Fruits and Vegetables: The Delicious Way to Lower Blood Pressure

By admin | Published: February 11, 2010

There may be a lot of debate about what ingredients best constitute the optimal healthy diet. But very few will disagree on one thing: that adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet every day will not only lower your blood pressure significantly, but will also improve your overall health.

It sounds reasonable to suppose that different populations across the world have significant variations in their average blood pressures. Studies have proven that to be a fact. Researchers found that as the population ages in an industrialized society where processed food is commonly found in the diet, the blood pressure becomes higher. Non-industrialized societies, on the other hand, have lower incidences of high blood pressure among their population due to the high consumption of fruits and vegetables. What’s more striking is that vegetarians living in industrialized societies also have lower blood pressures than their non-vegetarian counterparts.

There are strong indications that fruits and vegetables are abundant in certain nutrients with the ability to restore elevated blood pressures to normal levels. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan has been remarkably effective in lowering blood pressure, including those whose blood pressure readings are considered “normal”. This program recommends a <a href=”http://www.thefoodmedicine.com/high-blood-pressure/fruits-and-vegetables-the-delicious-way-to-lower-blood-pressure/”>high blood pressure diet</a> that is low in fat – with dairy foods restricted to low-fat and fat-free products – and high in foods and vegetables consumption. This provides your body with a lot of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium, calcium, and magnesium, which appear to be crucial factors in regulating blood pressure.

Your risk of elevated blood pressure increases with your intake of sodium, which is found in common table salt. Potassium, on the other hand, appears to counteract the action of sodium. The more potassium you have, the stronger its antagonistic effect against sodium. The potassium-to-sodium ratio in your blood is key.

High consumption of fruits and vegetables provides you a very favorable potassium-to-sodium ratio. If you would like to start consuming fruits and vegetables high in potassium, you can choose from the following: banana, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrot, orange, spinach, sweet potato, Swiss chard, and watermelon.

Fruits and vegetables also contain dietary fiber and hundreds of phytochemicals that play important roles in protecting you from disease and enhancing your health. To take full advantage of the synergistic interactions of all these phytochemicals and nutrients, it is best to consume a varied combination of fruits and vegetables. The rule is simple: the more colorful your plate, the more your health will benefit.

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The Laxative Power of Rice Bran

By admin | Published: February 11, 2010

Still relatively new in some markets, rice bran is quickly gaining popularity as a nutritious alternative source of dietary fiber.  Although a common ingredient in Japanese cooking, rice bran usage in the west has largely been relegated to the realm of nutritional supplements for animals.  Recent studies in humans, however, are beginning to suggest that rice bran may possess many qualities that make it superior to more common sources of fiber such as wheat and oat bran.  In particular, the laxative powers of rice bran could help promote exceptional digestive and bowel health.

Among our various daily dietary needs, fiber is one of the most essential.  When most people think of dietary fiber, they think of it in terms of bowel regularity.  Although still not completely understood, research has already shown that fiber’s role in our diets is far more complex than previously thought.  Dietary fiber not only helps us digest food, it plays critical roles in regulating cholesterol and blood pressure levels, it blocks our intestines from absorbing unhealthy fats, it helps prevent numerous types of cancer, and most importantly, it keeps us from getting constipated.

Constipation is one of the most common health problems affecting people today.  Medically defined as the infrequent passing of stools (less than three times a week), constipation is a constant source of pain for millions of people, and a frequent inconvenience to many more.  Beyond the agony of cramps, frequent constipation may also pose more serious health risks, such as increased susceptibility to bowel cancer and the development of gallstones.

The problem with working bran into your diet is that the most common sources of dietary fiber – wheat bran and oat bran – aren’t generally very palatable.  The rough, dry consistency of these grain brans has earned them a poor reputation.  Many people even avoid bran supplements and bran-based foods simply because they don’t taste good.  In the past, rice bran has generally been viewed the same way, sometimes even discarded because it goes rancid shortly after processing, but new “stabilizing” technologies have solved this problem.

As a result, stabilized rice bran may now offer a tastier alternative to traditional bran sources.  What’s more, a few recent studies have suggested that rice bran may be more effective for promoting both stool bulk and bowel frequency, and thus making rice bran a superior natural laxative.

For effectively combating constipation, however, remember that sufficient bran alone isn’t enough.  Good exercise is absolutely crucial for maintaining the abdominal strength necessary for healthy digestive movement, and hydration is key for proper bowel consistency.  So make sure to be active as possible and drink plenty of water.  Even with the added laxative power of rice bran, a little proactive forethought will ensure that your body remains healthy, clean, and regular.

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Eat Olive Oil: The Fat that Works for You

By admin | Published: February 10, 2010

A Greek person eating a salad makes the vegetables virtually swim in olive oil. People living in the Mediterranean region also use olive oil liberally on almost everything they eat, from salads to fish to pasta and other foods. Yet, as you may already know, they are healthier than people in other Western countries. Their secret, it is now known, is their extensive use of extra virgin olive oil – known to science as the most heart healthy vegetable oil in the world.

High fat intake is often linked to heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, arthritis and other chronic or degenerative diseases. This is true in Western countries such as the United States, where fat consumption consists largely of saturated fats from animal sources, hydrogenated or trans fats, and vegetable oils with little monounsaturated fat content. Not so in the Mediterranean. People still have high fat intake, but they consume olive oil which consists mostly of monounsaturated fats (especially oleic acid) which enhance, not damage, their health. The result is that they have much lower rates of cardiovascular problems and other diseases.

Monounsaturated fats, when assimilated by the body, will become material for the production of HDL or “good” cholesterol. The abundance of monounsaturated fat in virgin olive oil ensures that you will have plenty of this good cholesterol. But this is not the only reason for the excellent health benefits of virgin olive oil.

Olive oil contains high concentrations of various antioxidants such as chlorophyll, carotenoids, and the polyphenolic compounds tyrosol, hydrotyrosol and oleuropein. Aside from their antioxidant activity, these compounds also protect the vitamin E contained in olive oil.

In addition, olive oil has many phenol compounds such as flavonoids, resveratrol, and curcumin. These also act as antioxidants, and have powerful capabilities to scavenge free radicals, which would otherwise cause oxidative damage to the LDL or “bad” cholesterol molecules in your blood. It is only when LDL cholesterol molecules are oxidized that they become dangerous, because this triggers a string of events that lead to plaque formation in your arteries and, ultimately, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Researchers have found that the heart healthy benefits of extra virgin olive oil cannot be credited to any single component. Instead, it is their combined activity working in a synergistic manner that gives rise to all the health benefits.

Extra virgin olive oil does all of these for you. Just as important, it makes the food you eat more flavorful.

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The Dangers of a Fat-Free Diet

By admin | Published: February 10, 2010

For years, we’ve been told that the less fat we eat, the healthier we will be. For years, food companies have sold us fat free beverages, foods, and snacks to give us healthier options when we eat. For years, dieting gurus have sold us dieting plans that tell us to cut out fat in order to lose weight and restore our health. And for years, we’ve bought into the lie that fat is bad for us. As a result, countless people have done irreparable damage to themselves by excluding fat from their diets entirely.

Along with proteins and carbohydrates, fats are one of the three essential energy sources our bodies need in order to function properly. Simply put, we need to eat fats in order to survive. Fat deficiency is a form of malnutrition, and without enough fats in our diet, we can’t digest food properly, our organs begin to malfunction, and our health begins to deteriorate.

At the most basic level, fats are crucial for helping our bodies absorb essential vitamins and minerals. Many nutrients our bodies require are not water-soluble. The only way they can enter our blood stream is by latching onto fats and then making their way through our intestines as those fats are absorbed. In quite the same way, these same nutrients can only be absorbed into our cells with the help of a fat, and without that fat, our cells become susceptible to infection and lose the ability to repair themselves.

At the same time, the energy stored in fat is crucial for cell growth. Our bodies break down fat molecules and use them to build other essential molecules like hormones, enzymes, and parts for new cells. Without fat in our diet, our hair and skin grow brittle and frail, our blood grows thin and loses its ability to clot, our immune systems begin to fail, and cancerous tumors can grow unchecked.

Fat deficiencies can lead to calcium deficiencies, the result of which are brittle bones, soft teeth, and weakened muscles. Our nervous systems, which are composed almost entirely of fats, begin to shut down, leading to memory loss, impaired mental ability, and inhibited muscle control. In fact, in the absence of dietary fat, our bodies try to compensate by producing their own fats, fats that can overwhelm and even shut down organs like our livers.

When it comes to reducing the fat in your diet for health or weight loss purposes, the key isn’t getting rid of fats in your diet, it’s learning to eat the right amounts of the right kinds of fats. There is a distinct difference between good fat and bad fat. The easiest rule of thumb is to steer away from saturated fats. Unsaturated fats and foods high in fatty acids (especially omega-3 fatty acids like olive oil and fish) are much more beneficial to your overall health.

The most important part of a healthy diet, however, is making sure that 20% to 30% of your daily caloric intake comes from fat. Fats need to be consumed in proportion to proteins and carbohydrates in order to truly benefit your body. By reducing your fat intake to less than 20%, you begin to edge into the territory of a super-low fat diet, one that can ultimately do your body more harm than good.

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Reduce Blood Pressure, Use Garlic

By admin | Published: February 9, 2010

If you are suffering from the so-called “silent killer”, hypertension or high blood pressure, it might be a relief to know that garlic is a food for hypertension that can help you manage this condition. Managing high blood pressure would also lead you to avoid other health conditions such as kidney failure and heart diseases.

Garlic, a perennial herb which is a cousin of the onion and native to Central Asia, has always been popular for its therapeutic and culinary qualities. Since ancient times, Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine recognized garlic’s ability to keep a normal blood flow in the body, and to make the heart stronger. Although garlic’s power to treat high blood pressure has been known for millennia, it was only in the twentieth century when scientists began to study the chemical components of the herb so as to confirm if the folklore was accurate.

In early 1920s, a study was published that affirmed the ability of garlic extract to lower high blood pressure. Not only that, other symptoms of high blood pressure, such as nosebleeds and headaches, were also found to be relieved by the extract. This study said that the underlying mechanism for this effect was that garlic made the veins and arteries relax and dilate their walls, allowing the blood to flow easier.

Some garlic constituents also induce the kidney to slow down its secretions of hormones that elevate blood pressure. Being a mild diuretic, garlic stimulates the kidney to increase production of urine which eliminates more salt and, consequently, lowers the blood pressure.

In addition, garlic helps prevent blood platelets from clumping together and developing clots. Blood clots are the primary agents of strokes and heart attacks. People with hypertension have a greater tendency to form blood clots because the high internal pressure forces the platelets to aggregate.

In October 2007, an Australian study was conducted to verify the effectiveness of garlic extract, powder and oil to help people with high blood pressure. It was found in the study that, indeed, these preparations made from garlic could lower systolic blood pressure more effectively than placebo. Strikingly, the researchers observed that the reduction in hypertension using the garlic preparations was more significant in those whose blood pressures were higher at the start of the study.

With scientific research confirming the folk wisdom that garlic reduces the blood pressure of those who suffer from high blood pressure, you may want to add the herb to your culinary dishes, if you haven’t started yet.

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Skipping Stones – Kidney Stone Prevention Advice

By admin | Published: February 9, 2010

Whether or not you know someone who’s had kidney stones before, you’ve probably heard just how unpleasant they are.  Defined as small deposits of minerals that crystalize inside your kidneys, kidney stones cause discomfort at best, and at their worst, can end up requiring hospitalization and intensive treatments.  Even with treatment, stones must ultimately pass out of your body through your urine, a process that is often accompanied by an intense amount of pain.  Unfortunately, there is no easy cure for kidney stones.  But with a little proactive consideration, you can prevent kidney stones from forming at all.

Believe it or not, there are a number of different kinds of kidney stones that can affect your health.  In some cases, where rare genetic factors are involved, very little can be done to prevent kidney stone formation.  However, in most cases, kidney stones can be avoided completely by adhering to a healthy diet.

The two most common types of kidney stones – composed of crystalized calcium or uric acid – make up about 90% of all kidney stones.  Although certain medical factors (such as diabetes) can lead to the formation of these kinds of stones, they most often form as a result of poor diet.  Several factors can lead to their formation, including excess sodium (salt) and protein (meat) consumption, vitamin deficiencies, prolonged dehydration, excessive fasting, and long-term binge drinking.

Certain lifestyle factors can also contribute to kidney stone formation, most notably a lack of exercise.  Several studies have reported that obesity and weight gain greatly increase your risk of kidney stones.  However, in most cases, simple dietary considerations can go a long way to preventing kidney stones.  By eating regular, well balanced meals, monitoring your salt intake, and drinking plenty of fluids, you can greatly improve your odds of a kidney stone-free life.

Some common medical conditions may also carry an increased risk factor for kidney stones.  Diabetes is a prevalent cause, and research has shown a clear link between insulin resistance and mineral crystallization in the urinary tract.  Gout, inflammatory bowel disease, and hyperthyroidism all carry increased risks as well.  But perhaps the most surprising causes for kidney stones are urinary tract infections and high blood pressure.  While untreated bacterial infections of the urinary system cause upwards of 15% of all kidney stones in women, high blood pressure has been shown to increase the risk threefold across the board.

In these instances, the best preventative measure you can take against kidney stones is to seek out immediate treatment for these medical conditions.  Kidney stones take time to form, and often only present a problem when other medical factors are allowed to persist unchecked.  In essence, however, the best advice that can be offered on the subject, is that the best way to avoid ever having to suffer from kidney stones is to live the healthiest, most active life possible.

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Raw Cow’s Milk Eliminates Asthma

By admin | Published: February 8, 2010

Can you envision raw milk becoming the next organics movement? This is what the president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a health advocacy group, believes. A growing number of people in many countries are proclaiming the health virtues of raw milk. They are convinced it can provide relief for a slew of health conditions from childhood allergies to heart diseases to disorders in your digestive system.

There is much that cow’s milk from can offer, and one of these is the elimination of asthma in children. There is one specification, however: not just any milk will do; it has to be raw, unpasteurized milk produced by grass-fed cows.

For those generations reared in pasteurized milk, this may seem like heresy. But in many ways, raw milk is so much better for you. Raw milk is densely loaded with enzymes that help digest calcium and other minerals, vitamins A, B, C and D, good bacteria, and heart healthy fats such as omega-3 fatty acids. Pasteurization and homogenization may kill microbes that cause disease, but they also destroy all of these helpful constituents. The usual pasteurized milk in grocery shelves no longer provides as much health benefits as raw, unpasteurized milk.

One important benefit from drinking raw milk is the protection provided against asthma and other diseases. A group of European researchers reported in 2001 that boys who were exposed for farm stables and drank fresh raw milk showed fewer cases of asthma and hay fever compared to children of the same age who drank processed milk.

In 2006, UK researchers established that raw milk consumption by children results in a 40 per cent reduction in the risk of developing allergy-related conditions including asthma, hay fever and eczema.

Long-term consumption of raw milk can provide effective protection against many other diseases. Since the various nutrients are not destroyed by the heat of pasteurization, raw milk can strengthen your auto-immune system to ward off disease-causing microbes. The good bacteria improve your digestion, making it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients in the milk and the other foods that you eat.

It is important that the raw milk comes from cows allowed to roam freely in the pasture and eat only fresh, green grass, their natural food. If the cows are healthy and living in an environment without stress, you can be sure their raw milk is also healthy. All the better to help you eliminate asthma.

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Say Yes to Yogurt

By admin | Published: February 8, 2010

Everyone knows yogurt as a quick breakfast pick, a perfect afternoon snack, or a low-fat frozen dessert, but did you know yogurt was one of the original super foods? Almost one hundred years ago, the Nobel prize-winning biologist lya Ilyich Mechnikov was one of the first people to claim that certain foods could improve and maintain your health. After noticing that certain Bulgarian peasants tended to have much longer life spans than their contemporaries, he hypothesized that the yogurt they ate on a daily basis was responsible.

Ever since then, yogurt has maintained a solid reputation as health food, and not without good reason. Made from naturally fermented milk, yogurt is not only packed with nutrition, it contains healthful bacteria cultures that provide numerous health benefits. The cultures that are responsible for giving yogurt its thick, creamy texture and its tangy taste, help make yogurt easy on the stomach, and thus a food that’s safe to eat by everyone from young children to the elderly.

What’s more, the bacterial cultures used to ferment yogurt also help maintain essential bacteria cultures in our intestines. Believe it or not, our overall state of health relies on healthful bacteria present in our digestive systems. These bacteria help us digest food, help maintain regular digestive movement, and prevent harmful bacteria from entering our bodies. When these cultures are thrown off balance, we can develop uncomfortable intestinal symptoms (like irritable bowel syndrom) and our immune systems can be compromised. The cultures present in yogurt, however, can help maintain or even restore these healthful bacteria. In fact, studies have shown that people who incorporate yogurt in their diet every day are less likely to get sick than those that don’t eat yogurt.

Yogurt is also exceptionally nutritious. It’s not only packed with proteins, calcium, and vitamins, it’s a superior natural source for iodine – a chemical essential for thyroid function. And yogurt has also been shown to have an incredible effect on our cardiovascular systems by lowering our bad (LDL) cholesterol levels while simultaneously raising our good (HDL) cholesterol levels.

Although commonly eaten as a sweet treat, most often with fruit, yogurt can also make a great low-fat substitute for less healthy ingredients in recipes, like sour cream and butter. It can be added to cakes and muffins for tanginess and moistness, to soups and sauces for richness and creaminess, and made into spreads and dips for garnishing dishes or dressing fresh vegetables. It delivers the taste and textures you desire while simultaneously improving your health!

Whether you choose low-fat or whole-milk yogurt, experts insist that you buy organic if possible. If organic yogurt isn’t available, at least make sure that it’s not made with milk from cows that have been injected with growth hormones or antibiotics. All-natural, live-culture yogurt (preferably those fortified with pro-biotics) are the only way to go, as they help maintain the balance your body needs!

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Heart Secrets of the Mediterranean Diet

By admin | Published: February 7, 2010

While the diet of the people living in the countries on or around the Mediterranean Sea has been around for centuries, it was only in the 1970s when it became widely popular. However, it was only after the publication of the Lyon Diet Heart Study by the American Heart Association in 1999 that the Mediterranean diet attracted a wide following among people intent on having healthy hearts or avoiding cardiac arrests.

If you wonder why the Mediterranean Diet helps keep the heart healthy, then you may want to look at its components. These are:

  • Lower fat content, and especially lower in saturated fat, than US and Northern European diets
  • Higher proportion of fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, as well as whole grains eaten in a week
  • At least two fish dishes eaten in a week
  • Generous amounts of olive oil used in preparing food
  • Lower consumption of dairy products
  • Moderate wine consumption (1-2 glasses) per day
  • Calories consumed during the day are more closely matched to calories used in normal activities of daily living, leading to less obesity.

If you look at every component of the diet, nearly every one in it has been proven to be heart-healthy in its activity. Fish are rich sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which benefit bodily functions in many ways, and especially the heart, by their ability to prevent formation of blood clots and to reduce triglycerides. Olive oil is almost entirely composed of monounsaturated fats, which promote high levels of good cholesterol.

Soluble dietary fiber and antioxidants are plentiful in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Although bread is a necessary component, it is made entirely from whole grains and has very little trans fat. Moreover, they do not use butter or margarines on their breads.

While controversy still arises as regards the consumption of alcohol, drinking one or two glasses of wine, especially red wine, has been found to have beneficial effects for the heart. Red wine contains flavonoids and antioxidants which, among their many benefits, are able to control clot formation in your blood.

Putting all these components of the Mediterranean diet together may cost you more than if you opt for the average Western diet. However, getting meals that have an abundance of flavors and have been proven to benefit your health, particularly your heart, is still a better deal than getting a cheaper alternative which turns out to be healthcare-expensive.

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Rhubarb – The Secret Chinese Super Food

By admin | Published: February 7, 2010

One of the stranger foods sometimes found in supermarkets, rhubarb remains a mystery to most people. When most of us think about rhubarb, we immediately associate it with tarts and pies. Even if you haven’t ever eaten rhubarb pie, chances are you’ve heard of it. More experienced rhubarb initiates may be able to recognize it or how to prepare succulent rhubarb stems. But beyond its most basic culinary uses, most of us know little to nothing about rhubarb.

For instance, you might be surprised to learn that parts of the rhubarb plant are actually toxic. Although rhubarb stems and roots can be eaten, rhubarb leaves can be quite poisonous, even if cooked. You also might be surprised to know that numerous kinds of rhubarb grow on almost every continent in the world. You’ll certainly be surprised to know that rhubarb been a highly regarded plant in traditional Chinese medicine for almost five thousand years. But the most surprising thing of all is that there’s actually hard science that backs up all of rhubarb’s once-supposed therapeutic benefits!

Traditionally, rhubarb has been used for two primary medicinal purposes. In small amounts, rhubarb works as an effective skin treatment for cuts and burns, a benefit derived from the presence of aloe-emodin in the sap of the stem. In larger quantities, rhubarb has also been prescribed as a powerful laxative for treating constipation and other gastric discomforts.

New research into the rhubarb, however, is beginning to suggest that the benefits of eating rhubarb may be far greater than anyone had previously imagined. One Chinese study on the laxative effects of rhubarb, just published in 2009, suggests it not only aids efficient digestion, but that it may help protect most of our digestive organs. Among the many findings, rhubarb was shown to enhance liver function, prevent inflammation in multiple organs, and help regulate both stomach and intestinal health.

Other studies have yielded even more incredible results. A recent Chinese study analyzing the chemical content of rhubarb revealed that these plants contained 107 distinct and powerful antioxidants, many of which have previously been proven to reduce cholesterol, lessen swelling, and prevent multiple varieties of cancer. Rhubarb is also a superior source of both dietary fiber and vitamin K – a crucial vitamin for maintaining bone health – as well as a range of other essential nutrients such as vitamin C, calcium, and potassium.

Although some varieties of rhubarb may be more potent than others, all are still chock full of the exact same health-friendly compounds. As little as half a cup a day can help boost your organ function, maintain healthy digestion, and improve your overall sense of well being. So the next time you pass a crate of rhubarb at a store or your local farmer’s market, don’t look at it in wonder. Buy a little and try working it into your evening meal. You’re body will be glad you did.

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