Healthy Heart: Cut Cholesterol with Fiber

Cut Cholesterol with Fiber - Oatmeal, barley, and psyllium are rich sources of soluble fiber, which can help reduce your cholesterol. Barley and oatmeal both contain beta-glucans, soluble fibers that help lower your LDL (Bad) cholesterol by preventing it from being absorbed into the bloodstream. Psyllium is found in cereals and supplements and may slash your LDL by triggering an increase in your body's excretion of bile acid, the digestive fluid that cholesterol is converted into. Drink a daily glass of tomato juice; it's rich in lycopene, a nutrient that may cut your body's production of LDL cholesterol. People who consumed about a glass and a half of tomato juice and ate 2 tablespoons of ketchup every day for 3 weeks reduced their LDL levels by an average of 8.5 percent, according to a study in the British Journal of Nutrition. Opt for low-salt varieties since sodium can raise blood pressure.

Source: Men's Health

Stay In The Game

Take the path of least resistance - Crash landings require stuntmanlike instincts, whether you're smacking the water or the turf. "You want to be as aerodynamic as possible when you hit," says Berman. "Just before impact, I lean forward against the front of my kayak so I don't take a huge hit to my chest as I reenter the water." Use the same technique on a bike or in touch football: "I don't stop short; I just go with the fall and let my body roll through the impact," he says.


Practice hard - Performance anxiety narrows your peripheral vision by as much as 3 degrees and slows reaction time by 119 milliseconds, according to the Journal of Sports Sciences. When the going gets tough, the tough rely on the skills they've practiced. It helps keep them cool under pressure, widening their range of vision so they see that linebacker coming and react within milliseconds.

Socialize after exercise - Lack of social support upped risk of injury in a University of Washington study.


Source: Men's Health