Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure

Adopt Power walks

Power walks the way you go !!

Hypertensive patients who went for fitness walks at a brisk pace lowered pressure by almost 8 mmhg over 6 mm Hg.

Exercise helps the heart use oxygen more efficiently, so it doesn’t work as hard to pump blood.

Get a vigorous cardio workout of at least 30 minutes on most days of the week. Try increasing speed or distance so you keep challenging your ticker.

Be salt smart

It has been found out that Hypertensive patients usually have family history of hypertension. This has been recently found to be due to family sensitivity to salt.

Watch for sodium in processed foods, That’s where most of the sodium in your diet comes from. Try seasoned foods with spices, herbs, lemon, and salt-free seasoning blends.

20 Chocolaty facts about Chocolate

 Chocolate is certainly the most popular confectionary flavour on the planet. We consume it with a passion, in extraordinary amounts but just how much do we know about Chocolate. Here are 20 facts that I find quite interesting.

 

Chocolates !! hmmm ......

1. Research studies show that chocolate was originally used more than 2,500 years ago, beginning in Central America. It was used ceremoniously and sometimes as a form of currency.

2. The name chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocalati meaning bitter water. Not surprising, considering they made a drink, by mixing cacao beans with chillies, achiote, cornmeal, and some reports suggest the inclusion hallucinogenic Mushrooms (probably helped to get over the taste).

3. More than 66 percent of the worlds cacao is produced in Africa and 98 percent of the worlds cocoa is produced by just 15 countries.

4. Women eat and crave more for chocolate than men.

5. Crave for chocolate can only satisfied by Chocolate only ( No Substitutes).

6. Chocolate produces the effects of a mild anti-depressant by increasing serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain. Most depressed women consume more chocolate

7. Chocolate contains a small quantity of caffeine emulates a mild amphetamine.

8. Although not scientifically proven, chocolate is believed by many, to be an aphrodisiac. The theory is supported by the fact that chocolate does contain among many chemicals the stimulants: caffeine, theobromine, and phenylethylamine.

9. Cocoa butter is a by-product produced from the crushing of roasted cacao beans, and although used in the chocolate making process, it is also used in a number of cosmetic products including massage oils and skin cosmetics. It is one of the most stable, highly concentrated natural fats known. It melts at just below average body temperature and therefore it is easily dissolved into the skin, making it the ideal foundation in moisturising creams and other such products.

10. About 40 percent of almonds produced in the world are made for chocolate products. Without chocolate, the almond is nothing!

10 Health Benefits of a Low Carbohydrate Food

Low-carb diets have been controversial for since a long time.

People believed that these diets would raise cholesterol and cause heart disease because of the high fat content

But after many human studies conducted on low-carb diets, low-carb diets come out ahead of the diets they are compared to.

  

Not only does low-carb cause more weight loss, it also leads to major improvements in most risk factor such as cholesterol.

The 10 Health Benefits of a Low Carbohydrate Diet are

1. More weight Loss with low carb diet

Cutting carbs is one of the simplest and most effective ways to lose weight. Studies show that people on low-carb diets lose more weight, faster, than people on low-fat diets, even when the low-fat dieters are actively restricting calories.

One of the reasons is that low-carb diets tend to get rid of excess water from the body.

Since they lower insulin levels, the kidneys start shedding excess sodium, leading to rapid weight loss in the first week or two.

In studies comparing low-carb and low-fat diets, the low-carbers sometimes lose 2-3 times as much weight, without being hungry.

Think of low-carb as a lifestyle, NOT a diet. The only way to succeed in the long-term is to stick to it. However, some people may be able to add in healthy carbs after they have reached their goal weight.

10 Home Remedies That Work

Want to calm a cough or prevent a cold? Here are some tips that work

We spend billions every year on over-the-counter health remedies for everything from canker sores to aching muscles, but in some cases there's no need to shell out a lot of money to find relief. All you need to do is check your cupboards for some surprising home remedies.

We spend so much money on medicines and visit to doctor for simple illnesses, Here are few remedies which can lessen your burden on healthcare expenditure

The 10 we picked are cheap, easy to find, and there's actual scientific proof that they work.

1. Honey. 

Just one spoonful can help quiet a nighttime cough better than over-the-counter cough syrups or suppressants.

Honey coats and soothes an irritated throat to help calm repeated coughing. It is recommended to take two teaspoons . But patients need to be cautious and be sure that their reason for cough is common cold
Also, honey does have a high sugar content, which may be harmful to people with Diabetes

Surprising facts about Fat and Oil

There has been rising trend to stop consuming fat or foods rich in fat or cholesterol. Eliminating dietary fats is not good for the body.

While it is impossible to eliminate them totally as fat is found in most foods, it is necessary to have fats in our meal

Oils are important part of food

Dietary fats help with many functions in the body:

• Protect your organs
• Help keep your body warm.
• Fats help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K and stores them in the liver and in fatty tissues for future use.
• Cholesterol, produced by fat, is essential for production of important hormones like estrogen and testosterone.

Yes, we need fat but not as much as we usually eat.