How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

It is possible to control high blood pressure without medication. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, affects 1 in 3 adults in the United States. The condition increases the risk of heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the US.

Blood pressure is the measure of the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. The heart pumps blood into the arteries (blood vessels), which carry the blood throughout the body. High blood pressure is dangerous because it makes the heart work harder to pump blood to the body and contributes to hardening of the arteries and/or to the development of heart failure.

April 7, 2013 is World Health Day, and this year’s theme is high blood pressure. It is possible to lower high blood pressure and prevent heart disease without taking prescription medications.

By making the following 10 simple lifestyle changes, anyone can lower their blood pressure and reduce their risk of heart disease.

Managing weight. Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. In general, the more weight you lose, the lower your blood pressure. A doctor can help determine target weight and the best way to achieve it.
Exercise regularly. Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week — can help lower blood pressure. Iit doesn’t take long to see a difference either, usually increasing exercise level can lower blood pressure within just a few weeks.
Eat healthy. Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and low on saturated fat and cholesterol can drastically lower blood pressure.. This eating plan is known as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.
Limit sodium intake. Even a small reduction in the sodium in a diet can reduce high blood pressure. The recommendations for reducing sodium are to limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less, or 1 tablespoon of salt.
Do not smoke. The nicotine in tobacco products can raise blood pressure for up to an hour after smoking. Smoking throughout the day means that blood pressure may remain constantly high. It is also best to avoid secondhand smoke.
Drink less alcohol. When consumed in small amounts, alcohol can potentially lower blood pressure. But that protective effect is lost if a person drinks too much alcohol. In general, one drink a day for women and men older than age 65, or two a day for men age 65 and younger is advised as being acceptable. However, if a person doesn’t normally drink alcohol, they shouldn’t start drinking as a way to lower blood pressure.
Limit caffeine. Although scientists have long debated the effects of caffeine on blood pressure, a recent Duke University Medical Center study found that caffeine consumption of 500 mg (roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee) increased blood pressure throughout the day until bedtime.
Relax. Stress or anxiety can temporarily increase blood pressure, so managing stress is an excellent way to prevent high blood pressure. Stress management practices such as take breaks for deep-breathing exercises, massages, or yoga may be able to help reduce stress.
Eat dark chocolate. Dark chocolate varieties contain flavanols that make blood vessels more elastic. In one study, 18 percent of patients who ate it 0.5 ounces of it every day saw blood pressure decrease.
Consume potassium. Although many people are aware that eating too much salt can raise blood pressure, most aren’t aware of the benefits of potassium, which counters sodium’s ill effects. According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adults should get at least 4,700 milligrams a day. A few good sources include bananas, a baked potato with skin, orange juice, and nonfat or low-fat yogurt.

What types of fats are good for your heart?

Fat gets a lot of bad press in relation to heart health. But there are actually types of fats that are good for your heart health. The key is to know which ones.

Fat has many roles to play in a person’s body. It is responsible for

Energy and cell growth.
Protecting organs.
Keeping you warm over these winter months.
Helping absorb nutrients from food.
Aiding in hormone production.

These are all very important processes for a person’s body. The problem with fats presents when people eat too much, or just the fats considered bad for health.

To solve this problem one must be aware of the fats available and what is the difference between them.

There are four main groups of fats that we eat. They are: saturated fats, transfats, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. The first two are considered “bad” fats which increase the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol)in your blood stream. The second two are known as “good fats” which decrease the amount of LDL. All types of fats contain the same amount of calories per gram (9), it is not the calories that do the harm (unless eaten in excess) but, how your body processes them that can do damage to your heart.

It can be difficult to know in the supermarket what kind of food contains these harmful fats. In the media presently there is a lot of talk regarding transfats. Products often advertise that they are “transfat free”. Does this mean that they are considered heart healthy products? It really depends on the food product, however care must be taken, as often products that are transfats free are high in saturated fats and sugars. The key is to know how to read food labels, the American Heart Association has some great tips.

So, eating fats does not have to damage your heart, actually if you are eating the right ones, they could help it. Just be aware of what types of fat are present in the food you are eating.

Could the use of nutritional supplements in diets that are high in fat help prevent cardiovascular disease?

The Journal of the American College of Cardiology completed research questioning whether nutritional supplements could help combat the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States.

Obesity is an ever growing problem in the United States. According to the national center for health statistics, 35.7% of American adults are clinically obese. This costs the American health service $147 billion annually. People that are obese pay $1429 more in healthcare annually than those that are not obese.

In the last 2 decades cardiovascular medicine practice has improved greatly. This is partially due to the developments in medical treatment and partially due to improved patient education. Patients are educated in regards to risk factors such as smoking hypertension and high cholesterol (which contributes to carotid artery stenosis). However these advancements results are being curtailed by the growing epidemic of obesity, which now is not just limited to adults, but also affects children and adolescents.

Obesity causes high insulin secretion, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. Although medication can treat high cholesterol there has been very few medications developed that combat the effects of a diet high in calories and saturated fat directly after eating. Something that acts like an immediate antidote, that stops the mal effects of the fat in food before it even starts.

This study paper published in 2003 investigated the use of nutritional supplements that would help combat the side effects of a high fat diet. Conditions from carotid artery stenosis to high cholesterol were looked at.

The study mainly looked at flavonoids, a substance found in plant products. Flavonoids are found in the stem, seeds and stems of purple grapes and also in other plants (and yes, also in red wine). It has been suggested that they contribute to lowering the chances of cardiovascular disease.

However the study results were not conclusive in how exactly a nutritional plant supplement could help cardiovascular disease. Suggested was that further studies could test does taking a supplement with a fatty meal, acutely counteract the effects of the meal or should the supplement be forgotten about and more focus put on the actual diet itself?

So for the moment, according to Cardiology Associates Panama City, perhaps when tucking into a steak, don’t forget your greens as we seem far off from developing a nutritional supplement to counter act the effects of a fatty meal!

Healthy foods tips to stop chest pain

When it comes to chest pain, there is little room to joke around. Of course, heartburn or acid reflux can cause similar symptoms, in which case experts in alternative pain management NJ recommend eating less fried or spicy foods, but if you are experiencing chest pain related to heart disease or hypertension, it is imperative that you make healthy lifestyle choices and that starts with you diet.

Heart disease may be on the rise in the United States, but health experts insist people have more control over the maintenance of their personal health than they might think. The key is to think before you eat. When there are excess deposits of fat, cholesterol or other substances in the inner wall of arteries, the arteries narrow and harden and create the most common cause heart problems.

A responsible diet and regular exercise are the key to preventing dangerous cardiovascular conditions. To achieve this medical experts say fatty foods should not exceed 25 percent of your total calorie intake. Saturated fatty acids in full-cream milk and red meat directly increase your cholesterol level. Use non-fat or low-fat milk and milk products instead of full-cream milk and avoid sources of saturated fatty acids like lard, butter, cream and palm oil.

On the contrary, a high intake of mono-unsaturated fats helps lower cholesterol while preventing the formation of blood clots. Yes, it’s true, not all fats are created equal and consuming the following can actually help your heart health: olives and olive oil, canola oil, peanuts and peanut butter, and mustard oils.

Omega-3 fatty acids play a similar role and help prevent atherosclerosis and other heart conditions. Omega-3 is present in foods like herring, mackerel, salmon, tuna, soy beans, walnuts, flax seeds and chia seeds. Flax seed oil and Fish oil are available in dietary supplement form if you want higher doses and faster results.

As your doctor has probably repeated a thousand times, cholesterol intake should be extremely limited. Cholesterol mostly comes from animal products, such as cheese or egg yolks. For example, an egg yolk has 250 gm of cholesterol and it is not recommended to eat more than two to three egg yolks a week.

Instead, experts in alternative pain medicine NJ advise people with chest pain to replace high fat and cholesterol foods with chicken, fish, beans, vegetable, fruits, bread, wholewheat flour, grains and rice.

Heart disease is less frequent among those who eat high carbohydrate and fiber rich foods. Carbohydrate and fiber rich foods. Carbohydrates should provide at least 55 per cent of your daily calories. Foods like bread, cereals, rice and quinoa provide an adequate amount of carbohydrates.  Also, garlic. Always eat garlic.

Blood Type Linked to Heart Disease Risk

According to new research, people who have blood types A, B, or AB have a slightly higher risk of heart disease compared to those with type O. A report is the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology found this association between blood type and increased risk of heart disease, but the relationship between the two was not specified.

Regardless, people who do have blood types A, B, AB can counter this genetic predisposition by living healthy lifestyles that include regular exercise and a balanced diet that reduces cholesterol intake, cardiologist in Dearborn MI said.

Approximately 7 percent of Americans have type AB, while about 43 percent have type O, the most common blood type, the researchers noted. To isolate the contribution of blood type to heart disease risk, researchers accounted for factors such as diet, age, weight, sex, race, smoking, menopause and medical history.

For the study, researchers collected data on more than 60,000 women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study and more than 17,000 people in the Health Professional Follow-up Study. Participants, who were between 30 and 75 years old, were followed for more than 20 years.

The researchers found that people with type AB — the rarest blood type — had a 23 percent increased risk for heart disease compared to people with type O blood. The increased risk was 11 percent for people with blood type B, and 5 percent for those with type A.

The study participants were mostly white, so whether these findings apply to other racial groups isn’t known. Neither are the reasons for the increased risk associated with certain blood types.

There is evidence, however, suggesting type A is associated with higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), the so-called bad cholesterol, the researchers said.

Blood type may be related to cardiovascular risk in a variety of ways. Key factors involved in clotting are higher in non-O blood type individuals, and cholesterol levels also have been shown to vary by blood group. Inflammatory and immune responses also may differ by blood group, according to cardiologists in Michigan.

Five Diet Tips for Heart Health, Osteoporosis and Pain Management

Research shows a strong correlation between heart failure and osteoporosis in older adults, and chronic pain from arthritis and joint problems are also common later in life. While there are some very minor differences in dietary recommendations, a nutrition and pain management diet will also work to prevent heart disease and osteoporosis.

It’s important to eat more whole, natural foods and eat fewer white starches and refined sugars. Here are the guidelines for a pain- and heart-healthy diet.

Cut processed foods. Avoid heavily processed foods like packaged snacks, salty packaged meats, and canned meals or TV dinners.
More whole fruits and vegetables. Though some allege that tomatoes, as a member of the nightshade family, can increase pain and inflammation, the lycopene found in tomatoes is shown to protect against cancer.
Less saturated fat and cholesterol (a.k.a. less fried food). Fried food increases inflammation and has little nutritional value. The fat and cholesterol also raise your risk of cancer.
Low-fat dairy. Cut your fat and cholesterol consumption by drinking skim or low-fat milk. Milk contains calcium that protects against osteoporosis, and some research shows a correlation between low-fat dairy consumption and a reduced risk of cancer.
Inflammation-reducing omega-3 fatty acids. Eat more omega-3 containing foods like fish, walnuts and avocado. These fatty acids both reduce painful inflammation and protect against cancer.

Heart Health: Taking Tips From The Med

Various clinical studies have found that those who follow Mediterranean diets have a significantly lower chance of death from heart disease. We all know that the Mediterranean diet is meant to be the best, but what exactly is it that makes it so healthy?

A recent study has found that the big secret is not the huge salads or the fish straight from the sea, it is the olive oil that is really helping keep their hearts so healthy.

The results of this study found that those who consumed the most olive oil had an 82% reduced risk of heart attack compared with those who rarely consumed olive oil. So what makes olive oil so different from any other oil?

1.Phenols: the high content of phenols in olive oil are thought to play a role in the low incidence of coronary heart disease in the Mediterranean. The phenols, along with the high content of Vitamin E, give olive oil its anti-oxidant qualities.

2. Anti-atherogenic qualities: this means it has the ability to inhibit the development of atherosclerotic plaques, therefore, preventing the major cause of Coronary Heart Disease.

3.Anti-platelet activity: this is also key in the prevention of clots, and therefore a huge factor in the prevention of heart disease.

4.Anti-hypertensive action: olive oil has been found to significantly reduce blood pressure. High blood pressure is a significant cause of heart disease so the fact that olive oil has been found to lower blood pressure is crucial information for those concerned about heart health.

So throwing out your sunflower oil and replacing it with a good quality extra virgin olive-oil might be a lot more important than you thought.

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