Everyday fruits and vegetables, Everyday health benefits

Here are some simple healthy food tips for everyone.. never take any fruit and vegetables for granted read on...

Our favorite orange:
supports the immune system, combat cancer, protects your heart, straightens respiration

The sweet watermelon:
Lower cholesterol, Protects prostate, controls blood pressure, helps stops strokes.

The red and green apple :
Prevents constipation, protects your heart, cushions joints, improves lung capacity.

The tangy lemon:
protects your heart, controls blood pressure, smoothes your skin, combat cancer

The red tomato:
Protects prostate, combats cancer, lowers cholesterol,

The yellow pineapple:
Relieves colds, aids digestion, dissolves warts,strengthen bones.

Mushrooms:
Kills bacteria, controls blood pressure, combats cancer, lowers cholesterol

My ever favorite banana:
Quiets cough, strengthens bones, Controls blood pressure, protects your heart.

Sweet strawberry:
Boosts memory, calm stress, protects your heart and combat cancer.

Hot Chilli peppers:
Clears sinuses, boost immune system, combat cancer

The broccoli :
saves sight, strengthens bones, combats cancer, protects your heart

Avocado:
Smoothes skin, battles diabetes, lowers cholesterol, controls blood pressure

Risk of having Atherosclerosis

Athero....what? That is the first question i asked my friend (MD) while she is trying to explain what exactly it is. Coming from the geek words athero(gruel or paste) and sclerosis (hardness). Atherosclerosis involves deposits of fatty substances, cholesterol, cellular waste products, and other substances in the artery 's inner lining. Called plaque this build up usually affects both large and medium sized arteries.

It starts as early as childhood. A slow complex disease, it often progresses as people age. In some people though the progress is more rapid and happens even in their twenty's Scientists believe that this disease begins with damage to the innermost layer artery, called endothelium.

Researchers show that males and those with family history of premature cardiovascular disease have a greater risk of atherosclerosis.Unfortunately these factors cannot be controlled. However, reducing the controllable risk factors of atherosclerosis prove to be beneficial: these controllable risk factors include:

• High blood cholesterol
• Cigarette smoking /exposure to tobacco smoke
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes mellitus
• Obesity
• Physical inactivity

knowing these factors, you should be able to control it in your own ways like lose weight, eat well-balanced diet. quit smoking, try to expose yourself to outdoor activities or engage into different sports. A healthy body should have a healthy heart, So love your heart and add more years to your life.

What Causes High Blood Pressure? Salt?

What causes hypertension? About 10 percent of all cases are due to kidney or adrenal disease, but the remaining 90 percent have no definitely known cause. There are however, some factors that may contribute to high blood pressure.

• Atherosclerosis (narrowing of blood vessels by cholesterol build-up) is also thought to be a factor in hypertension. If this proves to be true, avoiding excessive fat and cholesterol in our diets would be a great help.
• Estrogen, a female hormone found in birth control pills or given for menopause, causes the body to retain salt, and has the same effect as consuming too much salt.
• Some people are more sensitive to salt than others. In fact, the sodium in salt may actually be the number one cause of hypertension. A study shows that those people consuming very little salt, like Eskimos, new guinea and Solomon island tribes, Australian aborigines, have no incidence of high blood pressure. Northern Japanese farmers preserve their food with salt and eat an average of 30 grams of salt per day. Sixty percent of these farmers have hypertension, and strokes are the most common cause of death among them. This does not mean that salt should be eliminated from the diet entirely. Salt is vital to health, but our bodies need only 0.2 grams of sodium per day. If we cut our salt intake to one teaspoonful of salt per day, including those used in preparation of food, we could solve one of the biggest health problems. Individuals with hypertension would have to cut salt even more.
• Obesity may also contribute to hypertension. Every pound of fat requires thousands of extra blood vessels. These in turn require a higher blood pressure to circulate blood through them. It is any wonder, then, that obese people are five times more likely to have hypertension? Anyone who is more than 20 percent overweight is considered obese.
• Stress can cause hypertension, whether it be social stress, noise stress, or work stress. All of these may increase hypertension.
• Over consumption of refined sugar a possible contributing factor in persons with decrease kidney function is associated with the aging process.

Diet is the key in preventing high blood pressure (hypertension). Many of our food habits are begun in youth so for parents start teaching your kids about what to eat and not to eat, because some food habits can be difficult to change. How much better it would be for parents to train their children from babyhood to use salt, fried foods, and refined sugar products sparingly. Even though there are variety of anti hypertensive drugs on the market today, these are safer and cheaper ways of fighting this disease.

Softdrinks links to Obesity

Kick the can surrender your straws, drinking one or more soft drinks (diet or regular) per day increases the risk of obesity. Researchers surveyed 6,000 people about their pop consumption over 4 years, they found that drinking one or more 12 ounce servings of soda (of any kind) per day increased subjects risk of obesity by 31 percent. The sweeteners in both diet and regular may spark a taste for additional sweets. Plus both dark and light colored drinks contain high levels of caramel, which can create insulin resistance a condition that increases the risk of obesity.
Stick with water its our only choice!

Here a stumbled a health video about the effects of drinking soft drinks on our health

Dealing with Stress in everyday life

Many people deal with stress almost everyday.Some factors that may contribute to stress includes social experiences and financial matters, medical problems, lack of social support, and family problems. The sources of stress can be internal or external. Social and financial problems are common triggers of prolong stress leading to medical problem if left uncontrolled.

Anything that provoke stress are called stressors. Our body responds to stressors by activating the nervous system and specific hormones. It signals the adrenal glands to produce more of the hormones and release them into the bloodstream. These hormones speed up heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, and metabolism. Blood vessels open wider to let more blood flow to large muscle groups, putting our muscles on alert. Pupils dilate to improve vision. The liver releases some of its stored glucose to increase our body's energy. And perspiration is produced to cool our body. All of these physical changes prepare us to react quickly and effectively to handle the pressure of the moment.

This natural reaction is known as the stress response. Working properly, our body's stress response enhances our ability to perform well under pressure. But the stress response can cause problem when it overreacts or fails to turn off and reset itself properly. This results in harmful effects on our body.

It is important to know that everyone reacts to stress differently and can withstand different levels of stress. Only you can assess your level of tolerance to stressful situations.

Stress usually first affects the inner emotions and hence our feelings. These emotional states can then begin to affect a person's outward appearance. As the stress level increases, or if it lasts over a longer period of time, a person may begin to feel more severe emotional or physical effects. In most cases, these symptoms are very minor and don't last very long. If they become more severe or increase in frequency and severity, you may need to seek medical help. Individuals suffering from stress overload will likely display one or more of the following signs listed below.

Depression or Sadness
Drinking too much, smoking, overeating, or doing drugs
Problem falling asleep
Allergic reactions, such as eczema or asthma
Physical symptoms, such as stomach problems, headaches, or even chest pain
Irritability and moodiness
A feeling of being constantly pressured, hassled, and hurried
Anxiety or panic attacks

The most helpful method for us to deal with stress is to learn how to manage the stress that comes along with any new challenge, good or bad. Here are some ways to keep stress under control:

Solve your problems, break problems into manageable and achievable parts.
Share your thoughts with others, build strong relationships and develop a support system
Be positive in your thinking and outlook
Treat your body well, exercise regularly and fun
Learn to manage time and anger
Learn to relax (breathing exercise, listen to soothing music, etc)
Rest well and have sufficient sleep
Be realistic, accept that no one is perfect and set appropriate goals / limits for yourself
Take control of your busy schedule

You should call your doctor when you are unable to identify the source of your stress or anxiety and if the condition continues or comes and goes. You should immediately seek help should you have any of the following symptoms:

Headaches unlike your usual headaches
Fluttering or rapid heart beats
Chest pain or discomfort
Thoughts about harming others
Thoughts about harming yourself
Any other condition that you feel may result in serious harm if not treated immediately.

Finish your Workout the right way

Cooling down after a sweaty gym stints falls low on the priority of most people who do some workouts. But slowly returning your heart rate and blood pressure to normal is important because it reduces the risk of injury. It also makes you forget the pain of a good workout, increasing the chances you'll do it again. Here some tips on how to cool down smart and finish after a sweaty workout:

• After you lift weights try to do this = Pamper the muscles you've just worked by stretching for 5 minutes, slide sore body parts over a foam roller. Finally, try a contrast shower alternate between 3 minutes of hot and 1 minute of cold. Cold water shots slow your metabolism and take down swelling to lessen the like hood of soreness overload.

• After you do some Running try to do this = finish up with light intervals, Run at a challenging pace for 20 to 25 seconds, then walk or jog for a minute or two. Repeat three to five times. Then stretch your calves, glutes, groin, hamstrings, hip flexors, and quads. This will help post run carbs get into your muscle cells to replace lost glycogen.

• After you do some Swimming try to do this = Dip underwater five or six times, and each time blow out your air. Then swim one tenth the distance of your workout, nice and easy. Though the impact-free nature of swimming feels relaxing, a cool down is critical to slowing your heart rate and preventing muscle cramps and injuries.

• After you do some Biking try to do this = Spin easy for 10 to 20 minutes. Then treat muscle soreness with ice, rub the aching area for 10 minutes, and rub again. Repeat for up to an hour.
  

Cut your risk of having an Heart attack

Heart disease is a perennial number one in the list of top killer diseases. The beauty of heart disease is that it can be prevented or, in some instances, slowed or reversed. Some factors that heighten your risk for heart disease - age, gender and family history - are out of your control, but others are within your power to change. Taking the following four steps can significantly cut your risk of having a heart attack and lower your overall risk for coronary artery disease:

• Don't smoke = Smoking accounts for 20 percent of all deaths from CAD, while exposure to secondhand smoke results in an estimated 38,000 to 40,000 cardiovascular deaths a year.
• Eat healthy diet and choose fats wisely = This can help keep blood fats -such as triglycerides and various forms of cholesterol- in balance. Considerable evidence favors including a daily source of omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, flax seeds, walnuts and canola oil) to reduce your risk of heart disease. Soy protein and nuts may help too.
• Exercise regularly = It will help you lose weight, control blood pressure and balance cholesterol levels. Another largely unrecognized benefit of exercise is reduction of a blood clotting factor called fibrinogen. Excessive levels of fibrinogen have identified as a cardiac risk factor.
• Control your blood pressure = Manage your blood pressure though diet, lowered salt intake, exercise and stress reduction programs and drugs if necessary. High blood pressure may be the biggest preventable killer in the world. Yet only a small portion of the millions of the people diagnosed with hypertension have the problem under control.

If you've already had a heart attack or have other key signs of heart disease, experts believe you can cut your risk of future heart attacks by coupling the four main strategies already discussed with one or more other measures, such as:

• Aspirin
• Cholesterol lowering wonder drugs called statins, which have few side effects and some surprissng benefits, such as stroke reduction and, possibly, osteoporossis prevention.
• Folic acid, B6, and B12 supplements, which help depress levels of an amino acid called homo cysteine. Research connects high levels of homo cysteine with a three fold risk with heart attack in men and suggests even modestly elevated levels may promote atherosclerosis ( the process by which an accumulation of fatty plaques eventually narrow an artery) in men and women.
• Other medictions, such as beta blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme.
  

Herbs for Hypertension (High blood pressure)

Image via WikipediaMany of people today suffer from high level of blood pressure. ts all because of too much consumption of oil in foods that we eat, lack of exercise is one factors of hypertension. Other people are dont bother of their high blood pressure until they experience the attacks. We must not take for granted hypertension its a silent killer, because it can cause some complications, like stroke, heart attack, renal and eye diseases and even death because of heart attack and stroke.

Here are some cheap herbal plants to use as herbal medicine against hypertension:

Garlic - you can grill, fried or boil it, treat it like a desert after eating. Garlic has a depressing effect that can slow the fast heart beat, to help low your blood pressure. But if you have peptic ulcer avoid doing this.

Some uses fresh crushed garlic and combined it with honey, they drink it 1 tablespoon a day, this combination are not just good for hypertension but also for some disorders.

Sambong leaves - Cut or crushed it into small pieces of 6 tablespoon leaves of sambong. Boil it with 2 glass of water for 15 minutes. Drink the sambong leaves juice that you boiled earlier, drink it 3 times a day.

Related post:

Stroke and high blood pressure
Does high blood or high blood drugs affects sex?

Does high blood or high blood drugs have effects on sex?

People with high blood pressure are often prohibits fatty foods, salty foods, alcohol, smoking and lack of sleep this are only some of the things we need to avoid if we have high blood. But if the call of sex comes its hard for us to avoid it, but is it true that high blood and high blood drugs affects our sex appetite?

Some people with high blood say, there are side effects on the high blood drugs they take, One is the lose of appetite for sex. They said that drugs for high blood makes there blood in calm and normal condition so its also affects there sex urges.It may affect sex by having a lower sex drive. It depends on how high that your blood pressure is, because it may be unsafe. Make sure to ask your doctor on this one because the Dr. can put you on low blood pressure drugs. But studies shows that high blood drugs only affects minimal possibilities in sexual urges. You can ask your doctor on what drugs are good for you and the right dosage.

There own blood pressure is the main reason for this sexual disorder. People with high blood pressure are aware on there own blood pressure, they always know if they feel excitement that can affect there blood pressure, because too much excitement can lead to no good for a person with high blood. Once they feel this kind of excitement they also feel fear, fear that they might got heart attack, that's why there appetite for sex slow down. This is a psychological effect that affect our sex urges.

Related Article: Stroke and high blood pressure

12 tips to be healthy

All of us really wants to be healthy, i think no one wants to be sick, but because of many things to do we sometimes forget to take care of our health, but don't blame yourself that you do nothing for your health, because there are many easy ways to stay healthy and we just have to do it.

here are the easy tips to stay healthy:

1. Don t eat too much: Eating too much can get you fat, and being fat is not healthy

2. Drink right amount of water: at least 8 glasses a day, water carries wastes out of your body. It cushions your joints. It supplies oxygen and energy to your cells. It regulates your body temperature.It stops kidney failure, it stops loss of hair, it stops you from getting dry skin and headaches.Water is like oil in a vehicle. You have to have it.

3. Don t Skip Breakfast: Eating in the morning give you energy for the rest of the day. Because it gets your bodies metabolism going first thing in the morning so you don't feel like snacking on bad stuff. It puts your body on a schedule so your body will release fat and start burning energy. You need 1300 calories a day to lose weight anything less you just store and gain back in a cycle.

4. Do breathing exercise: Specially in the morning when the air is fresh.it lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels. it increases blood oxygen levels which helps with kidneys, heart, muscle growth, electrolyte exchange, circulation. it also prevents atelectasis which is a closing of the aveoli in the lungs by forcing them to stay open. one of the problems that we face as we get older is a lack of expansion in the lungs. muscles become weaker, cartilage flexes less, etc. as the lungs will expand less and less, the lower parts lose their ability to open and hold air so we get short of breath with simple exercise the older we get because we have less space. doing deep breathing as a younger person helps fight off some of the effects of old age, just like stretching muscles of the back or legs improve flexion and circulation as we get older. how often?? good question. just like regular exercise, doing it every day is a good thing. but like regular exercise sometimes we just don't have the time or energy. even once a week will do you some good and increase the oxygen levels in the blood

5. Always smile: Firstly and most importantly it improves the overall psychological and mental state of a person. It relaxes some facial muscles and widens blood vessels that help blood flow better and benefit the physical and mental health.
I am sure it also increases one's popularity and thus improves his/her social state

6. Drink your vitamin: The benefits one gets in general is, it builds up our immune system, e.g. Vit-C, B, E, A, D, K all help improve your immune system.

7. Eat Fruits: fruit has fiber, vitamins, minerals. Benefits of fruit on the digestion
Most fruits function as natural laxatives, helping to regulate your body's digestive process. They provide roughage and fiber that is important in helping your body get rid of wastes.

8. Stay Relax: Stay calm always, relaxation means three words " peace of mind"

9. Drink milk: There's loads of calcium in milk, which benefit joints. If you're not into artificial growth hormones, there are hundreds of organic options that taste the same and provide the same health benefits

10. Exercise: Strengthen your cardiovascular and respiratory systems, keep bones and muscles strong, manage your weight, prevent and manage diabetes, ease depression and manage pain and stress, reduce your risk of certain types of cancer and sleep better.

11. Socialize: Try to meet new people everyday having many friends can be benefit to your health.

12. Stay away from vices and bad habits: drinking too much alcohol, smoking, gambling, etc.

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Stroke and High blood pressure

Patient who suffers from heart attack are commonly half of their body becomes paralyzed, they call it hemiplegia left or right part of the body becomes paralyzed. The cause of hemiplegia ie stroke or cerebro vascular accident in medicine term.

Our body is controlled by two parts of our brain, the left part of the brain controls the right part of our body, and the right part of the brain controls the left part of the body. In cases were in their right part of their body are paralyzed the left part of their brain are mostly affected by heart attack.

High blood pressure is the most common cause of stroke, if a patient has high blood pressure, the blood are fast and heavy running through his veins. Because of this pressure of blood, the wall of veins are wounded, if the veins got wounded because of high blood pressure platelets and collagen from the body system enters the veins and starting to clog the veins, because of this clogging in our veins the blood cannot pass through our veins, the circulation of our blood will no be normal, this is why a person suffers from stroke.

There are anti-clotting drugs that can help, heaparin aspirin and dipyridamole are examples of it, they are effective in preventing clog veins, but in cases that there body are already paralyzed those drugs are no more effective in declogging the veins.

Physical Therapist can help patients who got paralyzed because of stroke, vitamin C and E are also helpful in patients who got paralyzed, For us to avoid stroke we must discipline our selves and avoid foods that trigger high blood pressure, like foods with high cholesterol, and stop smoking. Regular exercise is the most common way to help our blood circulate normally.

Related Article: Does high blood or high blood drugs have effects on sex?