Grow Younger Every Day

Continuing our strategies to Stay Young and Healthy,

11 Strategies To Lower Blood Pressure

A report from the famed Framingham Heart Study warns that middle-aged and older persons face a 90% chance of developing high blood pressure sometime in their lives. No small thing, since high blood pressure,while it causes no symptoms, boosts the risks of leading killers such as heart attack and stroke, as well as aneurysms, cognitive decline, and kidney failure.

So, if you have normal blood pressure, following these steps can help lower those 90% odds that your numbers will rise. If you already have high blood pressure, they'll help you control it, possibly with a lower dose of medication, or none at all. What follows is your to-do list.

Carry Less Excess

"When we're talking about preventing high blood pressure, by far the most important lifestyle factor to consider is weight," says Curtis Ellison, M.D., chief of preventive medicine and epidemiology at Boston University School of Medicine.

Among other things, obesity is associated with abnormalities in glucose and calcium metabolism and with certain hormonal changes that may be linked to high blood pressure, notes Ellison. "Almost everybody, if they lose a few pounds, is going to bring their blood pressure down," he says. In some cases, very few pounds will do the trick. In one study, people who lost an average of just 7.7 pounds and kept it off were half as likely to have high blood pressure as those who hadn't lost weight. The best way to lose weight? Exercise more, and eat less.

Sweat It

Exercise helps lower blood pressure in a number of ways. It helps you shed excess pounds and manage stress. Regular aerobic exercise also strengthens your heart so it can pump blood more efficiently. That, in turn, lowers your resting heart rate, which is helpful because a slower heart rate translates into lower blood pressure. Regular aerobic workouts also help make your blood vessels more flexible, so they give more when your heart pumps blood, and that also translates into lower pressure.

Prevention recommends 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (such as walking, jogging, or cycling) at least 5 days a week.

"Moderate-intensity exercise appears to lower blood pressure as much as vigorous exercise," says Deborah Young, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of kinesiology at the University of Maryland.

Do the DASH

Incorporating little fat, cholesterol, red meat, or sweets, but lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products, this diet takes its name from the comprehensive "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" study. The study followed more than 450 adults, about one-third of whom had high blood pressure, as they ate one of three diets: standard American fare, a similar diet that was higher in fruits and vegetables, and the DASH diet. While both the plan rich in fruits and vegetables and the DASH diet cut blood pressure, the DASH diet had the greatest effect, and after just 2 weeks.

Why does DASH work? "While the diet is rich in vitamins and minerals that have been linked to lower blood pressure, it's not these nutrients alone but the whole dietary package that works," explains Eva Obarzanek, Ph.D., a research nutritionist at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and a project officer for the DASH study. For more information, go to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

Shake Off Sodium

To get even better results, follow the~ DASH diet and cut back on sodium, Obarzanek suggests. A follow-up to the DASH study, called "DASH-Sodium," found that doing both lowered blood pressure more than following the diet alone. In the study, even people with normal blood pressure lowered their blood pressure when they cut back on sodium.

Certain groups of people - the elderly, African-Americans, and those with a family history of high blood pressure are more likely than others to have blood pressure that's particularly salt (or sodium) sensitive. But everyone should lower his sodium intake, says Obarzanek. How far? To 1,500 mg daily, about half the average American intake, she says. (Half a teaspoon of salt contains about 1,200 mg of sodium.)

Cutting sodium means more than going easy on the saltshaker, which contributes just 15% of the sodium in the typical American diet. In addition to seasoning the foods you cook with spices, herbs, lemon, and salt-free seasoning blends, watch for sodium in processed foods. Most of the sodium in your diet comes from processed foods, says Obarzanek.

Balance It with Potassium

The best formula for controlling blood pressure is to eat at least 1.5 times as much potassium as sodium, a new Australian study shows. Most of us do just the opposite. In 100 people -15% with and 85% without high blood pressure - a diet with a 1.5 – to - 1 ratio of potassium to sodium lowered systolic blood pressure (the top number) by 2.4 points in just 4 weeks.

To balance out a moderate - sodium diet, eat two or three servings of high - potassium fruit (apricots, peaches, nectarines, cantaloupes, honeydews, bananas) and four or five of almost any vegetable every day.

Choose Olive Oil

Olive oil lowered blood pressure in a study of 20,000 people by Harvard and University of Athens researchers. Those with healthy pressure averaged 3 ounces of olive oil a day. Blood pressure protection starts with just 1 ounce a day, the experts say.

Serve Fatty Fish

Northwestern University scientists analyzed eight studies, involving 200^,575 people, and concluded that eating fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, and herring) just once a week cut the risk of clot-caused strokes by 13%, though it had no effect on strokes from burst blood vessels.

Flag Yourself at One or Two Drinks

According to a recent analysis of 15 studies, the less alcohol you drink, the lower your blood pressure will drop - to a point. A study of women at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, for example, found that light drinking - defined as one-quarter to one-half a drink per day for a woman - may actually reduce blood pressure more than no drinks per day. One "drink" is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits.

Other studies have also found that moderate drinking - up to one drink a day for a woman, two for a man - can lower risks of heart disease. "High levels of alcohol are clearly detrimental," says Obarzanek. "But moderate alcohol is protective of the heart. If you are going to drink, drink moderately."

Stay Out of Cafe Nervosa

Scientists have long debated the effects of caffeine on blood pressure. Some studies have shown no effect, but a recent study at the Duke University Medical Center found that caffeine consumption of 500 mg - roughly three 8-ounce cups of coffee - increased blood pressure by 4 mm/Hg, and that effect lasted until bedtime. For reference, 8 ounces of drip coffee contains 100 to 125 mg; the same amount of tea, 50 mg; an equal quantity of cola, about 40 mg.

Caffeine can raise blood pressure by tightening blood vessels and by magnifying the effects of stress, says Jim Lane, Ph.D., associate research professor at Duke and the lead author of the study. "When you re under stress, your heart starts pumping a lot more blood, boosting blood pressure, and caffeine exaggerates that effect," he says. Can't live without your morning cup? Look for decaf versions.

Switch to Tea?

Australian researchers who studied 218 women found that for each 1-cup increase in tea drunk daily (up to 4 cups), systolic (top number) blood pressure dropped 2 points and diastolic (bottom number) pressure dropped 1 point.

Learn to Chill _

Meditation and other relaxation techniques such as yoga and tai chi can help lower blood pressure significantly, says Richard Liebowitz, M.D., medical director of the Duke Center for Integrative Medicine. In a study of 62 sedentary seniors, in fact, those who started doing tai chi saw their blood pressure drop nearly as much as those who began a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program.

Relaxation techniques trigger what Herbert Benson, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, has dubbed the "relaxation response," a calming of the nervous system that can lower blood pressure and slow breathing rate.

While you can learn yoga and tai chi from videos, says David Shapiro, Ph.D., many people find it easier to learn from an instructor and regular classes. To find out more about yoga and how to select an instructor, contact the American Yoga Association, PO Box 19986, Sarasota, FL 34276, or visit www.americanyogaassociation.org. To find out more about tai chi, go to www. thetaichisite.com.

For more information on high blood pressure, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at www.nhlbi.nih.gov.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Your blood pressure readings - always two numbers, one over the other - gauge the force your circulating blood exerts against the walls of your blood vessels. Systolic pressure, the top number in a reading, indicates the pressure as your heart beats or contracts. The bottom number, your diastolic reading, indicates the pressure between contractions. You have high blood pressure when you have a systolic Blood pressure of 130 millimeters of mercury (mm/Hg) or higher and a diastolic blood pressure of 85 mm/Hg or higher, or 130/85. But most experts now agree that your optimal pressure is 120/80 or lower, as low as you can go without fainting when you stand up.

GOOD.NEWS, NO MATTER YOUR READINGS: Just a tiny drop in blood pressure, 2 mm/Hg, could reduce strokes by 14% and heart disease by 6%, potentially saving 70,000 lives a year.

Fat Burning Furnance

GROW YOUNGER EVERY DAY

101 Revolutionary Ways to Stay Young and Healthy

Birthdays are wonderful - especially if you've been able to sidestep or minimize the health hazards that loom larger as the years have added up.
To help you continue to enjoy birthdays that make you happy to be alive, this article is filled with important steps you can take every day to fight off aging and stay as young in your body as you are in your mind.
16 Good habits for Good Health.
Habits are a funny thing. They can be good or bad for us and our health is affected by them every day. Here are four areas where improving your habits will have extremely good results.

Sleep
Though there's no set amount of sleep people need, 8 hours is usually a minimum, says Clete Kushida, M.D., Ph. D., director of the Stanford University Center for Human Sleep Research. Most women are getting only about 7 hours on weeknights, says a 2002 National Sleep Foundation survey of about 1,000 men and women. Twenty percent of those women reported daytime sleepiness, a sign that they weren't grtting enough shut-eye.
The risks of sleep deprivation go way beyond waking up with that groggy feeling. Women who sleep less than 8 hours a night over a 10-year period are at slightly higher risk of heart disease, reported a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Those 8 hours are also crucial to maintaining a healthy weight. Another study has found that sleep drprivation can lead to an imbalance of various weight-related hormones that can encourage your cells to store excess fat and lower your body's fat-burning ability.
Still other research has linked sleep deprivation to depression and anxiety, as well as insulin resistance - a trigger for high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. And, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Admisnistration, accidents caused by sleepy drivers injure more than 40,000 people a year and kill at least 1,500.
After you acknowledge the futility of trying to fit 26 hours' worth of activities into 24 hours, these eight tips can help you towards a good night's sleep.
1. Cut back on your commitments, says Suzanne Griffin, a sleep specialist and psychiatrist at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington,DC. Divide up family responsibilities with your partner and children.
2. Established a bedtime for yourself, and stick to it every night.
3. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening.
4. Don't use alcohol as a sleep inducer, it can actually interfere with a full night's rest.
5. Your sleep may improve if you adhere to a relaxing bedtime ritual, such as reading, listening to music, or taking a warm bath.
6. According to Tieraona Low Dog, M.D., an adviser to the National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the best herbal remedy for chronic insomnia is valerian. She suggests trying two or three standardized capsules, 30 to 45 minutes before bed. It's safe, effective, and non-habit-forming.
7. Dr. Low Dog also recommends drinking chamomile tea near bedtime. Use three bags per cup and let them steep for five to seven minutes, to medicinal strength.
8. A carbohydrate-rich snack before bedyime will also contribute to a good night's rest, according to Dr. Low Dog.


Floss
Gum disease is a serious bacterial infection that attacks the tissue surrounding one or more teeth and the bone supporting them. It's the number one cause of tooth loss in the United States, but it's far from just a cosmetic issue. When periodontal bacteria enter the bloodstream, they can travel to  major organs and cause chronic inflammation. In recent years, researchers have come to suspect that such simmering infections in the body may be implicated in some cases of heart disease, stroke, cancer and even premature birth.
Chronic inflammation may also explain why some people who have heart attacks have no known risk factors sucu as high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Infection triggers inflammation, which, under normal  circumstances, is part of the healing process (it allows infection-fighting white blood cells to reach injured tissue). But when inflammation is chronic, it can damage artery walls and make them more prone to fatty buildup.
Likewise, a choric bacterial infection like gum disease "can predispose people to cancer," says Lisa Coussens, Ph. D., assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco's Cancer Research Institute. Though a direct link hasn't been made between the two, she points out that people with other inflammatory diseases faced increased cancer risk. For example, people with the inflammatory bowel condition known as Crohm's disease have a 60% increased  risk of developing colon cancer.
Women in particular need to pay close attention to gum health. "Flossing is so critical because the hormonal changes that occur in women during puberty, pregnancy, amd menopause cause the oral bacteria that lead to gum disease to grow more readily." says  David Schneider, D.M.D., a Bethesda, M.D., Periodontist. Drugs such as antidepressants, some blood pressure medications, and antihistamines can also raise your risk of gum disease  because they reduce the saliva that helps wash bacteria away in the mouth.
The fix? Floss at least once a day. Here are simple instructions from the American Dental Associations: Take about 18 inches of floss and wind it around the middle fingers. Hold a few inches of the floss tightly between thumbs and forefingers. Guide thge floss between your teeth, using a gentle rubbing motion.
When the floss reaches the gum line, curve it into a C shape against one tooth, and gently slide it into the space between the gum and the tooth. Hold the floss tightly against the tooth. Gently rub the side of the tooth, moving the floss away from the gum with an up-and-down motion. Repeat this for every tooth.

Lift Weights 
Don't think of weight lifting as "lifting weights." Think of it as a great way to look more toned and trim without losing an ounce. In fact, once you start, you may even notice that you've put on a few pounds. Don's panic: You're gaining muscle, which weights more than the fat you're losing. But since muscle is more dense than fat, it takes up less space, helping you fit into your clothes better. And if you lift regularly, you'll eventually start dropping pounds.
Here's another bonus: A recent study at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that women on a strength-training program for 25 weeks lost significant amount of belly fat - the danferous kind that increases your risk of heart disease and diabetes.
You don't have to spend a lot of time pumpmg iron to get the benefits. Two or three times a week on nonconsecutive days for about 30 minutes per session should do the trick. The American Council on Exercise syas that light weights and multiple reps tend to help build endurance and muscle tone, while training with heavier weights generally produces stronger muscles.

Quit Smoking
Even scientists were surprised  when lung cancer became the leading cause of cancer death in women. It turns out that the 4,000 chemicals in tobacco appear to be even more lethal when ingested by women than by men.
But the news is not all bad - if you quit now. Ex-smokers can be reassured that after passing a decade puff-free, their risk of kung cancer is about the same as thar of someone who never smoked. Unfortunately, lung damage from emphysema or bronchitis can't be reversed, but your cardiovascular system can bounce back. "Within 24 hours of stopping smoking, there is improvement in the function of the blood vessels. After 1 year, there's a 50% reduction in the risk of having a heart attack," says Sharonne Hayes, M.D., director of the Women's Heart Clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. And within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is similar to that of a lifelong nonsmoker. Thirty minutes of exercise a day will speed the return to normal heart functions.
Preventing the long-term risk of cancer is a murkier proposition, but you can take these three steps to protect your health.
1. Eat nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day ( as everyone should), and make one or two of those servings strawberries or black or red raspberries, which may prevent the onset of esophageal cancewr, according to research atr Ohio State University in Columbus.
2. Getting one to two times the daily value of folate ( found in whole grains and greens) and B12 (in meat and dairy products) can reduce cell damage that may lead to cancer.
3. If you hve smoked the equivalent of a pack a day for 10 years or longer, get a low-dose, 25 - second CT-scan screening test for lung cancer, which allows doctor to detect tumors earlier than before. The test is boosting patients' odds of recovery, says Claudia Henschke, M.D., Ph. D., a professor of radiology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Magnesium Helps You Sleep

Researchers at the USDA found that getting insufficient magnesium changes electrical activity in the brain, and those anomalies may interfere with rest. Other studies show that lack of magnesium may disrupt normal sleep stages or contribute to such sleep disorders as restless legs syndrome. So aim for the DV, which is 400 mg. Eat foods such as spinach, broccoli, legumes, and whole wheat bread, and take a multivitamin. Note: Supplements can cause diarrhea: the upper limit (UL) for them is 350mg. If your laxative contains magnesium, count that toward your supplement intake.
In the next part of this series, I will discuss 11 Strategies to Lower Blood Pressure 

    

Natural Relief With These Oil

I went on a short holiday in Egypt recently and picked up these tips on natural oil which can relief many ailments. These oils can be applied directly to the body or used as an essence. Some of the descriptions are direct translations of the local language so I take no responsibilities for it's meaning. I also take no responsibilities for any cures or other wise from it's use. Please post your comments if you have any.

PepperMint Oil
Relaxing and is used for cough,diarrhea, and liver problems

Fenugreek (Helba) Oil
It's a nutrient. Good for the nervous system.

Cress Oil
Improves sexual activity. It is good for indigestion and is effective in reducing nicotine level in smokers.

Fennel Oil
Calming for the pains of the circulation, stimulating for the sexual glands and it is used in the infections of the kidney and spleen.

Parsley Oil
It is used for lithotripsy of calculus. It's a stimilus for urination. It increases the productivity of males and females. It is an analgesic for pains of the kidney. It clears the skin of acne.

Caraway Oil
Used for stomach and intestines. Helps in digestion and stimulating for appetite, also used for fighting microbes.

Cumin Oil
Used for colic and pains of the colon. It helps in healing injuries and reduces swelling. It calms pains of the circulation and can help reduce weight.

Castor Oil
This is a natural laxative. It can be used for cosmetic purpose for softening the skin and facial hair, such as eye lashes and beard.

Lettuce Oil
It strengthens the heart muscles, the nerves and the wall of the blood vessels.

Onion Oil
An antibiotic and nutrient. It clears the blood, it decreases diabetes, as it has glucotine which is like insulin.

Garlic Oil
It opens the arteries and controls the blood pressure and cholesterol. It is an antibiotic.

Olpanum Oil
(gomma Arabique)
Strengths brochus, eliminates phlegm, and good for gingivitis and teeth infection. It is calming for cough and the infection of vocal chords.

Camomile Oil
It is an antiseptic for the skin and it's a stimulate for appetite, a sterilizer for stomach and good for kidney stones.

Natural Habet El Baraka Oil
(Black Seed Oil)
The black Habet oil (is the remedy of all diseases it strengthens the immunity and increases the vitality of the body. It is a general strenfthener and it benefits cough and chest diseases.

Sesame Oil
It is a nutrient whch increases the weight and increases the size of the breast, good for the circulation. It is used also for skin infections.

Devil's Claw

Devil's Claw
Harpagophytum procumbens
Part used: Tubers

Devil's claw grows in the grasslands of southern Africa and has been used there as a topical treatment for ulcers and wounds,and taken internally for fevers,allergies,digestive problems and as a pain reliever. Numerous scientific studies confirm its benefits, most notably as an effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory for arthritis pain and backache.Some studies have shown devil's claw to be as effective as pharmaceutical pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Having digestive, respiratory problems.....?

Do you have digestive, respiratory and cardiac problems (especially when caused by stress), then Dang shen is what you need.
Dang shen
(Codonopsis pilosula)
Part used: Roots

Chinese herbalists regard dang shen as a gentle version of the more famous stress and energy tonic, Korean ginseng. This distinction means that it can be prescribed for patients who are frail or debilitated, for whom ginseng is considered too stimulating. Dang shen is also traditionally used for treating digestive, respiratory and cardiac problems (especially when caused by stress) and as a nourishing blood tonic for nursing mothers and other anaemic patients.

Medicinal herbs.....continue....

Cat's Claw
Uncaria tomentosa, U. guaianensis
Part used: Vine Bark

Cat's claw grows in tropical South and Central America and takes its name from the shape of the long thorns that help it to climb over other plants in the jungle. It has been used for hundreds of years by Peruvians to treat inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis, asthma and skin problems, and is also a traditional remedy for infections, fatigue and cancer. Laboratory studies attribute it with a number of immune-stimulating and anti-inflammatory properties, which may be behind many traditional applications; little research has been conducted in humans.