While heart disease once favored men and was even called "a widow maker", it is now the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. However, medical research continues to look for ways to prevent this. Some of these studies have found that we lose CoQ10 in our heart muscle as we age and this loss is significant.

Although it was small, a Swedish study discovered that heart patients who died within six months had much lower levels of CoQ10 in their blood, than those who survived.

And Dr. Karl Folkers, the Director of the Institute for Biomedical Research at the University of Texas at Austin, studied patients with cardiomyopathy, a serious heart problem that often leaves patients needing a heart transplant. When the patients were given COQ10, the death rates dropped.

CoQ10 has also been found to be extremely helpful in lowering high blood pressure.

CoQ10 is present in small quantities in seafood, eggs, all fruits and vegetables. However, it is estimated that the average person ingests only 5 mg. of CoQ10 per day. This amount is considered too low to satisfy the body's needs. This is particularly true of people over fifty years old. Even at middle age, people have only 20% of the CoQ10 which they had in their twenties.

It is believed that the decrease may be due to free-radical activity in the mitochondria. It is known that free radicals do cell damage, leading to various chronic illnesses including heart disease.

Many doctors recommend a supplement of 30 mg of CoQ10 daily for healthy people and 60 to 100 mg. for people at risk or who already have a heart problem.

You can buy CoQ10 in health food stores. It comes in tablets, soft gels and chewable tablets.
Most doctors recommend the soft gels. It is also available in various strengths from 60 mg to 400 mg.

While Vitamin C has long been recommended as a protection from the common cold, researchers have now discovered that Vitamin C also protects your heart. Vitamin C increases the strength of your capillaries. It helps repair red blood cells and inhibits blood clotting. It is also useful in lowering cholesterol and fat levels in the blood.

A serious deficiency in Vitamin C causes scurvy, a disease, which plagued sailors during early days of sailing. Then the British Navy started loading their ships with limes for the sailors to eat. This is how the British sailors became known as "limeys."

Vitamin C is present in most fruits and vegetables, however citrus fruits such as oranges; grapefruit and tangerines are particularly rich in Vitamin C.

While people today are not so deficient in Vitamin C that they develop scurvy, most people do not get sufficient Vitamin C in their diet. Nutritionists recommend five servings a day of fruits and vegetables however most Americans consume only three servings. Yet 200 mg of Vitamin C are needed each day to provide optimal antioxidant power and maximum heart disease protection. For this reason, many physicians recommend a supplement.

By: Brenda Williams
Albuquerque Drug Treatment

A lot research has focused on omega-3 fats as good for body and brain function. Scientists have scrutinized these fats in everything from heart disease and diabetes to depression, bipolar illness, schizophrenia, ADHD and Alzheimer's. The latest papers to add to the experimental pile come from a recent edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The new studies evaluate omega-3s in people in their 70s and 80s and relate to cognitive function, mood and mental well-being. The bottom line to the new findings is that having higher levels of omega-3s in your blood protects you from many cognitive problems of old age. The downside is that you can't just start taking them in your 70s and expect quick results. However, longer use may still be beneficial.

So what's the best way to boost omega-3 levels in your blood. First, you have to understand that there are different kinds of omega-3s that come from different sources. The kind of omega-3s that are good for your brain are called 'long-chain' omega-3s, most commonly DHA and EPA, and fish is the best source for these.

You may have heard that things like flaxseed oil and walnuts are high in omega-3s as well. Although this is true, these foods are only high in 'short-chain' omega-3s, which are not the kind that appear to have the most brain benefit.

To complicate things even further, most animals can convert the short-chain to long chain forms, but humans are not very good at this. If we want to increase long-chain omega-3s in our blood and increase our odds of aging with a healthy brain, eating sources of long-chain omega-3s is our best bet. Fish is the #1 source.

If you don't eat about 3 servings of fish per week, you should really consider taking a fish oil supplement on a regular basis. If you are a vegetarian who does not eat fish at all, don't fret, there are also algal oil supplements out there that have the long-chain omega-3s. After all, fish can't make omega-3s either. They get them by eating marine plants (or eating other fish that eat marine plants). Fish are just good at concentrating omega-3s in their meat, so are a great source for us folks that don't like chewing on seaweed.

Fish has been considered brain food for the better part of a couple of centuries. Whether you like it or not, our bodies are designed to run best on a diet high in marine sources. If you look at the cultures around the world who enjoy longevity and vibrant health into their old age, you will find fish as a staple in all of them.

There is nothing new to this advice. Only that we are now beginning to understand why fish and the omega-3s they give us, are important for many aspects of our mood and metabolism. Once again, science finally catches up to age-old wisdom to support what we have known all along - Fish is brain food, eat it and prosper.

Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2008). 88: pp 595, 706, 714, 722.

By: Simon Evans
Learn to control stress, improve your metabolism and boost your cognition with the four cornerstones of Brain Fitness. Visit http://www.BrainFitForLife.com for FREE Brain Fitness resources.

Suffering from arthritis? IBS? Digestive system complaints? Bad skin health? Disturbed by frequent acne outbreaks? Despair not, for the answer to many common ailments lies in a plant that grows wild in the African heat - Aloe Vera, the lily of the desert. From times immemorial Aloe has been used for its astonishing medicinal benefits. If you are still not convinced here are 10 compelling reasons for you to introduce Aloe into your daily diet.

1. The basic building blocks of our body are the Amino acids. There are 10 essential amino acids that needs to come from our diet as they cannot be synthesized by the body. 8 of these 10 are found in the aloe plant. Drinking aloe vera juice or consuming aloe vera pills can help the body replenish its essential amino acid stores.

2. Anti-inflammatory properties: Aloe vera has 12 natural substances that help cope the body against inflammatory processes without side effects. Aloe vera also helps support proper joint and muscle function.

3. Storehouse of vitamins: Aloe vera contains vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B12, Niacin, Folate, Vitamin C and E. These are vitamins that the body needs from our diet and what better way to get them than Aloe vera. These vitamins help the body fight oxidative stress.

4. Minerals: Calcium, Sodium, Iron, Potassium, Chromium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper and Zinc are found in aloe vera and this is the best possible means for the body to get its daily dose of minerals.

5. Collagen and Elastin repair: The outer layers of the skin gets replaced every 21-28 days. For this to take place effectively the body needs Collagen and Elastin. Aloe supplies the body with more than adequate dose of these two ingredients to keep the skin looking young and healthy.

6. Energy levels and weight regulation: Aloe vera helps the digestive system to cleanse itself of all the unwanted substances in our diets. These unwanted substances often cause lethargy and exhaustion. helps maintain a healthy body weight.

7. Immunity: Aloe vera supports the body's defences. Aloe vera with its natural immune enhancers enables the body to have a reservoir of nutrients to give the immune system a daily boost.

8. Healthy digestion: Aloe vera has natural detoxifying abilities. Aloe improves bowel regularity, protein absorption, decreases colonization by harmful bacteria and fungi, and is known to soothe heartburn and other digestive ailments.

9. Rapid soothing: Aloe increases the function of fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are cells that aid in collagen formation after minor cuts, scrapes, bruises, sunburns, burns and other skin irritations.

10. Dental hygiene: Aloe vera is extremely healthy for the mouth and gums.

With these unparalleled benefits should you not be using Aloe vera daily as a supplement?

By: Rajgopal Venkataraman
Harness the medicinal benefits of Aloe Vera and put your health in top gear today. For Aloe's benefits and some unbeatable offers on quality Aloe visit http://miraclesofnature.weebly.com.