We groan inwardly when someone arrives at our office for her first appointment, twitching visibly and munching a lolly, to announce that she has quit smoking last week and is finding it difficult. Plenty of people do just quit and tough it out and we applaud them. Plenty of other people try to go cold turkey with no preparation and fail, which does no good for their self efficacy or future attempts to quit. Our strong... 

The blood flowing inside the closed tubular system of our arteries exerts pressure on the arterial wall. Human blood pressure slowly goes up from the time of birth and reaches the adult level around 18 years of age. In most parts of the so-called ‘civilised world’, blood pressure keeps going up with age even after the age of 18 years. In the case of Polynesian islanders and other primitive races, the blood... 

Smoking is one of the main factors which cause heart attacks. Let me elaborate. The coronary arteries provide the heart’s own blood supply and they carry the fuel and oxygen needed for its efficient working. When these arteries become diseased, especially as a consequence of smoking, their lining becomes thick, thereby reducing the flow of blood, especially when the heart has to work harder when its ‘owner’... 

Cholesterol is the essence of life. It forms the hydrophobic cell wall of every single cell in the body of which there are billions. Every day millions of cells are destroyed and new one stake their place. All the new cells need cholesterol for their cell walls. Nearly 90 per cent of the total body cholesterol is synthesis din the liver and only 10 per cent (a rather small portion) is obtained from food intake. In spite...