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| THE BEST MEDICINEf- LAUGH! FIRST DOSE There are always two ways to look at everything, I guess. My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion last October, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife noticed me staring and asked me, "Do you know her?". "Yes", I sighed, "She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since." "My God!" says my wife, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?" Got a Joke? E-mail it to us: frontpage@collectivewizdom .com |
| THE BEST MEDICINE- LAUGH! SECOND DOSE Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug." She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my wine |
DIET AND FITNESS:
Foods That Lower Your Blood
Pressure
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January 22, 2008
By Susan M. Callahan,
Associate Editor
and Featured Columnist
We have written about the harmful effects of excess salt on your
blood pressure. See How Much Is Too Much Salt. But did you know
that certain foods may help to counter the effects of too much salt in
your bloodstream?
Bananas, and other foods high in potassium, act like anti-salt in your
blood. In the body potassium and salt act like eternally linked dance
partners in a complicated Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers fox-trot. When
one partner is moving forward, the other partner is moving
backwards. How does this work exactly?
To see how, you have to use a powerful microscope to observe the
action of salt at the cell level. If you could see an individual cell at
work, what you'd see is that the cell is like a tiny balloon filled mostly
with water. The job of salt and potassium is to move water in and
out of the balloon. Salt moves it in, causing the balloon to expand,
and if it expands too much, creating high blood pressure. This is one
of the reasons we bloat up if we eat too much salt. Potassium moves
water out, causing the balloon to deflate, lowering blood pressure.
Over the years, numerous studies have confirmed potassium's crucial
role in lowering blood pressure. According to a study authored by
Dr. Lawrence Appel and published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association, consuming potassium supplements reduced
blood pressure by about half as much as the reduction achieved by
blood pressure drugs.
"That's about half the reduction in blood pressure you can typically
expect from treatment with drug therapy," according to Dr. Appel. A
systolic (top number) blood pressure of less than 120 and diastolic
(bottom number) less than 80 mm Hg is recommended by most
physicians. Systolic blood pressure happens when your heart is
contracts. Diastolic happens when your heart relaxes between
contractions.
Potassium supplements will help you more if you have severe high
blood pressure and high salt intakes and African-Americans may
benefit most. But even if you have normal blood pressure, potassium
can help to keep it normal.
According to the latest research, you would only need to eat a
banana a day to start to see some improvement in your blood
pressure levels. Any more than that, and the added sugar would
adversely affect your overall weight control program.
What foods are rich in potassium?
Here's a list for reference:
Apples, Apricots, Artichokes, Asparagus
Bananas, Brazil Nuts, Brown Rice, Broccoli, Beans
Cantaloupe,
Figs, Fish
Honeydew,
Kiwi,
Legumes, Lima beans,
Milk,
Oranges, Orange Juice, Onions
Peaches, Potatoes,
Prunes, Papayas, Parsley, Pumpkin
Raisins, Roasted Peanuts
Spinach, Squash, Strawberries, Sweet Potatoes
Tomatoes
Turkey
Vegetable Juices,
Wheat Bread, White Rice, Winter Squash,
Yogurt
Symptoms of deficiency of potassium in the diet include diarrhea
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More Related Links on Blood Pressures: High Blood Pressure During
Pregnancy-An Ideal Diet / Garlic Lowers Blood Pressure / Beets
Lower Blood Pressure --But There's a Catch.
Are These Two Foods The Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers of Blood Pressure?
Ginger Rogers of Blood Pressure?
Related Links
My Heart Attack
Blood Pressure --What It Means
Arteries Are The Key to Good Health
How Much Is Too Much Salt
Bowel Movements Indicate Your Overall
Health
Why We Americans Read In Bathrooms
Why We Go Soft In the Middle
Why Beets Reduce High Blood Pressure
My Heart Attack
Blood Pressure --What It Means
Arteries Are The Key to Good Health
How Much Is Too Much Salt
Bowel Movements Indicate Your Overall
Health
Why We Americans Read In Bathrooms
Why We Go Soft In the Middle
Why Beets Reduce High Blood Pressure
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