Saturday, January 13, 2007

Foods to help you fight high cholesterol

To reduce cholesterol level, most people either eat foods with zero/low contents of cholesterol, or taking drugs (such as statin drug). But there are natural options out there as I blogged before (part1, part2, part3). Yesterday one of my friend pointed me to an article which summarized 10 top foods which can help fighting high cholesterol. Below are those 10 foods:
1. Shitake Mushrooms; 2. Walnuts; 3. Uncooked Soy; 4. Blueberries; 5. Salmon; 6. Garlic; 7. Avocado; 8. Black Beans; 9. Apples; 10. Dark Green, Leafy Vegetables
On this article, the comment made on the No.1 food (Shitake Mushrooms) is "... has been found to lower cholesterol levels in animal studies". I like to see some human studies before I get too excited about Shitake Mushrooms. All other foods are consistent with what I have known.

Friday, January 12, 2007

Ginger root, home-grown remedie for cold

In this cold season, friends, family, and co-workers will likely offer their tried-and-true remedies for warding off an impending cold. But how many of these home-grown remedies actually work? Last month, my boss at work recommend Echinacea when I got a cold. This herb has a long history of being used to fight colds and flu. Some studies have found that Echinacea lessened the duration of symptoms when taken at the first sign of a cold. The home-grown remedie I have been using for many years is Ginger root soup (add a lot of honey). My mother used it on me when I was a kid, and I think it works for me quite well, especially if used in the early stage of cold/flu.