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cholesterol levels
Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in this country. More than 90 million American adults, or about 50 percent, have elevated blood cholesterol levels, one of the key risk factors for heart disease, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program.
Eating habits carry through to adulthood. Get your children on a healthy eating pattern early. Don’t begin until they are at least 2 years of age, however. Babies need extra fat calories to develop properly.
Good question. Researchers from the National Center for Health Statistics studied the eating habits of 8.260 adult Americans between 1988 and 1991. They found that Americans have significantly reduced their fat intake but still packed on extra pounds in recent years.
Nicotinic acid reduces total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides at the same time raising HDL. It reduces LDL by 10 to 20%, triglycerides by 20 to 50% and raises HDL by 15 to 35%. Nicotinamide is a niacin by product after the body breaks it down. Nicotinamide has no effect in lowering cholesterol and should not be used in place of nicotinic acid.
There are researchers who believe that eating small amounts of fat can keep you from overindulging on total calories. Ohio State University nutrition scientist John Allred points out that dietary fat causes our bodies to produce a hormone that tells our intestines to slow down the emptying process. We feel full and are less likely to overeat.
The effects of high blood pressure range from mild to severe. High blood pressure can harm the mother's kidneys and other organs, and it can cause low birth weight and early delivery. In the most serious cases, the mother develops preeclampsia--or "toxemia of pregnancy"--which can threaten the lives of both the mother and the fetus.
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