Posts Tagged ‘blood pressure’

The Top Ten Causes Of High Blood Pressure

Sunday, June 19th, 2011

The percentage of the population in the countries of the West that is suffering from hypertension (aka high blood pressure) is going up all the time. High blood pressure is also called the ’silent killer’, because there is no real warning that you have it, but it can kill you stone dead all the same.

Whenever individuals say that they can feel their blood pressure rising, it is usually only an expression meaning that they are becoming angry or excited. You cannot know that your blood pressure is high without measuring it.

So, how can you decrease your blood pressure or prevent it from rising without resorting to the daily intake of tablets? Here are the top 10 causes of high blood pressure.

1] The first thing to do is lose weight if you are too fat. Merely losing ten pounds can have quite a serious effect on your BP.

2] Smoking is a cause of high blood pressure, so you could cut that out.

3] Drinking alcohol to excess often also raises BP

4] A desk bound lifestyle or plain lack of exercise will not help either. If you cannot bring yourself to go to the gym, only walk more. A walk of thirty minutes in the morning and in the evening will instigate a lot of difference.

5] Diet. It is important to eat a healthy diet, which will also help you lose weight. Cut out most junk foods; cut down on meats and greasy foods and eat more fruits and vegetables. Salt plays a big part in weight gain (through water retention) and is a key factor in hypertension. Decrease your sodium intake. (Junk foods have a high salt content).

6] Try to be happy. Easier said than done in most cases, but try to develop a positive attitude. Stress plays a big part in creating hypertension. Exercise is said to relieve stress as is meditation and yoga. Attempt a couple of items and see what helps you.

7] Some illness and sleep disorders raise blood pressure as do some medications. Sleep disorders like sleep apnoea disrupt your sleep, preventing you from getting proper sleep, which increases BP as well. Sleep apnoea can be the result of being overweight, so you know how to deal with that, and if you think that medication is causing high BP, speak to your GP.

8] Age can be a factor but while there is nothing you can do about your age, you can strive to be a ‘young’ whatever you are. individuals over the age of 55 by and large start getting hypertension rather than younger people. You could endeavor to keep fit and optimistic. See exercise above.

9] Race is another aspect about which you have no control, and Africans and their descendants are more prone to hypertension. If you fit this profile, become aware that you are at risk so check your BP regularly.

10] Fear, anxiety and depression can all have negative influences on BP, so if any of these debilitating conditions applies to you, get help.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is currently involved with work on high blood pressure charts. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

What Is High Blood Pressure In Adolescents?

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

High blood pressure, which is also known professionally as hypertension, is a condition where the pressure of the blood coursing through your arteries is considerably higher than normal. Most medical professionals will state that the beginning point for individuals over eighteen years of age is 120/80. However, there are causes that could make those numbers not normal. Age is one of them.

The first number is the systolic arterial blood pressure, which means that it is the pressure read when the heart contracts, beats or pumps out blood. The second number is when the heart sucks in blood, ready to pump it out again.

These figures are given in millimetres of mercury and are stated in mmHg. Higher readings of either of these numbers can indicate a problem. One thing to make clear here is that it is impossible to deduce or estimate the pressure of your blood without using either a sphygmomanometer ( the one your doctor uses in the surgery), which is the gold standard of blood pressure monitoring devices or a home blood monitoring machine.

Blood pressure can be affected by numerous things such as: time of the day, age, weight, height, mood, fitness, diet, level of activity and stress, which may or may not be part of ‘white coat syndrome’ amongst others. ‘White coat syndrome’ is the worry felt by individuals when they have to be examined by a physician. This applies to children more than to any other age group.

Blood pressure also changes during the day, so in order to get an accurate reading, it is necessary to take several all at the same time of day. It is also wise to wait 45 minutes after drinking caffeine or ten minutes after arriving before taking a reading.

So, what is standard? The real answer, although it is maddening, is that only a GP can tell you, however for an adult, they say that it is 120/80, for an adolescent it is 110/70 and for an infant it is 80/45.

However, when measuring and evaluating the blood pressure of adolescents, you have to keep in mind that age, sex and height matter. Therefore, an adolescent is said to have high blood pressure if the blood pressure is over that of ninety percent of individuals of his/her age, gender and height.

The causes of hypertension are classed as primary or secondary. Primary means that it is all your body’s fault and secondary means that the cause is something else, say, medication. Hypertension can also be the result of race or other hereditary reasons. Males of African descent are especially at risk.

One of the items you can purchase to keep you informed about your family’s blood pressure problems is a home blood pressure monitor. These devices are quite cheap yet are very accurate, so buy an automatic digital monitor but take it to your medical doctor to make sure that it is accurate and get the readings that are pertinent to all the members of your family.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on a number of subjects, but is currently involved with work on the cause of high blood pressure. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, just go to our site at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

Complex Carbohydrates

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

When most of us make up our minds to follow a diet, we are filled with joy because we are finally going to shed that unwanted weight. All we require is the correct diet info. However, usually, a few months down the line and not only have we not shed any weight, but we are also disappointed with our diet.

Why does something like this happen you might ask in exasperation? Well, the answer would be that we are not eating the right combination of foodstuffs to burn the surplus fat off. Following a diet that has complex carbohydrates foods which are good for you could be the answer to all whole diet dilemmas.

When you first start any of these diets, the first thing that will be explained to you, is what food you can eat and what types of food are not good for you. According to most low carb diet info, among the many bad foods will be various complex carbohydrates foods which you really must have for your body to function well. The best approach to take with those diets is to understand the low carb diet info behind them and use the diet food lists that they give wisely.

This way you will definitely lose weight, because the foods that you will be eating on your diet are the kinds of food that can make you lose your hunger pangs. By not wanting to consume lots of food, you will not be snacking on junk food and piling on the weight. According to most low carb diet information, complex carbohydrates foods for long lasting energy will release the quantity of energy that you need, slowly, throughout the day.

According to most low carb diet info, these foods also have the necessary dietary requirements that we need for our bodies to develop healthily. You should, however, remember the low carb diet info that the best way to develop a fantastic looking figure is to maintain a healthy balance between all of the complex carbohydrates foods in the other groups and to include regular exercise into your lifestyle.

When you go shopping for your dietary foods, wait a moment and see if the foods that you have planned for your meals, according to the low carb diet info you have, will help you in the long run or if you will be feeling worse than you do now. The reason is that many of the foods in these various diets don’t take your body’s health needs into account.

If you don’t eat the right foods, you can end up with various illnesses and other complications that you had no trouble with when you used complex carbohydrates foods like fruit and vegetables that were part of your every day eating habits.

Remember that, according to most low carb diet info, you have to take into account the health requirements of your body as well. Including fantastic tasting complex carbohydrates foods that you usually love to eat anyway, make dieting fun, especially since you are not really dieting. What you are doing is making a permanent change for a healthier future.

Do you need to lose that excess weight real fast? Well, take a free look at Complex Carbohydrates, by going to our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

The New Diet Revolution

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

We inhabit a society where being slim is the goal. We are driven to think that this is what we all ought to look like too. We see the evidence of this in the slim models in fashion magazines, in beauty contests on TV, in adverts and in many other places. There are books that are devoted to helping us get this new look. One book that attempts to help you obtain this modern look is Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution.

In Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, we are advised about a new way of living - a low carb lifestyle. In this new method, we are told what kinds of low carb foods we can eat. Naturally, we will have to follow strict rules for Dr Atkins diet to start working and helping us to lose those ugly pounds.

There are 4 stages in Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution diet that must be followed by anyone who wants to lose weight the Atkins diet way. These stages are the Induction which is stage 1; Ongoing weight loss which is stage 2; Pre-maintenance is stage 3 and Maintenance, which is stage 4. In addition to the dietary rules of these stages Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution book recommends regular exercise and taking nutritional supplements as part of his low carb diet.

During the induction stage of the diet it is possible to lose about 15 pounds in weight. This is done by limiting your carb intake to 20 grammes a day. You can, however, eat lots of low carb vegetables in your diet like lettuce, broccoli and tomatoes. Consuming yoghurt, fruits, rice, bread and starchy vegetables like potatoes is out while you are on the Atkins diet. Furthermore, caffeine and alcohol drinks are not recommended.

Dr Atkins’ New Diet Revolution states that it is during the induction stage, that you will stabilize your blood sugar level, thus curbing several health issues that arise from unstable blood sugar, like fatigue and diabetes. It is also in this stage of the diet that you break your food addictions and your cravings for different foods such as sugar and alcohol.

When you enter the 3rd and 4th phases of Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution, the book tells you that you have reached your ideal weight. From these stages on, you get to increase your daily carb intake to up to 60 grams per day. From here on. if you want to stay at your ideal weight then you must stick to the Atkins diet for the rest of your life.

Honestly, there does not seem to be a more scientific way to lose weight and keep it off permanently. The Atkins diet really does work, and by reading Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution you will be taking a giant step in the right direction.

Do you need to lose those excess kilos quickly? Well, take a free look at The Atkins Diet, by visiting our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

Cooking Low Carb Atkins

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Cooking is called an art form but cooking can get even more creative in thought and planning when you or someone in your family starts on a diet. The challenge comes when you have to match the needs of your whole family with that of a low carb dieter. However, even for this seldom awkward problem, low carb recipes are Heaven sent, especially if inspiration is low.

Due to the many low carb recipes and products on the market it is now entirely possible to make cooking low carb food an enjoyable part of your life. There are so many handy things you can use when you are cooking low carb recipes. Also the Internet has many websites that feature low carb lifestyle changes.

Some of these variations are simple to implement like using two different recipes to make one healthy meal that becomes a low carb recipe. There are even counters that can help you discover if your choice of food items is keeping you within the boundaries of your low carb recipe.

A list of food that you want to buy is also good for cooking low carb recipes. To complete the transformation to cooking low carb recipes, you should have your kitchen reflect this dietary change. If you do this, you will have all of the kitchen implements and staples for cooking low carb recipes already at hand in your kitchen.

This need not necessarily be anything high-brow, you know. Really, as long as you avoid foods which are high in carbs and just keep cooking low carb meals you will be all right.

This does not mean that you have to avoid carbs completely, only that you should limit the quantities when cooking low carb recipes to the absolute minimum. As I mentioned earlier, this can severely limit your manner of cooking. Low carb recipes aren’t easy to adapt if you really love your pastas and bread.

Furthermore, by adopting only a small amount of change, you can turn out meal after meal of low carb recipes. If you’re not the one on the low carb diet, then maybe you’ll be reluctant to start cooking low carb meals, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the number of really great tasting meals you can prepare when you start preparing low carb recipes.

However, then again, if you’re not the one who want to eat low carb recipes, then you always have the option of adding a few high carb recipes to your meal along with the low carb dishes, and enjoy the meal the way you like it. In this way, everyone gets what they want and you will have no problems with preparing low carb recipes or pandering to the dieter in your family!

Do you want to lose those excess kilos rapidly? Well, take a free look at Atkins low carb recipes, by visiting our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

categories: Atkins,diet,weight loss,health,fitness,blood pressure,diabetes,advice,self help,blood sugar,fat,cholesterol,plus size,other

Is There an Atkins Grapefruit Diet?

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

The Atkins Grapefruit diet is a diet plan, not endorsed by the eponymous Dr. Atkins company, that tries to play on the popularity of two diets: the grapefruit diet and the Atkins diet. However, a close look into this diet shows that it may not be all it claims for itself.

First off, it’s pretty hard to any find information on the Atkins grapefruit diet plan at all. Smart people realize that when someone is perpetrating a deception, or a con, they will often gloss over the facts. This is what the Atkins grapefruit diet seems to be doing in an attempt to get people to associate it with two supposedly effective diets.

Is the Atkins Grapefruit Diet part of the Atkins Diet or support by the late Dr. Atkins’ firm? The answer is a loud no! But, not only is there no mention of the Atkins Grapefruit Diet on the Atkins web site, there is just no fruit of any sort allowed in the list of allowed foods in the Atkins diet Induction phase either.

The induction phase includes the following foods: fish of all kinds, all fowl such as turkey and chicken, any shellfish, any meat such as beef or pork, eggs cooked in any style including fried, cheese, vegetables, herbs and spices, fats and oils, low carbohydrate beverages including diet soft drinks.

Please, notice one thing - that fruit does not feature on that list at all! Yes, later phases of the Atkins diet do allow small amounts of fruits such as cantaloupe and strawberries, and the pre-maintenance and maintenance phases do even allow small quantities of grapefruit, but when judged in comparison with the amount of Grapefruit recommended on the Atkins Grapefruit Diet there is a huge difference.

The Atkins Grapefruit Diet suggests a cup of grapefruit juice or a cup of grapefruit sections, with 8 and 18 carbs respectively. Even the most liberal phases of the Atkins diet recommends limiting intake to below 8 carbs per day, when it comes to grapefruit. That’s a direct contradiction of one plan to the other.

Most sensible people would turn to the Atkins website itself the moment they heard of the Atkins Grapefruit Diet and when they found no reference of that diet on their site, a red light would flash and an alarmbell would sound.

In general, remember this: any diet that relies too heavily on one food, such as grapefruit on a grapefruit diet, is unhealthy for any but extremely short periods. The Atkins Grapefruit Diet is not associated with the Atkins diet, and may interfere with the results of the Atkins diet in its early phases.

Do you want to lose those excess pounds rapidly? Well, take a free look at The Atkins Diet, by going to our website called The Atkins Diet Plan

Low Carbohydrate Vegetables

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Any diet that asks you to go low carbohydrate and use only low carbohydrate vegetables is saying that you need to search for vegetables that are low in carbohydrates. You need to use these vegetables in stead of your regular vegetables. There are many great tasting meals that you can make with low carb vegetables.

They can be used in your various diet recipes or used for salads. They are great by themselves as healthy snacks and you can also blend them for a nutritious drink. The many websites that give recipes for low carb cooking and meals might have some recipes that will let you use your low carb vegetables in meals.

Imagine producing a splendid meal using only low carb foods. You can keep a magnificent side dish full of low carb vegetables that have been transformed into a delicious salad. This salad can be garnished with many interesting foods that are also low carbohydrate but taste great by themselves as well.

For example, you can make a salad from low carb vegetables that include boneless beef, top sirloin steak, fresh lemon juice, gourmet salad greens, medium plum tomatoes, ranch or blue cheese dressing. You have the choice of making a seasoning for this salad from dried oregano, garlic cloves and pepper.

As you can see, there are many ways that you can combine your low carb vegetables with other foods to make superb meals for you and others to eat. The main thing to remember is not to put things like a heavy French dressing on your low carb vegetables. This will turn your nutritious low carb vegetables into something heavy.

There are instances in your low carb cooking when you can make use of only one of the low carb vegetables to give you a magnificent dish that looks mouth-watering. This type of low carb recipe will call for only a low carbohydrate vegetable like eggplant. This vegetable is very versatile and you can use it in a variety of ways.

When you make up your mind to eat low carb vegetables in this way, you take your cooking experience into another dimension of gourmet food. The many low carb recipes that you can find on the Internet, will let you make great dishes with your low carb vegetables. After all, eating low carbohydrate vegetables is just another way of experimenting with new foods

Do you want to lose that excess weight rapidly? Well, take a free look at Low Carb Vegetables, by visiting our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

categories: Atkins,diet,weight loss,health,fitness,blood pressure,diabetes,advice,self help,blood sugar,fat,cholesterol,plus size,other

Atkins Diet Low Carb Diet Menu

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

With the advent of the New Age, gone are the days when having a Marilyn Monroe style of figure was considered to be the ideal of what a woman should look like. Now we have waif-thin role models of what the perfect woman should look like, and this is the shape we want to have too. To that purpose most of us will turn to every diet possible, but it’s a fact that a growing number of dieters are concentrating more on what the Atkins Diet, low carb diet menu has to offer for them over the others.

Certainly, there are any number of diets that are similar to the Atkins Diet and the low carb diet menu plans, but it has to be said that the Atkins Diet was the first of these now popular high fat, high protein, low carb diet menu plans. And the Atkins Diet low carb diet menu will offer you the most appetizing range of low carb foods to select from.

However, with only a little clever mixing and matching on your part, you can even invent different low carb diet menu plans that will rival anything found on any of the other similar diets. By going on the Atkins Diet, low carb diet menu planning becomes that much easier for you, and you will not need to worry that what you’re preparing will comply with your dietary regulations.

The Atkins Diet low carb diet menu can help solve your problem in this way and it can also help you compile a list of foods and high carb diet menu plans that you must not eat. By doing this you can take your food lists shopping with you, where they can help you to know which foods should stay off your shopping list. This can be an extra-ordinary aid to you in adhering firmly to your low carb diet menu.

This does not mean that it will be simple to stick to your low carb diet menu. Quite the contrary in fact, even though you can eat what can amount to almost anything you choose from the high fat high protein part of your Atkins Diet low carb diet menu, if you love your carbs you’ll feel the lack of them.

And if you have been sustained for most of your life by these high carb foods, as most of us have, then you’ll have an even more difficult time becoming used to the rigors of the Atkins Diet low carb diet menu plans. The only thing that’ll help you now in sticking to your low carb diet menu and away from your high carb cravings could be your Atkins Diet low carb diet menu plans and the food lists.

So, keep your low carb diet menu plans near to you and your high carb foods away from you. These low carb diet menu plans and food lists will become your nearest allies in the next few weeks as you struggle through the induction phase, but don’t worry. With a little perseverance on your part, you’ll come through with flying colours and a slimmer body using your Atkins low carb diet menu.

Do you need to lose those excess kilos real fast? Well, take a free look at Atkins low carb diet menu, by going to our website called The Atkins Diet Plan

categories: Atkins,diet,weight loss,health,fitness,blood pressure,diabetes,advice,self help,bood sugar,fat,cholesterol,plus size,other

Atkins Diet Plan

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

You have decided you need to lose some weight and that you’re going on a diet and you’ve told yourself that this will be the last diet that you’ll ever try. This is because you’ve already heard so much about the Atkins Diet, that you have total confidence in its ability to help you reduce weight and to keep it off. You also know that with the assistance of the Atkins diet plan, you can tailor your diet to suit your body and your personal tastes.

When you commence your diet, you’ll get an Atkins diet plan that will get you started on the first leg of your dieting journey. This is phase one, the induction phase, of four phases which you will go through. So what you’re really getting with the Atkins diet plan is a great way for you to choose the path you take on your diet and how long it will take you to lose the amount of weight you want to.

Although, you need not follow the Atkins diet plan to the minutiae, if you really want fast results, you will follow it to the minutiae. So, keep away from the carbs and eat your high fat, high protein meals. Well, you won’t have to stay away from carbs all together, you’ll just need to make yours a low carb diet instead of the high carb diet you’ve been following so unconsciously all of your life so far.

However, by do the Atkins diet plan and all but cutting out carbohydrates from your diet, you lessen the chances of your diet failing. After all, this time you’ve decided that this is your last diet and that you’re going to make it work, so it is really no use tempting fate and veering, even if only slightly, off course from your Atkins diet plan.

Remember that the whole plan is adaptable to suit you, and to help you make your dieting limitations easier to bear. With that in mind, also remember that within the Atkins diet plan, you can also eat at least 20 carbs, but you will have a virtually unlimited buffet of proteins and fats available to you. So, you don’t have to be worried that your diet is going to cost you the pleasures of eating well.

With the Atkins diet plan, you’ll find out that you can eat well without feeling the loss of your carbs too much. And even though you might think that cooking and planning meals will be difficult, if you have to stay within the restrictions of the Atkins diet plan, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to realize that it just isn’t so.

There are many great foods and meal plans available on the Atkins diet plan. And if you can just make it through reading your Atkins diet plan, you’ll find that you really can get through this diet with practically no pain on your part. Now that’s what I call the diet to end all diets! And isn’t that what you wanted in the first place?

Do you want to lose those excess pounds rapidly? Well, take a free look at The Atkins Diet, by visiting our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

Atkins Diet Free Plan.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

What is the Atkins diet and what will you have to sacrifice in order to achieve the results you’ve seen other people realize? You hate your size twelve, and you desperately want to come down to the size six that you once were, although you’ll settle for a size eight, if you have to. It doesn’t really matter as long you’re nowhere near your present size twelve!

What you’ll have to begin with, is some working knowledge of what the Atkins diet is all about and what it might encompass. On the other hand, before you get caught up in detail, you could always just test an Atkins diet free plan which might help you to get a handle on the situation.

There’s no definite place I can say for you to get an Atkins diet free plan of course, but I’ve found that the Internet is the best place for you to find out just about anything and everything you want to know. Start by turning on your computer, it’s really amazing how many pithy looks I receive when I state this most obvious fact! In fact you probably rolled your eyes at me just now!

Anyway, if you just cruise the Internet for an Atkins diet free plan, you’ll be surprised at the amount of other free plans that you’ll come up with as well. And if you’re not dead set on going the Atkins diet way, then you could just try out any one of the other free plans. As it suggests, it won’t cost you more than the time spent surfing the web.

So, just what can you expect to get from trying an Atkins diet free plan? Well, for a kick off, you can see which types of foods you can eat and which types of foodstuffs you can’t eat. If you’re thinking of doing the Atkins diet then in the induction phase alone, there are some things that you’ll have to sacrifice in order to maintain your diet.

On that list of food, that you may eat and still remain on your Atkins diet free plan, you’ll find that you can eat cream, cheese and butter as long as you stay within your moderate daily carbohydrate allowance, but out go the fruits, the breads, the pastas and the pizzas. Basically anything that tastes lovely, you might think.

However, it is not completely true, as you’ll see when you inspect the Atkins diet plan recipes which may or may not come with your Atkins diet free plan. There are plenty of fantastic tasting foods which you can consume and although you might not realize it yet they’ll incorporate many of your favourite foods, just not everything high in carbs.

As far as drinks go, the same principles hold true as in the other parts of the Atkins diet free plan. That means, you must avoid sugared drinks or sodas like Pepsi, Ovaltine and sugared tea or coffee. Furthermore, you must to be careful with coffee, because it can be more addictive while on the Atkins diet for some people.

Likewise, caution is necessary with regard to alcohol. Some types, like cider or sherry contain too many carbs, while others, like Guinness or whisky seem to be all right in moderation. However, you should always refer to your Atkins diet free plan before deciding what you can or can not drink.

Do you want to lose those excess pounds rapidly? Well, take a free look at Atkins Diet Free Plan, by visiting our resource called The Atkins Diet Plan

categories: Atkins,diet,weight loss,health,fitness,blood pressure,diabetes,advice,self help,blood sugar,fat,cholesterol,plus size,other