High Blood Pressure and Heart Disease
If your blood pressure stays consistently elevated you may be diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure). High blood pressure is known as the ‘silent killer’ because you may have high blood pressure and not even know it. Usually there are no symptoms. That is why it’s some important you monitor your blood pressure on a fairly regular basis.
If you do not take steps to control high blood pressure you risk long term consequences that can be fatal.
How does high blood pressure impact your body?
Let me give you a brief idea of what’s going on within your body when your blood pressure is elevated.
How to Use Flaxseed to Lower Cholesterol
Flaxseed is high in dietary fiber and omega 3 fatty acids. Both of which you need to increase in your diet as your work to lower cholesterol levels. Here are 10 ways you can incorporate flaxseed into your diet.
- Sprinkle on your cereal every morning. . .hot or cold.
- Add to pancake or waffle batter.
- Mix in your orange juice.
- Add to muffins.
- Mix in yogurt.
- Sprinkle on fresh salad greens.
- Add to cottage cheese.
- Add to spaghetti sauce, meatloaf, and lasagna.
- Add to cookie dough.
- . . . .get creative! It can be an addition to just about anything.
Grind Your Flaxseed
How does exercise lowers blood pressure?
When you exercise regularly your heart becomes stronger and more efficiently circulate blood. This means the heart doesn’t have to work so hard and it takes less force against your artery walls to circulate oxygenated blood through the body.
Being regularly active can reduce your systolic (top number) blood pressure by 5 to 10 mm Hg. However, don’t expect overnight results. It can take up to 3 months for regular exercise to impact blood pressure levels.
Apple Tops the ‘Dirty Dozen’ list
The dirty dozen is a list of product with the highest pesticide residues developed by the Environmental Working Group.
The 12 most contaminated types of produce are:
- Peaches
- Apples
- Sweet Bell Peppers
- Celery
- Nectarines
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Pears
- Grapes (Imported)
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Potatoes
According to the 2011 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, apples are the most pesticide-laden fruit. The US Department of Agriculture tested 700 apple samples and over 98% of the apples contained pesticide.
Quiz – Test Your Summer Food Safety Savvy
Avoid spoiling your summer fun with a foodborne illness. Take this quiz and check your summer food safety savvy!
This quiz was created by:
Lisa Franzen-Castle, PhD, RD
Alice Henneman, MS, RD
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
The Awesome Foursome: Four Nutrients for a Heart Health
Cardiologist Dr. Stephen Sinatra has labels four nutrients – magnesium, coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine, and D-ribose – ‘the awesome foursome’ due to patient results linked to these nutrients.
These four nutrients are involved in the production of adenosine triphosphate (i.e. cellular energy). Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is produced in the mitochondria of every cell. An ATP deficiency is linked to numerous health conditions, such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, cancer, heart failure, Alzheimer’s, and stroke.
These four nutrients can help boost the body’s production of ATP.
