Pintini

All of us have our ups and downs - days when we feel on top of the world, others when we feel "low."

But depression is another matter. It's a chronic change of mood and a drawn out lowering of the spirits. It can be triggered by a loss - of a loved one, money, or job. Such a depression is called "exogenous," meaning it comes from outside.

But there's another common type of depression. Suddenly a person decides he or she is a failure in life. Self-confidence and self-esteem vanish. Ordinary everyday problems seem too much to cope with. This is "endogenous" depression - coming from within, perhaps as the result of some body chemical upset.

Many authorities believe depressions often are both endogenous and exogenous. Some argue there has to be an endogenous or internal factor, otherwise a death in the family or being victimised by a sociopath would lead only to temporary normal sadness.

When depression does occur, it isn't limited to the mind. There is a general lowering of vitality.

In one study Johns Hopkins University investigators' were able to show that depressed people can be harder hit when common illnesses strike. They gave a bipolar test to a group of employees at Fort Detrick, Md. The following winter, when flu broke out and many of the employees were affected, those who had been found mildly depressed took three weeks or longer to recover. Others were over their flu in three to 14 days.

Some medical doctors believe depression may open the door for other illnesses. Doctors have noted that many people become sick for the first time, or begin to suffer from some chronic disorder, or decide to undergo surgery when they are depressed.

Actually, even when depression is the result of illness, doctors have discovered that treating the depression may help to treat the illness successfully. Antidepressant drugs, for instance, seem to help in rheumatoid arthritis and chronic ulcerative colitis in cases in which depression is present.

Some doctors have used the drugs on asthma and eczema patients who have failed to benefit adequately from usual treatment and who were found to be depressed. Of 113 persons tested, 89 showed improvement. At the Neuro-psychiatric Institute of the University of California, Los Angeles, physicians tried antidepressant drug treatment used on patients with shaking palsy, or Parkinson's disease. These persons hadn't been able to dress, cook or keep themselves clean-and were depressed as well. After three weeks, almost 90 per cent could care for themselves. Some could even do simple jobs.

Generally the notion is that limiting the quantity of fats in the diet to 10% is the correct way to go for lowering cholesterol levels. This notion is being countered by many health care specialists, the reasoning being for it is that following this type of diet for a long time is practically impossible, and it is more so impossible because the majority of people suffering from high cholesterol have to pretty much stay on diet indefinitely. For this reason many recommend to limit fat intake to 30%, which is practically more doable and reasonable to achieve long-term sustainable results. The key is staying absolutely away from saturated fats as much as possible, and getting the fats elsewhere.

Another drawback for a very low fat intake, more particularly fat intake that is less than 25%, is that this type of diet can lower HDL cholesterol and increase triglycerides, both of which are undesirable effects for persons cardiovascular health. The situation can get even more tricky for people who already have low HDL cholesterol levels. HDL-cholesterol in essential for carrying bad cholesterol out of artery walls, and having high HDL cholesterol levels generally results in lower risk of heart attack and better cardiovascular health. LPL cholesterol on the other hand is the one that forms the plague in arteries, which can later rapture and become a cause for heart attack.

For the reason mentioned above good to have mono unsaturated & polyunsaturated fats in your diet if you are HDL-cholesterol is already low. These can be found in olives, corn, nuts, soybean oils, canola etc.

Triglycerides are basically most of the fat in our diet and most of the fat that circulates in our blood as well. Combined with cholesterol triglycerides help the formation of plague. High amount of sugar and alcohol in diet raises triglycerides levels significantly, this includes sugars from natural sources, like honey and fruit. To lower triglycerides levels candy, pastries, pasta, soft drinks, white bread, fruit juices, alcohol and products like need to be avoided. In addition smokers and those who are overweight need to seriously consider, big surprise, quitting smoking and losing weight. High amount of omega-3 can help as well, however, the amount necessary cannot usually be obtained from natural sources. Moderate exercise has shown to have a great effect on lowering triglycerides in many studies, however, the effects of exercise on cholesterol lowering and triglycerides has shown some questionable results in some studies. Generally it seems like exercise can be much more effective in lowering triglycerides than in fighting LDL cholesterol or improving HDL-cholesterol. One thing is for sure that for years exercise has shown to improve individual's cardiovascular health in many ways, and just because some studies test numbers show some results that scientists cannot exactly explain doesn't really mean anything. Exercise is a great treatment for cardiovascular health, period.

The optimal triglycerides levels are below 150 mg/dL, however for people with cardiovascular problems it's optimal to stay below 100.

 Tricuspid Regurgitation is a condition of the heart in which tricuspid valve does not shut correctly, which causes blood to leak into the atrium of the heart when the ventricle narrows. The right ventricle is estranged from right atrium via the tricuspid valve. Tricuspid regurgitation inflicts just 4 out of 100,000 people. It is generally seen in people with a kind of congenital heart disease referred to as Ebstein's anomaly.