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High cholesterol is one of the risk factors for atherosclerosis along with smoking, overweight and having high blood pressure. High cholesterol has a definition that differs depending on your exact age.

High cholesterol is defined as a total cholesterol level higher than 5.2 mmol/L which is 200 mg/dL in American units. It’s confusing for most of us.

You have two types of cholesterol in your blood - the good and bad. High cholesterol is called as a silent disease because there are often no visible symptoms - until something serious happens.

If high cholesterol is left untreated it can lead to serious complications, sometimes even death. That makes it very important to have your colestrol checked - properly - by your doctor. It won’t go away on its own. Before you think about taking medication you may want to consider lifestyle changes - they can be easy to make and can have dramatic results.

LDL is called the bad cholestrol and it has a higher fat-to-protein ratio than HDL - which is usually called the good cholesterol. Cholesterol from LDL is the main source of buildup and blockage in your arteries. So the more LDL cholesterol your blood contains the greater your risk of heart disease.

Lowering your cholesterol levels can slow, stop, or even reverse the buildup of plaque. It can also reduce your risk of a heart attack. For starters, learn all you can about high cholesterol foods.

General texts like this are not intended as a substitute for competent, professional medical advice. As with anything medical, you should consult your physician for his advice before you consider making any changes, or taking any medications.

Neem is great stuff. Ever been searching for top quality neem but could not figure out where to begin? Neem based products are getting more attention these days and are being made available, but as of now are usually only found on the web or in small beauty shops and specialty stores. Because it is hard to find these products it is easy to grab the first thing you come across just because it has the word neem on the label. Here are some quick tips that will help you make an educated choice before you actually purchase anything.

Figure Out How The Oil Was Extracted There are a number of methods commonly used today to extract the oil from the neem tree seeds. As you might have already concluded, not all extraction process produce the same quality oil. The best extraction method that produces the most desirable neem seed oil is called cold pressing. Cold pressing neem oil is the best, due to the fact that most of the active compounds remain intact. Cold pressing is also the oldest extracting process. It uses a mechanical device that squeezes the oil from the dried seeds. Always opt for cold pressed neem oil where possible.

The next extraction technique uses hot water vapor and extreme temperatures. Though this method gets more oil from the seeds than the cold pressing technique, a lot of the active compounds in the neem oil are often made useless due to the heat used in the process.

The third extraction method is the most preferred one that most neem oil dealers use because it yields the greatest quantity of neem oil. The technique is called solvent extraction, and usually hexane (white gasoline) is the solvent of choice. Even though this process extracts just about all of the oil from the neem seeds, the chemicals destroy nearly all of the active compounds in the neem. And along with this and the fact that the solvent is poisonous, it is preferable to look for products that do not contain neem oil that was extracted using them.

Be Sure The Products Do Not Contain Additives Most bath and cosmetic products these days contain chemical compounds to “enhance” how the product works. At the same time, some of these additives can potentially cause adverse side effects. Two of the most common additives that may be in a lot of bath bath products are Lauryl Sulfates and Parabens. Lauryl Sulfates are often used as foam producers, because they are not very costly and work particularly well. Many inexpensive neem pet shampoo products contain these additives too. However, these chemicals are a known irritant. In fact, the USFDA encourages developers of these products not to use them.

Parabens are preservatives, and though there has been no real studies showing that that they are harmful, they are starting to be avoided by many. Some organizations feel they should be avoided for the sake of precaution.

Buy Only Products That Contain Certified Organic Ingredients Of course, organic ingredients are always more desireable than others. These are natural substances, and have not been exposed to man-made chemicals, synthetic fertilizers, or other un-natural substances. Look for labels that list only organic ingredients. If a producer uses them, they will always state this (it’s a selling point) somewhere on the packaging.