What May Cause High Blood Pressure?
There are times when it is normal for the heart to beat harder, such as if you are out hiking and encounter a bear. Your blood pressure will jump so larger levels of oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood is sent through your system and you are able to react. All part of the flight or fight response.
When you are diagnosed with high blood pressure your blood pressure is not just high for limited periods of time. It is consistently elevated. This means the heart is constantly working harder than it should.
Here are 7 reasons your heart may be dealing with this increased workload:
1. Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) – This may be caused by cholesterol deposits along arterial walls resulting in plaque buildup. Fibrosis or endothelial dysfunction may also result in narrower arteries.
When arteries narrow the heart has to pump harder (exert more force) to move blood throughout the system.
Continue reading9 Mobile Health Apps to Support Heart Health
Health Related Apps Are Expanding
There has been a worldwide increased emphasize on health and fitness, this means businesses in this industry are going to do all they can to take advantage of this growing market of consumers. . . us.
According to the “Mobile Devices and mHealth” report by ABI, it’s projected that mobile health care application will grow from a $120 million dollar marketplace in 2010 to $400 million in 2016. It’s anticipated that new technologies will enhance the effectiveness of fitness applications to transmit data between mobile devices to better complement the workout experience.
Do you have a smart phone or other mobile device you can use to take advantage of these applications? These apps are a tool you can use to support your healthy diet and lifestyle changes.
Here are 5 heart health apps to check out:
Self Improvement Gift Giveaway
You can now get instant access to 100s of downloadable self help gifts at NO COST to yourself.
Yep, you heard me right…for FREE!
All you have to do is go here: http://selfimprovementgifts6.com/go/490
So, if you have found yourself going round in circles time and time again just trying to improve things in your life, but find yourself getting nowhere fast, then I’m pleased to tell you that it is now easily within your reach to change things during 2012.
HOWEVER, just like anything in life there is a downside here – BUT don’t panic because if you act fast you won’t miss out.
The Yale Heart Study Needs Study Participants
The Yale Heart Study is concerned with how people get medical care when they are having symptoms of a heart attack. They are asking people who have had a heart attack to share their experiences at their their website: http://heartstudy.yale.edu The goal of this study is to help people get care as quickly as possible when they are having heart attack symptoms.
The study is being conducted on the internet and takes about 30 minutes to an hour to complete depending on your experiences. Participation in this study is completely anonymous. The study has been approved by the Yale University Institutional Review Board and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. If you have any questions about this study please contact heart.study@yale.edu
If you know of someone who has had a heart attack, there is a place on the website for you to invite them to participate in the study.
Here’s the study address, again, is http://heartstudy.yale.edu
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://lisanelsonrd.com
Spirulina: The Super Food?
Have you heard of spirulina? I’ve heard of this food being referred to as a super food, but I’ve not looked into it much until today. Let me share what I’ve learned.
What is spirulina?
Spirulina would be comparable to a sea vegetable such as kelp or wakame. Spirulina is both a human and animal food or supplement. It’s a member of the “blue-green” family, but it’s not considered algae. It’s actually a type of bacteria – cyanobacteria. Its primary source includes two species of cyanobacteria: Arthrospira platensis and Arthrospira maxima. Japan is currently the largest producer and consumer of spirulina.
Spirulina can be purchased as a tablet, flake, or powder.
What nutrients are provided by spirulina?
The Effect of Inflammation on Weight Loss
If you are to successfully lose weight you will likely focus on eating fewer calories and increasing your activity to burn more calories. It’s important that you also address inflammation on your journey to lose weight.
Research on mice has shown a “switch” controlling inflammation in the hypothalamus (region of the brain that regulates energy) becomes “flipped on” in response to high fat diets. It also shows that “overnutrition” (i.e. eating too much) turns on this inflammatory switch.
An increased level of inflammation leads our cells to become resistant to insulin and leptin.
Insulin plays a messenger role in that it tells cells it is time to take in glucose (sugar). If cells become resistant to insulin, they ignore the message that it is time to take in more glucose, glucose is converted to fatty acids, and is stored by our fat cells. If insulin resistance is persistent, eventually the fat cells will no longer respond and increased levels of fatty acids will remain in circulation.
Leptin is a hormone that triggers satiety. This is your body’s way of telling you you’ve had enough to eat. When production of leptin is hindered, we do not feel satisfied and tend to eat more.
As inflammation causes the cells to ignore the messages of insulin and leptin, you are more likely to consume more calories (because you still feel hungry) and potentially store increased levels of fat due to the increased level of circulating fatty acids.
