A Blood Pressure Drop as Temperatures Rise?
More interesting research findings I want to share.
A French study found a link between the weather and blood pressure, especially for individuals over the age of 80. As temperatures dropped 25 degrees, such as change from summer to winter, systolic blood pressure (top number) increased 5.0 mmHg.
Hmmm, another reason to retire in the tropics!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
Increase Physical Activity – How to increase physical activity and improve heart health
You want to be more physically active, but how do you find the time? And just how much activity do you have to do?
The number one reason people are not more active is time. We now know that accumulating short bouts of activity throughout the day to reach a total of 30 minutes most days a week provides comparable benefits to completing 30 minutes of activity all at once. There are many ways to increase your physical activity level by simply putting a twist on activities you already complete daily.
Here are some examples of how to boost your fitness when at home and work.
Home
Nothing beats increasing physical activity at home. No time wasted traveling to a gym and you can wear and look however you want! Many typical home activities result in an increased heart rate and strength building. Some examples include mowing/raking the lawn, shoveling snow, vacuuming, mopping, unloading the car, carrying groceries, and taking out the trash. Now take these everyday activities and add a little something extra. How about lunges while you vacuum, arm curls while carry your grocery bags, calf raises while brushing your teeth, and actually squatting when accessing bottom shelves? Do you log more hours than you care to admit in front of the TV? Take advantage of the commercial breaks to do 3 minutes of sit-ups or push-ups.
At the Office
Start your day by arriving at work a few minutes early so you have time to park your car farther away or if you take the bus, get off early and walk the last couple blocks. This is a simple way to add 10-15 minutes of activity to your day while also giving you some much needed time to yourself. Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator to reach your office. Be sure to take two 15 minute breaks during an eight hour work day. Use your break time to boost your fitness level by stretching or taking a walk around the building. If time gets away from you, schedule your computer to provide a “break time” reminder. Short breaks for activity throughout your work day have the added benefit of clearing your mind, boosting your energy, and making your work time more productive. Other ways to increase your activity level at work include finding a longer route to the bathroom or coffee machine and walking to a co-workers office versus reaching for the phone. A pedometer is a great tool for monitoring your activity when at the office. You can set goals to try to increase the number of steps you walk each day to improve your fitness level.
Achieving your fitness goals does not require a fancy gym membership or expensive exercise machine. A little creativity goes a long ways. Don’t miss part 2, which will include tips to boost activity when traveling, running errands, and caring for children.
Read part 2 with tips to boost physical activity here.
If you want regular support achieving your fitness and health goals, subscribe to The Heart of Health today! Now get off the couch and get moving!
Heart Health – Are Omega 6's Good or Bad?
I and other experts so frequently discuss omega 3 fatty acids and the health benefits that you may think all other types of fat are “bad”. That’s not the case. There are many types of heart healthy fats, including omega 6 fatty acids. At least 5-10% of your daily calories should come from omega 6 fatty acids. Some sources of omega 6’s are safflower, sunflower, and soybean oils. Replacing unhealthy fats in your diet with heart healthy unsaturated fats (such as omega 6’s) can decreased coronary heart disease by 24%.
The problem comes from our diets containing too much omega 6. The typical American diet is very high in omega 6 fatty acids. This leads to problems with inflammation when the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 intake is drastically distorted and is why you don’t hear experts recommending you increase omega 6’s in your diet. You probably have more than enough already and need to work on balancing your omega 6’s with omega 3’s to promote optimal heart health.
February is American Heart Month. In recognition of American Heart Month you can access Heart Health Made Easy at a 25% savings. Learn more about this take action guide to lower cholesterol and blood pressure at http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Be Heart Healthy and Lose Weight
Why am I always hungry? Are women biologically hungrier than men?
Do you frequently ask yourself – why am I always hungry?
I just read an interesting study I want to share with you. This research was done at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Thirteen men women and 10 men were asked about their favorite foods, taught a cognitive inhibition technique, and then were asked to fast overnight. The next day they received brain scans as they were presented their favorite foods. Results showed all participants indicated the cognitive-inhibition technique helped reduce their level of hunger. Interestingly, only men’s brains showed a decrease in hunger signals. Even though women stated they were less hungry, the brain scans showed their brains firing away signals to eat.
Maybe this is one reason the incidence of obesity is higher for women. It’s speculated that the difference is biological and women are programmed to eat whenever food is available as part of the ingrained need to provide nutrition to children.
February is American Heart Month. In recognition of American Heart Month you can access Heart Health Made Easy at a 25% savings. Learn more about this take action guide to lower cholesterol and blood pressure at http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
The Best Way to Lose Weight
How to Lower Triglycerides for a Lower Total Cholesterol
I’ve recently answered several questions related to triglycerides. These questions range from “What are triglycerides?” to “My triglycerides are 400, do I need to worry?” on to “Help, my triglycerides are 1200, how do I fix this?”
So, I’m going to answer all these questions here for those of you who are wondering, but haven’t asked.
What are triglycerides?
Triglycerides are a type of fat. Actually, they’re the most common type of fat in foods and in your body. When you eat foods containing fat and oil, such as butter, French fries, and chocolate chip cookies, the body takes the fat and stores it in your body as triglycerides. So, all those “fat cells” in your body are made up of triglycerides.
What do triglycerides have to do with cholesterol?
When you see your MD, he or she may order a “lipid panel” (lipid is a fancy term for fat). From the lipid panel you will learn your total cholesterol, HDL (good) cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol, and triglycerides.
Total cholesterol = HDL + LDL + VLDL
Well, what in the world is VLDL? Not something you’ve probably seen or heard of before. VLDL is an acronym for Very Low Density Lipoproteins, another “bad” type of cholesterol. Triglycerides are used to calculate VLDL levels in your blood.
Triglycerides x 20% = VLDL (bad) cholesterol
Also, the liver uses triglycerides as fuel for cholesterol production. So, if you eat a high fat (triglyceride) diet, the liver will increase its’ production of cholesterol and put more cholesterol out into your blood.
What is a normal triglyceride level?
You want your triglycerides to be below 200 mg/dL. Borderline high triglycerides are from 200-500 mg/dL. Triglycerides are high risk above 500 mg/dL.
Some experts argue that 200 mg/dL is too high and that a normal level should be less than 150 mg/dL. The numbers I’ve listed above are the current guidelines from the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert’s Panel.
If your triglycerides are high your heart disease risk increases.
What you can do when lowering triglycerides?
1. Limit simple sugars.
Unlike other types of cholesterol, triglycerides are affected by sugars you eat. You need to limit foods such as soft drinks, candy, baked goods, syrup, table sugar, jelly, and honey. A high intake of fruit juice can also raise triglyceride levels since juice contains a high content of natural sugars.
2. Limit alcohol.
If your triglycerides are borderline high or high risk, discuss your alcohol intake with your MD. My recommendation for borderline high (200-500 mg/dL) is to limit alcohol to no more than 1 drink per day for women, 2 drinks per day for men. One drink equals 12 ounces beer, 4 oz wine, or 1 ½ ounces liquor. If your triglyceride level is high risk (great than 500 mg/dL) I recommend NO alcohol. Again, discuss your situation with your MD.
3. Lose weight and/or maintain a healthy weight.
Many times weight loss alone will lower your triglycerides. Losing as little as 10% body weight could drop your triglycerides back to the normal range.
4. Choose a low-fat diet.
To achieve lower triglyceride levels, maintain a dietary intake of 30% or less of total calories coming from fat. A healthy diet for normal triglyceride levels should consist of whole grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and lean meat.
5. Increase your physical activity.
Boosting your activity can lower your triglycerides up to 40%. If you’re not currently active, talk to your MD before starting an activity program. To reduce triglycerides, be physically active at least 30 minutes on 3 or more days each week. The more activity the better.
Triglycerides aren’t all bad. They provide efficient energy storage, cushion your organs, transport certain vitamins, and keep you warm by providing insulation. What’s important is to keep them under control!
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
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Heart Health Made Easy: Master the Basics to Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol for a Longer, Healthier Life
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Physical Activity Benefits – Why should you be active?
Okay, in the previous two posts, we’ve covered how much physical activity is needed and I mentioned different intensities requiring different time commitments.
A simple measure of your workout intensity is the talk test. If you can carry on a conversation while taking a breath every 3-4 words, you’re probably at a moderate intensity level. If you are working out hard enough that you can only say a few words and in order to say more you have to stop to catch your breath, you’ve most likely hit a vigorous activity level.
What physical activity benefits can you expect to see by being more active this year? Here are a few:
- Improved fitness and bone health.
- Decreased coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and colon and breast cancer.
- Less depression.
- Fewer falls and better cognitive ability for older adults.
- Better pain management, function, and quality of life if you suffer from arthritis.
All right, now don’t just read this without taking action. Look at the upcoming week. Where can you add a walk or extra trip to the gym to boost your activity level closer to the desired 2 ½ hours per week?
There are 1440 minutes each day. Only 30 of them need to be active!
February is American Heart Month. In recognition of American Heart Month you can access Heart Health Made Easy at a 25% savings. Learn more about this take action guide to lower cholesterol and blood pressure at http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
