Reversing Endothelial Dysfunction

[Guest guest]

Free-Reprint Article Written by: Marcus Stout

See Terms of Reprint Below.

*****************************************************************

*

* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:

*

*

*

*****************************************************************

We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS

OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

This article has been distributed by:

http://Article-Distribution.com

Helpful Link:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Article Title:

==============

Reversing Endothelial Dysfunction

Article Description:

====================

One of the precursors to atherosclerosis and heart disease is

endothelial dysfunction. Because endothelial dysfunction can

appear years before more serious heart disease symptoms, it is

wise to try and repair this problem before it turns into

something more serious.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

919 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2007-01-10 10:24:00

Written By: Marcus Stout

Copyright: 2007

Contact Email: mailto:Marcus.Stout@...

For more free-reprint articles by Marcus Stout, please visit:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Marcus_Stout

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,

We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let

us know where you have used this article, and we will

include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4191 & p=load

HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/reversing-endothelial-dysfunction\

..shtml#get_code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Reversing Endothelial Dysfunction

Copyright © 2007 Marcus Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

One of the precursors to atherosclerosis and heart disease is

endothelial dysfunction. Because endothelial dysfunction can

appear years before more serious heart disease symptoms, it is

wise to try and repair this problem before it turns into

something more serious. It is estimated that endothelial

dysfunction affects approximately 50% of those over the age of

40.

The endothelium is the cells that line the inner surface of all

blood vessels including arteries and veins. Any time the

endothelium fails to function as it should, this can be

considered endothelial dysfunction. When the endothelium is

functioning properly, it is responsible for mediation of

coagulation, platelet adhesion, immune function, and control of

volume and electrolyte content of the intravascular and extra

vascular spaces.

Several things can cause endothelial dysfunction, including

cigarette smoking and diseases like high blood pressure and

diabetes. When the endothelium does not function properly, veins

and arteries have difficulty dilating properly. These problems

are thought to be the precursor to atherosclerosis, which is a

leading cause of heart disease. However, it is possible to

reverse endothelial dysfunction by paying attention to your

lifestyle. Reversing endothelial dysfunction before it becomes

more serious is important to protecting your cardiovascular

health.

There are several changes you can make to help reverse

endothelial dysfunction. Here are some suggestions to help get

your body headed on the right track.

First, watch your diet. It is believed that trans fats in

particular can lead to endothelial dysfunction. So, it's

important to remove trans fats from your diet entirely. Read

product labels looking for the words hydrogenated or partially

hydrogenated. If you see these words in the ingredients, stay

away.

Reduce your level of other saturated fats, too. This means

reducing the amount of red meat and egg yolks you consume; making

the bulk of your protein come from fish, poultry and low fat

dairy products.

Another important factor in reducing endothelial dysfunction is

controlling your weight. Eat right and get regular exercise to

ensure that your weight falls within a normal range.

If you have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, you should

treat these in order to protect endothelial function. Exercise

and proper diet can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

However, if diet and exercise don't prove to be enough, your

doctor may prescribe medication to help get these numbers under

control.

Another important way you can improve your endothelial function

is by making sure your diet is rich in anti-oxidants.

Anti-oxidants are responsible for combating free radicals in our

bodies. Free radicals are created as we process our food each

day. If we don't consume anti-oxidants, these free radicals can

damage our DNA and cells, including the cells that make up the

endothelium.

So, in addition to making sure that your diet is low in saturated

and trans fats, make sure it's rich in anti-oxidant powerhouses.

All fresh fruits and vegetables contain anti-oxidants, but some

are more potent than others. Artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes and

red beans are the best vegetables to eat and the best fruits

include blueberries and pomegranates.

In addition to fruits and vegetables, anti-oxidants can be found

in dark chocolate, coffee and green tea. Green tea is a

particularly effective because it contains EGCG, one of the most

potent anti-oxidants, belonging to the flavonol-3 class of

flavonoids.

In recent years, much research has been performed on how our

bodies use these flavonoids to combat free radicals and protect

us from disease. This research has concluded that there are

factors that determine how efficiently our bodies use the

anti-oxidants we consume.

The first of these factors is our metabolism. In some situations,

anti-oxidants may not be metabolized as efficiently as others.

Factors that affect metabolism of anti-oxidants include our

body's overall ability to process the foods we eat, including

the efficiency of our digestive systems.

For example, a diet that is loaded with processed foods can cause

the digestive system to slow down and may result in important

nutrients being swept from the body before being absorbed

properly. However, if you're eating a heart healthy diet,

you'll avoid processed foods and most of this problem should be

eliminated.

In addition, damaged cells appear to have more difficulty

metabolizing anti-oxidants, particularly flavonoids. For this

reason, if you have a significant amount of endothelial

dysfunction, your body may not process the beneficial flavonoids

as efficiently as we'd like.

According to a study reported by the UK Tea Council, your body's

ability to metabolize the flavonoids in green tea affects the

amount of benefit you'll gain in terms of restoring endothelial

function. If your body is ineffective at metabolizing the

flavonoids, you'll gain less benefit per cup of tea.

Of course, it's impossible for each of us to know how

effectively we metabolize anti-oxidants. But, we shouldn't lose

hope. Even if our bodies don't efficiently use the flavonoids

we're consuming, we can make up for the deficiency simply by

increasing quantity. Most doctors recommend that we drink at

least three cups of green tea each day, anyway.

As with many health concerns, all the information we're given

can pile up and be confusing in the long run. But, a few things

are very simple. The first is that protecting our endothelial

function protects us from heart disease in the long run. The

second is that, along with a healthy diet and exercise,

anti-oxidant rich foods like green tea can help us accomplish

this.

So what if it takes a few cups each day? It just means more tea

for us to enjoy!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcus Stout is the President of the Golden Moon Tea

Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest

rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly

and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website,

you can learn more about their current tea offerings,

including their exceptional green tea

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea), white tea,

black tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea),

oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea)

and chai. Visit http://www.goldenmoontea.com for

all details concerning the Golden Moon Tea Company's

fine line of teas.