholesterol and can occupy the cholesterol absorption sites. Beta sitosterol is particularly effective in this mechanism. Rather than the body absorbing cholesterol it passes it thorough the gut unchanged and eliminates it.

The National Cholesterol Education Program has recommended that the optimum blood LDL cholesterol level is below 100 mg/dl and that the total of LDL and HDL be below 200 mg/dl. A regular intake of beta sitosterol can help to maintain these levels without reducing your cholesterol to a dangerously low level. As previously stated, cholesterol is an essential component of your normal biochemistry, and too low a level could be dangerous. What you need is natural regulation of the LDL form, and that is what beta sitosterol and the other phytosterols do. However, beta sitosterol does more than just control your cholesterol balance.

It also supports the health of your prostate. Studies indicate that a daily intake of 60 mg 130 mg beta sitosterol can reduce the symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, the Sunday name for non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate. This could be due to its effect on LDL cholesterol levels, since other studies have indicated a possible connection between high cholesterol levels and prostate enlargement. This might again be due to the occupation of receptor sites in the prostate cell membranes by the phytosterol. Saw palmetto, commonly used to treat prostate problems, contains beta sitosterol.

It also appears to modulate the biochemical synthesis of cytokines, which are responsible for the inflammatory response of the immune system to foreign invaders and tissue damage. It also appears to boost the activity of NK-cells, and also of the proliferation of lymphocytes in general. Another effect of beta sitosterol is in normalizing the insulin and blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes. It does this by inhibiting the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase that is responsible for the conversion of carbohydrates to D-glucose which raises blood sugar levels. The upshot is that the onset of age related Type 2 diabetes is delayed.

In general, beta sitosterol displays many properties beneficial to your health. It displays anti-viral and anti-fungal properties, is believed to be responsible for the suppression of cancers of the colon and prostate, and lymphocytic leukemia. It appears to act as an anti-inflammatory, and has a beneficial effect on ulcers and cramps. There is even evidence that it can help to cure allergies, although more studies are required to confirm this. Those suffering from specific allergies have reported a lessening of the effects when taking beta sitosterol supplements, although it is possible that other dietary factors were also involved.

Beta sitosterol is contained in some concentration or another in most plants, but those richest in the phytosterol are wheat germ, peanuts, soybeans, corn oil, pumpkin seeds and rice bran. None of these form a particularly large part of the western diet, and a supplement is likely the best way to ensure a sufficiently adequate frequent intake as to have a significant effect on your LDL cholesterol level.

Although a daily intake of 300 mg has been cited by some sources as adequate, there have been no reported ill effects of taking this supplement at higher dosages. As already stated, your cholesterol levels are self regulating to a minimum level and you cannot completely block its absorption. Hence, it is not possible to take so much beta sitosterol as to reduce your LDL cholesterol to a dangerously low level.

There is sufficient evidence for the effects of beta sitosterol on the body to indicate that if your diet is low in those seeds, nuts and beans that contain significant quantities, the a supplement will provide you with benefits to your health, particularly if you have high blood cholesterol levels or problems with your prostate gland.

Set a date … wean yourself off … tell your friends … don’t tell your friends!

It’s like putting a sticking plaster on the hairiest, most sensitive part of yourself and then pulling it off one - hair - at - a - time!

Geeze! When you want to quit smoking, you want to quit smoking fast! You want it over and done with.

The only reason for slowing it down, (equals “prolong the agony”) is fear. Once you know how to get your head around it, nicotine withdrawal is easy-peasy. It doesn’t hurt, and it goes away in about 72 hours.

Consider this, if you’re seriously interested in a fast way to quit smoking:

* Nicotine is a powerful insecticide. If it stayed in the body, or accumulated as you smoke, you’d die very quickly.

* The feeling of wanting to smoke only came about after you started smoking - so it must be caused by smoking!

* Put 2 and 2 together now: the feeling of wanting to smoke is actually nicotine leaving your body - to keep you alive! Every time you smoke, you put more back in there and force the body to purge itself of the terrible poison again - which you think is the urge to smoke! The feeling is not only painless, (it’s a mild empty sensation in the pit of the stomach usually), but it simply must go away if you leave it alone - because the body is trying to rid itself of the poison!

In other words, the only reason you keep smoking is to try to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling you didn’t have before you started smoking … so …

The only reason for continuing to smoke is to feel the same as you did when you didn’t smoke! So …

You’re always trying to feel like a non-smoker does!

What a waste of time, money and life!

You want a fast way to quit smoking?

Get your head around this - have a good laugh - and put those ghastly things in the trash where they belong!

If you still feel like you can’t let go it’s because your heart - the emotional pull that says, like a tantrum-throwing toddler, “But I WANT one!” will be in battle mode with your logical head which will tell you all the “shoulds” about quitting. Frankly, you know all of those already, and if you weren’t sure, it’s written on the packaging!

To understand how to get your heart to line up and agree with your head, try eXcape! - it’s a new, downloadable fast way to quit smoking. It requires no willpower, no gimmicks, patches or gum - and it has a money back guarantee. Just click the link at the end of this article.

Although, the most frequently used piece of first aid equipment, by far the most readily available, the chances are you’ll never have read the instructions that come with it and its highly unlikely you’ll have been shown how to use it on a first aid course. Yes… the humble adhesive bandage, or more commonly known in the UK as a sticking plaster, or Elastoplast RM or just plain and simple plaster, in Canada and the United States the generic name, Band-Aid™ is most commonly used.

Regardless of the name, most adhesive bandages are used to dress minor wounds that do not require a conventional bandage, their primary functions are to protect the wound from further damage and keep out dirt, and in doing so, aid in the healing of the wound.

Simple adhesive bandages consist of dressing normally, a woven gauze type material, which is fastened to a form of sticky tape in such a way that the dressing can be held in place over the wound, but designed in such a way that the dressing and the sticky tape do not actually stick to the wound.

No one really gives much thought to sticking plasters. It’s something everyone has lying around the home and hopefully in the first aid kit at work. Most people would be surprised to know the sticking plaster has been listed amongst the top ten modern day essential inventions, alongside the battery, ballpoint pen, cats eyes, bar codes, ring pull, post it note, (diy) work mate, micro wave oven and the some what less popular parking meter.

Earle Dickson, an American, who was employed as a cotton buyer with Johnson %26 Johnson, invented the sticking plaster. In 1920, the recently married Dickson was concerned that his young bride, Josephine would regularly suffer cuts and burns whilst carrying out her domestic tasks. At that time the only options available were a standard bandage with dressing, or to cut a small piece of woven cotton gauze and secure it to a wound with sticky tape. As both of these methods were bulky and clumsy when working, and knowing how difficult it was to apply a bandage or dressing to your own hand or arm, Mr Dickson set about preparing dressings for his wife that she could apply herself when he was out at work.

Dickson made his first adhesive bandages by unrolling a length of adhesive surgical tape, placing a series of small folded pieces of gauze along the centre of the tape and then place a strip of crinoline along its length to prevent the adhesive tape sticking to itself. The tape was then rolled up in such a way Mrs Dickson could unroll and cut off the required strip as and when needed, and then apply the dressing herself with out any further assistance.

As a result of the success at home, Dickson was persuaded to demonstrate the idea to the management of Johnson %26 Johnson who at the time were a major manufacturer of cotton and gauze bandages supplying hospitals and the military. The ability to self apply the dressing impressed Johnson %26 Johnson who soon began producing the adhesive bandages which were sold under the now name famous brand name Band-Aid™.

The original handmade Band-Aid™ were not an immediate success and it is recorded that in the first year of production only $3000 worth were sold. The lack of success may well have been due to the originals being in strips 2 ½ inches wide and 18 inches long. A major turn around in sales came following the mass distribution of free samples to Scout groups across the US, this resulted in their widespread use, and by 1924, sterile sticking plaster were being mass produced in various sizes. Earle Dickson later became Vice President of Johnson %26 Johnson, and at the time of his death in 1961, more than $30,000,000 worth of Band-Aid™ adhesive bandages were being sold every year.

Today there are many manufactures of sticking plaster throughout the world making them readily available for use in every country. They have been developed to meet the changing needs of modern society and now bear little resemblance to the early prototypes made in the Dickson home.

Modern day sticking plasters are mostly manufactured from plastic or latex and coated with adhesive and have an absorbent pad, which in some cases contains antiseptic. State of the art plasters have tiny strands of silver woven into them that is proven to shorten healing times and reduce the risk of scarring.

Decorative plasters using bright colours and images of cartoon and novelty characters have been designed to appeal to children, but this in itself is not a new idea as the first decorative Band-Aid™ were produced as early as 1951.

Plasters specifically designed for food handlers make use of far stronger waterproof adhesives and are made to withstand wear and tear, frequent hand washing and to prevent them falling off. They are produced in bright colours- normally blue- in order they can be easily spotted if they fall into food and are manufactured in such a way as to make them easily detectable by the specialised machines, used in the food processing industry, designed to check food for foreign bodies prior to it reaching the retailer.

More advanced sticking plasters incorporate a pad impregnated with various medications, which is designed to be released in a controlled dose through the skin, the most common being HRT patches and nicotine patches used to help smokers quit.

Having now evolved into an everyday item to which we give little thought, next time you reach for a sticking plaster remember how convenient they are and take a moment to remember how Mrs Dickson managed before her thoughtful husband invented the Band-Aid™.

Sources:

1.Lemelson-MIT Program2.Johnson %26 Johnson Band-Aid™3.Wikipedia4.UKTV Documentary Top Ten Modern Inventions

The author, Jackie Southworth, first qualified as  first aid instructor in the 1980’s whilst serving with the Royal Military Police. The mother of two grownup children now runs her own business delivering health and safety training to businesses, colleges, schools and community groups. Her company SOVRIN Training, is a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) approved first aid training organisation and a Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) training centre. www.sovrintraining.co.uk