Men deficient in vitamin D seem to have a higher risk of heart attacks than men whose blood levels of vitamin D are adequate. Medical records and blood samples of 454 men between the ages of 40 and 75 who had fatal or nonfatal heart attacks between January 1993 and January 2004 were compared with 900 men who had no history of cardiovascular disease.

The vitamin D connection remained significant even after researchers adjusted for such heart disease risk factors as family history of heart attacks, body mass index, alcohol consumption, physical activities, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, omega 3 intake and ethnicity. The study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The results suggest that current recommendations for vitamin D intake need to be increased to boost blood levels of vitamin D high enough to benefit health, the authors said. The study showed that men whose blood levels of vitamin D were 15 nanograms per milliliter or less were at increased risk. Sufficient blood levels of vitamin D were 30 nanograms per milliliter or more.
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In many cases acne can be avoided. There are lots of ways to avoid acne. Ways to avoid acne include dietary changes, skin care and home treatments.

This article will have information that explores ways to avoid acne.

Ways to avoid acne #1: Use a cleansing diet to get rid of the impurities in your system.

Ways to avoid acne #2: Clean your skin everyday.

Ways to avoid acne #3: Use a benzoyl peroxide lotion to keep blemishes at bay.

Ways to avoid acne #4: Check your cosmetics, foods and other products to make sure you are not having a problem with allergies that can be mistaken for acne.

Ways to avoid acne #5: If you eat a high-fiber, low-fat diet you are less likely to have problems with acne.

Already kicked your bad diet and threw out aggravating cosmetics? And do you still have acne? Check out Acne Free in 3 Days, a natural how-to book on how to get rid of acne once and for all. -- Editors

Ways to avoid acne #6: Some vitamins will decrease your chances of acne. Check with your doctor to see what she suggests.

Ways to avoid acne #7: Drink six to eight glasses of water a day. Water is important for the health of your skin.

Ways to avoid acne #8: Some people feel that cutting down on sugar, flour and caffeine is one of the ways to avoid acne.

Ways to avoid acne #9: If you have small blackheads or pimples do not pop them. This can lead to even more skin problems.

Ways to avoid acne #10: Don’t use greasy lotions and cosmetics as they contain oils that can promote acne.

Ways to avoid acne #11: Try not to take any medications that contain iodides or bromides.

The above information should help you find ways to avoid acne.
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Asthma is a disease that affects the breathing passages of the lungs (bronchioles). Asthma is caused by chronic (ongoing, long-term) inflammation of these passages. This makes the breathing passages, or airways, of the person with asthma highly sensitive to various "triggers."

* When the inflammation is "triggered" by any number of external and internal factors, the passages swell and fill with mucus.

* Muscles within the breathing passages contract (bronchospasm), causing even further narrowing of the airways.

* This narrowing makes it difficult for air to be breathed out (exhaled) from the lungs.

* This resistance to exhaling leads to the typical symptoms of an asthma attack.


Because asthma causes resistance, or obstruction, to exhaled air, it is called an obstructive lung disease. The medical term for such lung conditions is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. COPD is actually a group of diseases that includes not only asthma, but also chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Like any other chronic disease, asthma is a condition you live with every day of your life. You can have an attack any time you are exposed to one of your triggers. Unlike other chronic obstructive lung diseases, asthma is reversible.

* Asthma cannot be cured, but it can be controlled.

* You have a better chance of controlling your asthma if it is diagnosed early and treatment begun right away.

* With proper treatment, people with asthma can have fewer and less severe attacks.

* Without treatment, they will have more frequent and more severe asthma attacks and can even die.


Asthma is on the rise in the United States and other developed countries. We are not sure exactly why this is, but these factors may contribute.

* We grow up as children with less exposure to infection than did our ancestors, which has made our immune systems more sensitive.

* We spend more and more time indoors, where we are exposed to indoor allergens such as dust and mold.

* The air we breathe is more polluted than the air most of our ancestors breathed.

* Our lifestyle has led to our getting less exercise and an epidemic of obesity. There is some evidence to suggest an association between obesity and asthma.


Asthma is a very common disease in the United States, where more than 17 million people are affected. A third of these are children. In 2002, 478,000 hospitalizations and 4,657 deaths were attributed to asthma.

* Asthma affects all races and is slightly more common in African Americans than in other races.

* Asthma affects all ages, although it is more common in younger people. The frequency and severity of asthma attacks tend to decrease as a person ages.

* Asthma is the most common chronic disease of children.

Asthma has many costs to society as well as to the individual affected.

* Many people are forced to make compromises in their lifestyle to accommodate their disease.

* Asthma is a major cause of work and school absence and lost productivity.

* Asthma is one of the most common reasons for emergency department visits and hospitalization.

* Asthma costs the US economy nearly $13 billion each year.

* Approximately 5000 people die of asthma each year in this country.


The good news for people with asthma is that you can live your life to the fullest. Current treatments for asthma, if followed closely, allow most people with asthma to limit the number of attacks they have. With the help of your health care provider, you can take control of your care and your life.
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