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"The risk of heart disease is reduced by a third in non-meat-eaters\n- Use Food to Make New Friends, Say Bonobos\n- Some People Have Armpits That Never Smell; Most Still Use Deodorant\n- A Physically Aggressive Response to Puppies Is 'Completely Normal'\nPROBLEM: While plenty of people become vegetarians for ethical reasons, others (myself included) adopt the diet for its purported health benefits -- and, perhaps more importantly, for the health benefits of not eating meat.\nMETHODOLOGY: For \"the largest study ever conducted in the UK comparing rates of heart disease between vegetarians and non-vegetarians,\" researchers at the University of Oxford drew upon data from almost 45,000 participants in a long term study. A full 34 percent of the people in the sample were vegetarians (none ate meat and fish; the study doesn't specify how many were vegans).\nOver an average of eleven years of follow-up, they tracked the participants' hospital (and death) records, controlling for age, health, and lifestyle factors. For a smaller subset, they also recorded their blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels.\nRESULTS: The self-proclaimed vegetarians had a 32 percent reduced risk of both fatal and non-fatal heart disease, accompanied by lower blood pressures and cholesterol levels, as compared to non-vegetarians. They consumed, on average, more cheese, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and less milk.\nVegetarians also had lower BMIs and fewer cases of diabetes -- when the results were adjusted to exclude the effects of body weight, their risk reduction remained at 28 percent.\nIMPLICATIONS: The researchers believe that the lowered blood pressure and cholesterol in vegetarians explains most of their reduced risk. They showed, above else, that diet is important in protecting against heart disease. Just as it's possible to do vegetarianism wrong (regardless of what Congress says, pizza is not a vegetable), incorporating more vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes into any diet will probably be associated with health benefits, too.\nThe full study, \"Risk of hospitalization or death from ischemic heart disease among British vegetarians and nonvegetarians: results from the EPIC-Oxford cohort study,\" is published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition." |
"The new report analyses the results of numerous published studies and concludes that vegetarian populations have lower rates of hypertension. This report, authored by nutritionist Susan E. Berkow, Ph.D., C.N.S., and Neal D. Barnard, M.D., is the lead article in the January issue of the peer-reviewed journal Nutrition Reviews.\nVegetarians tend to be slimmer, on average, and that is one reason their blood pressure is often in the healthy range. Other mechanisms include vegetarians' higher intake of potassium as well as the tendency of plant-based foods to modulate blood viscosity. As blood pressure is lowered, vegetarian populations experience a reduced risk of stroke, heart attack, and kidney failure.\n\"Many people fear the side effects of blood pressure-lowering drugs, along with the expense. Our analysis of 80 scientific studies suggests that a vegetarian diet may be a simple, drug-free treatment for the 'silent killer',\" says Dr Berkow. \"My advice to people at risk for hypertension is to substitute a veggie burger for a hamburger tonight and have pasta marinara without the meatballs tomorrow. After about six weeks of such simple changes you might see your blood pressure - and your body weight - begin to drop.\"\nBecause high blood pressure is dangerous, the researchers caution that individuals should see their doctors and assess whether diet alone is sufficient, or whether drugs are also needed.\nBerkow and Barnard summarised that several randomised clinical trials have shown that blood pressure is lowered when animal products are replaced with vegetable products in both normotensives and hypertensives. The beneficial expected consequences of a reduction in blood pressure include a reduction in major coronary events.\nVegetarians have been shown to have a lower incidence of coronary heart disease, ischemic heart disease and a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease-related death compared to non-vegetarians.\nMEDICA.de; Source: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine" |
"Heart attack and stroke, two of our top killers, are usually caused by high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. High blood pressure is nicknamed \"The Silent Killer,\" because you can't feel it.\nThe only way to know you have it is to have it checked. Shockingly, one in three American adults has high blood pressure. That's about 80 million people. Sadly, about 20 percent of those folks don't even know they have it and are walking around like ticking time-bombs.\nSome of the people who are aware they have high blood pressure take medicine to try to control it. However, the sad truth is, only about half of the people with high blood pressure are managing it well.\nThe good news is there is a diet that's guaranteed to lower blood pressure.\nIn fact, people who stick to it find they no longer need their medication. It's called the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.\nWhat's on the DASH Diet:\n- whole grains\n- low-fat dairy\nWhat's NOT on the DASH Diet:\n- Trans Fats\n- Refined Grains (white flour)\n- Processed Foods\nDuke researcher Dr. Dori Steinberg is the author of an article published in this month's JAMA, (Journal of the American Medical Association) about the amazing benefits of the DASH diet. She told CBN News there's overwhelmingly strong evidence that the DASH diet lowers blood pressure in as little as two weeks for all ages and races.\nThe problem, according to Dr. Steinberg, is that even thought the DASH diet has been recommended to patients with high blood pressure for the last 20 years, a mere one percent follow it. Furthermore, she said only 20 percent of patients with hypertension follow the DASH diet about half the time.\nDr. Steinberg told CBN News the reason so few people follow the diet is because Americans are constantly bombarded with unhealthy food. In other words, she said it's too easy to eat the wrong foods.\nShe said people who want to follow the DASH diet usually have to make an extra effort to choose wisely. Often, but not always, this involves buying whole foods at the grocery store and eating at home or packing a lunch. Vending machines and fast food, while more convenient, typically do not conform to the DASH diet.\nOn top of that, she said the DASH diet tends to cost more than eating unhealthy food. But she suggested techniques that can lower the cost, such as purchasing frozen fruits and vegetables, which cost less than fresh. She also recommends eating lots of beans, which are inexpensive.\nAvoiding soda and desserts will also save money, she pointed out." |
"The DASH diet was initially developed to help patients lower their blood pressure, but a large study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) demonstrates that women who followed the diet also significantly reduced their risk of developing heart failure. The findings offer still more evidence that a diet high in plant foods and low in sugar and saturated fats is good for your cardiac health.\n\"High blood pressure is always of concern because it has the potential to lead to major adverse events, including strokes, heart attacks and heart failure,\" explains senior author Emily Levitan, ScD, a research fellow in the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Center at BIDMC. She and her coauthors, therefore, hypothesized that the DASH diet (short for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) would also reduce a woman's risk of heart failure through its blood pressure lowering effects as well as its secondary effects on cholesterol and other heart-disease risk factors. The DASH diet, which has been shown to lower blood pressure in randomized clinical studies, is plentiful in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. \"These foods are high in potassium, magnesium, calcium and fiber, moderately high in protein, and low in saturated fat and total fat,\" explains Levitan.\nA life-threatening condition that develops when the heart can no longer pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, heart failure (also known as congestive heart failure) is usually caused by existing cardiac conditions, including high blood pressure and coronary artery disease. Heart failure is the leading cause of hospitalization among patients 65 and older, and is characterized by such symptoms as fatigue and weakness, difficulty walking, rapid or irregular heartbeat, and persistent cough or wheezing.\nLevitan analyzed data from women participants in the Swedish Mammography Cohort, in which women aged 48 to 83 who had no evidence of heart failure were invited to participate. In the fall of 1997, 36,019 women completed food frequency questionnaires to determine how closely their diets matched the DASH guidelines. Each participant was given a \"score\" based on their diet's similarity to the DASH diet.\n\"We then used records from the Swedish national healthcare system to determine whether the women went on to be hospitalized or to die from heart failure,\" explains Levitan. \"We compared women with diets most similar to the DASH diet to women with diets that were not similar and found that those women whose diets most closely resembled DASH had the lowest risk of heart failure.\"\nTheir analysis showed that during the seven-year follow-up, 443 women developed heart failure, including 415 who were hospitalized and 28 women who died of the condition. Compared with the one-quarter of women with the lowest DASH diet scores, the one-quarter of the women with the highest DASH diet scores had a 37 percent lower risk of heart failure after factors such as age, physical activity and smoking were taken into account. More dramatically, the women with DASH scores in the top 10 percent had fully half the rate of heart failure compared with the one-quarter of participants with the lowest scores.\nOf particular note, adds Levitan, a woman's diet did not have to precisely mimic the DASH diet in order to be of benefit. \"Very few of the women we looked at had diets that shared all aspects of the DASH diet,\" she adds. \"But we found that the closer they were, the lower their risk of heart failure. This suggests that making even moderate adjustments to your diet to include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, and less salt and sugar and less red meat and processed meats, can help improve cardiac health.\"\nThis study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and from the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education.\nStudy coauthors include Murray Mittleman, MD, DrPH of BIDMC's Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit and Alicja Wolk, DrMedSci, of Karolinska Institute, Sweden.\nCite This Page:" |
"DOCTOR'S VIEW ARCHIVE\nFruits, Veggie, Low-Fat Diet Lowers Blood Pressure\nBaltimore - It has been demonstrated by previous studies that obesity, sodium intake, and alcohol consumption can influence the blood pressure. Chronically elevated blood pressure (medically termed hypertension) is common in the United States-affecting over 40 million persons. Hypertension increases the risk of stroke and heart disease.\nA study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1997;336:1117-24) by Dr. Lawrence J. Appel of Johns Hopkins University and associates at multiples medical centers throughout the United States evaluated 459 adults (133 that had hypertension) during an 8 week period.\nThe study found that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables combined with low-fat dairy foods and with reduced saturated and total fat significantly lowered the blood pressure, especially in those patients with hypertension.\nBecause blood pressures were lowered by the diet even in patients without hypertension, the authors of the study suggest that this diet may offer a nutritional approach for the prevention of hypertension.\nIn any case, it appears that the combination diet offers an additional nutritional approach to treating hypertension. Diets high in fruits and vegetables with low-fat dairy foods and reduced saturated and total fat as well as low-sodium may prove important in the initial management of hypertension.\nFor more information, please visit the following MedicineNet.com areas:\nLast Editorial Review: 6/27/2002" |
"To Your Health\nApril, 2013 (Vol. 07, Issue 04)\nDiet as Good as Drugs for Reducing Blood Pressure\nBy Editorial Staff\nHigh blood pressure or hypertension is known as a \"silent killer\" because typically, it has no symptoms until it causes a catastrophic health event, such as a heart attack or stroke. It's estimated that more than 75 million Americans currently suffer from high blood pressure, which makes effective treatment options of paramount importance. You can take medication, which may be effective, but comes with a lengthy list of potential side effects; or you can try a simple nondrug solution – changing your diet. Research suggests that a healthy diet\n– specifically the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which emphasizes high intake of fruits and vegetables, moderate intake of fat (less than 27 percent of calories), whole grains over processed grains / foods, and limited intake of red meat – can reduce blood pressure as much as blood pressure medication.\nThe keys to the DASH diet from a blood pressure-lowering perspective are that it encourages low / moderate intake of sodium, excess consumption of which has been linked to high blood pressure; and high intake of nutrients including potassium, which helps regulate BP. Lowering sodium intake can be as easy as not eating out so much, as sodium (salt) is commonly added to foods to make them taste better; and substituting salt for spices on some of your favorite home-made meals.\nFor more information about the DASH diet and tips to avoid high blood pressure and its health consequences, visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute online." |
"Blood Pressure Diet Tips\n* Researchers in the United Kingdom have examined the effect of pomegranate juice on blood pressure in young and middle-aged people. Consume more than one cup of pomegranate juice every day for four weeks has been linked to a decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, according to the results of the study, published In vegetable foods for human nutrition. It is not known what could cause these reductions, but it may be potassium or polyphenols found in pomegranate juice.\n* In addition, dark chocolate and low sodium chips are allowed in a high blood pressure diet. Eating dark chocolate has been associated with lowering blood pressure because dark chocolate is rich in flavanols, which widen the blood vessels and facilitate blood circulation. You may also like How to lower the blood pressure with minerals If these are salty foods that you prefer on the sweet, shop for low sodium fleas.\n* A study published in 2012 in the American Journal of Hypertension examined how olive oil could affect blood pressure in young women with mild hypertension. Spanish researchers have compared a polyphenol-rich olive oil diet to a diet containing no polyphenol and their effects on blood pressure over a period of four months. Results Olive oil rich in polyphenols has been associated with decreases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure - especially in women with higher blood pressure. lifted to start.\n* For more information on drinking, visit drinkaware.co.uk. The DASH Diet Developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute NHLBI of America, the DASH Diet has been very successful at helping people lower their blood pressure. © rial. The acronym stands for \"dietary approaches to stop high blood pressure\" and the first principle is to immediately reduce the amount of salt you eat. The diet is rich in vegetables, fruits and dairy products low in fat and limits saturated fat.\n* Only a little more than half of these people manage their condition correctly, which is a major precursor of dangerous things such as stroke, heart attacks and coronary heart disease. One of the main reasons you should know your blood pressure is the same as disease control and prevention centers call the \"silent killer\" - there is almost never symptoms of hypertension, and this can be serious very quickly. According to the Framingham Heart Study, a major study of the environmental impacts on cardiac health over several years, predecessors of high blood pressure include age, sex, men tend to have a higher blood pressure than women, BMI, if your parents had high blood pressure and smoking. 78 Obesity, an epidemic in our country, is closely related to hypertension because of the frequency with which these two conditions appear together.\nMore Top Tips On Blood Pressure Diets....\n* Perhaps because of the beneficial omega-3s found in flaxseed, it ranks on this list of the best foods that lower blood pressure. 34 It can even lower blood pressure in patients who have already developed a peripheral arterial disease, a common condition characterized by debris greasy and calcium build up in the walls of arteries. 35 The best results have been obtained when flaxseed is consumed regularly for more than 12 weeks.\n* Finally, someone who will lead the way and set the example for us. When are you going to do it? I can hardly wait! Ornish agrees. Some people do not like big restrictions, but this is by no means a death sentence. I am currently on average 115/75 and no longer on Lisinopril. Although I am not part of the Ornish program, I followed her own dietary recommendations myself. Rarely do I eat fish or processed foods but nothing is really \"forbidden\" as far as I'm concerned.\n* In addition, beet kvass is low in sugar because bacteria ferment most of the sugar in the liquid at the time you drink it. However, I do not think that eating reasonable amounts of beets should be a problem for someone who receives less than 30% of their carbohydrate calories. The problem is that the studies that were done used beet juice, not the real beetroot. Eating them does not have the same effect, so I drink the juice.\n* To lower blood pressure, I encourage my patients to switch to the pan-Asian Mediterranean diet. It's simple. You must change your diet if you want to succeed in lowering your blood pressure. But, how should you change it? It's simple too. I believe in the PanAmerican regime, a combined regime followed by the inhabitants of the Greek island of Crete, also known as the Mediterranean Regime, and a diet common in people living on the Asian side of the Pacific Rim.\n* Then I took cayenne pepper 3 times online, and I took 3 times ACV, 2 times with 1 teaspoon of baking soda removes the acidity from the ACV and keep your body more alkaline .. long story short, by their night, my bp measured 3 different times were 130s / 70s, this Friday, it was in the 120s / 70 and from this writing on Friday night, 126/75 will see doc next week. can not wait to see the shock on his face. besides, when you have a heart attack, what do you get? cayenne pepper pills!\n* The DASH Diet encourages you to reduce sodium in your diet and to eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods that help lower blood pressure, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. © sium. By following the DASH diet, you may be able to reduce your blood pressure by a few points in just two weeks. Over time, your systolic blood pressure could drop from eight to 14 points, which can make a significant difference in your health risks.\nHey guys! This is my video on Axiety and High Blood Pressure! This is very common among those that suffer from stress and anxiety. My blood pressure was constantly elevated if not high during…" |
"If you want to avoid the risks of heart disease, it’s important for you to know how to reduce high blood pressure. High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the major risks to heart disease in the world. Doctors have also linked hypertension to a number of cardiovascular diseases like aneurisms and strokes.\nThe reason why hypertension poses great risk for heart disease is that when your blood pressure is high, your heart needs to work harder to deliver blood to the rest of the body. As the heart pumps harder, it causes the arteries in your body to harden, leading to a condition called atherosclerosis.\nMoreover, hypertension is known to contribute to congestive heart failure, kidney failure, and even blindness. Blindness occurs when veins in your eyes rupture due to the intense pressure in their walls. These conditions only increase the need for all of us to find ways to reduce blood pressure.\nOne of the best ways for reducing blood pressure is to have specific changes in your diet. Here are a few options for controlling high blood pressure.\nStay Away from Fried Food\nReducing high blood pressure starts by eating the right foods. There is a very high chance that what you eat affects your health, most importantly your blood pressure. One of the primary foods to avoid is oily foods.\nExamples of these foods are fried meat, pork fat, and French fries, all of which have trans-fats – the unhealthiest kind of fat in your body. Trans-fats are very hard to dissolve and break down in your body; they accumulate and build layers of fat on top of tissue, causing blockages in veins and arteries that increase blood pressure.\nThere are other foods that you can eat as substitutes to the unhealthy ones that cause hypertension. Eating foods that are high in fiber will contribute to lessening the cholesterol in your body. They also flush out toxins and clean your digestive tract.\nThere are also delicious foods that can be consumed frequently to reduce high blood pressure naturally. These include white meat from chicken and turkey, fresh fish like salmon and tuna, as well as herbs and spices that enhance flavor like oregano, garlic, onion, parsley, and chili.\nLess Salt, More Veggies\nAnother blood pressure reduction method is by reducing your intake of salt and other salty foods like crisps, bacon, as well as chicken and pork skin. These have high amounts of sodium, which is not good for your heart. Other tasty foods that you may consume are margarine, vegetable oil, olive oil, dinner rolls, bagels, and pita breads.\nReducing blood pressure greatly depends on your diet. A proper diet coupled with regular exercise will help you attain normal blood pressures. If you want to live longer and healthier, the best way how to reduce blood pressure by eating less fried foods, less salt, and increasing your intake of lean meat and spices." |
"Help Protect Your Heart With Dairy\nIn America, cardiovascular disease (heart disease) remains the number one cause of death. And nearly one in three people has high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. Lifestyle habits, including diet and physical activity, are an important part of any plan to achieve and maintain heart health.\nThe Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan includes 2 to 3 daily servings of dairy foods and 8 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, and is recommended by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association to prevent and control high blood pressure.\nDairy foods are an integral part of DASH because they contain a trio of minerals– calcium, potassium and magnesium – that play an important role in maintaining healthy blood pressure. But did you know that a recent study shows that the DASH eating plan can be modified to include whole milk, yogurt and cheese without sacrificing health benefits? That’s great news, because when you have flexibility in food choices, you’ll be more likely to enjoy a healthy diet and stick with it for a lifetime!\nIn addition, you may be surprised to learn that milk is the top food source of potassium in the United States. Americans who enjoy three servings of dairy every day have significantly higher intakes of potassium compared to those who do not. Following the DASH diet is a great way to take charge of your health! Check out our resources on this page to learn more." |
"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), high blood pressure is “the second greatest public health threat” in the US, and about half of all with hypertension have uncontrolled high blood pressure.\nThis increases your risk for a number of more serious health problems, including heart disease and stroke. Interestingly, 16 million Americans who are on blood pressure medication still don’t have their blood pressure under control—a fact that emphasizes the need for basic lifestyle changes in order to truly resolve this problem.\nVegetarian Diet Lowers Blood Pressure\nA recent meta-analysis suggests that a vegetarian diet may be part of the solution. Lead author Yoko Yokoyama told Reuters Health:\n“For many people, the only treatment has been medication, but that means costs and possible side effects. However, in order to make healthful food choices, people need guidance from scientific studies. Our analysis found that vegetarian diets lower blood pressure very effectively, and the evidence for this is now quite conclusive.”\nThe analysis included seven clinical trials and 32 observational studies. A vegetarian either excludes or severely limits meat, but typically includes dairy products and eggs. A pescetarian diet will also include fish. One of my friends is actually a healthy 66 year old pescetarian. Vegan diets typically exclude all animal products, fish, eggs, and dairy as well.\nAccording to the study’s findings, removing meat from the diet led to blood pressure reductions similar to losing five kilos of body weight or a little more than eleven pounds. Compared to blood pressure drugs, a vegetarian diet was found to be about 50 percent as effective for lowering blood pressure.\nAdditional Problems with This Study\nIf you are interested in a very detailed and comprehensive analysis in the flaws in this study, I would encourage you to review Denise Minger’s post from last week. I will summarize some of the salient points below.\nIt is important to note that 32 of the 39 studies reviewed for this analysis were observational. This means that the researches relied on a dietary history given by the study participants. The actual protein levels consumed by the participants was never directly measured.\nAnother major issue is that important confounding lifestyle variables were not accounted for. Exercise and alcohol intake are important cofactors for hypertension and they were not analyzed so they could contribute to distorting the conclusions the researchers made.\nBlood Pressure Drugs Do NOT Treat the Cause of High Blood Pressure\nPlease understand that while blood pressure medications are very effective at lowering blood pressure, they do NOT address or rectify the underlying cause of your hypertension.\nResearch published in 2013 found that vegetarians were 32 percent less likely to develop ischemic heart disease, and many other studies have demonstrated that vegetarians enjoy better health and longer lives than non-vegetarians. Certainly, eating more vegetables is bound to have a beneficial effect. Most people eat far too few of them. But I still do not believe excluding all meats makes for an ideal diet. It’s worth noting that studies such as these are not comparing vegetarians to LOW animal protein diets. I’m also not aware of any studies looking at the health effects of factory farmed versus organically raised meats, eaten at varying amounts, and this, I believe, may be a major part of the equation.\nWhy I Don’t Recommend Strict Vegetarian or Vegan Diets\nThere is no debate at all that most people do not eat enough vegetables, let alone high-quality organic ones. So it makes perfect sense that individuals who consume more vegetables are likely to be healthier.\nMost Americans eat far too much protein and not enough vegetables, which likely accounts for most of the difference seen when comparing vegetarian to non-vegetarian diets. But that does not justify excluding all animal products.\nThe other part of the equation that is rarely addressed is the amount of protein consumed. When it comes to meat, two key factors that will determine the healthfulness of your diet are the quality of the meat and the amount.\nIn terms of quality, meat from pastured or grass-fed and finished animals is FAR superior to that from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). CAFO beef and poultry has many disadvantages, including fewer of the most valuable nutrients found in organically-raised meats, while being contaminated with hormones, antibiotics, beta-agonist drugs, and pesticides.\nSince most CAFOs feed animals genetically engineered (GE) grains (primarily corn and soy), there’s also the issue of whether or not such feed might alter such meats in ways we still don’t fully understand.\nThere’s reason to think it might. At bare minimum, we know that so-called Roundup Ready grains tend to be most heavily contaminated with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup, and research suggests this chemical may be a key factor in the rising trend of many chronic diseases, both in animals and humans.\nIn 2009, a joint effort between the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Clemson University researchers determined a total of 10 key areas where grass-fed is better than grain-fed beef for human health, In a side-by-side comparison, they determined that grass-fed beef was:\n|Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)||Higher in beta-carotene||Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)|\n|Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin||Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium||Higher in total omega-3s|\n|A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)||Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter|\nMost People Eat Too Much Protein for Optimal Health\nNutrition experts like Dr. Ron Rosedale believe most adults need about one gram of protein per kilogram of lean body mass, or one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body weight per day. As an example, if your body fat mass is 20 percent, your lean mass is 80 percent of your total body weight.\nSo if your total weight is 200 pounds, you would then divide 160 by 2.2 to convert pounds to kilograms and come up with 72.7 grams of protein. If you are doing vigorous exercises or are pregnant, you can add up to another 25 percent or another 18 grams in this illustration to increase your total to 90 grams per day. This would be on the high side. Most women need half of this amount because they have far less lean body mass.\nMost meat-eaters tend to consumer far more than that, especially in the US. In fact, the typical American diet is extremely meat-heavy, having risen dramatically over the past century.9 Previous research has suggested the average American consumes about 1.5 grams of protein per kilo of total body mass (lean mass plus fat). This is nearly double the ideal of one gram/kg of lean body mass. Some groups even consume 500 percent more protein than this. And the vast majority of all the meat consumed is CAFO, which only adds to the problem, for the reasons mentioned above.\nThere are a number of reasons why I believe it’s best to limit your protein intake. The first is that if you eat large amounts of protein your body doesn’t need, it will convert most of those calories to sugar. Additionally, it will need to remove the nitrogen waste products from your blood, which stresses your kidneys.\nExcessive protein can also have a stimulatory effect on mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)—a pathway that seems to be largely responsible for the pathology seen in cancer growth. When you reduce protein to just what your body needs, mTOR remains inhibited, which helps minimize your chances of cancer growth.\nAbstaining from animal protein altogether however, can lead to other health complications. For example, a strict vegetarian or vegan diet can lead to vitamin B12 and sulfur amino acid deficiency, both of which increases your risk of heart disease. Vegans or strict vegetarians who abstain from animal products and do not supplement their diet with vitamin B12 will typically become anemic. Nervous and digestive system damage can also result. Claims that B12 is present in certain algae, tempeh, and brewer’s yeast fail to take into account that the B12 analogues present in these foods are not bioavailable. The only reliable and absorbable sources of vitamin B12 are animal products, especially pastured eggs.\nAnother Possible Conclusion\nDenise Minger’s analysis also brought two additional interesting additional insights into the protein discussion. It is well established that calorie restriction leads to increased longevity in many animal studies. Newer studies like the featured study suggest that much of the benefit of calorie restriction may be related to lowered protein intake.\nThe newer twist on the lowered protein intake is that the benefits of protein restriction may actually be related to lowered intake of a specific essential amino acid called methionine which, interestingly, also happens to be particularly high in meats. So a low meat diet will actually be a diet that is low in methionine. But even newer research suggests that it may be the balance of amino acids that is key especially with other amino acids like glycine that may actually help to lower methionine levels.\nSo approaches like protein cycling in which you replicate ancestral patterns of going through feast and famine can help normalize these levels. That is one of the reasons why I am such a major fan of intermittent fasting. Bone broth may also be particularly useful as it especially high in glycine.\nEating ONLY Plant-Based Foods May Be Bad for Your Heart\nResearch published in the journal Nutrition, two years ago, shows that people who eat a strictly plant-based diet may suffer from subclinical protein malnutrition, which means you’re also likely not getting enough dietary sulfur. Sulfur is derived almost exclusively from dietary protein, such as fish and high-quality (organic and/or grass-fed/pastured) beef and poultry. Meat and fish are considered “complete” as they contain all the sulfur-containing amino acids you need to produce new protein.\nThose who abstain from animal protein are placing themselves at far greater risk of sulfur deficiency and its related health problems. Sulfur also plays a vital role in the structure and biological activity of both proteins and enzymes. If you don’t have sufficient amounts of sulfur in your body, this deficiency can cascade into a number of health problems as it will affect bones, joints, connective tissues, metabolic processes, and more. According to Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a senior scientist at MIT, areas where sulfur plays an important role include:\n- Your body’s electron transport system, as part of iron/sulfur proteins in mitochondria, the energy factories of your cells\n- Vitamin-B thiamine (B1) and biotin conversion, which in turn are essential for converting carbohydrates into energy\n- Synthesizing important metabolic intermediates, such as glutathione\n- Proper insulin function. The insulin molecule consists of two amino acid chains connected to each other by sulfur bridges, without which the insulin cannot perform its biological activity\nThe 2012 Nutrition study also concluded that the low intake of sulfur amino acids by vegetarians and vegans explains the origin of hyperhomocysteinemia (high blood levels of homocysteine, which may lead to blood clots in your arteries — i.e. heart attack and stroke) and the increased vulnerability of vegetarians to cardiovascular diseases.\nTo Eat Meat or Not to Eat Meat… That Is the Question\nFrom a clinical standpoint, I believe virtually everyone benefits from some animal protein, provided it’s organically raised (grass-fed or pastured). Organic farming also tends to be humane, which is an important issue for most vegetarians/vegans. Even butchering practices are more humane, compared to the factory farm model. That said, if your moral convictions still prompt you to abstain from meat, you do have other options. Other healthy animal proteins include raw organic dairy and organic pastured eggs.\nI sincerely believe that the many studies documenting the benefits of a vegetarian diet are related to an increased intake in vegetables and a lowered protein intake. One does not have to throw the baby out with the bathwater and exclude all animal products to receive these benefits. It seems lowering your protein intake to one gram per kilogram of lean body mass would likely achieve similar benefits as documented in this featured study.\nCertainly, eating a vegetarian diet is far better than eating a high CAFO meat diet. But I believe most people would be wise to consider a more moderate plan. To summarize my view on what I believe is a more ideal diet for most people, here are the key points:\n- Low amounts of high-quality (pastured or grass-fed) animal protein: A general recommendation is to limit animal protein to one gram of protein per kilogram of lean body mass, or one-half gram of protein per pound of lean body weight\n- Extremely low amounts of refined grain carbohydrates: You need very little grains, if any. Even organic grains are best avoided, to preserve optimal insulin and leptin signaling\n- Extremely low amounts of processed sugar and fructose: A general guideline is to restrict your sugar/fructose consumption to 25 grams from all sources, per day. If you are insulin or leptin resistant (if you are overweight, or have high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease, then you likely have insulin or leptin resistance), you’d be wise to keep your sugar/fructose to 15 grams per day, from all sources, until your condition has normalized\n- High amounts of high-quality fats: As you cut out carbohydrates, you need to replace them with healthful fats. Most people probably need anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of their daily calories in the form of healthy fats, which include olives and olive oil, coconuts and coconut oil, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, organic raw nuts (especially macadamia nuts, which are low in protein and omega-6 fat), organic pastured eggs, and avocados\n- Virtually unlimited amounts of vegetable carbohydrates: Making vegetable juice is a great way to boost the amount and variety of vegetables in your diet\nOne of the easiest ways to conform to these guidelines is to ditch processed foods and cook from scratch using whole, organic ingredients. I generally advise limiting processed foods to 10 percent of less of your total diet. As for whether or not to eat meat, I firmly believe that it plays a valuable role in optimal health, but quality and quantity are important considerations. Focusing on smaller portions of higher quality (read pastured grass-fed and finished) meats will lead you in the right direction.\nLast but not least, let me note that cutting out meat, or animal protein, from your diet is NOT the only way to normalize your blood pressure. There are many other lifestyle strategies that can lower high blood pressure that does not involve abstaining from an important nutrient source. In fact, insulin resistance is a primary promoter of high blood pressure, and the dietary underpinning that creates insulin resistance is a diet too high in sugar, not protein.\n*Image of “meat or carrot” via Shutterstock" |
"Blood site complies with the HONcode standard diet trustworthy health information: verify here. Zeratsky KA expert opinion. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 75 million American adults have high blood pressure that’s 1 in 3 pressure. But too much fat increases your risk of heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Over time, the top number of your blood pressure systolic blood pressure could drop by eight to 14 plan, which can make a significant difference pressure your health risks. Butter vs. Sodium in your blood Use the Nutrition Facts label and reduce your intake. If you’re plan to lose weight, diet may need to eat fewer calories.\nBy Victoria Seaver, M. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 75 million American adults have high blood pressure that’s 1 in 3 adults. Some people may not even know they’re included in this statistic, because this condition usually presents with no symptoms. Untreated, high blood pressure also known as hypertension can lead to heart attack and stroke. Fortunately, eating a balanced diet and leading an overall healthy lifestyle can help to keep blood pressure levels in check.\nAre pressure diet plan blood really join\nSo just by following the DASH diet, you’re likely to reduce your sodium intake. Try this Homemade Hummus. Interested in following the DASH eating plan but not sure how? Breakfast: Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie. Department of Agriculture. If things seem too bland, gradually introduce low-sodium foods and cut back on table salt until you reach your sodium goal.\nClinical Nutrition. Fasting diet: Can it improve my heart health? Plan Ahead: Cook an extra 3 oz." |
"Cardiologist, author, and heart health expert Dr. Sarah Samaan offers advice on how to live a heart smart life.See all posts »\nLow Fat Dairy Foods may Reduce Stroke Risk\nWay back in 1997, the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a landmark study evaluating the effects of diet on blood pressure. Researchers tested the impact of a diet known as the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) which included liberal amounts of fruits and vegetables, two to three servings of low-fat dairy products, and reduced amounts of saturated fats (found in meat and high fat dairy products), total fat, and cholesterol. For those with hypertension (high blood pressure), this diet reduced systolic blood pressure by more than 11 points and diastolic pressure by close to 6 points. A subsequent study adding in salt restrictions lowered blood pressure even more.\nHypertension is one of the major contributors to stroke, and the leading cause of hemorrhagic stroke, in which blood vessels in the brain rupture. When a stroke occurs, blood flow to the brain is compromised, leading to injury and death of brain cells. This can result in permanent disability, including loss of mental function, speech disturbances, and partial paralysis. Many people fear strokes more than heart attacks. As the daughter of two stroke victims, I can testify to the devastating effects that strokes can have.\nSince low fat dairy products are one of the important components of the DASH diet, researchers in Sweden decided to see if consumption of dairy foods is connected to stroke risk. (Swedish people tend to eat more dairy foods than most, making them a good population to study.) The 10 year study published in the April 19, 2012 edition of the journal Stroke tracked the health of nearly 75,000 men and women who completed a food questionnaire at baseline, and who were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer at the onset of the study.\nAt the end of the study, when corrected for other health issues, those whose diet included the most low-fat dairy foods were 12 percent less likely to have suffered a stroke than those who avoided these foods, while full-fat dairy foods did not appear to be protective. The benefit held whether or not high blood pressure was present.\nIt’s easy to get low-fat dairy foods into your diet. Skim and low-fat milk are simple to add to your morning bowl of cereal. For lunch, one of my favorite choices is rich-tasting Greek yogurt, which is also a terrific source of protein. Avoid the highly sweetened varieties, and look for products like Fage which allow you to blend in as much or as little fruit mix as you want. Low fat string cheese is another quick and easy snack.\nIf you have trouble digesting dairy foods, consider using a product like Lactaid, or check with your doctor to see if there may be other options to help you. If you have concerns about growth hormones used in the dairy and meat industry, look for products labeled “organic” or “rBGH-free”. You can find out more about this issue at SustainableTable.org.\nRecent Blog Posts\nNov 15, 2012\nHeart Smart Living\nNov 13, 2012\nShrimp, Cholesterol, and Heart Health\nNov 07, 2012\nBlood Pressure Medications may Thwart Alzheimer's Dementia" |
"Turns out, coffee is actually pretty good for you. Check this out.\nCoffee is a little mysterious in that we're not really sure how it does some of the things it does. Coffee has over 1000 biologically active compounds after all. One thing seems for certain, though: the more you drink, the better off you are. In fact, the more you drink, the longer you live.\nIn a 2012 mortality study of 400,000 people printed in The New England Journal of Medicine, coffee drinkers had between 6 and 16 percent fewer deaths. Likewise, in a Japanese study printed in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, coffee drinkers were 24 percent less likely to die during a 19-year follow-up.\nThe sweet spot seems to be three to four cups a day of regular or decaf, but one study involving six cups a day saw a 33 percent reduction in diabetes diagnoses. Other maladies positively affected by coffee include liver cancers, fatty livers, alcoholic liver disease, heart disease, stroke, depression, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.\nOf course, drinking very, very large amounts may actually reverse some of the beneficial effects. As with most things, moderate amounts seem to work best." |
"A study presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2011 has reportedly linked daily diet soda consumption “to a higher risk of stroke, heart attack and vascular-related deaths.” Led by University of Miami scientist Hannah Gardener, researchers analyzed soft drink consumption for 2,564 people enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS), grouping participants into seven categories ranging from those who drank less than one soda of any kind per month, to those who reported daily regular or diet soda consumption. The study results evidently showed that, after an average follow-up of 9.3 years, participants who drank one diet soda every day “had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events than those who reported no soda drinking.”\n“This study suggests that diet soda is not an optimal substitute to sugarsweetened beverages, and may be associated with a greater risk of stroke,” Gardener was quoted as saying. She added, however, that “diet soda drinkers need to stay tuned” for further studies before changing their behaviors. See Stroke Conference 2011 News Release, MSNBC.com and ABC News, February 9, 2011." |