Cholesterol Increases Health And Strength By Marilyn Diamond

Online, December 27, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Here's the good news. The six-decade myth we've been told to believe that cholesterol is the "bad guy" is not holding up so well any longer. Even though, generally, the medical model still continues to stress that we should keep blood cholesterol and LDL triglycerides low, the Mayo Clinic is breaking with this tradition in pointing out the physical benefits that any type of cholesterol offers the body.

A report that truly affects your potential for physical fitness appeared in Science Daily, Jan. 10, 2008, which explained that the body uses cholesterol to produce increased muscle fibers following strenuous activity. Another study at Texas A&M University showed that participants with higher cholesterol intake also had the highest muscle strength gain.

The bad news is this study also showed that subjects on blood pressure-lowering medication struggled to increase strength following exercise. So, two clues for lowering blood pressure that aren't often shared are: 1) eat a banana or two for potassium every day; and 2) drink plenty of water because sometimes high blood pressure is merely a symptom of chronic dehydration. If you are feeling a bit of hypertension in the chest, first, drink three glasses of water and see how much better you may feel.

Marilyn Diamond launched her career as the pioneering author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Fit for Life (Warner Books, 1985). The book made publishing history by breaking every record, including #1 positioning for over a year on the New York Times bestseller list, 4th bestselling book of the decade, and a coveted position on Publishers' Weekly Top 25 Bestselling Books in History List, along with Gone with the Wind and the Bible. Celebrity support and grass-roots mainstream enthusiasm propelled Marilyn into international stardom as the go-to authority on health and fitness-the first to affirm and model the indisputable connection between diet and health.

Marilyn Diamond's works, which have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, include A New Way of Eating (Warner Books, 1986) Fit for Life II (Warner Books, 1987), The American Vegetarian Cookbook (Grand Central Publishing, 1990), Fitonics (Avon Books 1996) and Recipes for Life (Avon Books 1998).