Natural Ways to Reduce Your Blood Pressure
Research has shown that Hypertension, high blood pressure, is found almost entirely in the developed countries and not in remote areas of the world. It would appear that it is closely associated with the "Western Diet" as people living in the remote areas of China and Africa show very little evidence of hypertension even in old age. If however these people move to a more industrialized area, the incidences of hypertension increased. This would indicate that dietary changes and increased body mass bring about this increased risk.
Whilst genetic factors and stress can increase the risk of hypertension, it seems that the main culprit is a diet high in animal fats and salt, particularly if the diet is low in potassium and magnesium as well as high in sodium. Obesity and nutritional deficiencies greatly increase the risk of developing high blood pressure.
Surprisingly, cutting out the salt that we add at the table does not significantly reduce our salt intake as this accounts for only about 5%. The real culprit is the salt added during the processing of food as this makes up about 75% of our sodium intake. If you eat a fast food meal, a pizza or even a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, you are consuming about a teaspoon of salt! It is advisable to reduce your salt intake by not adding salt at the table and reducing your intake of processed foods.
It would seem that as a generalization, fat people have higher blood pressure. There would appear to be a link between a high body mass index (BMI) and high blood pressure. Thankfully, weight loss does reduce blood pressure generally at a rate of 1 mm Hg per kilo reduction of body weight.
A study in the 1980's showed that on the island of Crete over a ten-year period there were no deaths reported that were caused by heart attacks. Experts say that the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and antioxidants is the reason for this. The diet is low in saturated fats, high in fibre and antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables and also high in the essential fatty acids, found in fish. Olive oil, which is also widely used, is said by experts to be the healthiest of oils so just in these few natural ways, you can reduce your blood pressure.
Lifestyle changes should also be made to reduce blood pressure and these changes should also be maintained to keep your blood pressure low in the long term. Obviously smoking should be avoided or at least moderated and alcohol should be kept to a minimum. The other factors that need to be addressed are exercise and stress as regular exercise and a reduced stress level can lower blood pressure.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Whilst genetic factors and stress can increase the risk of hypertension, it seems that the main culprit is a diet high in animal fats and salt, particularly if the diet is low in potassium and magnesium as well as high in sodium. Obesity and nutritional deficiencies greatly increase the risk of developing high blood pressure.
Surprisingly, cutting out the salt that we add at the table does not significantly reduce our salt intake as this accounts for only about 5%. The real culprit is the salt added during the processing of food as this makes up about 75% of our sodium intake. If you eat a fast food meal, a pizza or even a bowl of cereal for breakfast and a sandwich for lunch, you are consuming about a teaspoon of salt! It is advisable to reduce your salt intake by not adding salt at the table and reducing your intake of processed foods.
It would seem that as a generalization, fat people have higher blood pressure. There would appear to be a link between a high body mass index (BMI) and high blood pressure. Thankfully, weight loss does reduce blood pressure generally at a rate of 1 mm Hg per kilo reduction of body weight.
A study in the 1980's showed that on the island of Crete over a ten-year period there were no deaths reported that were caused by heart attacks. Experts say that the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and antioxidants is the reason for this. The diet is low in saturated fats, high in fibre and antioxidants from fresh fruits and vegetables and also high in the essential fatty acids, found in fish. Olive oil, which is also widely used, is said by experts to be the healthiest of oils so just in these few natural ways, you can reduce your blood pressure.
Lifestyle changes should also be made to reduce blood pressure and these changes should also be maintained to keep your blood pressure low in the long term. Obviously smoking should be avoided or at least moderated and alcohol should be kept to a minimum. The other factors that need to be addressed are exercise and stress as regular exercise and a reduced stress level can lower blood pressure.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
Known Causes of High Blood Pressure - Salt
Salt is one of the leading factors that contribute to high blood pressure. We add salt to our every day foods. Sometimes we add more than we should but eat the food anyway. Eating sufficient salt can lead you to develop hypertension which can result in your death.
Every day millions of Americans eat salt. They do it without knowing that they are eating salt. People eat hamburgers and fries which have salt. They eat ice cream, which has salt. They eat pastas which have salt! Salt Salt Salt! It's everywhere and it is very hard to avoid.
So how does salt causes your body to develop high blood pressure? The problem with salt begins at your kidneys. Salt is retained by the kidneys to prevent dehydration. Salt was eaten abundantly many years ago as a form to remain hydrated. If water and salt became scarce, then people ran into dehydration problems. Salt retains water and so the kidneys adapted to retain salt in order to retain water.
Though osmosis, salt retains water. It also makes you thirsty, that is the reason why bartenders and movies sell peanuts and popcorn, so you can continue buying drinks to satisfy your thirst. The circulatory volume in your body remains high when you have excessive salt in your body. This causes excess fluid pressure on the walls of your vessels. The way your blood vessels react to this is by thickening and narrowing. This leaves less space for the fluid to go through and causes hypertension. The high blood pressure is used to force the blood around to your organs. Your heart has to work harder to pump the higher pressure.
That is how salt affects hypertension. It might not seem like much, but your blood vessels are small and vulnerable. You blood pressure can rise quickly and burst a vessel. If the vessel that burst is in your brain, you can suffer a stroke. You can also suffer a heart attack from the way your heart has to work harder to pump the blood.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Every day millions of Americans eat salt. They do it without knowing that they are eating salt. People eat hamburgers and fries which have salt. They eat ice cream, which has salt. They eat pastas which have salt! Salt Salt Salt! It's everywhere and it is very hard to avoid.
So how does salt causes your body to develop high blood pressure? The problem with salt begins at your kidneys. Salt is retained by the kidneys to prevent dehydration. Salt was eaten abundantly many years ago as a form to remain hydrated. If water and salt became scarce, then people ran into dehydration problems. Salt retains water and so the kidneys adapted to retain salt in order to retain water.
Though osmosis, salt retains water. It also makes you thirsty, that is the reason why bartenders and movies sell peanuts and popcorn, so you can continue buying drinks to satisfy your thirst. The circulatory volume in your body remains high when you have excessive salt in your body. This causes excess fluid pressure on the walls of your vessels. The way your blood vessels react to this is by thickening and narrowing. This leaves less space for the fluid to go through and causes hypertension. The high blood pressure is used to force the blood around to your organs. Your heart has to work harder to pump the higher pressure.
That is how salt affects hypertension. It might not seem like much, but your blood vessels are small and vulnerable. You blood pressure can rise quickly and burst a vessel. If the vessel that burst is in your brain, you can suffer a stroke. You can also suffer a heart attack from the way your heart has to work harder to pump the blood.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
CranioSacral Therapy (CST) For Children With Autism
CranioSacral Therapy(CST) has been proven to be one of the helpful alternative therapy for autistic children. It uses gentle hands-on touch to decease counteract stress and strain on central nervous system. This CST Therapy must be adminstered by trained experts, like chiropractors, massage therapists, or physical therapists.
Cranial Osteopathy was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by Dr. William Garner Sutherland, an osteopathic physican, who founded himself in the year of 1872. The Cranial Therapy was not accepted by people for 40 years until some highly sensitive computerised medical diagnostic equipment confirmed that Dr. William Garner Sutherland has been right.
The Therapy is based on the idea that the entire nervous system of human body is in constant rhythmic motion, once some of the movements are restricted, symptoms like headaches or depression would raise. While working with an kid with autism, the initial focus often is on the cranium to locate an area that has the greatest motion response to the craniosacral rhythm. Delicate release and pumping techniques are used to create more motion in that area.
Each treatment will take about one hour, and it's best to be administered once a week at the beginning. Don't expect that the CST could "cure" autism in the end, well, it can't. However, according to the parents of autistic children, this therapy do make things better, such as improved socialization, speaking ability, ability to connect with others, increased eye contact and so on.
CranioSacral Therapy(CST) enhances the body's natural healing process, in the mean time, it combines well with other forms of treatment that work for ASD, such as animal therapy, electric shock therapy, gluten and casein free diets, music therapy, occupational therapy, Live Cell & Stem Cell Therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Nutritional Therapies.
CST also works well in the treatment of ADD(attention deficit disorder), ADHD(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS(pervasive developmental delays, not otherwise specified).
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Cranial Osteopathy was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by Dr. William Garner Sutherland, an osteopathic physican, who founded himself in the year of 1872. The Cranial Therapy was not accepted by people for 40 years until some highly sensitive computerised medical diagnostic equipment confirmed that Dr. William Garner Sutherland has been right.
The Therapy is based on the idea that the entire nervous system of human body is in constant rhythmic motion, once some of the movements are restricted, symptoms like headaches or depression would raise. While working with an kid with autism, the initial focus often is on the cranium to locate an area that has the greatest motion response to the craniosacral rhythm. Delicate release and pumping techniques are used to create more motion in that area.
Each treatment will take about one hour, and it's best to be administered once a week at the beginning. Don't expect that the CST could "cure" autism in the end, well, it can't. However, according to the parents of autistic children, this therapy do make things better, such as improved socialization, speaking ability, ability to connect with others, increased eye contact and so on.
CranioSacral Therapy(CST) enhances the body's natural healing process, in the mean time, it combines well with other forms of treatment that work for ASD, such as animal therapy, electric shock therapy, gluten and casein free diets, music therapy, occupational therapy, Live Cell & Stem Cell Therapy, Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Nutritional Therapies.
CST also works well in the treatment of ADD(attention deficit disorder), ADHD(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Asperger's Syndrome and PDD-NOS(pervasive developmental delays, not otherwise specified).
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
Help My Overweight Child Lose Weight
When you see that your child is in pain or suffering, you want to take away the problem they are facing and deal with it yourself. You would much rather take the bullet than have your child do so. However, childhood obesity is a problem that parents can't take away. When your child is overweight, you know that they are getting teased at school and that they aren't proud of how they look. It kills you inside to see your child like this.
You want to get your child on the best health plan possible, but you don't know where to even begin. You can't afford to hire a nutritionist or a personal trainer to assist your child, even though you desperately want to. Then you would be assured that your child was getting the best help possible. What are you supposed to do now? Is there anything that you can do to help your child live a life of longevity?
In order to get your child to lose weight, you have to get them excited about nutrition and exercise. Children's minds slowly develop which means that you can easier persuade a child to do something that you would like. This is a perfect time to capitalize on their vulnerability. Change your child's ideals about fruits and vegetables. Make eating healthy fun. Also, play a game with them outside. This gives them plenty of room to exercise and they won't even realize that they are burning calories because they will be too distracted with the copious amounts of fun they are having.
Unfortunately, maybe your child isn't persuaded to like vegetables as easily as you thought it may happen and maybe you don't have the time to exercise with them. Now what are you supposed to do? You are looking for a miracle but nothing seems to be happening for you until now.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
You want to get your child on the best health plan possible, but you don't know where to even begin. You can't afford to hire a nutritionist or a personal trainer to assist your child, even though you desperately want to. Then you would be assured that your child was getting the best help possible. What are you supposed to do now? Is there anything that you can do to help your child live a life of longevity?
In order to get your child to lose weight, you have to get them excited about nutrition and exercise. Children's minds slowly develop which means that you can easier persuade a child to do something that you would like. This is a perfect time to capitalize on their vulnerability. Change your child's ideals about fruits and vegetables. Make eating healthy fun. Also, play a game with them outside. This gives them plenty of room to exercise and they won't even realize that they are burning calories because they will be too distracted with the copious amounts of fun they are having.
Unfortunately, maybe your child isn't persuaded to like vegetables as easily as you thought it may happen and maybe you don't have the time to exercise with them. Now what are you supposed to do? You are looking for a miracle but nothing seems to be happening for you until now.
posted by Healthy Life at 11:33 PM
