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Dr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 2

Published April 1, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Here are more of the questions and answers from my interview with Dr. Mark Houston in February 2010.

Lisa Nelson RD: Is there a connection between blood pressure and heart rate?

Dr. Houston: If blood pressure increases, normally the heart rate should decrease. However, in some patient with dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system the heart rate may increase with the blood pressure.

Lisa Nelson RD: Blood pressure fluctuation – What causes blood pressure to fluctuate drastically throughout the day? Is it something to worry about?

Dr. Houston: Most people have fluctuations during the day due to the normal circadian rhythm (high in AM and low in PM). Stress, anger, eating, exercise, rest, meditation, coffee are some of the things that will alter blood pressure. About 60 % of patients that drink coffee have increase blood pressure for several hours after consumption.

Lisa Nelson RD: What is the risk of not treating high blood pressure? For example, someone has a blood pressure of 160/100, but they feel perfectly fine. Why should they be concerned and seek treatment?

Dr. Houston: Heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney failure, loss of vision, aortic rupture, valve dysfunction, atherosclerosis. Hypertension is the silent killer. At this level the arteries will be damaged over time and all of these complications will occur. At that high level of blood pressure one will decrease life expectancy by about 15 years or more.

Lisa Nelson RD: Do blood pressure recommendations change with age?

Dr. Houston: A normal blood pressure is 120/80 regardless of age. If it goes up with age it means the arteries are not healthy, but very stiff.

Lisa Nelson RD: What is a normal blood pressure response post exercise? How quickly should heart rate return to normal post exercise?

Dr. Houston: Blood pressure will fall for several hours after exercise depending on hydration status and severity and length of exercise. Usually systolic (top number) blood pressure falls about 10-15 mm Hg and diastolic (bottom number) 5-10 mm Hg. Heart rate should return to normal within 2 minutes post exercise.

Part 1 – Top Heart Health Questions Answered By Dr. Houston

I’ll be posting more of the Q&A with Dr. Houston over the next few weeks. Sign-up for the e-course 7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure and you’ll also be notified when the new blog posts are added.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://www.lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com

Posted in Heart Health, Lower Blood Pressure | Tagged blood pressure, blood pressure fluctuation, exercise, heart rate, lisa nelson, mark houston, natural ways to lower blood pressure, post exercise

5 Tips to Prepare Healthy Meals Quickly

Published March 31, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Do you need to get in and out of the kitchen fast? Here are 5 tips to speed up meal prep while still delivering a heart healthy meal:

Purchase vegetables, such as baby carrots and salad greens, pre-washed and ready-to-eat.
Select fruit packaged and pre-sliced.
Use the microwave to cook vegetables quickly.
Find recipes that require minimal cleaning and preparation of ingredients.
Choose meats at the store with low levels of visible marbling (white, fatty streaks) to decrease time spent removing the fat.

If you have a good tip, feel free to share below!

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Heart Health Made Easy
http://www.hearthealthmadeeasy.com

Posted in Heart Health | Tagged healthy meals, heart health, quick meals

Obesity Rates Have Stabilized

Published March 30, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Researchers periodically evaluate data from NHANES (National Healthy and Nutrition Examination Survey). Recently rates of obesity were compared over the past 50 years.

Between 1960-1980 the number of adults who were obese stayed relatively stable. Between 1976-1980 and 1988-1994 data the number of obese adults in the US increased 8 percentage points. Then between 1999-2000 data reported further increases in the number of U.S. obese adults.

Well, the latest research has been analyzed again and the good news is that the percentage of obese women did not significantly increase between 1999 and 2008.

If obesity is not longer increasing, that is great news; but the fact that 68% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese and 32% of U.S. school children are above the 85th percentile BMI-for-age leaves plenty of room for concern.

It’s still critical that individuals who are overweight or obese take steps to lose the extra pounds. Obesity is a major health risk increasing risk for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer.

Overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) between 25-29.9.
Obesity is defined as a body mass index above 30.0.

Don’t know where you fall? Here’s a how to calculate your BMI:

Weight divided by height divided by height x 703 = BMI

Here’s an example:

Height = 64 inches
Weight = 150 pounds

150 divided by 64 divided by 64 x 703 = 25.7 (overweight)

The first step is to evaluate your situation and outline a plan of action. A Mini Diet Makeover will complete this for you – https://www.lisanelsonrd.com/minidietmakeover.html.

Have you been successful losing weight? I’d love to hear your story. You can share your story as a comment below.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
1-A-Week Weight Loss Tips
http://www.weightlosswithlisa.com

Posted in Heart Health, Lose Weight | Tagged bmi, lose weight, mini diet makeover, obese, obesity, overweight, weight loss, weight loss tips

4 Benefits of a High Fiber Diet

Published March 25, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Current recommendations are to consume 25-35 grams of dietary fiber everyday. Here are 4 benefits you’ll receive from achieving the recommended intake.

1. Lower cholesterol and stabilized blood sugar/insulin levels.

2. Regularity to prevent constipation and diverticulosis (small out-pouchings from the large intestine).

3. Reduced risk of colon cancer.

4. Increased satiety – you’ll feel full when eating less calories and fat to promote weight loss.

Some of the best fiber sources include fruits and vegetables!

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
How to Lower Cholesterol in 8 Simple Steps
http://www.lowercholesterolwithlisa.com

Posted in Heart Health, Lose Weight, Lower Cholesterol | Tagged cholesterol, constipation, dietary fiber, fiber, fruits, satiety, vegetables, weight loss

4 Diet Mistakes That Lead to Weight Gain

Published March 18, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

Aging throws some hurdles into your heart health and weight loss plans. For one your metabolism drops every decade as you age. Here are some mistakes to avoid if you want to see success:

1. Eating the same way you did 10-20 years ago.

Your metabolism (the rate you burn calories) decreases about 2% every 10 years beginning at age 30. If you continue to eat the same amount year after year you will gain weight.

2. Skipping meals.

May temporarily “save calories”, but you’ll quickly replace the calories as hunger leads you to overindulge at the next meal. Skipping meals can also cause your metabolism to slow down.

3. Jumping from fad diet to fad diet.

Fad diet should be synonymous with “bad diet”. There’s no research to back up the claims that eliminating this food or adding that one will cause you to lose weight. Nor will eating at only certain times of the day give you the long term results you seek.

4. Keeping unhealthy snacks within reach.

If you only have potato chips and sweets in your cupboards you are not setting yourself up for success. You must keep fruits and vegetables and healthy high fiber snacks on hand if you are to be expected to include more in your diet.

What are some of your habits that are sabotaging your success? I’d love to hear them. Share as a comment below.

Here’s a link to 1-A-Week Weight Loss Tips – http://www.weightlosswithlisa.com.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Best Weight Loss Plan
http://www.bestweightlossplan.org

Posted in Heart Health, Lose Weight | Tagged best weight loss plan, diet, healthy, lose weight, metabolism, mistakes, snacks, weight loss, weight loss tips

Dr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 1

Published March 17, 2010 | By Lisa Nelson, RD

I had the opportunity to interview hypertension expert Dr. Mark Houston last month (February 2010). Here are three of the questions he answered.

Lisa Nelson RD: It is typically recommended that cholesterol medications be taken prior to bed. Would you explain the reason why? Also, is there a best time of day to take blood pressure medication?

Dr. Houston: Statins work best at night to inhibit an enzyme in the liver when cholesterol production is the highest. Blood pressure medications are best taken at night to reduce the early morning increase in blood pressure which is highest between 3 AM and 10AM.

Lisa Nelson RD: If you discontinue a blood pressure medication how long does it stay in your system?

Dr. Houston: It depends on the duration of action of the medication. Some of the longer acting medications may last for 24 to 72 hours. However most are gone in 24 hours or less. Never stop any blood pressure medication abruptly especially beta blockers and clonidine, as withdrawal may occur with rapid increases in blood pressure, heart rate, headache, chest pain, palpitations and even heart attack or stroke.

Lisa Nelson RD: When someone has uncontrolled systolic blood pressure (diastolic tends to be within normal) what are steps they can take to promote control of systolic blood pressure?

Dr. Houston: Low salt, high magnesium intake, high potassium intake, fruits and vegetables, exercise, weight loss. The best medications for Systolic blood pressure are ACEI, ARB and CCB. Diuretics and beta blockers are less effective. High systolic usually means stiff arteries.

I’ll be posting more of the Q&A with Dr. Houston over the next few weeks. Sign-up for the e-course 7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure and you’ll also be notified when the new blog posts are added.

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://www.lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com

Posted in Heart Health, Lower Blood Pressure, Lower Cholesterol | Tagged blood pressure, cholesterol medication, houston, hypertension, interview, lisa nelson, mark, statins, systolic blood pressure

Dr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 2

5 Tips to Prepare Healthy Meals Quickly

Obesity Rates Have Stabilized

4 Benefits of a High Fiber Diet

4 Diet Mistakes That Lead to Weight Gain

Dr. Houston Answers Your Top Heart Health Questions – Part 1

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