Healing Hypertension

• Change your lifestyle to reverse the negative effects of hypertension!
  
  Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. A BP reading of 120/80 is considered normal and anything higher than this is either pre-hypertension or hypertension.

Causes
It is believed that both genes and environment play important roles. Upto 40 percent of young hypertensives have a family history of BP. Urban lifestyle – odd hours at office, nightshift jobs and lack of or inadequate sleep – also plays a role.

Other reasons include substance abuse – cigarette smoking, cocaine addiction, alcohol consumption – increase in stress levels, lack of exercise leading to an increased risk of diabetes mellitus, lack of sunlight (low vitamin D levels), neighbourhood pollutants and psycho-social problems.

What Should One Do?

Regular monitored exercise
Outdoor games
Regular doses of vitamin D through sunbathing
High-fibre diet with lots of fruits and vegetables
Quit smoking
Low alcohol intake
Sound night sleep
Healthy, compatible married life
Identify family history and seek expert opinion
Identify and treat diabetes
Avoid weight gain

EAT HEALTHY

Take to healthy foods that fight cholesterol and keep the heart healthy.

OATS
Dietary fibre plays an important role in maintaining our health and protecting us against many diseases like diabetes, heart disease. Oats, oat bran, and oatmeal contain a specific type of fibre known as beta-glucan. It is a soluble fibre that helps in decreasing LDL (bad cholesterol). One of the special things about the way oats work unlike other fibres is that it lowers only bad cholesterol while levels of good cholesterol (HDL) remain unchanged. This means an even better ratio between total cholesterol and HDL, ensuring increased protection against heart disease. Oatmeal is the only wholegrain food recognized by the FDA to lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, there-by allows its claim as a heart protective ingredient in food labels. Studies also show that in individuals with high cholesterol (above 220 mg/dl). Consuming just 3 grams of soluble oat fibre per day (an amount found in a bowl of oatmeal) typically lowers total cholesterol.

SOYABEAN
Soy protein protects against various heart diseases and hypercholesterolemia as it decreases LDL (bad cholesterol) significantly, increases HDL (good cholesterol) and prevents oxidation of bad cholesterol to prevent oxidation in blood vessels.

GREEN TEA
Several studies have suggested that drinking either green or black tea may lower blood cholesterol concentration, blood pressure and inhibit clotting of blood, providing some protection against cardiovascular disease. While green tea benefits arise from catechins, black tea benefits arise from theaflavins, both of which inhibit oxidation of bad cholesterol LDL.
Tea contains significant amounts of folic acid. Folic acid helps reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. A person could obtain up to 25 percent of RDA for folic acid by drinking five cups a day.

BARLEY (JAU)
Several scientific researchers have found that barley has some unique health promoting effects, particularly for the heart. Its cholesterol fighting effects seem to be even more promising than oats. Studies suggest that barley can lower cholesterol levels as much as 15 percent in individuals with elevated cholesterol levels.

Like oats, barley too is a good source of “beta glucan”, a water soluble form of fibre, which seems to retard fat and cholesterol absorption by the intestine. The fibre tends to bind bile salts, thus increasing cholesterol removal from the body, and fat soluble substances, tocotrienols (vitamin E) appear to suppress cholesterol synthesis by the liver.

PSYLLIUM HUSK
The good old ‘Isabgol’ is high in insoluble fibre (hemi-cellulose) and soluble fibre. PSYLLIUM has also been known to exhibit cardio-protective role as it helps in lowering blood cholesterol, especially the undesirable fraction of serum cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, apo-lipoprotein B and reducing inflammation. Cholesterol lowering properties of Psyllium can be attributed to its high fibre content and presence of beta-sitosterol (a phyto-chemical).

10 Tips for a Healthy Heart

A strong heart is a result of healthy lifestyle choices. Be active and stress-free.

Today’s fast-paced life and workplace pressures escalate stress levels, taking a toll on one’s heart. We must realize that the healing power of body decreases when under stress, leading to many complications like hypertension and poor immunity. Today, even youngsters are prone to heart ailments. So, it’s very important to stay healthy and manage your stress levels by understanding the risk factors – high cholesterol levels, stressful lifestyle, smoking and lack of exercise – following simple changes in lifestyle.

Avoid Smoking

Smoking reduces life expectancy by 15-25 years. If you are a smoker, you are twice more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker. The moment you stop smoking, the risk of heart attack begins to reduce.

Cut down on salt
Too much salt can cause high blood pressure, which increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease.

Watch your diet
Try to have a balanced diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, starch foods such as wholegrain bread and rice.
Monitor your alcohol
Too much alcohol can damage the heart muscle, increase blood pressure and also lead to weight gain. Avoid intake of alcohol or at least limit it to one or two units a day, gradually decreasing the consumption.

Get active
At least aim for 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Keeping yourself fit not only benefits the heart but also improves mental health and well-being.

Monitor your BP, blood sugar and cholesterol levels
Routine medical check-ups will ring an alarm, if you need medical help.
Manage your waist
Cholesterol deposition in blood vessels begins in the first decade of life. Carrying a lot of extra weight as fat can greatly affect your health. Make small but healthy changes in your diet.

Manage your stress level
If you find things are getting on top of you, you may fail to eat properly, smoke and drink too much. This may increase your risk of a heart attack. Practice yoga/meditation. Take a vacation.

Check your family history
If a close relative is at risk of developing coronary heart disease from smoking, high BP, high cholesterol, lack of physical activity, obesity and diabetes, then you could be at risk too.

Laughter is the best therapy
Laughter anytime will work wonders for you. It is an instant way to unleash the pressure and it makes you feel light.

Fishes can be Perfect Pet for Small Kids

Intoduction Fishes could be an amazing household pet. Among all the animals, they are the easiest to care for plus they don’t really take so much room. However, most kids lose their interest in fishes rather fast especially those children who want to have a pet which they can cuddle up with. They tend to be a bore for kids who are active and always on the go. That must be the reason why not too many would ask for a school of fish. Nonetheless, fishes can be the perfect pet.

Sensible Choice

Whenever parents think of granting their little kids’ plea for a pet, most often the choice is to give them a fish. Even with the little care it requires, they could still teach them how to be responsible in taking care of a living thing. Having a pet fish would instill in them the value of love and acceptance of simplicity.

Parents really have a great deal of accountability when it comes to introducing a pet to a child. They have to keep in mind the child’s well being and that of the pet. With fishes there is less threat to the child’s safety. It is ideal especially for a kid who easily gets tired of new things and just wants it for the novelty of having one. This would save the parents a lot of trouble in the long run since more often than not; it is them who are burdened with the duty once their child bails out.

Basic Rules

There are only a few things to remember in taking care of them. The rules are very basic and could easily be followed by little children. One, do not dump anything in the fish tank. Two, do not take the fish out of the water. Also, they need a minimal amount of day to day and weekly care. All you have to do is feed them adequately and clean the fish tank at least once a week. Keeping an aquarium of fish can be educational and an enjoyable experience.

First, consider the size of the tank that will be adequate for the fish to swim freely. The aquarium’s size will determine the number and kind of fish that you would get for the child. Second, think of the best place in your home where you can put the fish tank. Make sure that the stand serves as a good foundation will support the aquarium and in the right height so the child will have no difficulty reaching the brim during feeding time. Put it away from busy traffic to prevent it from being collided into. Place it where there is enough sunlight and ventilation. This would prevent mosquitoes from plaguing the area. However, placing it near a window where there too much sunlight would cause the water to turn green easily. When this happens, you will need to change the water more often. If there is no other place, you can solve the problem by covering the window with curtains.
After everything is set, teach your child the right amount of feeding. Overfeeding will result to the fishes’ death. Be sure that the child is under supervision when he or she does the feeding. Cleaning the tank could also be a time for the parent and child to bond. You will have to do it but have your kid assist you. The bulk of the chore is just about it. No matter how simple it may seem, the goal of turning your child into a responsible person could still be achieve. Thus, fishes could possibly be the perfect pet for your kids.

Myths about Skydiving

People who have not tried skydiving have a lot of misconceptions or “myths” about the sport. Sad to say a lot of people are misled by these myths and tend to have wrong perceptions about the sport. Here are some of the most common skydiving myths that buzz around and the true explanations to them.

Friends And Secret Signals

Most people think that if you would be skydiving with your friends, you should have a “secret signal” with your buddy to tell that your parachute failed to open. And when this happens, you would make your way towards them and give your buddy a bear hug or hook yourself to their parachute pack thingy and then afterwards the chute would inflate just in time to save the both of you.

If this myth were true, most probably both of you would have broken arms by the end of the dive; which you would think is way better than hitting the ground in terminal velocity. Additionally, there is no known hand signal for ‘my chute failed, please let me hug you’ kind of stunt.

If you were to skydive in a group, it is a protocol that before any of you would pull their parachute, you should be a hundred and one percent sure that your air space is clear. This is done so that you wouldn’t be entangled with any of your group mates once all of you pull out your chutes. Collision is also another thing
to watch out for.

Secondly, that ‘parachute pack thing’ is actually called a ‘rig’, as to no skydiver would refer to it in that way.

The Ultimate Myth: Death

Of all the myths of skydiving, this one would be the truest, especially if you are falling at terminal velocity and suddenly you are face to face with the ground even before your parachute has slowed down your descend, then you’ll probably die. Well of course this myth would only happen if you let it. This is exactly why you have to commence a pull sequence, then deploy your main chute and make sure that it’s working
properly so that you can give yourself the chance to cutaway and get your reserve.
The Going Solo Myth

Another one would be if you’re for some impious reason, making a dive by yourself, then your last resort of surviving would be to land with as much surface area that you can get and the type of surface you’ll be landing on.

First off, you should know that it is extremely common to have a license and skydive alone. A lot of skydivers do this. In fact, if you get a license you can do this, especially if you want to see the beauty and sacredness of watching the sunset as you freefall all by yourself.

Second if ever both of your chutes fail to inflate, there is no choice but to fight for your life even if blood would fill your goggles. You can not rely on your buddies nor your surface area.

You can’t really rely on landing in water, since this is something that you wouldn’t really want, because it’s just the same as landing on cement. However, if you can, try landing on something soft and steep like a mountain side with some snow.

Formula for Healthy Living

Staying healthy requires a lot of thinking and self reflection to be successful. With a longer life expectancy of human beings as compared to pre-modern age, people have been ore vigilant to think about and create ways to even extend the lives of everyone existing. Numerous mnemonics and acronyms have been developed as well by nutritionists and scientists to help people have a guide on how to stay healthy. One
of these would be the ABC’s of staying healthy, a very simple, yet effective way of adding to the long list of patterns to keep healthy.

A Is For Abstinence

“A” stands for abstinence. Most probably many would already be thinking that this seems like the same ABC tip for responsible sex. Though the keywords used in the ABC’s of staying healthy are similar except for the last one, the ideas are completely in a different context as this would specifically target more of a person’s lifestyle in everyday living.

Abstinence should be practiced by the person in declining the things that would not make him healthy in the process. Unless it is required such as a career that would limit the choice to either quit the job or to counter the effects with good health practices, abstinence on a great level is required of the person should he wish to start staying healthy and maintain being healthy. Abstinence should be the basis of any individual to serve as a disciplinary concept. Without the discipline to know when to say no, it would prove difficult to stay away from the things that people
have learned to love.

B Is For Be Faithful

“B” stands for “Be Faithful”. Being faithful is being able to hold out and maintain focus on your objective of staying healthy. It does not mean that you totally become a no-nonsense robot who only distinguishes a black from white, but being lenient is a risky thing to inculcate. Though it is not really to bend the rules from time to time because of valid reasons, it may develop into a nasty habit of having an excuse for every single choice that should have been for staying healthy.

C Is For Calisthenics
Calisthenics or exercise is and has always been part of any healthy program designed for health conscious and health seekers alike. Calisthenics does not necessarily mean the rigorous training that one sees in advertisements and magazines. Those are for bodybuilders who would want to reshape their bodies into hard sculptured specimens of humanity. Calisthenics are simple activities which would allow one’s self to move about and permit the proper flow of blood to the different parts of the body for optimal oxygenation of the cells.

Calisthenics should be done everyday for at least thirty to forty-five minutes which includes mainly aerobic exercise. Not only does daily calisthenics improve the cardiovascular flow of the body, it also adds up to the amount of calories to be burned for the day to maintain the desired body weight and fitness level.

The ABC’s of staying healthy is a very elementary concept for anyone to grasp should they wish to seek a better health state or maintain an already good one. It is a personal choice as it is a personal endeavor. The extent of its success lies on the amount of effort that the individual puts in each letter of this simple mnemonic.

Fruit Juice

Banana Bubbles
Serves 1

1 cup chilled orange juice
1 mashed banana Garnish thin slice of orange

Blend both ingredients on high speed for 20 seconds. Serve in well-chilled glass with a slice of orange as a garnish.

Meditation can help your brain work more efficiently

Sitting in meditation can be challenging. You might feel anxious to get back to your busy day. Your mind wanders. Your foot falls asleep. But consider this: A regular meditation practice can make your brain work better.

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered that meditation helps the brain to process information more efficiently. One study, conducted at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, found that people who meditate capture information that others miss when presented with a series of visual cues in quick succession. The difference was most marked in longtime practitioners of vipassana meditation, but even novices who practiced just 20 minutes per day scored better than people who didn’t meditate.
Just as repeated practice of Sun Salutations builds strength and stamina, so regular meditation enhances the brain’s capacity for perception, awareness, and efficiency in processing, says Sat Bir Singh Khalsa, assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

“Meditation has both short- and long-term benefits to brain structure and function,” he says.

Another study, conducted through Massachusetts General Hospital, found that longtime meditators have a thicker insula, the part of the brain that links the emotional center with the thinking center. Some researchers say that this finding may explain a seeming paradox: In meditators, the amygdala, the part of the brain tied to the fight-or-flight impulse, is more active than in nonmeditators. But meditators also seem to be better able to calm that response than others.

“No one has proven why yet, but the theory is that meditators are more aware of what’s happening simple in their environment and better able to control their internal psychological and physiological responses to it.


How To Do Meditation

Sit comfortably in an upright but relaxed position. Close your eyes and bring your attention to your nostrils. As you breathe notice the subtle sen-sation of cool air passing into, and warm air passing out of, your nose. Without manipulating the breath, simply notice the sensation. Maintain your attention to every breath. Staying relaxed and mentally alert, become curious about each passing one as if it were your first.

If your attention wanders, simply notice the distraction and patiently return to the sensation of the breath. Your ability to stay present deepens by consistently returning to the current moment. Do this exercise 10 minutes once or twice a day, gradually extending your sessions to 20 or 30 minutes each.