#it is estimated that reducing salt intake could prevent millions of deaths each year.

[joinsmarty]

Heart-Healthy Recipes That Are Easy and Yummy!

Heart-healthy eating helps you have the right food and keeps a check on your heart health. It aids in weight loss, reduces cholesterol, inflammation, blood pressure, and other heart risks, and increases lifespan.

According to WHO, “cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year”. One-third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age. Four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes.

This definitely is a problem of concern and needs to be addressed soon. But as it’s said – “Prevention is better than cure” It’s always better we start to visualize the problem, spread awareness, and follow practices that help us. Altering our lifestyle and incorporating a healthy diet are the best ways to stay safe from heart risks. And our heart-healthy recipes could be a great choice to start with!

Diet Changes that Can Eliminate the Risk of Heart Disease

Increase the intake of whole grains, veggies, fruits, and seeds in your regular diet. This makes a balanced diet and reduces heart problems.

Limit your consumption of Sodium, saturated fats, and trans fats like sugary foods & drinks, fried food, and processed meat.

Cook your meals at home. This ensures you eat healthy food regularly.

Complement these practices with regular exercise; quit smoking and alcohol consumption to prevent heart disease.

Read the Article: Everything You Should Know About Diabetes

Heart-Healthy Recipes You Need to Try 

Home-cooked-meals  don’t just fill your belly, you also become mindful of what you feed your body by selecting healthier ingredients and practicing portion control. Not to forget, home-cooked meals help us save money and bring our loved ones around the table.

Grab the chance and try out our heart-healthy recipes that are easy to make and extremely tasty. Our list has a combination of foods covering veggies to whole grains that keep you satiated until your next meal.

1. Black Salmon with Roasted Vegetables

Salmon, rich in Omega-3-fatty acid, is a healthy fat. It can reduce cholesterol, control blood pressure, and is great for your heart and brain. When Salmon is paired with carrots, bell peppers, onions, or other veggies, it adds vital nutrients, making it a perfect dish that could make your heart crave for more.

This nutritious dish is a quick recipe that can be prepared within 30 minutes. You first need to preheat your oven to 400O F, place the salmon filets seasoned with salt and pepper on a baking sheet and roast the fish for up to 15 minutes. Now add the roasted vegetables seasoned with salt, pepper, and olive oil and transfer it to a platter along with the Salmon, and your delicious recipe is ready to taste!

2. Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut squash is a rich source of vitamins, Potassium, Magnesium, Manganese, and fiber. It is low in saturated fats and cholesterol and, thus, is an excellent heart-healthy appetizer. 

Saute diced onions, carrot, and garlic, with butternut squash in olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a slow cooker and add vegetable or chicken broth and coconut milk. Lastly, add your desired spices (salt, pepper, cumin, chili flakes, and curry powder) and cook on low. This heart-healthy soup is ready to serve after 6-8 hours and tastes like heaven.

3. Lentil and Vegetable Stew

Lentils  reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol and blood pressure. They are a good source of plant protein and are rich in iron, Vitamin B1, and folate, which helps your heart be healthy. Additionally, the vegetables in this dish provide essential vitamins and minerals, making it a balanced diet.

Saute onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add lentils, tomatoes, herbs, and vegetable broth and bring it to a boil. Add the seasoning, simmer the stew, and boil the lentils and vegetables until they are tender.  Lastly, garnish the stew with parsley and serve it hot as is or with quinoa or brown rice.

4. Grilled Chicken and Veggie Skewers

Unlike red meat, chicken is healthy as it is comparatively low in saturated fats and is a great food choice for non-vegetarians. And when you add your favorite veggies to it, don’t you think it’s a medley of rich flavors?

To make this incredible heart-healthy recipe, cut the chicken breast into small pieces, marinate them in a mixture of olive oil, lime juice, spices, and herbs and add these chicken pieces to the skewers along with tomatoes, zucchini, onions, or bell pepper. Grill the skewers until the chicken is cooked. This dish can satisfy your taste buds and is something you would love to devour.

5. Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

You can’t go wrong with this recipe when you are looking for a dish that is heart-friendly. Quinoa and black bean salad is a classic cuisine that is extremely healthy, with its main ingredients being Quinoa – a superfood high in amino acids and nutrients, and black bean ��� which is power-packed with proteins. This dish is delicious and can be made in a jiffy.

Cook the Quinoa as per the package instructions and add the canned black bean to it. Mix them with chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, corn, and your desired spices, and serve them hot.

6. Roasted Root Vegetable Salad

Root veggies can protect you from heart diseases as they are low in calories and sodium and have higher amounts of potassium and fiber. Thus, they curb your hunger pranks and are healthy.

To make this salad, dice your favorite veggies, and sprinkle salt, pepper, and olive oil. Now spread these veggies on a baking sheet and roast them in the preheated oven for up to 35-40 minutes. Add the roasted vegetables to a bowl of greens, walnuts, crumbled cheese, and vinaigrette; toss them with the dressing, and voila! You got a healthy and yummy salad to savor.

[rjdavies]

Heart Awareness Month: Cut Back On Salt!

The month of February is Heart Awareness Month!

The idea is to do one thing every day this month that your heart will thank you for … Heart Heath!

Fact: High sodium consumption (>2 grams/day, equivalent to 5 g salt/day) and insufficient potassium intake (less than 3.5 grams/day) contribute to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

An estimated 2.5 million deaths could be prevented each year if global salt consumption were reduced to the recommended level.

Most people consume too much salt—on average 9–12 grams per day, or around twice the recommended maximum level of intake.

Tip:  Try herbs like rosemary, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, cilantro, sage, and celery seed. A squeeze of lemon or lime on some foods can provide that extra zip you need without the extra sodium

Next time you go shopping pick some up and experiment with your cooking

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada | Home

American Heart Association | To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives

R. J. Davies

A Riveting Jacked-In Dreamy Mind-Bender

RJ Davies - Science Fiction Author, Maddox Files, Novels

[paullassiterca]

How a Stroke Can Happen When You're Young Like Luke Perry

Strokes are sometimes referred to as “brain attacks” (instead of “heart attacks”) because they occur when a blood clot blocks an artery or blood vessel, cutting off blood flow to your brain, as opposed to your heart.1 As a result, brain cells die and brain damage can occur. Without proper and timely treatment, a stroke can be lethal.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an estimated 795,000 strokes occur each year in the U.S.2 It’s the fifth leading cause of death, killing an estimated 142,000 annually. It’s also a leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S.3

While most strokes occur in the elderly, younger people are by no means immune. Between 1995 and 2012, stroke rates nearly doubled for men between the ages of 18 and 44, according to the National Stroke Association.4,5 Estimates suggest 10 percent of all strokes occur in people under the age of 50.6

The recent death of Luke Perry at 52,7,8,9,10 a popular actor on the 1980s television show “Beverly Hills 90210” and many others, has brought renewed attention to the risks of stroke, especially among younger adults and the middle-aged.

Analyses reveal 9 in 10 strokes are preventable by addressing lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, kidney dysfunction, smoking, unhealthy diet and sedentary behavior.11 There’s also evidence showing your vitamin D12 and magnesium13 status play a role, and alcohol consumption in middle-age appears to be a significant risk factor.14 As noted in one study:15

“Data from longitudinal studies have shown that some of the most powerful lifestyle modifications to lower risk of stroke include reducing elevated blood pressure, cessation of smoking, daily physical activity and maintenance of a healthy diet and weight. It has been demonstrated that even a modest change in lifestyle risk factors are achievable and have a substantial effect on risk.

Genetic background, information on risk factors and behaviors, and presence of subclinical conditions provide the most realistic appraisal of an individual’s future vascular risk. For the community at large, improving health behaviors provides the best approach to reducing risk of stroke and its recurrence.”

Signs and Symptoms of Stroke

Nine out of 10 strokes are ischemic strokes,16 which result from an obstruction in a blood vessel supplying blood to your brain. Research17 shows about 15 percent of ischemic strokes occur in “young adults and adolescents.” The other form of stroke is known as a hemorrhagic stroke, which is when a blood vessel actually ruptures.

Strokes can be particularly devastating because they often occur without warning, and the longer your brain goes without oxygen, the greater your risk of lasting damage. This is one area where emergency medicine excels, as emergency medications can dissolve the clot that is blocking blood flow to your brain.

In order to be effective, however, you typically need to get help within three hours18 — the sooner the better. Research also shows primary stroke centers have lower mortality than other hospitals,19 so if a stroke is suspected, be sure to ask them to take the patient to a primary stroke facility.

The following symptoms can signal a lack of oxygen to your brain, which could be due to a stroke. If any of these occur, call for immediate emergency medical assistance (in the U.S., call 911).20

Remember, you need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. When suspecting a stroke, don’t drive to the hospital. Call for an ambulance, as this will ensure the most rapid assistance, and every minute counts.

Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially when occurring on one side of the body; face drooping, typically on just one side

Sudden confusion; trouble talking or understanding speech

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, or double vision

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination

Sudden severe headache with no known cause; nausea or vomiting

It’s important to pay attention to these symptoms even if they last only a short time and suddenly disappear, as it could be a sign of a mini-stroke, known as a transient ischemic attack. While brief, it’s important to get it checked out to rule out a serious underlying condition that could lead to a more severe episode later. A helpful acronym to memorize is FAST:

F: Face drooping

A: Arm weakness

S: Speech impairment

T: Time to call 911!

Risk Factors That Raise Stroke Risk in Middle-Aged and Younger Adults

According to Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, director of the comprehensive stroke center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Lawrence R. Wechsler, chairman of the department of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the risk factors for stroke among patients under the age of 50 differ from those in older patients, and include the following:21

Arterial dissection causing a blood clot — Causes of arterial dissection, which is when the lining of an artery tears, can occur during sudden neck movements, including sports injuries to the neck and jolting that can occur when riding a roller coaster

Hole in the heart (patent foramen ovale) — An estimated 1 in 4 people has this condition, which raises your odds of a stroke, as it can allow a blood clot to cross through your heart and into your brain

Blood clots

Heart defects or disturbed heart rhythm

Narrowing of the arteries caused by stimulants or drugs, causing a sudden lack of oxygen to your brain

Aneurism or arteriovenous malformation

Vitamin D and Magnesium Deficiencies Raise Your Risk of Stroke

Certain nutrient deficiencies can also play a role. Two important ones are vitamin D and magnesium. According to research presented at the 2010 American Heart Association’s (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions, vitamin D deficiency doubled the risk of stroke in Caucasians, but not in African-Americans.22 That said, low vitamin D has been linked to arterial stiffness in black teens,23 which is a risk factor for stroke.

Chinese researchers have also found a correlation between magnesium intake and stroke risk.24 After looking at more than 1 million people across nine countries, those who consumed the most magnesium had a 12 percent lower stroke risk. According to this study:

“No significant association was observed between increasing dietary magnesium intake (per 100 mg/day increment) and the risk of total CVD [cardiovascular disease] or CHD [coronary heart disease].

However, the same incremental increase in magnesium intake was associated with a 22 percent reduction in the risk of heart failure and a 7 percent reduction in the risk of stroke.”

Lead study author Fudi Wang, Ph.D.,25 pointed out that while current U.S. guidelines recommend a daily magnesium intake of 300 mg for men and 270 mg for women, deficiencies are still common.

Indeed, research26 suggests 45 percent of American adults do not get the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) amount of magnesium from their diet, and teen statistics27 published in 2014 suggest nearly 92 percent of teenagers between 14 and 18 do not meet the estimated average requirement for magnesium from food alone. The most likely reason for this is because they do not eat fresh vegetables on a regular basis.

Stroke Prevention Strategies

Considering the vast majority of strokes are predicated on modifiable lifestyle factors, I strongly encourage you to take control of your health to reduce your risk. Conventionally speaking, many of the same risk factors that increase your risk of heart disease also increase your risk of stroke, such as:

High blood pressure

Obesity

High triglycerides

Elevated homocysteine level

Low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of LDL cholesterol

High level of TMAO

Smoking

Inactivity

To address these and other risk factors, consider implementing the following prevention strategies:

Eat real food — A diet of unprocessed or minimally processed whole foods will protect your heart and cardiovascular health by minimizing toxins and synthetic ingredients while providing high-quality nutrients.

Certain preservatives, such as sodium nitrate and nitrite found in smoked and processed meats have been shown to damage your blood vessels, which could increase your risk of stroke. I recommend avoiding all forms of processed meats, opting instead for organic, grass fed or pastured meats.

Eat plenty of probiotic-rich foods — Metabolites produced by certain gut microbes have been linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke and early death.

Even among those with traditional risk factors, having low metabolite counts appear to protect against clot-related events. Probiotics found in fermented vegetables and cultured raw dairy products such as yogurt and kefir may help lower these metabolites.

Probiotics have also been found to lower your risk of high blood pressure, which is yet another risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The most significant benefit appeared to be among those whose blood pressure was higher than 130/85. In studies, probiotics containing a variety of bacteria lowered blood pressure to a greater degree than those containing just one type of bacteria.

Another animal study found the probiotic lactobacillus marinus effectively prevents salt-sensitive hypertension by modulating TH17 cells. (Other research has found high salt intake inhibits lactobacillus marinus, thereby contributing to hypertension.)

Boost your fiber intake — Researchers have found that for every 7-grams more fiber you consume on a daily basis, your stroke risk is decreased by 7 percent. This conclusion was drawn based on data from eight observational studies. Fiber is the nondigestible parts of plants, which can be either soluble or nonsoluble. Water soluble fiber was found to reduce stroke risk the most.

Avoid “diet” soda — Research presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in 2011 showed that drinking just one diet soda a day may increase your risk of stroke by 48 percent. Ideally, strive to eliminate all soda from your diet, as just one can of regular soda contains nearly twice my recommended daily allowance for fructose in order to maintain good health and prevent disease.

Exercise regularly — Strength training may be particularly important for heart health. Research shows less than an hour of strength training per week can reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke anywhere from 40 to 70 percent, independent of aerobic exercise.

The fact that the cardiovascular benefits of weightlifting were independent of aerobic exercises such as walking and running means strength training is sufficient in and of itself. It alone will lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, even if you don’t meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic activity.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination of both. I also strongly recommend standing and walking as much as possible on a daily basis.

Optimize your vitamin D level — Ideally, measure your vitamin D level twice a year and make sure you maintain a healthy level between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 and 200 nmol/L) year-round, either from sensible sun exposure or oral supplementation, or both.

Optimize your magnesium level — Check your RBC magnesium level and track signs and symptoms of magnesium insufficiency to determine how much magnesium you need. Low potassium and calcium are also common laboratory signs indicating magnesium deficiency.

To raise your level, eat magnesium-rich foods and/or take a magnesium supplement, balanced with vitamins D3, K2 and calcium. While the RDA for magnesium is around 310 to 420 mg per day depending on your age and sex, some experts believe you may need around 600 to 900 mg per day.

Personally, I believe many may benefit from amounts as high as 1 to 2 grams (1,000 to 2,000 mg) of elemental magnesium per day. The reason why I believe the higher dose is warranted is because most of us have EMF exposures that we simply are unable to mitigate, and the extra magnesium should help lower the damage from that exposure.

Lower your stress — Stress is a general risk factor for stroke, and the higher your stress, the greater your risk. One 2008 study found that for every notch lower a person scored on their mental well-being scale, their risk of stroke increased by 11 percent. Not surprisingly, the relationship between psychological distress and stroke was most pronounced when the stroke was fatal.

My favorite overall tool to manage stress is EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). It’s a handy, free tool for unloading emotional baggage quickly and painlessly, and so easy that even children can learn it. Other common stress-reduction tools with a high success rate include prayer, meditation and yoga, for example.

Address elevated TMAO levels — Studies have shown high levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) are associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, so measuring your blood level of TMAO could be a powerful predictive tool for assessing your stroke risk. In one analysis, high blood levels of TMAO increased the risk of dying from any cause fourfold in the next five years.

In a paper led by James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., who is also the coauthor of my latest book, “Superfuel: Ketogenic Keys to Unlock the Secrets of Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Great Health,” he explains how the likely true cause of elevated TMAO levels is hepatic insulin resistance.

Moreover, the paper shows that krill oil, astaxanthin, fish oil and berberine may be among some of the best supplemental strategies for those with high TMAO levels after diet optimization, as it is simply a reflection of insulin resistance in the liver.

Limit alcohol consumption — Research shows heavy alcohol consumption in middle age can be a risk factor for stroke. Those averaging more than two drinks a day were found to have a 34 percent higher risk of stroke than those who averaged less than half a drink per day.

According to this study, “Midlife heavy drinkers were at high risk from baseline until the age of 75 years when hypertension and diabetes mellitus grew to being the more relevant risk factors. In analyses of monozygotic twin-pairs, heavy drinking shortened time to stroke by five years.”

Quit smoking — As one of the major risk factors for stroke, quitting smoking is an important consideration if you’re concerned about your stroke risk.

Neuroplasticity Training Following a Stroke

If you, a family member, or close friend aren’t able to navigate implementing the prevention recommendations above, then you need to know what to do immediately after you are in the hospital. With nearly 800,000 people having a stroke in the U.S. every year, there is a strong likelihood you will personally know someone who has a stroke.

I recently interviewed Bob Dennis about his excellent book, “Stroke of Luck: NOW! Fast and Free Exercises to Immediately Begin Mastering Neuroplasticity Following Stroke — Right Now!” and I would recommend everyone download a copy now. This is the book you want to have when you are in the ER so you can rapidly begin the process of activating your neuroplasticity and regain as much lost function from the stroke as possible.

Just as it’s important to get rapid medical assistance when suffering a stroke, the sooner you begin taking steps to heal your brain after a stroke, the faster and more complete your recovery will be. This interview should be published sometime in the near future, so if this is a topic that interests you, be sure to keep an eye out for it.

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/03/21/stroke-at-young-age.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/183601619616

[jerrytackettca]

How a Stroke Can Happen When You're Young Like Luke Perry

Strokes are sometimes referred to as "brain attacks" (instead of "heart attacks") because they occur when a blood clot blocks an artery or blood vessel, cutting off blood flow to your brain, as opposed to your heart.1 As a result, brain cells die and brain damage can occur. Without proper and timely treatment, a stroke can be lethal.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, an estimated 795,000 strokes occur each year in the U.S.2 It's the fifth leading cause of death, killing an estimated 142,000 annually. It's also a leading cause of long-term disability in the U.S.3

While most strokes occur in the elderly, younger people are by no means immune. Between 1995 and 2012, stroke rates nearly doubled for men between the ages of 18 and 44, according to the National Stroke Association.4,5 Estimates suggest 10 percent of all strokes occur in people under the age of 50.6

The recent death of Luke Perry at 52,7,8,9,10 a popular actor on the 1980s television show "Beverly Hills 90210" and many others, has brought renewed attention to the risks of stroke, especially among younger adults and the middle-aged.

Analyses reveal 9 in 10 strokes are preventable by addressing lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, kidney dysfunction, smoking, unhealthy diet and sedentary behavior.11 There's also evidence showing your vitamin D12 and magnesium13 status play a role, and alcohol consumption in middle-age appears to be a significant risk factor.14 As noted in one study:15

"Data from longitudinal studies have shown that some of the most powerful lifestyle modifications to lower risk of stroke include reducing elevated blood pressure, cessation of smoking, daily physical activity and maintenance of a healthy diet and weight. It has been demonstrated that even a modest change in lifestyle risk factors are achievable and have a substantial effect on risk.

Genetic background, information on risk factors and behaviors, and presence of subclinical conditions provide the most realistic appraisal of an individual's future vascular risk. For the community at large, improving health behaviors provides the best approach to reducing risk of stroke and its recurrence."

Signs and Symptoms of Stroke

Nine out of 10 strokes are ischemic strokes,16 which result from an obstruction in a blood vessel supplying blood to your brain. Research17 shows about 15 percent of ischemic strokes occur in "young adults and adolescents." The other form of stroke is known as a hemorrhagic stroke, which is when a blood vessel actually ruptures.

Strokes can be particularly devastating because they often occur without warning, and the longer your brain goes without oxygen, the greater your risk of lasting damage. This is one area where emergency medicine excels, as emergency medications can dissolve the clot that is blocking blood flow to your brain.

In order to be effective, however, you typically need to get help within three hours18 — the sooner the better. Research also shows primary stroke centers have lower mortality than other hospitals,19 so if a stroke is suspected, be sure to ask them to take the patient to a primary stroke facility.

The following symptoms can signal a lack of oxygen to your brain, which could be due to a stroke. If any of these occur, call for immediate emergency medical assistance (in the U.S., call 911).20

Remember, you need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. When suspecting a stroke, don't drive to the hospital. Call for an ambulance, as this will ensure the most rapid assistance, and every minute counts.

Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm or leg, especially when occurring on one side of the body; face drooping, typically on just one side

Sudden confusion; trouble talking or understanding speech

Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, or double vision

Sudden trouble walking, dizziness or loss of balance or coordination

Sudden severe headache with no known cause; nausea or vomiting

It's important to pay attention to these symptoms even if they last only a short time and suddenly disappear, as it could be a sign of a mini-stroke, known as a transient ischemic attack. While brief, it's important to get it checked out to rule out a serious underlying condition that could lead to a more severe episode later. A helpful acronym to memorize is FAST:

F: Face drooping

A: Arm weakness

S: Speech impairment

T: Time to call 911!

Risk Factors That Raise Stroke Risk in Middle-Aged and Younger Adults

According to Dr. Lee H. Schwamm, director of the comprehensive stroke center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Dr. Lawrence R. Wechsler, chairman of the department of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the risk factors for stroke among patients under the age of 50 differ from those in older patients, and include the following:21

Arterial dissection causing a blood clot — Causes of arterial dissection, which is when the lining of an artery tears, can occur during sudden neck movements, including sports injuries to the neck and jolting that can occur when riding a roller coaster

Hole in the heart (patent foramen ovale) — An estimated 1 in 4 people has this condition, which raises your odds of a stroke, as it can allow a blood clot to cross through your heart and into your brain

Blood clots

Heart defects or disturbed heart rhythm

Narrowing of the arteries caused by stimulants or drugs, causing a sudden lack of oxygen to your brain

Aneurism or arteriovenous malformation

Vitamin D and Magnesium Deficiencies Raise Your Risk of Stroke

Certain nutrient deficiencies can also play a role. Two important ones are vitamin D and magnesium. According to research presented at the 2010 American Heart Association's (AHA) annual Scientific Sessions, vitamin D deficiency doubled the risk of stroke in Caucasians, but not in African-Americans.22 That said, low vitamin D has been linked to arterial stiffness in black teens,23 which is a risk factor for stroke.

Chinese researchers have also found a correlation between magnesium intake and stroke risk.24 After looking at more than 1 million people across nine countries, those who consumed the most magnesium had a 12 percent lower stroke risk. According to this study:

"No significant association was observed between increasing dietary magnesium intake (per 100 mg/day increment) and the risk of total CVD [cardiovascular disease] or CHD [coronary heart disease].

However, the same incremental increase in magnesium intake was associated with a 22 percent reduction in the risk of heart failure and a 7 percent reduction in the risk of stroke."

Lead study author Fudi Wang, Ph.D.,25 pointed out that while current U.S. guidelines recommend a daily magnesium intake of 300 mg for men and 270 mg for women, deficiencies are still common.

Indeed, research26 suggests 45 percent of American adults do not get the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) amount of magnesium from their diet, and teen statistics27 published in 2014 suggest nearly 92 percent of teenagers between 14 and 18 do not meet the estimated average requirement for magnesium from food alone. The most likely reason for this is because they do not eat fresh vegetables on a regular basis.

Stroke Prevention Strategies

Considering the vast majority of strokes are predicated on modifiable lifestyle factors, I strongly encourage you to take control of your health to reduce your risk. Conventionally speaking, many of the same risk factors that increase your risk of heart disease also increase your risk of stroke, such as:

High blood pressure

Obesity

High triglycerides

Elevated homocysteine level

Low levels of HDL cholesterol and high levels of LDL cholesterol

High level of TMAO

Smoking

Inactivity

To address these and other risk factors, consider implementing the following prevention strategies:

Eat real food — A diet of unprocessed or minimally processed whole foods will protect your heart and cardiovascular health by minimizing toxins and synthetic ingredients while providing high-quality nutrients.

Certain preservatives, such as sodium nitrate and nitrite found in smoked and processed meats have been shown to damage your blood vessels, which could increase your risk of stroke. I recommend avoiding all forms of processed meats, opting instead for organic, grass fed or pastured meats.

Eat plenty of probiotic-rich foods — Metabolites produced by certain gut microbes have been linked to an increased risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke and early death.

Even among those with traditional risk factors, having low metabolite counts appear to protect against clot-related events. Probiotics found in fermented vegetables and cultured raw dairy products such as yogurt and kefir may help lower these metabolites.

Probiotics have also been found to lower your risk of high blood pressure, which is yet another risk factor for heart attack and stroke. The most significant benefit appeared to be among those whose blood pressure was higher than 130/85. In studies, probiotics containing a variety of bacteria lowered blood pressure to a greater degree than those containing just one type of bacteria.

Another animal study found the probiotic lactobacillus marinus effectively prevents salt-sensitive hypertension by modulating TH17 cells. (Other research has found high salt intake inhibits lactobacillus marinus, thereby contributing to hypertension.)

Boost your fiber intake — Researchers have found that for every 7-grams more fiber you consume on a daily basis, your stroke risk is decreased by 7 percent. This conclusion was drawn based on data from eight observational studies. Fiber is the nondigestible parts of plants, which can be either soluble or nonsoluble. Water soluble fiber was found to reduce stroke risk the most.

Avoid "diet" soda — Research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference in 2011 showed that drinking just one diet soda a day may increase your risk of stroke by 48 percent. Ideally, strive to eliminate all soda from your diet, as just one can of regular soda contains nearly twice my recommended daily allowance for fructose in order to maintain good health and prevent disease.

Exercise regularly — Strength training may be particularly important for heart health. Research shows less than an hour of strength training per week can reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke anywhere from 40 to 70 percent, independent of aerobic exercise.

The fact that the cardiovascular benefits of weightlifting were independent of aerobic exercises such as walking and running means strength training is sufficient in and of itself. It alone will lower your risk of heart attack and stroke, even if you don't meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic activity.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination of both. I also strongly recommend standing and walking as much as possible on a daily basis.

Optimize your vitamin D level — Ideally, measure your vitamin D level twice a year and make sure you maintain a healthy level between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 and 200 nmol/L) year-round, either from sensible sun exposure or oral supplementation, or both.

Optimize your magnesium level — Check your RBC magnesium level and track signs and symptoms of magnesium insufficiency to determine how much magnesium you need. Low potassium and calcium are also common laboratory signs indicating magnesium deficiency.

To raise your level, eat magnesium-rich foods and/or take a magnesium supplement, balanced with vitamins D3, K2 and calcium. While the RDA for magnesium is around 310 to 420 mg per day depending on your age and sex, some experts believe you may need around 600 to 900 mg per day.

Personally, I believe many may benefit from amounts as high as 1 to 2 grams (1,000 to 2,000 mg) of elemental magnesium per day. The reason why I believe the higher dose is warranted is because most of us have EMF exposures that we simply are unable to mitigate, and the extra magnesium should help lower the damage from that exposure.

Lower your stress — Stress is a general risk factor for stroke, and the higher your stress, the greater your risk. One 2008 study found that for every notch lower a person scored on their mental well-being scale, their risk of stroke increased by 11 percent. Not surprisingly, the relationship between psychological distress and stroke was most pronounced when the stroke was fatal.

My favorite overall tool to manage stress is EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). It's a handy, free tool for unloading emotional baggage quickly and painlessly, and so easy that even children can learn it. Other common stress-reduction tools with a high success rate include prayer, meditation and yoga, for example.

Address elevated TMAO levels — Studies have shown high levels of trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) are associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke, so measuring your blood level of TMAO could be a powerful predictive tool for assessing your stroke risk. In one analysis, high blood levels of TMAO increased the risk of dying from any cause fourfold in the next five years.

In a paper led by James DiNicolantonio, Pharm.D., who is also the coauthor of my latest book, "Superfuel: Ketogenic Keys to Unlock the Secrets of Good Fats, Bad Fats, and Great Health," he explains how the likely true cause of elevated TMAO levels is hepatic insulin resistance.

Moreover, the paper shows that krill oil, astaxanthin, fish oil and berberine may be among some of the best supplemental strategies for those with high TMAO levels after diet optimization, as it is simply a reflection of insulin resistance in the liver.

Limit alcohol consumption — Research shows heavy alcohol consumption in middle age can be a risk factor for stroke. Those averaging more than two drinks a day were found to have a 34 percent higher risk of stroke than those who averaged less than half a drink per day.

According to this study, "Midlife heavy drinkers were at high risk from baseline until the age of 75 years when hypertension and diabetes mellitus grew to being the more relevant risk factors. In analyses of monozygotic twin-pairs, heavy drinking shortened time to stroke by five years."

Quit smoking — As one of the major risk factors for stroke, quitting smoking is an important consideration if you're concerned about your stroke risk.

Neuroplasticity Training Following a Stroke

If you, a family member, or close friend aren't able to navigate implementing the prevention recommendations above, then you need to know what to do immediately after you are in the hospital. With nearly 800,000 people having a stroke in the U.S. every year, there is a strong likelihood you will personally know someone who has a stroke.

I recently interviewed Bob Dennis about his excellent book, "Stroke of Luck: NOW! Fast and Free Exercises to Immediately Begin Mastering Neuroplasticity Following Stroke — Right Now!" and I would recommend everyone download a copy now. This is the book you want to have when you are in the ER so you can rapidly begin the process of activating your neuroplasticity and regain as much lost function from the stroke as possible.

Just as it's important to get rapid medical assistance when suffering a stroke, the sooner you begin taking steps to heal your brain after a stroke, the faster and more complete your recovery will be. This interview should be published sometime in the near future, so if this is a topic that interests you, be sure to keep an eye out for it.

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/03/21/stroke-at-young-age.aspx

source http://niapurenaturecom.weebly.com/blog/how-a-stroke-can-happen-when-youre-young-like-luke-perry

[jakehglover]

How Potassium Can Help Your High Blood Pressure

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one-third of Americans suffers from high blood pressure (hypertension).1 Another 33 percent have pre-hypertension, where their blood pressure is higher than desirable but not high enough to be classified as hypertension.

Hypertension carries a high cost to your health. It is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke,2 which are in the first and fifth position for leading causes of death in the U.S.3

The financial burden is over $48 billion each year in direct medical costs and lost work days, but does not include a number of other health conditions worsened by hypertension, including kidney disease and cognitive decline.

Only 54 percent of those with hypertension have their blood pressure under control.4 Unfortunately, while blood pressure monitoring has become commonplace at the dentist's and eye doctor's offices, the CDC estimates 1 in 5 people are not aware they have hypertension.

There are several ways to reduce your blood pressure without drugs, which I discuss below. Among them is balancing your potassium level, as this electrolyte has a significant effect on muscle contraction and arterial wall relaxation, but most Americans barely get half of the recommended daily allowance.5

What Is High Blood Pressure?

When your physician takes your blood pressure, he uses a sphygmomanometer to measure the amount of pressure your heart exerts to push blood through your arterial system. The top number represents the highest pressure and the bottom number is the lowest pressure needed. These numbers are related to the elasticity and diameter of your arterial walls.

When the pressure required to circulate your blood is high, it places an abnormal amount of stress on your heart muscle and smaller arteries, and reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to the smallest blood vessels in your body. Both of these consequences account for many of the secondary effects of hypertension.

Your blood pressure reading can vary throughout the day, so one high reading is not a concern. It is only when your blood pressure is consistently or chronically higher than normal that significant health conditions may occur.

The validity of your blood pressure reading will be affected by the size of the blood pressure cuff, the position of the cuff on your arm and whether you're nervous. Measuring your blood pressure in both arms at the same office visit may also give your vital information about your circulatory health.

A number of studies have revealed that a significant difference between your right and left arm pressure may indicate circulatory problems that raise your risk for stroke, peripheral artery disease or other cardiovascular problems.

While small differences between your arms is normal, researchers found when there is a difference of 5 points in the systolic reading (top number) it doubled the risk of dying from heart disease in the following eight years.6 The difference suggests the presence of plaque in the artery supplying the arm with the higher pressure.7

In a meta-analysis evaluating mortality rates of over 17,000 participants with inter-arm systolic blood pressure differences, researchers found participants with less than 10 points difference compared to those with greater than 10 point difference between arms suffered a 58 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.8 However, when the difference increased to 15 points, the risk increased to 88 percent.

Potassium Level Impacts High Blood Pressure

Potassium is a naturally occurring mineral that your body uses as an electrolyte, or substance in solution that will conduct electricity, and is vital for normal functioning.

Diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating (such as when using a sauna) and some drugs may deplete or disrupt your potassium balance. But, the most common reason your potassium levels are not within normal limits is due to poor dietary choices.

The average reported intake of potassium from food is about half of the 4,700 milligrams (mg) recommended.9 Research demonstrates that these low levels of potassium may have a significant impact on blood pressure, especially as it relates to the amount of salt normally found in a Western diet.

Dr. Paul Welton, professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, did an analysis in 1997 of over 29 trials that demonstrated low levels of potassium resulted in higher systolic blood pressure readings.10 Studies performed since then have found similar results.11,12 According to Welton:13

"The evidence is very strong and very consistent. A higher potassium intake may blunt the effects of excess salt on blood pressure. Potassium's effect is bigger in people who have higher blood pressure, bigger in older people, bigger in people who are consuming a lot of salt and bigger in black people."

Potassium works in your body to relax the walls of your arteries, keep your muscles from cramping, and lowers your blood pressure.14 The reduction in blood pressure with added potassium has also been associated in studies with a reduced risk of stroke.15

The Many Benefits of Potassium

Recent research found that women without hypertension who consumed the most potassium (nearly 3,200 mg/day) had a 21 percent reduced risk of stroke. Further, women who consumed the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who consumed the least.16 According to the study's lead researcher:17

"Potassium may play a role in improving blood vessel function in our brains. This could allow better oxygenation of our brain tissue, and prevent tissue death that occurs from lack of oxygen to the brain …

The effect of potassium consumption on reduced stroke risk could also be due to a better diet overall, though we did not investigate this in our study."

Potassium should be the third most abundant mineral in the human body. Adequate amounts of potassium are also associated with quicker recovery from exercise and improved muscle strength.18,19 As an electrolyte, potassium helps to regulate the fluid balance in your cells and throughout your body.20

Fluid balance is essential to maintaining life, preventing dehydration at the cellular level and maintaining brain function.21 Potassium is important in the transmission of nerve impulses in your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.22

Nerve impulses transmitting information from one nerve to the next happens as the result of electrical activity. This activity is what an electrocardiogram measures as it tracks heart activity.

Low levels of potassium have been linked with high levels of insulin and glucose, associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.23 These results have been found in several studies,24 leading researchers to recommend dietary choices that boost potassium levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Effects of High Blood Pressure on Your Body

Unfortunately, 20 percent of people who suffer with high blood pressure are unaware of the condition, significantly increasing their potential risk of health problems. With uncontrolled or poorly controlled hypertension, you increase the risk of significant health effects that reduce your quality of life and have a negative effect on the length of your life.

Hypertension increases your risk of stroke as it can cause blood vessels in your brain to rupture or clog more easily. In both instances, oxygen supply to a portion of the brain ceases and a stroke results.25 The increased workload on the heart muscle may result in heart failure, and damage to the arteries supplying the heart muscle with oxygen may result in a heart attack.

Hypertension may damage the smaller arteries, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered and severely impacting the ability of organs to function, such as your kidneys and eyes. This may result in kidney failure and vision loss. The damage to smaller blood vessels is called microvascular disease and may lead to angina, or chest pain when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen, and sexual dysfunction.

Atherosclerosis is another form of damage to the arterial system from hypertension that may result in peripheral vascular disease. The narrowing of the arteries may occur in the legs, arms, stomach and head, triggering pain and fatigue.

Sodium/Potassium Ratio Is Key to Strong Muscles and Relaxed Arteries

The key to relaxing your arterial walls and reducing your blood pressure is the sodium to potassium ratio. In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year's American Heart Association meeting,26 excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.

However, it's important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods — not from natural unprocessed salt. So, not only is the ratio between potassium and sodium important, so is the type of sodium consumed.

If you eat a lot of processed foods and not many vegetables, there's a good chance your sodium-to-potassium ratio is unbalanced. If you're not sure, try using cron-o-meter.com/mercola, which allows you to enter the foods you eat and then calculates the ratio automatically. It's generally recommended that you consume five times more potassium than sodium, but most Americans get the opposite ratio, eating two times more sodium than potassium.

This ratio is more important than your overall salt intake.27 A better strategy to promote public health would be to forgo the strict sodium reduction element and focus recommendations instead on a high-quality diet rich in potassium, as this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium. Imbalance in this ratio can not only lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) but also contribute to a number of other diseases, including:

Kidney stones

Memory decline

Cataracts

Osteoporosis

Erectile dysfunction

Stomach ulcers

Rheumatoid arthritis

Stomach cancer

Why a Balanced Diet Is Your Best Option to Improve Your Potassium Level

Getting nutrients from your food instead of supplements is preferable as your food contains more than a single nutrient and in different forms. For instance, potassium found in fruits and vegetables is potassium citrate or potassium malate, while supplements are often potassium chloride. The citrate and malate forms help produce alkali, which may promote bone health28 and preserve lean muscle mass as you age.29

Bone loss may lead to brittle bones or even osteoporosis. While potassium in fruits and vegetables may help build bone health, potassium chloride may not. As researcher Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes from Tufts University explains:30

"If you don't have adequate alkali to balance the acid load from the grains and protein in a typical American diet, you lose calcium in the urine and you have bone loss … When the body has more acid than it is easily able to excrete, bone cells get a signal that the body needs to neutralize the acid with alkali … And bone is a big alkali reservoir, so the body breaks down some bone to add alkali to the system."

Research by Dawson-Hughes found that people who were in the neutral range for net acid excretion, meaning they had a fairly healthy balance for bone and muscle health, were eating just over eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with 5.5 servings of grains.

When they rounded this out, it came to about half as many grains as fruits and vegetables. For many Americans a simple recommendation to increase your alkali (and potassium) while reducing acid is to eat more vegetables and fewer grains.31

Other Drug-Free Methods to Keep Blood Pressure Under Control

Here are several suggestions to help keep your blood pressure under control and reduce your risk of organ damage.

Address insulin and leptin resistance to impact magnesium and nitric oxide — High blood pressure is associated with insulin resistance, which results from eating a diet too high in sugar. As your insulin level rises, so does your blood pressure. Insulin stores magnesium, but if your insulin receptors are blunted and your cells grow resistant to insulin, you can't store magnesium so it passes out of your body through urination.

Magnesium stored in your cells relaxes muscles. If your magnesium level is too low, your blood vessels will constrict rather than relax, and this constriction raises your blood pressure.

Fructose also elevates uric acid, which drives up your blood pressure by inhibiting the nitric oxide in your blood vessels. (Uric acid is a byproduct of fructose metabolism. In fact, fructose typically generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion.) Nitric oxide helps your vessels maintain their elasticity, so nitric oxide suppression leads to increases in blood pressure.

If you're healthy, and want to stay that way, the general rule is to keep your total fructose intake to 25 grams per day or less. If you're insulin resistant and/or have high blood pressure, keep your total fructose to 15 grams or less per day until your condition has resolved.

Eat real food — A processed food diet, loaded with net carbohydrates (non-fiber carbs like sugar, fructose and grains) and trans fat (margarines and vegetable oils) is a recipe for hypertension. Instead, make whole, ideally organic foods the focus of your diet.

Also remember to swap non-fiber carbs for healthy fats such as avocados, butter made from raw, grass-fed organic milk, organic pastured egg yolks, coconuts and coconut oil, raw nuts such as pecans and macadamia, grass-fed meats and pasture raised poultry. To learn more about healthy eating, please see my optimal nutrition plan.

Mind your sodium to potassium ratio — According to Lawrence Appel, lead researcher on the DASH diet and director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins, your diet as a whole is the key to controlling hypertension — not salt reduction alone.

He believes a major part of the equation is this balance of minerals, i.e., most people need less sodium and more potassium, calcium and magnesium. According to Appel,32 "Higher levels of potassium blunt the effects of sodium. If you can't reduce or won't reduce sodium, adding potassium may help. But doing both is better."

Indeed, maintaining a proper potassium to sodium ratio in your diet is very important, and hypertension is but one of many side effects of an imbalance. A processed food diet virtually guarantees you'll have a lopsided ratio of too much sodium to potassium.

Making the switch from processed foods to whole foods will automatically improve your ratios. Include foods high in potassium such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, beets, black beans, wild caught salmon, edamame, butternut squash, Swiss chard, apricots, cantaloupe, mushrooms and tuna.33,34

Load up on veggies — Juicing is a simple way to increase the amount of vegetables in your diet, and many NO3-rich veggies (which raise your nitric oxide level) are suitable for juicing, such as beets, kale, celery, spinach, carrots and more. Allicin-rich garlic, leeks, shallots and chives also help improve your blood pressure, and are easy to add to salads and various dishes.

Optimize your vitamin D level — To learn more about vitamin D testing, please see my previous article, "How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize Your Health."

Boost your animal-based omega-3 intake — The best way to boost your omega-3 is to eat plenty of oily fish that are low in mercury and other pollutants. Good options include wild caught Alaskan salmon, sardines and anchovies. Alternatively, take a high-quality krill oil or fish oil supplement. Krill oil has advantages over fish oil, which is why I prefer it.

Consider intermittent fasting — Intermittent fasting is one of the most effective ways I've found to normalize your insulin/leptin sensitivity. It's not a diet in conventional terms, but rather a way of scheduling eating in such a way as to promote efficient energy use.

Essentially, intermittent fasting means eating your calories during a specific window of the day, and choosing not to eat food during the rest. When you eat, your body reacts by elevating insulin and leptin.

Exercise regularly — A comprehensive fitness program can go a long way toward regaining your insulin sensitivity and normalizing your blood pressure. To reap the greatest rewards, I recommend including high intensity interval exercises in your routine.

I also recommend training yourself to breathe through your nose when exercising, as mouth breathing during exercise can raise your heart rate and blood pressure, sometimes resulting in fatigue and dizziness. To learn more about this, please refer to my previous article on the Buteyko breathing method.

Avoid smoking and other forms of pollution — Smoking is known to contribute to high blood pressure, as are other forms of air pollution, even noise pollution. To address these, avoid smoking, consider using ear plugs during sleep if you live in a noisy neighborhood (provided you cannot move), and take steps to improve your indoor air quality.

Walk barefoot — Going barefoot will help you ground to the earth. Experiments show that walking barefoot outside (also referred to as Earthing or grounding) improves blood viscosity and blood flow, which help regulate blood pressure. So, do yourself a favor and ditch your shoes now and then.

Grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability. This in turn promotes homeostatis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. In essence, anytime you improve heart rate variability, you're improving your entire body and all of its functions.

Address your stress — The connection between stress and hypertension is well documented, yet still does not receive the emphasis it deserves. In fact, it has been shown that people with heart disease can lower their risk of subsequent cardiac events by over 70 percent simply by learning to manage their stress.

Suppressed negative emotions such as fear, anger and sadness can severely limit your ability to cope with the unavoidable every day stresses of life. It's not the stressful events themselves that are harmful, but your lack of ability to cope.

The good news is, strategies exist that quickly and effectively transform your suppressed, negative emotions, and relieve stress. My preferred method is the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an easy to learn, easy to use technique for releasing negative emotions.

EFT combines visualization with calm, relaxed breathing, while employing gentle tapping to "reprogram" deeply seated emotional patterns.

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/02/25/how-potassium-can-help-prevent-hypertension.aspx

[battybat-boss]

Can Iodine Boost Your IQ?

Perhaps the best way to determine how important iodine is to your health is to explain that not having enough - i.e., a deficiency - has been identified as the most common cause of preventable brain damage on the planet. Even more startling is research asserting that iodine deficiency is completely preventable, at least in the Western world.

In fact, even a moderate decrease in your iodine levels can cause a 10- to 15-point loss in your intelligence quotient (IQ), according to one study.1 Whether or not it's intentional, pregnant mothers nourish their babies' future health with their own food and lifestyle choices. Doing everything possible to ensure a child's overall health once they're born is important, but the brain health of developing babies before they're born is absolutely critical.

It's imperative for pregnant moms to get proper amounts of iodine for their unborn child's brain development, as even small amounts through breast milk helps babies in their first critical months after they're born, even to the point of helping to improve their IQ.2 In everyone else, upping your iodine intake may boost cognition.

Alarmingly low levels of iodine are a common problem in developing areas of the world, but it's becoming more prevalent in Western countries as well. In fact, one study revealing this is more than 20 years old,3 and one-fifth of Europe's population, where iodized salt is rare, is iodine deficient, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).4

Spirituality and Health notes that among the health benefits of balanced iodine levels, one of the most important is that it helps protect against toxins, and that goes for adults as well as infants. However, people in the U.S. aren't getting enough. In addition:

“Prenatal vitamins, for example, don't necessarily have iodine in them, and while processed foods are certainly high in sodium, they don't usually contain iodized salt. Home-cooked food with table salt provides more iodine than a processed frozen meal. Sea salt, more popular than ever, isn't always fortified with iodine, and another past source, bread, is no longer boosted with iodine.”5

Nootropics: Optimized Brain Health

A substance known as “nootropic,” aka, “smart drug,” means it can help repair damaged neurons and improve brain function. Nootropic can refer to compounds in foods or supplements with the ability to improve your mental abilities, such as your memory, ability to focus, motivation or even mood. Medical Daily further explains:

“Neuroscientists are acquiring a more nuanced understanding of the brain, the result being many new pharmaceutical drugs which target exact regions of the brain are in the works. The very same knowledge, though, might reveal how particular supplements might do an equally good job of improving brain function over the long haul.”6

Iodine, as an essential trace element, is a fast-acting nootropic that can help prevent brain degeneration later in life. One important aspect is that it combines with the amino acid tyrosine to form thyroid hormones T4 (thyroxine), which has four iodine atoms, and T3 (triiodothyronine), which has three. According to Nootropics Expert:

“Within your brain, T4 is converted to T3 by selenium which then affects gene expression controlling metabolism within cells, and activates the catecholamines dopamine, norepinephrine and epinephrine. Malfunctioning thyroid function which is often caused by insufficient iodine results in poor cognition, difficulty learning, problems with recall, depression and anxiety.”7

One of the most important aspects of iodine is how critical it is for your brain receptors, called neurotransmitters, in regard to regulation, production and use. As just mentioned, iodine is required for the production of T4 and T3, and thyroid hormone receptors in your brain help regulate the production and use of all important neurotransmitters. When you don't have enough iodine, symptoms of hypothyroidism may set in. These include:

Insomnia

Difficulty concentrating

Cold sensitivity

Fatigue

Depression

Joint and muscle pain

Dry skin and hair

Frequent, heavy periods for women

Iodized Salt: How It's Helped Boost IQ

Consumers in the U.S. have been getting the benefits of iodized table salt in the form of potassium iodide since 1924 to reduce an uptick in goiters, evidenced by an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The benefits have been substantial in terms of cognitive health, which three economists found when they looked at the IQs of children born just before 1924 and those born just after.

Discover Magazine called it “a natural experiment,” as military records on about 2 million male recruits born between 1921 and 1927 supplied what they needed:

“Recruits all took a standardized intelligence test as part of their enlistment. Researchers didn't have access to the test scores themselves, but they had a clever substitute: smarter recruits were assigned to the Air Forces while the less bright ones went to the Ground Forces. This allowed the researchers to infer test scores depending on which branch a recruit was selected for.

Intelligence data were paired with birthdate and hometown, since iodine levels in the soil and water vary significantly from place to place. To estimate which regions were naturally high-iodine and which were low, the researchers referred to nationwide statistics collected after World War I on the prevalence of goiter.”8

Interestingly, when the researchers reported their findings in the National Bureau of Economic Research, one rather disturbing statistic was the 10,000 deaths in the decades after 1924 attributed to abrupt iodine supplementation among deficient people, which, they found, can cause thyroid-related deaths.

But the trend turned, and both iodine deficiencies and related symptoms were “vanquished almost overnight.”9 In addition, the “Flynn Effect,” demonstrated by a 3-point rise in the collective IQ levels of whole populations of developed countries in the 20th century, showed that iodization of salt had been a remarkably healthy idea.

What Iodine Supplementation - or Lack Thereof - Could Do

Where foods aren't fortified with iodine and supplements aren't recommended by the National Health Service (NHS), even for pregnant mothers, the effects of iodine deficiency are quite evident. In fact, one symptom is cretinism, causing severely stunted physical and mental growth and deafness.

The case for supplementing with iodine is strengthened with this bit of information from a “cost effectiveness” study published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology,10 which found that augmenting the levels of iodine for pregnant women would save the NHS around £200 ($267) per woman in health costs and boost the child's IQ by 1.22 points.

In fact, the U.K.-based study cites an overall “benefit to society” potential of approximately £4,500 ($6,008) per child over their lifetime, and also addressed the fact that during pregnancy and lactation, iodine levels need to be increased.

“Results from previous studies show that the cognitive ability of offspring might be irreversibly damaged as a result of their mother's mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy. A reduced intelligence quotient (IQ) score has broad economic and societal cost implications because intelligence affects well-being, income and education outcomes.”11

Needless to say, it's not how the state would benefit but the implications for each individual child, and here's why: Fifty million people throughout the world have suffered brain damage due to an iodine deficiency, the WHO12 notes. Science Daily quotes the study authors' sobering observation: “Iodine deficiency in pregnancy remains the leading cause of preventable retardation worldwide.

Even mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy is associated with children with lower IQs.”13 Adequate iodine supplementation also helps rid your body of toxins you may be exposed to, such as heavy metals and fluoride.

How Does Your Body Assimilate Iodine?

Iodine, not to be confused with iodide, is the molecule cells absorb in your body, but it's not readily available in food and supplements. Iodide, which is more stable, is the form usually found in supplements. In your body, the iodide molecule is converted into iodine, the active form needed by your thyroid gland.

It doesn't take much iodine to keep your body in healthy levels, but a little bit daily is critical for keeping your organs at optimal function. As mentioned, iodine helps synthesize your thyroid hormones, which regulate nearly all your systems. Several thyroid hormones secreted by your thyroid gland even maintain energy production and metabolism.

Another way of saying it is that your whole body counts on your thyroid hormones continuing to produce and optimize the function of your thyroid gland, which is controlled by your pituitary gland. Your pituitary gland, in turn, is controlled by your hypothalamus.

As Healthline explains, your hypothalamus “governs physiologic functions such as temperature regulation, thirst, hunger, sleep, mood, sex drive and the release of other hormones within the body.”14 In essence, this “order of command,” so to speak, is necessary for low thyroid hormone levels to be identified so more will be secreted.

That's why iodine for a healthy thyroid is so important for children even before they're born, and continues throughout life. It makes the difference between normal, healthy growth and neurological development.

Perchlorate: New Concerns Over An Old Tradition

A 2014 study suggests fireworks may not be the harmless display we believe they are when we celebrate holidays. In fact, the fallout causes not just air pollution and residues from barium, cobalt, lead and strontium, but a little-known chemical called perchlorate, The Conversation15 reports.

Perchlorate is a concern because it may have detrimental effects on brain development, according to a study16 published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, involving 21,000 pregnant women in the U.K and Italy. Not only did all of them test for high levels of perchlorate, but also for low iodine levels. Their babies were subsequently found to have a significantly higher risk of IQ loss.

Then there's flame retardants, which have been linked to papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer, especially among postmenopausal women. The worst flame retardants in terms of being cancer-causing are polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) and organophosphate, which may lead to decreases in TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone).17

Iodine-Rich Foods and Iodine Supplementation

Many countries, including the U.S., routinely fortify table salt with iodine. If you want to increase your iodine with food, a few of the most iodine-rich options include raw, organic, pastured cow's milk, sea vegetables such as kelp and dulce seaweed, organic, grass fed yogurt, pastured, organic eggs and Celtic sea salt. Organic cranberries, strawberries and raw, unpasteurized, organic cheese also have higher amounts of iodine.18

Keep in mind that many doctors tell their patients to lower their salt intake, or even eliminate salt from their diet altogether, as a misguided strategy to lower their risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. In reality, a balanced potassium-to-sodium ratio exerts far more influence, so don't cut salt until you know the real implications.

WHO now advises adults worldwide to take 150 micrograms (mcg) of iodine per day, with 250 mcg recommended for both pregnant and breastfeeding women.19 In this fast-moving world with concerns about everything from our nutrient-depleted soil to the chemical additives in our air and water, the quest for health may seem like a challenge sometimes.

However, when research emerges to help you make informed choices about how to proceed in order to optimize your health, as well as that of your children and grandchildren, it's an opportunity to improve on what you already know.

[workreveal-blog]

Fitness Canada proposes trans fats ban

New Post has been published on https://workreveal.biz/fitness-canada-proposes-trans-fats-ban/

Fitness Canada proposes trans fats ban

Extra than a decade after promising action, the authorities of Canada maintains to inch its manner in the direction of banning the principle supply of artificial trans fats in our diets.

On Friday, Health Canada released a “Notice of Idea” to prohibit the use of heavily produced in part hydrogenated oils (PHOs.)

The oils are the primary source of trans fat in ingredients that boost degrees of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol and lower “suitable” LDL cholesterol and can take a toll on our heart Health.

They may be used in the manufacturing of pastries, other baked goods, and some packaged items to extend shelf life. Trans fat timeline “Prohibiting the usage of PHOs in all foods bought in Canada represents a massive and final step in Health Canada’s efforts to reduce trans fat in the Canadian food deliver to the lowest viable degree,” the department stated in a release.

Trans fat to be added to prohibited list

Canada

Fitness Canada ambitions to insert the oils to its “list of Contaminants and different Adulterating Materials in ingredients.” That list now consists of items which include petroleum jelly, which producers are prohibited from the use of in meals.

A total ban on synthetic trans fats has been elusive in Canada.

In the Nineteen Nineties, as evidence about the sick results of in part hydrogenated oils emerged, Canadians have been among the most important clients of trans fat inside the international.

A ban on the substance became first proposed through the federal NDP in 2004. The other Liberal government promised movement. Then the Conservative government gave the enterprise a two-12 months cut-off date to comply with voluntary limits, a deadline that got here and went.

Interested parties have until June 21 to reply to the proposed ban.

Aim to remove trans fats from foods virtually

Health Canada stated the public Health goal is to slash the intake of trans fats by using the general public of Canadians by way of truly doing away with it from foods.

The ban will even prevent the meals enterprise from reintroducing PHOs into ingredients bought in Canada, to save you foods synthetic someplace else with PHOs from being imported.

Though people searches how to get fat. And fat people needs fat burning foods but first they need to use body fat calculator to measure it.

  Canadian researchers estimate a ban may want to prevent 12,000 coronary heart assaults in Canada over two decades

FDA officers say Individuals nevertheless devour about a gram of trans fat each day, and phasing it out may want to prevent 20,000 heart assaults and seven,000 deaths each year.

Once the regulation is finalized, Fitness Canada stated the prohibition might come into effect one year later. Throughout that yr, producers would want to reformulate their products.

The countrywide beverage lobby, whose members consist of some the world’s largest soft drink and juice producers, is already out ahead of Ottawa Public Health’s plan to test the waters on a food-and-drink advertising and marketing ban.

“We simply need to get a sense of what the manner is going to be for consultations,” according to Carolyn Fell, senior director of communications for the Canadian Beverage Affiliation.

The Affiliation has been meeting with councilors searching for “points of alignment” with the town, Fell stated.

The general public Fitness board last Monday authorized consultations on four policy alternatives for lowering the effect of unhealthy meals and drinks on children. The ideas consist of banning advertising on metropolis property, banning advertising in colleges, restricting access to the goods on city ownership and the usage of zoning policies to restrict locations of fast food joints.

Fell stated the beverage industry has voluntary advertising and marketing restrictions to kids underneath 12. “We’ve got an utterly exact track file in this area,” Fell said. “We are not opposed to having the restrictions installed, as long as they follow to everybody Similarly, as long as They may be affordable, as long as the session is broad and open and anybody’s information is taken into consideration and that it’s proof-based.”

The Health Unit is consulting on possible regulations to promoting meals and liquids excessive in salt, fat, sugar or calories on corporate assets. However, the beverage Affiliation desires to understand what meaning.

trans fat

“We’d need to have a crystal-clear understanding of where those thresholds are going to be,” Fell said.

The town’s lobbyist registry additionally indicates a consultant from Coca-Cola changed into additionally involved in meetings with councilors and group of workers this week about the Health unit’s session plan.

Coun. Shad Qadri, the chair of the Fitness board, is eager on collecting input from any organization that might be laid flat with advertising regulations.

“I want to make confident that when we exit to consultation, we supply every team and each companion inside the community and the general public itself an possibility to make their remarks or placed their comments into this technique,” Qadri stated.

One public delegate and a Fitness board member called into query the metropolis’s partnership with Red Bull Crashed Ice as a part of the Ottawa 2017 program. The strength drink changed into firmly marketed inside the capital At some point of the event.

Qadri said inside the destiny the Fitness board would probably supply some concept to important occasions with that form of product sponsorship.

There’s a heightened Health consciousness approximately electricity beverages at city hall. In 2013, the town requested its supplier to get rid of power drinks from vending machines in municipal undertaking centers.

The beverage Affiliation is watching the city’s subsequent pass intently.

“I assume if there’s difficulty about caffeine, they want to have a look at all of the caffeine, and not just one tremendously small source of caffeine,” Fell said, pointing to espresso as a far Greater widely fed on caffeinated drink.

There can be a difficult promote inside city corridor if an advertising and marketing limit kills cash-making possibilities.

OC Transpo and recreation, a way of life and facilities are two metropolis departments that generate publicity and marketing sales.

The town says revenue from rink board and wall advertisements associated with the food and beverage area is envisioned at $18,000 yearly. Pouring rights for bloodless beverages rake in $ninety-six,000. Rentals for concession stands, which make the most of the sale of food and liquids, convey in $324,000.

Transpo’s third-birthday celebration marketing agreements for buses, stations and shelters are worth $three.7 million, but the town didn’t have a breakdown via products or services sorts.

canada bans trans fat

Qadri said he’s now not positive yet if there might be pushback from inner or out of doors city hall at the idea of advertising regulations.

The Fitness board is also hoping for help from the feds. The board has thrown its support behind a Senate bill aiming to restriction advertising of food and drinks to kids underneath thirteen years old.

At the same time, Fell stated the beverage Affiliation is involved that a “patchwork of advertising regulations may be a little bit tight for all people.” Is there any factor of our lives that a few politicians gained to try to adjust?

Even supposing a flesh-presser did recognize what turned into exceptional for us in every element of our lives, does she or he ought to be so smug as to consider that they ought to then go in advance and legislate their opinion into regulation?

As Shawn Jeffords said Tuesday, metropolis hall in Toronto is considering a record on strength beverages from the Toronto Board of Health that recommends, “metropolis-owned homes not sell or distribute the caffeinated drinks due to the capability “Fitness impacts” they can have on people, in particular, kids.

“The board additionally voted to exchange the metropolis’s alcohol policy, ensuring event organizers in Toronto are aware of Fitness Canada’s cautions regarding blending booze and power drinks.”

Let’s consider whether, in fact, the board is proper approximately Health effects.

The Canadian Beverage Association, which admittedly has a bias in this debate, fees the Worldwide Magazine of medication announcing, “There’s no steady proof that strength beverages adjust the perceived degree of intoxication of those who blend electricity liquids with alcohol.”

The Affiliation’s self-hobby doesn’t trade the Magazine’s locating.

Also they quote, “Health Canada’s meals Directorate concluded that a wholesome adult could tolerate a maximum consumption of four hundred mg caffeine in line with a day, which could be equal to five servings of an ordinary power drink according to day. This amount of caffeine turned into now not related to adverse Health outcomes.”

Power drinks include 1/2 the caffeine, within the same quantity alcohol, like a cup of espresso. Will town corridor and the Board of Fitness flow after go to war with coffee?

Did everybody On the board and the council have a cup of espresso at the same time as considering new legal guidelines against energy drinks?

“We’re no longer saying they must be banned, we’re saying humans need to be aware of the potential Fitness effects,” stated appearing clinical officer of Fitness Barbara Yaffe.

Well, if we aren’t going to ban them, why is metropolis corridor thinking about banning them from municipality owned belongings? Why no longer only depart it alone?

[paullassiterca]

How Potassium Can Help Your High Blood Pressure

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one-third of Americans suffers from high blood pressure (hypertension).1 Another 33 percent have pre-hypertension, where their blood pressure is higher than desirable but not high enough to be classified as hypertension.

Hypertension carries a high cost to your health. It is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke,2 which are in the first and fifth position for leading causes of death in the U.S.3

The financial burden is over $48 billion each year in direct medical costs and lost work days, but does not include a number of other health conditions worsened by hypertension, including kidney disease and cognitive decline.

Only 54 percent of those with hypertension have their blood pressure under control.4 Unfortunately, while blood pressure monitoring has become commonplace at the dentist’s and eye doctor’s offices, the CDC estimates 1 in 5 people are not aware they have hypertension.

There are several ways to reduce your blood pressure without drugs, which I discuss below. Among them is balancing your potassium level, as this electrolyte has a significant effect on muscle contraction and arterial wall relaxation, but most Americans barely get half of the recommended daily allowance.5

What Is High Blood Pressure?

When your physician takes your blood pressure, he uses a sphygmomanometer to measure the amount of pressure your heart exerts to push blood through your arterial system. The top number represents the highest pressure and the bottom number is the lowest pressure needed. These numbers are related to the elasticity and diameter of your arterial walls.

When the pressure required to circulate your blood is high, it places an abnormal amount of stress on your heart muscle and smaller arteries, and reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to the smallest blood vessels in your body. Both of these consequences account for many of the secondary effects of hypertension.

Your blood pressure reading can vary throughout the day, so one high reading is not a concern. It is only when your blood pressure is consistently or chronically higher than normal that significant health conditions may occur.

The validity of your blood pressure reading will be affected by the size of the blood pressure cuff, the position of the cuff on your arm and whether you’re nervous. Measuring your blood pressure in both arms at the same office visit may also give your vital information about your circulatory health.

A number of studies have revealed that a significant difference between your right and left arm pressure may indicate circulatory problems that raise your risk for stroke, peripheral artery disease or other cardiovascular problems.

While small differences between your arms is normal, researchers found when there is a difference of 5 points in the systolic reading (top number) it doubled the risk of dying from heart disease in the following eight years.6 The difference suggests the presence of plaque in the artery supplying the arm with the higher pressure.7

In a meta-analysis evaluating mortality rates of over 17,000 participants with inter-arm systolic blood pressure differences, researchers found participants with less than 10 points difference compared to those with greater than 10 point difference between arms suffered a 58 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.8 However, when the difference increased to 15 points, the risk increased to 88 percent.

Potassium Level Impacts High Blood Pressure

Potassium is a naturally occurring mineral that your body uses as an electrolyte, or substance in solution that will conduct electricity, and is vital for normal functioning.

Diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating (such as when using a sauna) and some drugs may deplete or disrupt your potassium balance. But, the most common reason your potassium levels are not within normal limits is due to poor dietary choices.

The average reported intake of potassium from food is about half of the 4,700 milligrams (mg) recommended.9 Research demonstrates that these low levels of potassium may have a significant impact on blood pressure, especially as it relates to the amount of salt normally found in a Western diet.

Dr. Paul Welton, professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, did an analysis in 1997 of over 29 trials that demonstrated low levels of potassium resulted in higher systolic blood pressure readings.10 Studies performed since then have found similar results.11,12 According to Welton:13

“The evidence is very strong and very consistent. A higher potassium intake may blunt the effects of excess salt on blood pressure. Potassium’s effect is bigger in people who have higher blood pressure, bigger in older people, bigger in people who are consuming a lot of salt and bigger in black people.”

Potassium works in your body to relax the walls of your arteries, keep your muscles from cramping, and lowers your blood pressure.14 The reduction in blood pressure with added potassium has also been associated in studies with a reduced risk of stroke.15

The Many Benefits of Potassium

Recent research found that women without hypertension who consumed the most potassium (nearly 3,200 mg/day) had a 21 percent reduced risk of stroke. Further, women who consumed the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who consumed the least.16 According to the study’s lead researcher:17

“Potassium may play a role in improving blood vessel function in our brains. This could allow better oxygenation of our brain tissue, and prevent tissue death that occurs from lack of oxygen to the brain …

The effect of potassium consumption on reduced stroke risk could also be due to a better diet overall, though we did not investigate this in our study.”

Potassium should be the third most abundant mineral in the human body. Adequate amounts of potassium are also associated with quicker recovery from exercise and improved muscle strength.18,19 As an electrolyte, potassium helps to regulate the fluid balance in your cells and throughout your body.20

Fluid balance is essential to maintaining life, preventing dehydration at the cellular level and maintaining brain function.21 Potassium is important in the transmission of nerve impulses in your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.22

Nerve impulses transmitting information from one nerve to the next happens as the result of electrical activity. This activity is what an electrocardiogram measures as it tracks heart activity.

Low levels of potassium have been linked with high levels of insulin and glucose, associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.23 These results have been found in several studies,24 leading researchers to recommend dietary choices that boost potassium levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Effects of High Blood Pressure on Your Body

Unfortunately, 20 percent of people who suffer with high blood pressure are unaware of the condition, significantly increasing their potential risk of health problems. With uncontrolled or poorly controlled hypertension, you increase the risk of significant health effects that reduce your quality of life and have a negative effect on the length of your life.

Hypertension increases your risk of stroke as it can cause blood vessels in your brain to rupture or clog more easily. In both instances, oxygen supply to a portion of the brain ceases and a stroke results.25 The increased workload on the heart muscle may result in heart failure, and damage to the arteries supplying the heart muscle with oxygen may result in a heart attack.

Hypertension may damage the smaller arteries, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered and severely impacting the ability of organs to function, such as your kidneys and eyes. This may result in kidney failure and vision loss. The damage to smaller blood vessels is called microvascular disease and may lead to angina, or chest pain when the heart muscle doesn’t get enough oxygen, and sexual dysfunction.

Atherosclerosis is another form of damage to the arterial system from hypertension that may result in peripheral vascular disease. The narrowing of the arteries may occur in the legs, arms, stomach and head, triggering pain and fatigue.

Sodium/Potassium Ratio Is Key to Strong Muscles and Relaxed Arteries

The key to relaxing your arterial walls and reducing your blood pressure is the sodium to potassium ratio. In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year’s American Heart Association meeting,26 excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.

However, it’s important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods — not from natural unprocessed salt. So, not only is the ratio between potassium and sodium important, so is the type of sodium consumed.

If you eat a lot of processed foods and not many vegetables, there’s a good chance your sodium-to-potassium ratio is unbalanced. If you’re not sure, try using cron-o-meter.com/mercola, which allows you to enter the foods you eat and then calculates the ratio automatically. It’s generally recommended that you consume five times more potassium than sodium, but most Americans get the opposite ratio, eating two times more sodium than potassium.

This ratio is more important than your overall salt intake.27 A better strategy to promote public health would be to forgo the strict sodium reduction element and focus recommendations instead on a high-quality diet rich in potassium, as this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium. Imbalance in this ratio can not only lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) but also contribute to a number of other diseases, including:

Kidney stones

Memory decline

Cataracts

Osteoporosis

Erectile dysfunction

Stomach ulcers

Rheumatoid arthritis

Stomach cancer

Why a Balanced Diet Is Your Best Option to Improve Your Potassium Level

Getting nutrients from your food instead of supplements is preferable as your food contains more than a single nutrient and in different forms. For instance, potassium found in fruits and vegetables is potassium citrate or potassium malate, while supplements are often potassium chloride. The citrate and malate forms help produce alkali, which may promote bone health28 and preserve lean muscle mass as you age.29

Bone loss may lead to brittle bones or even osteoporosis. While potassium in fruits and vegetables may help build bone health, potassium chloride may not. As researcher Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes from Tufts University explains:30

“If you don’t have adequate alkali to balance the acid load from the grains and protein in a typical American diet, you lose calcium in the urine and you have bone loss … When the body has more acid than it is easily able to excrete, bone cells get a signal that the body needs to neutralize the acid with alkali … And bone is a big alkali reservoir, so the body breaks down some bone to add alkali to the system.”

Research by Dawson-Hughes found that people who were in the neutral range for net acid excretion, meaning they had a fairly healthy balance for bone and muscle health, were eating just over eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with 5.5 servings of grains.

When they rounded this out, it came to about half as many grains as fruits and vegetables. For many Americans a simple recommendation to increase your alkali (and potassium) while reducing acid is to eat more vegetables and fewer grains.31

Other Drug-Free Methods to Keep Blood Pressure Under Control

Here are several suggestions to help keep your blood pressure under control and reduce your risk of organ damage.

Address insulin and leptin resistance to impact magnesium and nitric oxide — High blood pressure is associated with insulin resistance, which results from eating a diet too high in sugar. As your insulin level rises, so does your blood pressure. Insulin stores magnesium, but if your insulin receptors are blunted and your cells grow resistant to insulin, you can’t store magnesium so it passes out of your body through urination.

Magnesium stored in your cells relaxes muscles. If your magnesium level is too low, your blood vessels will constrict rather than relax, and this constriction raises your blood pressure.

Fructose also elevates uric acid, which drives up your blood pressure by inhibiting the nitric oxide in your blood vessels. (Uric acid is a byproduct of fructose metabolism. In fact, fructose typically generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion.) Nitric oxide helps your vessels maintain their elasticity, so nitric oxide suppression leads to increases in blood pressure.

If you’re healthy, and want to stay that way, the general rule is to keep your total fructose intake to 25 grams per day or less. If you’re insulin resistant and/or have high blood pressure, keep your total fructose to 15 grams or less per day until your condition has resolved.

Eat real food — A processed food diet, loaded with net carbohydrates (non-fiber carbs like sugar, fructose and grains) and trans fat (margarines and vegetable oils) is a recipe for hypertension. Instead, make whole, ideally organic foods the focus of your diet.

Also remember to swap non-fiber carbs for healthy fats such as avocados, butter made from raw, grass-fed organic milk, organic pastured egg yolks, coconuts and coconut oil, raw nuts such as pecans and macadamia, grass-fed meats and pasture raised poultry. To learn more about healthy eating, please see my optimal nutrition plan.

Mind your sodium to potassium ratio — According to Lawrence Appel, lead researcher on the DASH diet and director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins, your diet as a whole is the key to controlling hypertension — not salt reduction alone.

He believes a major part of the equation is this balance of minerals, i.e., most people need less sodium and more potassium, calcium and magnesium. According to Appel,32 “Higher levels of potassium blunt the effects of sodium. If you can’t reduce or won’t reduce sodium, adding potassium may help. But doing both is better.”

Indeed, maintaining a proper potassium to sodium ratio in your diet is very important, and hypertension is but one of many side effects of an imbalance. A processed food diet virtually guarantees you’ll have a lopsided ratio of too much sodium to potassium.

Making the switch from processed foods to whole foods will automatically improve your ratios. Include foods high in potassium such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, beets, black beans, wild caught salmon, edamame, butternut squash, Swiss chard, apricots, cantaloupe, mushrooms and tuna.33,34

Load up on veggies — Juicing is a simple way to increase the amount of vegetables in your diet, and many NO3-rich veggies (which raise your nitric oxide level) are suitable for juicing, such as beets, kale, celery, spinach, carrots and more. Allicin-rich garlic, leeks, shallots and chives also help improve your blood pressure, and are easy to add to salads and various dishes.

Optimize your vitamin D level — To learn more about vitamin D testing, please see my previous article, “How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize Your Health.”

Boost your animal-based omega-3 intake — The best way to boost your omega-3 is to eat plenty of oily fish that are low in mercury and other pollutants. Good options include wild caught Alaskan salmon, sardines and anchovies. Alternatively, take a high-quality krill oil or fish oil supplement. Krill oil has advantages over fish oil, which is why I prefer it.

Consider intermittent fasting — Intermittent fasting is one of the most effective ways I’ve found to normalize your insulin/leptin sensitivity. It’s not a diet in conventional terms, but rather a way of scheduling eating in such a way as to promote efficient energy use.

Essentially, intermittent fasting means eating your calories during a specific window of the day, and choosing not to eat food during the rest. When you eat, your body reacts by elevating insulin and leptin.

Exercise regularly — A comprehensive fitness program can go a long way toward regaining your insulin sensitivity and normalizing your blood pressure. To reap the greatest rewards, I recommend including high intensity interval exercises in your routine.

I also recommend training yourself to breathe through your nose when exercising, as mouth breathing during exercise can raise your heart rate and blood pressure, sometimes resulting in fatigue and dizziness. To learn more about this, please refer to my previous article on the Buteyko breathing method.

Avoid smoking and other forms of pollution — Smoking is known to contribute to high blood pressure, as are other forms of air pollution, even noise pollution. To address these, avoid smoking, consider using ear plugs during sleep if you live in a noisy neighborhood (provided you cannot move), and take steps to improve your indoor air quality.

Walk barefoot — Going barefoot will help you ground to the earth. Experiments show that walking barefoot outside (also referred to as Earthing or grounding) improves blood viscosity and blood flow, which help regulate blood pressure. So, do yourself a favor and ditch your shoes now and then.

Grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability. This in turn promotes homeostatis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. In essence, anytime you improve heart rate variability, you’re improving your entire body and all of its functions.

Address your stress — The connection between stress and hypertension is well documented, yet still does not receive the emphasis it deserves. In fact, it has been shown that people with heart disease can lower their risk of subsequent cardiac events by over 70 percent simply by learning to manage their stress.

Suppressed negative emotions such as fear, anger and sadness can severely limit your ability to cope with the unavoidable every day stresses of life. It’s not the stressful events themselves that are harmful, but your lack of ability to cope.

The good news is, strategies exist that quickly and effectively transform your suppressed, negative emotions, and relieve stress. My preferred method is the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an easy to learn, easy to use technique for releasing negative emotions.

EFT combines visualization with calm, relaxed breathing, while employing gentle tapping to “reprogram” deeply seated emotional patterns.

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/02/25/how-potassium-can-help-prevent-hypertension.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/183042450826

[jerrytackettca]

How Potassium Can Help Your High Blood Pressure

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one-third of Americans suffers from high blood pressure (hypertension).1 Another 33 percent have pre-hypertension, where their blood pressure is higher than desirable but not high enough to be classified as hypertension.

Hypertension carries a high cost to your health. It is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke,2 which are in the first and fifth position for leading causes of death in the U.S.3

The financial burden is over $48 billion each year in direct medical costs and lost work days, but does not include a number of other health conditions worsened by hypertension, including kidney disease and cognitive decline.

Only 54 percent of those with hypertension have their blood pressure under control.4 Unfortunately, while blood pressure monitoring has become commonplace at the dentist's and eye doctor's offices, the CDC estimates 1 in 5 people are not aware they have hypertension.

There are several ways to reduce your blood pressure without drugs, which I discuss below. Among them is balancing your potassium level, as this electrolyte has a significant effect on muscle contraction and arterial wall relaxation, but most Americans barely get half of the recommended daily allowance.5

What Is High Blood Pressure?

When your physician takes your blood pressure, he uses a sphygmomanometer to measure the amount of pressure your heart exerts to push blood through your arterial system. The top number represents the highest pressure and the bottom number is the lowest pressure needed. These numbers are related to the elasticity and diameter of your arterial walls.

When the pressure required to circulate your blood is high, it places an abnormal amount of stress on your heart muscle and smaller arteries, and reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to the smallest blood vessels in your body. Both of these consequences account for many of the secondary effects of hypertension.

Your blood pressure reading can vary throughout the day, so one high reading is not a concern. It is only when your blood pressure is consistently or chronically higher than normal that significant health conditions may occur.

The validity of your blood pressure reading will be affected by the size of the blood pressure cuff, the position of the cuff on your arm and whether you're nervous. Measuring your blood pressure in both arms at the same office visit may also give your vital information about your circulatory health.

A number of studies have revealed that a significant difference between your right and left arm pressure may indicate circulatory problems that raise your risk for stroke, peripheral artery disease or other cardiovascular problems.

While small differences between your arms is normal, researchers found when there is a difference of 5 points in the systolic reading (top number) it doubled the risk of dying from heart disease in the following eight years.6 The difference suggests the presence of plaque in the artery supplying the arm with the higher pressure.7

In a meta-analysis evaluating mortality rates of over 17,000 participants with inter-arm systolic blood pressure differences, researchers found participants with less than 10 points difference compared to those with greater than 10 point difference between arms suffered a 58 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.8 However, when the difference increased to 15 points, the risk increased to 88 percent.

Potassium Level Impacts High Blood Pressure

Potassium is a naturally occurring mineral that your body uses as an electrolyte, or substance in solution that will conduct electricity, and is vital for normal functioning.

Diarrhea, vomiting, excessive sweating (such as when using a sauna) and some drugs may deplete or disrupt your potassium balance. But, the most common reason your potassium levels are not within normal limits is due to poor dietary choices.

The average reported intake of potassium from food is about half of the 4,700 milligrams (mg) recommended.9 Research demonstrates that these low levels of potassium may have a significant impact on blood pressure, especially as it relates to the amount of salt normally found in a Western diet.

Dr. Paul Welton, professor of epidemiology at Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, did an analysis in 1997 of over 29 trials that demonstrated low levels of potassium resulted in higher systolic blood pressure readings.10 Studies performed since then have found similar results.11,12 According to Welton:13

"The evidence is very strong and very consistent. A higher potassium intake may blunt the effects of excess salt on blood pressure. Potassium's effect is bigger in people who have higher blood pressure, bigger in older people, bigger in people who are consuming a lot of salt and bigger in black people."

Potassium works in your body to relax the walls of your arteries, keep your muscles from cramping, and lowers your blood pressure.14 The reduction in blood pressure with added potassium has also been associated in studies with a reduced risk of stroke.15

The Many Benefits of Potassium

Recent research found that women without hypertension who consumed the most potassium (nearly 3,200 mg/day) had a 21 percent reduced risk of stroke. Further, women who consumed the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who consumed the least.16 According to the study's lead researcher:17

"Potassium may play a role in improving blood vessel function in our brains. This could allow better oxygenation of our brain tissue, and prevent tissue death that occurs from lack of oxygen to the brain …

The effect of potassium consumption on reduced stroke risk could also be due to a better diet overall, though we did not investigate this in our study."

Potassium should be the third most abundant mineral in the human body. Adequate amounts of potassium are also associated with quicker recovery from exercise and improved muscle strength.18,19 As an electrolyte, potassium helps to regulate the fluid balance in your cells and throughout your body.20

Fluid balance is essential to maintaining life, preventing dehydration at the cellular level and maintaining brain function.21 Potassium is important in the transmission of nerve impulses in your brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous system.22

Nerve impulses transmitting information from one nerve to the next happens as the result of electrical activity. This activity is what an electrocardiogram measures as it tracks heart activity.

Low levels of potassium have been linked with high levels of insulin and glucose, associated with metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.23 These results have been found in several studies,24 leading researchers to recommend dietary choices that boost potassium levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Effects of High Blood Pressure on Your Body

Unfortunately, 20 percent of people who suffer with high blood pressure are unaware of the condition, significantly increasing their potential risk of health problems. With uncontrolled or poorly controlled hypertension, you increase the risk of significant health effects that reduce your quality of life and have a negative effect on the length of your life.

Hypertension increases your risk of stroke as it can cause blood vessels in your brain to rupture or clog more easily. In both instances, oxygen supply to a portion of the brain ceases and a stroke results.25 The increased workload on the heart muscle may result in heart failure, and damage to the arteries supplying the heart muscle with oxygen may result in a heart attack.

Hypertension may damage the smaller arteries, reducing the amount of oxygen delivered and severely impacting the ability of organs to function, such as your kidneys and eyes. This may result in kidney failure and vision loss. The damage to smaller blood vessels is called microvascular disease and may lead to angina, or chest pain when the heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen, and sexual dysfunction.

Atherosclerosis is another form of damage to the arterial system from hypertension that may result in peripheral vascular disease. The narrowing of the arteries may occur in the legs, arms, stomach and head, triggering pain and fatigue.

Sodium/Potassium Ratio Is Key to Strong Muscles and Relaxed Arteries

The key to relaxing your arterial walls and reducing your blood pressure is the sodium to potassium ratio. In the United States and many other developed countries, salt has been vilified as a primary cause of high blood pressure and heart disease. According to research presented at last year's American Heart Association meeting,26 excessive salt consumption contributed to 2.3 million heart-related deaths worldwide in 2010.

However, it's important to realize that most Americans and other Westerners get the majority of their sodium from commercially available table salt and processed foods — not from natural unprocessed salt. So, not only is the ratio between potassium and sodium important, so is the type of sodium consumed.

If you eat a lot of processed foods and not many vegetables, there's a good chance your sodium-to-potassium ratio is unbalanced. If you're not sure, try using cron-o-meter.com/mercola, which allows you to enter the foods you eat and then calculates the ratio automatically. It's generally recommended that you consume five times more potassium than sodium, but most Americans get the opposite ratio, eating two times more sodium than potassium.

This ratio is more important than your overall salt intake.27 A better strategy to promote public health would be to forgo the strict sodium reduction element and focus recommendations instead on a high-quality diet rich in potassium, as this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium. Imbalance in this ratio can not only lead to hypertension (high blood pressure) but also contribute to a number of other diseases, including:

Kidney stones

Memory decline

Cataracts

Osteoporosis

Erectile dysfunction

Stomach ulcers

Rheumatoid arthritis

Stomach cancer

Why a Balanced Diet Is Your Best Option to Improve Your Potassium Level

Getting nutrients from your food instead of supplements is preferable as your food contains more than a single nutrient and in different forms. For instance, potassium found in fruits and vegetables is potassium citrate or potassium malate, while supplements are often potassium chloride. The citrate and malate forms help produce alkali, which may promote bone health28 and preserve lean muscle mass as you age.29

Bone loss may lead to brittle bones or even osteoporosis. While potassium in fruits and vegetables may help build bone health, potassium chloride may not. As researcher Dr. Bess Dawson-Hughes from Tufts University explains:30

"If you don't have adequate alkali to balance the acid load from the grains and protein in a typical American diet, you lose calcium in the urine and you have bone loss … When the body has more acid than it is easily able to excrete, bone cells get a signal that the body needs to neutralize the acid with alkali … And bone is a big alkali reservoir, so the body breaks down some bone to add alkali to the system."

Research by Dawson-Hughes found that people who were in the neutral range for net acid excretion, meaning they had a fairly healthy balance for bone and muscle health, were eating just over eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day along with 5.5 servings of grains.

When they rounded this out, it came to about half as many grains as fruits and vegetables. For many Americans a simple recommendation to increase your alkali (and potassium) while reducing acid is to eat more vegetables and fewer grains.31

Other Drug-Free Methods to Keep Blood Pressure Under Control

Here are several suggestions to help keep your blood pressure under control and reduce your risk of organ damage.

Address insulin and leptin resistance to impact magnesium and nitric oxide — High blood pressure is associated with insulin resistance, which results from eating a diet too high in sugar. As your insulin level rises, so does your blood pressure. Insulin stores magnesium, but if your insulin receptors are blunted and your cells grow resistant to insulin, you can't store magnesium so it passes out of your body through urination.

Magnesium stored in your cells relaxes muscles. If your magnesium level is too low, your blood vessels will constrict rather than relax, and this constriction raises your blood pressure.

Fructose also elevates uric acid, which drives up your blood pressure by inhibiting the nitric oxide in your blood vessels. (Uric acid is a byproduct of fructose metabolism. In fact, fructose typically generates uric acid within minutes of ingestion.) Nitric oxide helps your vessels maintain their elasticity, so nitric oxide suppression leads to increases in blood pressure.

If you're healthy, and want to stay that way, the general rule is to keep your total fructose intake to 25 grams per day or less. If you're insulin resistant and/or have high blood pressure, keep your total fructose to 15 grams or less per day until your condition has resolved.

Eat real food — A processed food diet, loaded with net carbohydrates (non-fiber carbs like sugar, fructose and grains) and trans fat (margarines and vegetable oils) is a recipe for hypertension. Instead, make whole, ideally organic foods the focus of your diet.

Also remember to swap non-fiber carbs for healthy fats such as avocados, butter made from raw, grass-fed organic milk, organic pastured egg yolks, coconuts and coconut oil, raw nuts such as pecans and macadamia, grass-fed meats and pasture raised poultry. To learn more about healthy eating, please see my optimal nutrition plan.

Mind your sodium to potassium ratio — According to Lawrence Appel, lead researcher on the DASH diet and director of the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research at Johns Hopkins, your diet as a whole is the key to controlling hypertension — not salt reduction alone.

He believes a major part of the equation is this balance of minerals, i.e., most people need less sodium and more potassium, calcium and magnesium. According to Appel,32 "Higher levels of potassium blunt the effects of sodium. If you can't reduce or won't reduce sodium, adding potassium may help. But doing both is better."

Indeed, maintaining a proper potassium to sodium ratio in your diet is very important, and hypertension is but one of many side effects of an imbalance. A processed food diet virtually guarantees you'll have a lopsided ratio of too much sodium to potassium.

Making the switch from processed foods to whole foods will automatically improve your ratios. Include foods high in potassium such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes, spinach, beets, black beans, wild caught salmon, edamame, butternut squash, Swiss chard, apricots, cantaloupe, mushrooms and tuna.33,34

Load up on veggies — Juicing is a simple way to increase the amount of vegetables in your diet, and many NO3-rich veggies (which raise your nitric oxide level) are suitable for juicing, such as beets, kale, celery, spinach, carrots and more. Allicin-rich garlic, leeks, shallots and chives also help improve your blood pressure, and are easy to add to salads and various dishes.

Optimize your vitamin D level — To learn more about vitamin D testing, please see my previous article, "How Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize Your Health."

Boost your animal-based omega-3 intake — The best way to boost your omega-3 is to eat plenty of oily fish that are low in mercury and other pollutants. Good options include wild caught Alaskan salmon, sardines and anchovies. Alternatively, take a high-quality krill oil or fish oil supplement. Krill oil has advantages over fish oil, which is why I prefer it.

Consider intermittent fasting — Intermittent fasting is one of the most effective ways I've found to normalize your insulin/leptin sensitivity. It's not a diet in conventional terms, but rather a way of scheduling eating in such a way as to promote efficient energy use.

Essentially, intermittent fasting means eating your calories during a specific window of the day, and choosing not to eat food during the rest. When you eat, your body reacts by elevating insulin and leptin.

Exercise regularly — A comprehensive fitness program can go a long way toward regaining your insulin sensitivity and normalizing your blood pressure. To reap the greatest rewards, I recommend including high intensity interval exercises in your routine.

I also recommend training yourself to breathe through your nose when exercising, as mouth breathing during exercise can raise your heart rate and blood pressure, sometimes resulting in fatigue and dizziness. To learn more about this, please refer to my previous article on the Buteyko breathing method.

Avoid smoking and other forms of pollution — Smoking is known to contribute to high blood pressure, as are other forms of air pollution, even noise pollution. To address these, avoid smoking, consider using ear plugs during sleep if you live in a noisy neighborhood (provided you cannot move), and take steps to improve your indoor air quality.

Walk barefoot — Going barefoot will help you ground to the earth. Experiments show that walking barefoot outside (also referred to as Earthing or grounding) improves blood viscosity and blood flow, which help regulate blood pressure. So, do yourself a favor and ditch your shoes now and then.

Grounding also calms your sympathetic nervous system, which supports your heart rate variability. This in turn promotes homeostatis, or balance, in your autonomic nervous system. In essence, anytime you improve heart rate variability, you're improving your entire body and all of its functions.

Address your stress — The connection between stress and hypertension is well documented, yet still does not receive the emphasis it deserves. In fact, it has been shown that people with heart disease can lower their risk of subsequent cardiac events by over 70 percent simply by learning to manage their stress.

Suppressed negative emotions such as fear, anger and sadness can severely limit your ability to cope with the unavoidable every day stresses of life. It's not the stressful events themselves that are harmful, but your lack of ability to cope.

The good news is, strategies exist that quickly and effectively transform your suppressed, negative emotions, and relieve stress. My preferred method is the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), an easy to learn, easy to use technique for releasing negative emotions.

EFT combines visualization with calm, relaxed breathing, while employing gentle tapping to "reprogram" deeply seated emotional patterns.

from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/02/25/how-potassium-can-help-prevent-hypertension.aspx

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