Melanie Thomassian
Health ProfessionalMelanie is a dietitian and writer. She wrote for HeatlhCentral as a health professional for Food & Nutrition and Heart Health.
Latest by Melanie Thomassian
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Beneficial for Your Heart
Omega-3 fatty acids are “healthy” fats, which are thought to protect the body against heart disease. They help the heart beat more regularly, reducing blood “stickiness,” therefore making it less likely to clot, and protecting the arteries from damag...
These Foods Can Raise Your "Good" Cholesterol
With so much hype about how “bad” LDL cholesterol is, you may have completely overlooked HDL cholesterol. However, HDL cholesterol plays a very important role in your heart health. There are a number of changes you can make in your diet and lifestyle...
Detox Diets: Are They A Good Idea?
With the start of 2012, you may have made a pledge to shed the extra pounds you’ve gain over the last year. Recently, I’ve heard a lot of people saying they intend to go on a “detox diet,” as soon as the New Year begins. But, is that a wise move? For ...
4 Habits That Damage Your Heart Health
To keep the heart in tip top shape we all know we should eat well, get some exercise, and quite smoking. But, there are also little things you should be doing every day, which can have a big impact on your overall heart health. Here are 4 of those se...
7 Strange Heart Attack Symptoms
A heart attack doesn’t always strike out of the blue. Often, there are unusual symptoms in the days and weeks leading up to an attack. It’s not surprising that many people don’t recognize these symptoms, however, since some of them may not be ones yo...
Foods That Raise HDL Cholesterol
With so much hype about how “bad” LDL cholesterol is, you may have completely overlooked HDL cholesterol. However, HDL cholesterol plays a very important role in your heart health. In fact, research suggests that a five-point reduction in HDL cholest...
Fish Oil For Lowering Cholesterol
Most people know fish oil is good for them, but exactly why and how much is needed, is a little uncertain in most people’s minds. Fish oil has, indeed, been shown by researchers to reduce your chance of getting heart disease, by improving blood chole...
Three Ways to Lower Your Triglyceride Levels
Last week I talked about triglycerides and how they affect our health, and this week we want to go a little further in that discussion, to look at some of the dietary changes which will help you reduce your triglyceride levels. Three Ways to Lower Yo...
Triglycerides: How Do They Affect Your Health?
We hear a lot about “cutting our saturated fat intake” these days, but unfortunately protecting your heart health is an awful lot more complicated than that. Let’s take triglycerides as one example. What are triglycerides? Triglycerides are the chemi...
How Flax Seed Can Improve Your Cholesterol Levels
Flax seeds have become more and more popular in recent years, due to their health-protective properties. Most notably, reducing the risk of heart disease, as well as the prevention of some cancers. So, why are flax seeds beneficial for heart health? ...