Knowing about your body can be very beneficial to your health as you age. Knowing about your blood pressure can help prevent strokes, heart disease and kidney disease. In this article you will find everything you should know about your blood pressure.
Anyone can have high blood pressure. It doesn’t matter your age, race, ethnicity or gender. Many people suffer from high blood pressure and have a higher risk of strokes and heart diseases than those with regular blood pressure.

What is high blood pressure?

High blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries. Your blood pressure is always rising and falling throughout the day and if it rises and stays that way over time, you have high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is usually referred to as hypertension. When you have high blood pressure it puts more pressure on the heart, making it work harder than usual. This is why you end up at risk for strokes or heart disease.

What is the normal blood pressure level?

The normal blood pressure level is less than 120 over 80 or less. The first number is your systolic pressure and the second number is your diastolic pressure. Your numbers are read 120 over 80, etc. If your pressure is 140 over 90 or higher you have high blood pressure.

What is systolic blood pressure? This is the force of blood in your arteries when your heart is beating.

What is diastolic blood pressure? This is the force of blood in your arteries when your heart is relaxing.

What are the risk factors of high blood pressure?

The most common risks of high blood pressure are stroke and heart disease. There are a few other risk factors that can be modified and some that cannot be. The following are some risks:

* Tobacco * Physical Inactivity * Diabetes * Abnormal Cholesterol * Being overweight

Who can get high blood pressure?

Unfortunately anyone can get high blood pressure but it is more common among African Americans. Nearly one in three American adults has high blood pressure. African Americans also have a much higher death rate from kidney disease and stroke than white Americans. Even so, with treatment you can help lower your blood pressure.

How can I lower my blood pressure?

Fortunately there are many different ways of helping to lower your blood pressure. Exercise is a great way to lower it. Doing physical activity will make your heart stronger over time. If you have a stronger heart it can pump blood easier lessening your risks of stroke and kidney diseases. It is never too late to start exercising!

If you are concerned about your blood pressure consult your physician. Ask any and all questions you might have and find the best way for you to lower it. If all regular ways fail, consider medication. Talk with your doctor about your health and lifestyle so he can choose the best medicine for you. If you want to live a healthy life, taking control of your blood pressure is very important.

About the Author
Visit Daves Health Buzz for more articles on blood pressure health http://www.daveshealthbuzz.com/blood-pressure

Technorati Tags: exercise, health

Share This

Diabetes is the process of your body not processing food properly. This disorder can effect your energy and growth. Food we eat turns to glucose and when you have diabetes the food you eat is not broken down into glucose. Glucose is the basic source of energy for the human body.

There are 3 types of diabetes, Type-1, Type-2 and Gestational diabetes. The worst type and the one you will most likely not want to have is a Type 1 because this is where your body turns against itself. In Type 1 diabetes the bodies immune system turns against your internal organs and attacks the insulin produced in the pancreas. People with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin shots daily in order to stay alive.

Type 2 diabetes is the most common because it is often caused by being overweight and today’s society there is a big obesity problem which helps contribute to this type of diabetes. In Type 2 the body makes enough insulin but for some reason the body does not use much of it, if it uses any at all. Symptoms include blurred vision, weight loss, fatigue and wounds that take a long time to heal.

The last kind of diabetes is called Gestational Diabetes. This is most often encountered with women who are pregnant or are late in their pregnancy. This form of diabetes usually will go away after the birth of the child. However, women who get this form of diabetes are more like to develop Type 2 diabetes later on in life.

For more information on this subject be sure to visit Diabetic Diets

Or maybe you would like to read more about Natural Weight Loss

Technorati Tags: diet, weight loss

Share This

Upper back pain can be just as painful and difficult to tolerate and live with as lower back pain. It is essential that there are exercises available for people with upper back discomfort. Following a simple and easy to understand exercise regimen for upper back pain can be a productive way to reduce your discomfort.

Proper exercises can be obtained from books, video, medical professionals, and online sources. However, when starting out with an exercise program to help reduce the pain it could be helpful to have a professional like a physical therapist or trainer to go through the exercises with you first.

The professional may be able to offer some simple and easy tips for exercises that are specific to your condition or illness. Then once the exercises are learned you can continue the process at home and not necessarily always have to return to the medical professional’s office.

Some upper back pain relief exercises that are quite easy to follow involve some very simple stretching motions. The exercises can become more intense and offer more of a stretch when they include the arms and shoulders.

The first exercise is pulling your shoulder blades back, moving them towards each other, and then stretching your arms out to the side to open the rib cage. The upper back should be pushed forward when this is done and that will alleviate some of the tension which could be causing pain. The muscles in the front and the back of the spine are stretched and then this does a few things. It increases circulation, strengthens muscles, and relaxes the muscles.

The second set of exercises are following the same as the first exercise but stretching the arms above the head. This allows a deeper stretch and therefore may provide more relief. The more the upper back is flatted, the more intense the stretch, and then the more relief that can be obtained.

The upper back is typically where people carry their stress. This stress caused pain can be alleviated often by following upper back pain relief exercises. It is always a positive thing when medications and intense expensive therapies are not needed. Many people who get upper back pain will practice yoga in order to not only relieve the pain, but it’s also productive in preventing upper back pain from happening again.

This is especially true when the pain is caused by stress. The meditative elements of yoga make for a peaceful and calm atmosphere. Yoga gyms and places of practice can be found in your local directory. The professionals there can offer advice on back pain reduction as well.

John Groth is a back pain sufferer who has solved his back problems. For more valuable information on Upper Back Pain Relief and for a free report on the Relief of Back Pain, you’ll also find guides on his web site on a full range of Back Pain Solutions

Technorati Tags: exercise

Share This

You’ve heard the statistics, and you’ve seen the numbers. The number of overweight Americans is approaching 50%. Obesity levels are around 34% for all adults over the age of 20. The Standard Western Diet is loaded with foods with large amounts of sugar, fat and processed foods, which have been associated with unhealthy lifestyles such as cardiac disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Weight loss and weight gain can be reduced to simple math. Calorie weight loss happens when you use more calories than you take in

The purpose of any calorie intake for weight loss program is to finish with a negative balance. Or to put it another way, the total number of calories that you eat daily is less than the total number of calories you use by exercising and general living. This negative balance will result in weight loss.

This sounds easier than it really is to accomplish. Just be certain that you take in less calories per day by eating than you use up by living. Sounds simple, doesn’ it? Unfortunately, there are many factors that try to interfere with this simple formula. Such factors such as emotional eating disorders, various health issues, pregnancy or nursing will interfere with the ability to maintain a negative calorie intake for weight loss diet, whether it be a specific diet such as the Atkins Diet or Jennie Craig, or a diet that you created yourself.

Because it is so difficult for many people to maintain this negative calorie intake for weight loss diet, many have tried to find a simpler solution, such as a “magic” diet pill, surgery, patch or food. It has even led to the notion that there are certain foods that have a negative impact on calories because they supposedly take more calories to convert them to energy than they have stored in them.

You’ll learn that the negative calorie foods are supposedly asparagus, broccoli, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, carrot, garlic, papaya, spinach, turnip, zucchini, apples, oranges, lettuce, grapefruit, pineapples, strawberries and raspberries. The reasoning is that you can eat as much of these foods that you want, since they supply important nutrients, plus the added feature that you burn more calories getting to these nutrients than you gain from eating them

But look around at the animal kingdom. Herbivores are doing just fine, thank you, eating their fruits and berries. Calories must be present in these so-called negative foods, albeit in a smaller amount.

One pound of body weight is equivalent to 3500 calories. In order to lose one pound you have to have a calorie deficit of 3500 calories. That’s a simple enough math equation to remember. But remember too that this negative calorie weight loss deficit doesn’t happen in the course of one day.

For instance, let’s say that you normally eat 1800 calories per day to maintain your normal body weight. You then decrease your intake to 1500 calories while increasing the amount of exercise by 200 calories/day. It will take approximately 7 days to lose one pound. Weight loss is simply a mathematical equation that works when you apply it to your calorie weight loss program.

Gaining two or three pounds in one day is next to impossible. This is an example of water weight gain, or the body conserving water at the cellular level. This usually happens to the body during times of stress. You can easily lose the excess water stored in the body by actually increasing the amount of water you drink. The body then realizes that it has a source water and no longer retains anything extra, resulting in a loss of weight.

A negative calorie intake for weight loss schedule combined with increased calorie usage results in a safe weight loss program that becomes permanent as you acclimate yourself to the changes. Studies have also shown that weight loss becomes more permanent if exercise is made part of the general negative calorie weight loss program.

About the Author
Discover How to Get Yourself Properly Motivated to Stay on Your Diet. Get your free report ‘How to Take Your Dieting To the Next Level.” by downloading it here: Motivation for Dieting Success

Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, health, weight loss

Share This

The American Obesity Problem is a growing in the United States. Over the last two decades the obesity rate among adults in the United States has more than doubled. It is now regarded as the second leading cause of preventable death in the nation after smoking cigarettes and most health experts believe that the obesity problem will soon surpass cigarette smoking and become the #1 cause of preventable deaths in America.

Researchers believe that among the consequences of obesity is an increased risk of diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep disorders, and cancer. The president of the American Obesity Association has said that “Obesity is killing 300 thousand people a year, so that’s an epidemic, it’s a serious problem.” Indeed, as other countries prosper, we see the same phenomenon.

Medical experts have concluded a long time ago that it is caused by a combination of genetics, overeating, and lack of exercise. Just look at the size of the servings at a typical American reataurant! There is also one another theory which is gaining great momentum in the scientific community and it is that certain viruses may be responsible for some cases of obesity. Scientists are also of the opinion that this has been proven in animals and not yet in humans. The virus theory put forth by some scientists is controversial. And has also charged up the debate over whether to classify obesity as a disease and how much tax-payers should be paying to treat it.

The best way to treat the American Obesity problem is through proper education. The inhabitants of the nation must be made aware of what type of food is best for them. Proper nutrition should be a part of school programs and there should only be healthy foods served in schools.

The restaurants should also come up with smaller meal portions which would be healthy for their customers. The people of the nation must also study and know what are carbohydrates and saturated fats related to the bodies so they can opt to choose and select a correct and healthy meal for themselves. Their must be a greater awareness of food not as entertainment but as fuel for the body. Think about it this way, would you put a gallon of mud in your car instead of a gallon of gasoline? No, of course not. So why would you put sugars and fats in your body instead of protein? It makes just as little sense. Our bodies run on the food we put into it. Put good fuel into it, and you’ll run better!

Another huge issue in this country is people not getting enough exercise. This should start in the schools with mandatory Physical Education for all students. We have become more and more sedentary nation. Many of us work all day in offices and then go home and watch TV all night. Where’s the physical activity? This has a direct connect with our metabolic rates and how we metabolise the food we eat.

Obesity is calculated by the Body Mass Index (BMI) which is basically weight divided by height. While BMI is quite accurate for most people it is not accurate for very muscular people as muscle weighs more than fat. An example of this is that Michael Jordan at his peak playing condition would be considered overweight by a BMI calculation although he clearly had very little in the way of fat on his body at this time.

Mandie Zoot is a contributer to the Natural Weight Loss Blog where you can follow the “Token Fat Girl” as she loses weight the all natural way without diet pills or fad diets.

Technorati Tags: diet, exercise, health, weight loss

Share This