If you are tensed about the rising cholesterol levels then know about the implications of the same and how to lower LDL cholesterol. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance and comprises both HDL (high-density lipoproteins) and LDL (low-density lipoproteins). While HDL is good for you as it eats up cholesterol and carries it to the liver for excretion, LDL can be extremely harmful. It is necessary to lower LDL cholesterol as it can clog the arteries and blood vessels. Too much clogging can restrict the flow of blood to the heart causing heart attack, stroke or heart failure.

How is the risk of a heart attack estimated?
High LDL cholesterol is not the sole reason behind a heart attack. Here are some of the factors that add to heart-related issue:

• Age
• Blood pressure and whether one takes any medicine for the same
• Whether one smokes
• History of heart ailments in the family
• Diabetes
• Obesity

After considering all these factors, the doctor will guide one in the best possible way to reduce cholesterol levels safely.

How to lower LDL cholesterol?
To reduce bad cholesterol, it is not enough to only depend on medicines. One must make some positive lifestyle changes. Here are a few tips:

• Eat healthy – Consume foods like oats, barley, whole grains, all kinds of beans, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, eggplant, okra, lemons, oranges, apples, grapes, and strawberries. Try and use olive oil for cooking and salads. Fatty fishes like salmon, sardines, and mackerel are also good for you.
• Avoid saturated fats – Stay away from foods like sugary drinks, cakes, pastries, cookies, red meat or processed meat, coconut and palm oils, butter, lard, cocoa butter and fried food. Try to avoid whole fat milk, cream, and cheese. These are high in LDL cholesterol.
• Start exercising – Running, fast jogging, and cycling can increase the HDL level in your blood and help in lowering LDL cholesterol. It forces the LDL to travel to the liver, from where it is excreted or used for digestion. Exercising will prevent you from gaining weight as well.

So, get the cholesterol levels tested and consult the doctor to lead a healthy and active life.

What does herpes mean?

Any infections caused by the contagious virus, Herpes Simplex Virus can be termed as Herpes. Herpes Simplex Virus, also known as Human Herpes Virus, family has 8 different types. HSV 1 and HSV 2 are the most common viruses from the Herpesvirus family. Both are contagious and can be easily transmitted from an infected person to another. The former is commonly known as “cold sore” or “oral herpes” while the latter is called “genital herpes”.

How can it spread?

According to one of the researchers of WHO, about 67% of the global population have HSV 1. It is basically the reason behind cold sores around the mouth. It can also give you genital infection, thereby causing genital herpes. This occurrence has a high possibility when there is an oral-genital contact.

Infected people having active lesions can unknowingly spread this disease by skin-to-skin contact, especially if there are breaks or cuts present in the skin of the recipient. It can also spread through sharing personal items of the infected person by a healthy person such as towels, razor, tissue, clothes, utensils, etc.

On the other hand, HSV 2 is mainly associated with sexual transmission. This virus is incapable of surviving outside the human body for long. Therefore, the only way it gets transmitted or stays active is through sexual contact. HSV 2 infection may also be found in the facial area, but usually, it is observed below the waist region.

Is it normal to have Herpes?

According to several medical specialists and research centers, having Herpes is not a sign of abnormality. It is as normal as being sick with chicken pox (Herpes Zoster) or any other common disease, but what puts you at risk is the symptom and the effect. If it is without any symptoms, you are fine, but if you are suffering due to the infection, it has to be treated.

What are the different types of Herpes?

• Apart from HSV 1 and HSV 2, there are 6 other types of Herpesviruses which may affect you in a number of ways, ultimately causing infections.
• HHV 3 virus is exclusively responsible for causing chicken pox. It can also cause a viral skin infection known as Herpes Zoster or Shingles. HHV 3 finds skin cell a better place for infection. It may also infect the nerve cells or where the nerve fibers end on skin cells,causing multiple sores. Lesions resulting from this infection may recover within 2 to 4 weeks, but the marks may last for good or a long time. The lesions may also cause you itching or severe pain.
• HHV 4 is responsible for the infectious disease known as Mononucleosis or “Kissing Disease”. This infection transmits through saliva, though coughing, sneezing and sharing personal stuff may also be listed as possible ways of its transmission.
• HHV 5 is another cause of Mononucleosis. The virus can be transmitted through various ways such as in newborns through breastfeeding, blood transfusion, sexual contact and even transplants (organ). It may lead to Hepatitis, Diarrhea, AIDS, etc.
• HHV 6 and HHV 7 cause Roseola, a viral disease in which the patient suffers from skin rashes and high fever
• HHV 8 is basically related with Cancer (Lymphoma) or tumors.

There are several brands which you can turn to when you decide to buy new living room furniture. To make your job a bit easier, here is a collection of the most luxurious and best living room furniture brands:

Restoration Hardware
This is one of the most innovative and fastest growing luxury brands in the marketplace for home furnishing. Restoration Hardware is rightly termed as design authority and a lifestyle brand since if offers a dominant assortment across several categories including lighting, furniture, textiles, decor, bath ware, garden and outdoor. It offers child and baby products as well. Expect only the best from Restoration Hardware.

Roche Bobois
The Roche Bobois Group is one of the world leaders in designing and distribution of high-end furniture for living rooms and bedrooms. It also enjoys its elite position of a pioneer creator. Roche Bobois comes up with a new and exclusive collection every six months to stand true to its dynamism. Every time it ranks among the most brilliant furniture brands along with having an upscale international reputation.

Poliform
This brand offers a comprehensive range of furniture items. Poliform offers its productive and creative resources to the complementary and parallel activity of big commercial and residential projects. They can supply furniture to suit any architectural setting from their versatile modular systems.

Christopher Guy
This company is known for offering a fusion of modernism and classicism. His uncompromising sense of style, singular vision, and the pursuit of elegance make him continually redefine the design aesthetics.

Kartell
This company was founded in the year 1949 in Milan. The brand combines innovation, creativity,and glamour in their collection of unique plastic style icons. You get technology, creativity, functionality, glamour, innovation, and quality when you think of Kartell. Along with these, the company has a strategic vision of distribution, which has helped the brand to grow continually and remain successful for such a long time.

Baker
Baker Furniture knows only the language of style. They do not design for the moment but for the movement. This brand is not a mere follower of trending fashion but innovator and tastemaker. Their products speak volume though material, design, craftsmanship and ultimately, finish. It was Siebe Baker, a craftsman, who used to carve furniture with his hands. The success of this sturdy furniture inspired his son, Hollis Baker, to study at a university, travel the world and perfect the eye of a collector. The eye and the hands till date remain the cornerstone of this brand called Baker Furniture.

Boca do Lobo
The furniture from this brand is an exclusive emotional experience and a state of mind. Each piece is passionately handcrafted in Portugal by people who love their artwork. This brand offers a frontier between art and design. Every piece is a promise of forgotten sources of pleasure. You are taken to places where you have never been before, a world of overwhelming emotions when you see and own the furniture.

Fendi Casa
This brand is known for offering world-class furniture and home improvement items. You can never go wrong with furniture from this brand. Creativity is what they are famous for. You get everything you want to decorate your living room when you visit them to shop.

Brabbu
This designer brand reflects a passionate way of living, bringing power, strength, and fierceness into an urban lifestyle setting. The company design and manufacture a varied range of furniture, upholstery, case goods, rugs, accessories, lighting, and art that tell tales of the world and nature. All these stories are penned down by the textures, materials, flavors, colors, and scents that reside inside the urban life and nature.

If you want to bring luxury to your living room, opt for the brands mentioned above. Your living room would definitely look awe-inspiring and magnificent with the new furniture. These may be expensive but are one-of-a-kind. To give a character to your living room, choose a new furniture wisely.

You can never go wrong with the choices mentioned above.

An annuity is a lump sum invested by the policyholder with an intent to receive regular payouts after retiring until they pass away. If a person exceeds their estimated life expectancy, they are entitled to receive attractive returns on their annuity investment. The rate of return for every investor varies and is determined by some crucial factors such as deposit amount, current and expected tax rate, age, gender, investment term, withdrawal age, and minimum guaranteed interest. There might be additional factors based on the company you’re buying the plan from and the type of annuity chosen.

Usually, an annuity is split into two categories, fixed and variable annuity. The former delivers a uniform rate of return for the entire term, whereas the latter adjusts the rate of return based on market conditions such as inflation. Comparatively, fixed rate annuities are preferred over the variable kind as they ensure guaranteed yields. Here are some companies offering the best fixed annuity rates for the year 2018.

American Equity
An investment life holding organization, American Equity offers annuity solutions in all the 50 states. Some of their plans like the Guarantee Series, RateShield Series 7, RateShield Series 10, and RateShield Series 10+ offer the best fixed annuity rates. Apart from traditional fixed-rate annuities they also serve multiple plans for fixed-index and immediate annuities. You can find some helpful resources on their websites such as customer service and tax forms, calculators, and blog. They have impressive ratings from recognized organizations such as A.M. Best®, The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA), Standard and Poor’s®, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Indexed Annuity Leadership Council (IALC).

Fidelity
Fidelity’s financial services involve an array of fixed annuities such as Deferred Fixed Annuities, New York Life Clear Income Fixed Annuity – FP Series and Immediate Fixed Income Annuities. The minimum investment range for these plans is from $5,000 to $50,000. These are designed for individuals saving for retirement, transitioning to the retirement phase or are already retired. Apart from annuities, they also sell investment products such as mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, bonds, IRAs, credit cards, 529 college savings, and life insurance. They have solid ratings from reviewers such as A.M. Best® and Standard and Poor’s®.

MassMutual
MassMutual offers a range of annuity solutions like fixed-deferred, variable, immediate-income and fixed-index. If you are looking for best income annuity rates from MassMutual then the most viable choice will be the Deferred Fixed Annuity plan which offers tax-deferred growth, principal protection, and death benefits. They also allow the policyholder to withdraw a specific percentage of the amount on an annual basis. Besides annuities, MassMutual renders services related to insurance, investments, and retirement. They have some remarkable ratings from accreditation agencies such as A.M. Best®, Standard and Poor’s®, Fitch, and Moody’s Investors Services.

Lincoln Financial Group
These providers have a variety of best income annuities. When it comes to fixed annuities, it deals with traditional fixed, fixed index, deferred, and immediate annuities. Lincoln MYGuaranteeSM Plus fixed annuity, Lincoln OptiChoiceSM fixed indexed annuity, and Lincoln Insured IncomeSM Immediate Annuity (SPIA) are some of their popular fixed annuity plans. Apart from annuities, they also manage services related to life insurance, education savings, family protection, and workplace benefits. They have admirable ratings from agencies such as A.M. Best®, Standard and Poor’s®, Moody’s and Fitch.

Apart from the above-mentioned companies providing the best fixed annuity rates, you can also compare insurers like American National Insurance Company, ING, MetLife, and AllState for great plans.

Choosing the best fixed annuity rates
Unlike savings, checking, and money market accounts, annuity accounts are not insured by the government. Therefore, before you pick an annuity plan to inquire how the company plans to protect your investments. Furthermore, scrutinize factors such as annual and administrative fees, minimum guaranteed return, surrender fees, death benefits, accreditation, and company’s overall reputation. If you seem confused about making a choice, then check out customer reviews online to make an informed decision.