Saturday, November 29, 2014

The DASH Diet to Reduce High Blood Pressure

By Rex Scott


What you eat impacts your odds of developing high blood pressure. Recent studies prove that blood pressure tends to be lowered by simply following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet plan. This in conjunction with eating a reduced amount of salt provides the largest benefit and may even prevent the development of high blood pressure.

The DASH eating plan is composed of: Eating more fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products; Decreasing foods that are higher saturated fat, cholesterol, and trans fats; Eating more whole grains, fish, poultry, and nuts; Eating less red meat (specifically processed meats) and desserts; Consuming foods high in magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

Beginning the DASH Diet

The DASH food program involves consuming a specific quantity of servings every day from a number of recommended food groups. The quantity of servings you require may vary, depending on a person's caloric needs. When beginning the diet, ease into it and make progressive modifications. Take into account taking on a diet regime that enables 2,400 mg of salt every day (approximately 1 teaspoon). Subsequently, after your body has adjusted to the diet, further decrease your salt intake to 1,500 mg per day (about 2/3 teaspoon). These amounts include all salt eaten, including salt in food products as well as in what you cook with or add at the table.

Here are some ideas to get you going on the DASH diet: Add a portion of veggies at lunch and dinner; Add a offering of fruit to your meals or as a snack food; Use only half your regular serving of butter, margarine, or salad dressing. And try to use low-fat or fat-free condiments; Substitute low-fat or skim dairy whenever you would ordinarily use whole milk or cream; Minimize beef to 6 ounces a day. Have a few vegetarian meals as an alternative; Add more vegetables and beans into your diet. Instead of typical snacks with a lot of salt, eat the unsalted versions or opt for unsalted nuts, raisins, fat-free yogurt, frozen yogurt, unsalted plain popcorn without butter, and raw vegetables; Examine food labels mindfully to buy products that are lower in sodium.

The DASH Eating Plan is so effective, it is recommended by: - The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (one of the National Institutes of Health, of the US Department of Health and Human Services) - The American Heart Association (AHA) - US guidelines for treatment of high blood pressure - The Mayo Clinic

The DASH diet not only helps lower blood pressure. A study from 2010 found that regular exercise combined with the DASH diet increased mental activity in overweight adults by 30%.




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3 Soups To Help Reduce Your Blood Pressure

By Owen Jones


Nowadays lots of people in their Forties and Fifties are being told that they have high blood pressure and that unless they induce major lifestyle changes soon, then they will be on blood pressure tablets for the remainder of their lives. The fact is, that once your body gets used to these tablets it is extremely hard to get off them.

Therefore, if you have been given this warning, take it seriously. The doctor's advice can take different forms, but it usually encompasses: lose weight; stop smoking and drinking; take more exercise and eat less salt.

In the spirit of this latter piece of advice, I have put three low salt soup recipes from three different countries in this piece. I hope you enjoy them.

Recipe One: Germany

Two Bean Soup (Zwei Bohnensuppe) (Serves Four)

1 1/4 cups white beans, dry 1 cup cut green beans 1 green onion, chopped 1 potato, peeled & chopped 2 tbls unbleached flour

Garnish =================== 4 oz ham, chopped 1/4 cup celery,diced 1 onion, yellow, diced 1 tbls unsalted butter (optional) 3/4 cup beef broth, unsalted 1/4 tsp pepper 1 parsley, sprig

The beans can be either fresh or frozen, but do not use canned. Boil the beans until softish; add the potato and continue to boil. Add the flour to thicken when the potato is cooked. Stir well. Serve in bowls and then add the garnish. Crispy bread is a good accompaniment.

Recipe Two: Ireland

Sorrel Soup (Serves Eight)

1 lb Sorrel 3 oz unsalted butter (or margarine) 1 substantial onion, chopped 2 tbsp flour (heaped) 2 1/2 l stock 2 tbsp breadcrumbs 1 pepper 2 egg yolks 150 ml cream

Wash the sorrel well and chop it up. Heat the butter or margarine in a saucepan and only soften the sorrel and onion in it. Shake the flour on to the vegetables and mix well. Let it cook for about 1 minute. In the meantime bring the stock to the boil, then add to the pan. Add the breadcrumbs, add pepper to taste, and bring to the boil, then simmer for around 1 hour covered. (It can get liquidized at this stage, if liked). Whisk the egg yolks with the cream then add a little of the hot soup to the mixture, stirring well; then add gradually to the soup pot, mixing well on the heat, being careful not to let it boil.

Recipe Three: Russia

Borsch (Serves eight)

1 cup navy beans, dried 2 1/2 lb beef, lean 1/2 lb slab bacon 10 cups cold water 1 bay leaf 8 whole peppercorns 2 cloves garlic 2 tblsp parsley, dried 1 carrot 1 celery stalk 1 red onion, big, chopped 1 tsp salt (optional) 8 beetroots for soup 2 beetroots, small 2 cups green cabbage, shredded 2 leeks, large, sliced 3 potatoes, cut into eighths 1 can (1 lb 13 oz) tomatoes 1 tbspn tomato paste 3 tbspn red wine vinegar 1 lb kielbasa (optional) 2 tbspn flour 1 tbspn butter, melted 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)

Cover beans with water and permit to soak overnight; cook until tender; drain; set aside. Place beef, bacon and water in large soup pot; bring to the boil. Skim fat from surface. Add bay leaf, peppercorns, garlic, parsley, carrot, celery, onion. Cover and simmer on a low heat for around 1 1/2 hours.

Scrub beetroots for soup and cook in boiling water until tender, around 45 minutes; drain and dispose of water; cool. Peel and cut every beetroot into eighths. Scrub small beetroots; grate; cover with water to soak.

Remove meat from soup; lay aside. Strain soup into another pot and add cooked beetroot, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, beef and bacon.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Chop kielbasa into chunks and add with navy beans to soup. Simmer 20 minutes more. Mix flour and butter together to form a paste. Stir into soup to thicken slightly. Strain raw beets, saving liquid yet discarding beetroots. Add beetroot liquid to soup.

Additional sugar or vinegar can be added for a sweeter or sourer flavour. Cut meat and place in individual soup bowls. Pour hot soup with vegetables on to meat. Garnish every serving with a spoonful of sour cream, if desired.




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Monday, October 7, 2013

Quick Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

By Nora M. Greenway


People who have high blood pressure are at risk of developing heart disease in the future. If you have it you are probably looking for quick ways to lower it. There are simple things that you can do at home to help your blood pressure return to normal. Speak to your doctor about how these various ways can help you.

Watch Your Caffeine Intake

A cup of coffee in the morning or a coca-cola beverage with your dinner isn't the end of the world. But many people can't stop at one cup of coffee. In fact many people are drinking up to 8 cups a day. If you have high blood pressure and drink a lot of caffeine you could be sensitive to caffeine. To figure out if you are, pick up a small measuring device from your local drugstore and test yourself at home. Test your pressure 10 minutes before having your first cup of coffee and 20 minutes after it. If your pressure has risen you should really consider making some changes to how much caffeine you drink.

Increase Aerobic Exercise

Anyone dealing with health issues understands the importance of exercise. Exercise does not need to be strenuous. In fact if you have high blood pressure you will probably want to start with something that is not too intense. A daily 30 minute walk is good for everyone. Other forms of exercise that are not too strenuous are ice skating or yoga.

Before beginning this step, it's especially important to check with your doctor. While exercise is good for your blood pressure, some people with extremely high blood pressure need other steps before they can exercise, since exercise in itself raises your heart rate for a while. Ask your doctor specifically which exercises you can do, based on your current blood pressure. Also ask about signs that you need to stop exercising.

Reduce Your Salt Intake

It is a known fact that people with high blood pressure should avoid salt as much as possible. Avoid fast foods and processed foods as they are usually high in sodium. If you go out for dinner to a fine restaurant always taste your food before you consider adding salt to it. Many people have a bad habit of shaking salt all over their meal without tasting it first. If you cook at home, it is easy to cut back on how much salt you use. There are many spices available at the grocery store which are a great alternative when you are looking for something to add more flavor to the food that you are preparing.

Limit Your Alcohol Consumption

Cutting out drinking entirely is usually not necessary. In fact, many studies suggest that a light amount of drinking is actually good for your blood pressure! However, if you often have several drinks in quick succession, you should stop. This type of drinking can raise your blood pressure. Experts agree that a safe and healthy number of drinks per day is one for women and two for men. As always, ask your doctor if these numbers are safe for you, and be sure to ask about potential interactions with any medications you're taking.

As you can see, lowering your blood pressure quickly isn't as hard as it might seem. With a few healthy lifestyle choices, you can start seeing results almost immediately. Even better, these changes are healthy for your entire body!




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A Quick Guide To Blood Pressure

By Greg Tilley


When it comes to determining a normal blood pressure, there is generally no right or wrong answer. You may not believe it but even the most experienced and knowledgeable doctors do not have an exact, common figure as to what would be the ideal blood pressure for a healthy adult.

Speaking in general terms, though, doctors and other experts would consider 110/70 to 125/80 as a happy medium of sorts, a reasonable blood pressure range for the average adult person, although somebody who has naturally low blood pressure may hover around 100/60.

As for adults with a blood pressure of 140/90, this would be acceptable as the individual grows older, but for people in their 20s to 30s, this is often considered to be high.

Blood is not, as usually thought, like a flowing river as it circulates throughout the body - it circulates by means of spurts. Therefore the pressure peaks in the blood vessels just after a heart beat and then ebbs until the next one. This would be considered normal.

The two blood pressure figures would then correspond to the pressures at the peak and ebb points respectively. The stronger the arteries are, the more they resist the force of the blood and the lower the blood pressure.

As people mature, their arteries become less flexible and elastic, thus the higher blood pressure which would be considered acceptable. However the lower figure should still be under 90 until that person at least reaches their sixties.

Many studies looking at blood pressure in both black and white people have found there is a higher prevalence of hypertension (High blood pressure) in black people than there is in white. This has led to further research in determining whether this is racially determined or just based on socioeconomic and dietary factors.

It is common for individuals who suffer from high blood pressure to be befuddled as to why they suffer from such a condition. Their blood pressure may be high on a regular basis even if they do all the right things to stay healthy, including eating a balanced diet and staying away from vices. These people have essential, or Primary high blood pressure. But it is far more common for people to suffer from Secondary High Blood Pressure, which is an increased blood pressure that has an underlying health reason.

Nearly one in four people in the Western world have high blood pressure. Leaving this condition untreated can lead to catastrophic results, as many people have found out too late - such complications include heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. Yet there are thousands of people unaware they have high blood pressure who are walking around with a lethal time bomb ticking away inside them.




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What Causes High Blood Pressure?

By Jewel Chesson


Lots of people have high blood pressure, and this can be a deadly problem. People who have undiagnosed high blood pressure often end up suffering from serious illnesses because they allowed the problem to get worse without addressing it. The purpose of this article is to identify some of the known causes of high blood pressure.

While people of any age can have high blood pressure, the risk increases as you age. Men are more at risk for high blood pressure around their mid-forties, and with women it's closer to fifty. The fact is, however, that anyone can develop high blood pressure at any age, and this is increasingly true as more younger people become overweight. So everyone should have their blood pressure measured regularly, but it's especially important if you are forty or above. Aside from your age, there are many other elements that can be risk factors for hypertension.

Unfortunately, there are many instances when the cause of high blood pressure cannot be identified. High blood pressure with no known cause is called essential hypertension, and the majority of cases actually fit into this category. While many factors, such as age, diet, smoking and stress can contribute to it, even experts have not identified a specific cause in the majority of cases. Since the causes are hard to pinpoint, you have to have your blood pressure checked to know if it's high. There are many changes you can make to lower your risk, and ways to treat it when it's been diagnosed, but doctors are still doing research on the exact cause of high blood pressure.

High cholesterol is usually something that accompanies hypertension, so controlling your cholesterol is one way to approach high blood pressure. When it comes to controlling your cholesterol, you have to know the difference between "good" and "bad" cholesterol. LDL is the harmful type of cholesterol, and this causes blockages in the arteries which is bad for the heart. On the other hand, HDL is the good kind of cholesterol, and this actually reverses the damage done by bad cholesterol. Good cholesterol levels are maintained by exercising regularly and eating fruits, vegetables and healthy fats. The main way to reduce bad cholesterol is to avoid unhealthy fats, processed foods, sugar and junk food. If you focus on lowering your cholesterol, you will probably lower your blood pressure as well, and both are factors you have to watch for the sake of your health.

No matter what is causing hypertension, you should not underestimate how dangerous it can be. As long as you watch your blood pressure and listen to your doctor's recommendations, you should be able to keep it under control. The above causes of high blood pressure are only some of the factors that can be responsible for this condition. When you know you have high blood pressure, there are many methods to reduce it, but you have to be willing to make some changes.




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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Do Away With Blood Pressure Naturally.

By Jennette Green


In all the United States recently high blood pressure has climbed to pandemic levels due to a lot more than 65 million folks fighting from high blood pressure but also another 45 million experiencing a illness called to be pre-hypertension. Hypertension is in fact a symptomless condition that increases an individual's probability of cardiac event as well as, stroke and also you could possibly actually definitely be fighting from it with out any kind of education of it before it is pretty late. High blood pressure does not have any obvious warning signs, therefore a lot of people get it and they aren't conscious regarding it. This is commonly discovered during normal routine healthcare controls; however a simple measurement is usually definitely not sufficient to discover it, considering that everyone might get high blood pressure soon after some traumatic event or even immediately after exercising physical activities. In cases where health care professional measures the actual blood pressure and its figures are higher than average every occasion therefore you may have hypertension.

Just after learning the actual side effects of numerous types of food on blood pressure, experts already have produced a meal program called DASH Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension. DASH suggests that you have to eat just many fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish and also low-fat milk foods, also very few red meats, sweets and also some other food which are abundant in unwanted weight.

Have you had your own lycopene today? If you consumed a natural salad using fresh new tomatoes, a person not just a good dosage of this highly effective antioxidant, but also took significant procedures in order to minimize your own blood pressure. A recent double-blind investigation carried out inside Israel also has tested that the actual hearts of healthy Italians have acknowledged for 100's of years - tomatoes (and also tomato sauce) decrease blood vessels pressure and the actual risk of heart disease.

In spite of what you may well have noticed, prescription drugs are generally not necessary in order to lower blood pressure naturally. Presently there are dozens, if not really 100s of little things you can perform to improve your own cardiovascular wellness and improve your overall physical fitness. Drink Water Latest investigation has advised that persistent hypertension may possibly be the actual result connected with considerable lack of fluids, as well as that improving normal water consumption may always be of benefit to people who are struggling from this. If you happen to be obese and have hypertension then an individual may reduce this just through shedding a few pounds. The actual sort of meals that we all eat can additionally have an impact as well. Therefore the actual bottom line is that this can boil down to your effort to make adjustments to your own way of life or perhaps medicine, which one will you choose.

To start up though let us talk about a couple of things that an individual ought to stay away from and top of the collection is salt. Salt (or sodium) is one of the chief culprits in the present day hypertension epidemic. An excessive amount dietary fat is also a reason as it promotes arteriosclerosis, fat gain, and also many other problems that lead to hypertension. Hence, two things to avoid in your eating plan are usually sodium along with excessive fat, principally saturated or Tran's fats. So, what sorts of nutrition should you have in your healthy eating plan in order to help decrease your own blood pressure? Potassium is one of the crucial substances that is absent within today's United States eating routine and also which is especially beneficial for a person's blood pressure. It assists lower blood pressure just as sodium helps in raising your blood pressure and so including sufficient potassium in your diet regime might assist stabilize blood pressure.




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Dieting and Foods Impacts Your Blood pressure level

By Elly Thompson


Are you aware that what you eat can affect your blood pressure? Watching your diet can be very good for keeping your blood pressure normal. Even if you have never had a problem with high blood pressure, taking necessary precautions can be beneficial.

You could try a Vegetarian diet. On this diet you will get many of the following:

* Calcium * Magnesium * A Vitamin & C * Potassium * Complex Carbohydrates * Polyunsaturated Fat * Fiber

Many of these can have a great influence on your blood pressure levels.

Sugar can increase your blood pressure levels, especially the common table sugar sucrose. Try to limit your intake of this. An eating plan high in fiber has been proven great at lowering blood pressure. Along with reducing your blood pressure this diet will also help you reduce your cholesterol levels and even promote weight reduction.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is essential as well. Any diet which includes consuming fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and is low in total fat, cholesterol and saturated fat has proven to be effective in lowering blood pressure levels.

Many people use more salt compared to what they are aware of. Maybe because many of us are just used to automatically salting our food unaware if it was salted when being cooked. (If going out to restaurants) Reducing your salt intake may also help lower your blood pressure.

A diet plan high in potassium and low in sodium reduces your blood pressure levels rise by reducing the effect of adrenaline. In the event you reduce your sodium intake you have to also increase your potassium intake.

There are some vegetables and spices that assist control your blood pressure. Many of these are incredibly common vegetables and spices to be helping your blood pressure and not even know it.

Onions' essential oil is quite beneficial. If you have two to three tablespoons this essential onion oil each day, it could help reduce your systolic levels. Tomatoes may also be a beneficiary to controlling blood pressure levels. They are high in GABA, an ingredient that helps lower your blood pressure.

Broccoli contains several blood pressure reducing ingredients. Carrots likewise have many compounds that do exactly the same. Introducing these vegetables for your diet will do wonders for the blood pressure. Even if you don't suffer from high blood pressure, it's best to keep it with a safe level and take the extra precautions to get there.

Garlic and celery are also great to add to your diet. Garlic is wonderful for the heart which you've probably been told before. Eating just one clove of garlic a day has been proven to be beneficial.

Whatever diet you decide on or whatever foods you try to limit, remember you are carrying out it for your health. Many people figure out how to enjoy healthier foods as they age. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your blood pressure get with your doctor. They'll be happy to assist you and answer questions you might have. Taking care of your health is vital and will make you feel much better.




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What You Must Realize About Blood Pressure Factors(TM)

By Pinky Arnisola


High blood pressure is certainly a very significant problem. Every day more and more men and women are troubled by it. For some people, high blood pressure is relatively easily remedied. For other individuals, it is a difficult condition to manage. Some individuals overcome it with medication, while other patients are not that lucky. It truly is no wonder, then, that people look for holistic or quick fixes to this problem. This is one of the reasons there are hundreds of so called "alternative treatments" being sold on the internet. This article will evaluate the Blood Pressure Factors(TM) health supplement offered by Michael's Naturopathic Programs.

Michael Schwartz formed Michael's Naturopathic Programs during the mid '80s. Michael Schwartz has actually been a player in the field of natural disease treatment methods since the mid 1970s and was one of the first to invent gender-specific supplements. Blood Pressure Factors continues to be the company's best-selling product for longer than two decades. It's tremendously well-liked in many natural healing circles.

Blood Pressure Factors is a health supplement in tablet shape. The pill consists of calcium sulfate, maltodextrin, magnesium stearate and stearic acid to help you lower your blood pressure levels. These ingredients combine to aid the body so that the arteries can have the capacity for good fluid levels while also providing extra sustenance to the nervous system. To be certain that this supplement is working correctly, you need to take three capsules each day. These can be consumed either during the day, at mealtimes or all at once with your breakfast.

In terms of cost, the supplement is amazingly reasonable. For seventeen dollars you can buy a bottle of sixty capsules and twenty-two dollars will buy 90 capsules. For thirty-six dollars you may buy a 2-month supply of the supplement (180 capsules). Price wise that is much better than pretty much every other natural supplement out there today. This means that it is less likely that you will be spending money on something that was only created for affiliates to sell.

On account of the two decades of stellar reviews, we're pretty confident that the supplement isn't dangerous. Most of the user reviews that we have seen for this supplement have been excellent. Whether due to the fact that the product actually works or because of the placebo effect remains unclear.

As with any other product you want to try to help raise your health, you should have your doctor evaluate this supplement. Your health specialist will be familiar with your health history and will be able to tell you whether or not this specific supplement can help you reduce your blood pressure. The great thing is that, most of the time, you can decrease your blood pressure through a combination of eating right and taking medication. Of course, before you decide to buy two months worth of Blood Pressure Factors, you need to make sure that it will truly benefit you.




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