What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fatty substance present in the body. Cholesterol is an essential part of life. They are an integral part of the cell membranes, take part in the manufacturing of hormones, break down carbohydrates and proteins, and produce bile.

Cholesterol is transported by lipoproteins in the blood stream. There are different kinds of lipoproteins with distinct functions:

• High density lipoproteins (HDL)

They are also called the good cholesterol. They are stable and move easily through the blood. They carry cholesterol away from the arteries, back into the liver where they can be removed from the body. Diseases affecting the liver can affect the HDL from performing their beneficial roles.

• Low density lipoproteins (LDL)

These are the bad guys (aka bad cholesterol). They are unstable and tend to stick to the arterial walls and are implicated in the process of plaque formation or atherosclerosis, which leads to various serious complications.

• Very low density lipoproteins (VLDL)

These carry triglycerides and cholesterol, thus are considered to be harmful.

• Intermediate-density lipoproteins

Similar to VLDLs, these also carry triglycerides and cholesterol.

• Chylomicrons

These are very large particles that are rich in triglycerides. Triglycerides are the main constituents of vegetable oil and animal fats.

Cholesterol and Heart Disease

High cholesterol level is considered to be a risk factor for the development of heart diseases. It contributes to the process of atherosclerosis or plaque formation within the wall of the arteries. This leads to serious consequences when the blood supply to an organ is restricted, due to the blockage by the plaque.

In the process of atherosclerosis, cholesterol is brought to the site of injury to the arterial lining through LDL. It interacts with free radicals and become oxidized. The oxidized LDL releases toxins and stimulates the inflammation process further, which adds to the damage. It joins with white blood cells to form the lipid foam, which is later capped with calcium deposits that cause hardening.

The elasticity of the artery is lost, while the passage of blood is prevented by the plaque. When atherosclerosis progresses, the plaque may rupture, dislodging its contents to smaller arteries which can be completely occluded.

When an artery supplying the heart is affected, it can lead to heart attack which may ultimately cause death.

Who is Prone to Having High Cholesterol Levels?

If you are born to a family known to have high cholesterol levels, chances are, you are prone to inheriting the disease as well. But other factors play a role too. Older age, the presence of concomitant hypertension and diabetes, a high saturated fat diet, obesity, and lack of exercise could all increase your cholesterol levels.

The Wonders of Mangosteen

Mangosteen is an exotic fruit that grows in tropical countries. The mangosteen tree requires abundant moisture and warm environment throughout the year. It is predominantly found in Southeast Asia, in countries like Thailand, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, and Malaysia. In Asia, it is regarded as the “queen of fruits.”

For more than a thousand years, it has been used as an herbal remedy for various ailments. Recent researches are finding more good things about mangosteen and how it can solve the many health problems we are facing.

Mangosteen is a round, purple colored fruit that has a fine tasting white soft pulp that somewhat melts in your mouth. The pericarp or rind, is the richest source of medicinal properties of the fruit.

The pericarp is the puple hard outer shell of mangosteen measuring about half a centimetre thick. The purplish juice coming from it can stain your clothes, which is almost impossible to remove. This is the reason why mangosteen is banned from hotels in countries where this is available. Although the health benefits can also be found in the fruit pulp, it is lower in concentration compared to the amount that is highly concentrated in the pericarp.

Xanthones are substances found in mangosteen found to have powerful antioxidant effects. There are around 40 xanthones found in mangosteen known to help prevent damage to cells by free radicals, slow the process of aging, and protect the body against degenerative diseases.

How Does Mangosteen Help in Reversing High Cholesterol Levels?

Supplementation with mangosteen, coupled with regular exercise and healthy diet, are found to help lower the levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and bad cholesterol LDL (low-density lipoprotein), while raising the good cholesterol.

Scientific research studies have revealed that gamma mangostin , a xanthone found in mangosteen, is a powerful antioxidant that showed more potent activities than vitamin E. It prevents the oxidation of bad cholesterol or LDL, which is responsible for clogging the arteries, leading to serious cardiovascular consequences.

The cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme (COX-2) which is linked to the inflammatory process, is known to be inhibited by gamma mangostin. Low level inflammation is often associated with high cholesterol levels.

Polyphenols, also present in mangosteen, were discovered to be five times more potent than vitamin C as to its antioxidant properties.

Choosing Mangosteen Supplements

Between the juice and capsule form of mangosteen, choose the latter because it will provide you with the maximum benefits you are after. While the juice form is great-tasting, it only contains a little percentage of mangosteen (the main ingredient) because it has to be mixed with other fruit extracts and preservatives. The capsule form comes in 100% mangosteen.

The juice form makes use of both the pericarp and the pulp, while the capsule form uses only the pericarp, where the xanthones are richest. Although the juice appears to maximize the xanthones in both pericarp and pulp, the processes it has to go through, to manufacture the juice, destroys the innate healing properties in mangosteen.

Pasteurization has to be done to the juice form to slow down the growth of harmful microorganisms. While this protects you from infectious agents, it also kills the biologically active components in mangosteen needed to address your health concerns.

As required by law, the whole fruit that has to be brought in to the United States from other countries where it was grown, has to go through irradiation to kill potentially debilitating pests. The capsule form only uses the husk, where all the good stuffs are concentrated, thus doesn’t have to undergo irradiation. The idea of taking in foods that has been exposed to radiation is something you may want to think about.

When it comes to your health, do not take any chances. Choose wisely.

Chemically, cholesterol is classified as a sterol (a cross between a steroid and an alcohol) and it’s absolutely vital to our everyday existence. The body uses cholesterol to build and maintain cell membranes and to maintain proper membrane viscosity.

If all that sounds a little ‘out there’ just take away from it that cholesterol is a much needed compound in your body.

What about good vs. bad cholesterol?

The most commonly talked about forms of cholesterol are high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low density lipoprotein (LDL). HLD is considered ‘good’ cholesterol because it is transported to the liver where it is used in the synthesis of various compounds. LDL is what’s known as ‘bad’ cholesterol: because of LDL’s low density it sticks to arterial walls and can lead to coronary heart disease (CHD).

While some LDL is needed, in this case too much of a good thing can certainly have disastrous consequences.

What can I do about my cholesterol?

First of all, realize that the cholesterol you are trying to lower is your LDL not your HDL. Secondly, realize that a large part of cholesterol production as well as arterial plaque is genetic. But, just because you have the genes that make you susceptible to a disease doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to get it. I’m a firm believer that with a healthy lifestyle and the proper supplementation, you can control how your genes are expressed. Think about it like coming to a fork in the road. Given the option, you can either turn left or right, you can’t change where the road goes but you are in control of the direction you take. Genetics is much the same: with proper nutrition a child reaches his maximum height potential, with the proper antibiotics a person can fight off infection and with proper diet, exercise and supplementation you can beat heart disease.

What Exactly Would I Have to Do?

The first thing you need to do is take a long, hard look at your life. Are you a smoker? If so, quitting will do wonders for your longevity. I don’t have to tell anyone that smoking and heart disease go hand in hand. Do you exercise? A program that includes both strength training and cardio is necessary to fully ward off heart disease. Cardiovascular fitness is, quite literally, how fit your heart is. Getting your blood pumping and exercising your heart muscle (yes it IS a muscle!) will keep it strong and healthy. Strength training helps by getting your body’s chemistry back on track. Tearing muscle fibres (aka getting ‘ripped’) sends the body into repair mode. Filling your blood with cellular salvage and repair teams. The more of these cellular repair men you have in your body, the better chance you have of beating back the threat of arterial plaque. Last but not least, we come to diet. Only about 5% of cholesterol

in your body comes directly from the foods you eat. However, that’s not to say you shouldn’t eat a healthy diet. If your body is run down from a high-fat, high-sugar diet it will be less likely to respond on time to even a minor stressor. For example, a person who lives a healthy lifestyle but accumulates a small arterial plaque deposit will be more apt to recover, i.e., the body will be able to ‘chip away’ at the deposit because a healthy person has the ‘resources’ to devote to such an endeavour. An more unhealthy person, on the other hand, will not have the resources or nutrients available to synthesize the needed cellular repair teams and put in them in place. To simplify, an unhealthy person has to spend most of his or her energy just trying to keep the body in balance and has little resources left for fighting infections or stressors. A healthy person, on the other hand, has to spend very little energy keeping their body in working order and can spend more time dealing with infections or stressors.

On the topic of a healthy body, supplementation is key to maintaining one if only for the fact that with today’s modern diet so lacking in nutrients, almost everybody can benefit from some outside help. Mangosteen is the supplement of choice for beating heart disease. It’s natures highest source of xanthones, antioxidant compounds that help to restore the natural vitality of the body. They are also powerful anti-inflammatories and provide an immune boost to help fight infections and deal with stressors.

I mentioned above that a healthy person has a better chance of beating heart disease because they have more resource available to combat it. Let mangosteen help you regain your vitality. It works wonders for the digestive tract (which is a key component of total body health) while giving an energized and invigorating effect to whoever takes it. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the energy to hit the gym after work? If you’re really serious about fighting heart disease then a dedicated fitness routine is a must! Mangosteen, like that sold by Natural Home Cures is the supplement that will jump-start your body and give it the tools to fight infections, cholesterol, fatigue and any other number of ailments.

Does it matter what kind of Mangosteen I take?

Absolutely. I like the Natural Home Cures Mangosteen for two reasons. First off, it comes in solid state form. All the beneficial compounds of mangosteen are in the outer layer or pericarp of the fruit, Solid state mangosteen is made from the pericarp so you know you’re getting the most xanthone ‘bang for your buck’. Mangosteen that comes in the form of a juice is often not made from the pericarp (since it doesn’t taste all that good) and is mixed with other fruit juices and preservatives. The second reason that I prefer Natural Home Cures mangosteen is because it’s not irradiated. Whole fruits that are imported from other countries (Mangosteen is grown in Asia) have to be irradiated to kill any malicious bacteria, viruses or pests that may be hiding in them before they are imported. Natural Home Cures brand mangosteen is made from the ground up outer layer of the mangosteen and as such doesn’t need to be irradiated. This is a bonus in my book since irradiated food can often be laced with carcinogens left behind from the radiation: that’s not something I want to be eating.

With a healthy diet, exercise and proper supplementation you can beat back heart disease. Take the steps now to arm your body with the tools it needs to stay healthy and fit for years to come. Remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Mangosteen: The Natural Solution

What can you do to naturally lower your cholesterol? With all of the pharmaceutical products that are advertised all over, you may think that is your only choice for fighting high cholesterol. But there are other, natural options that can help you lower your cholesterol and increase your overall health. What is this natural remedy? Mangosteen. Mangosteen is a very powerful force that can work to keep your body functioning at its best and lower dangerous cholesterol levels.

What makes the mangosteen such a power fruit? It has a pleasant taste and fragrance and is very high in nutritional value. It has very strong antioxidant strength and holds the power to potentially reduce the onset and negative factors for developing diseases such as high cholesterol. In order to get the most health benefits from the mangosteen; it should be consumed in its natural whole state instead of in juice form. The whole fruit parts contain powerful polyphenol that add to the overall health benefits that this amazing fruit can offer you and your body to help keep it functioning at its best.

The Best form of Mangosteen

Although most forms of the mangosteen that you may read about or see advertised are in the form of juice, the best way to get your body the healthy benefits it needs is by consuming mangosteen in the solid form. Unlike the juice which contains preservatives and additives to give it a longer shelf life; mangosteen in freeze dried form is the closest you can get to taking it in its natural state.

Not only does this amazing fruit look and taste appealing, the amount of nutrients that are packed inside can offer your body what it needs to get rid of toxins and help to lower the cholesterol that can lead to so many other health problems. If you want to really start protecting your body against disease, try incorporating mangosteen into your diet. Not only does it provide the antioxidants your body needs, but it will also help you increase your energy and stamina that so often suffer when our bodies are worn down and not functioning at their best.

What are you waiting for?

If you have high cholesterol or other cardiovascular problems, you should start doing what you can to lower your cholesterol and improve your overall health by discovering the amazing benefits of the mangosteen. Don’t let your body try to fend for itself against toxins and disease, give it a fighting chance by adding the health boosting ingredients only available in the mangosteen.