Posts Tagged ‘diet’

High Blood Pressure In Adolescents

High blood pressure, which is also known medically as hypertension, is a state where the pressure of the blood coursing through your arteries is considerably higher than standard. Most medical practitioners will state that the beginning point for people over eighteen years of age is 120/80. However, there are causes that could render those numbers not normal. Age is one of them.

The first number is the systolic arterial blood pressure, which means that it is the pressure read when the heart contracts, beats or pumps out blood. The second number is when the heart sucks in blood, ready to pump it out again.

These statistics are given in millimetres of mercury and are written as mmHg. Higher readings of either of these figures can indicate a difficulty. One thing to make patent here is that it is impossible to guess or estimate the pressure of your blood without using either a sphygmomanometer ( the one your physician uses in the surgery), which is the gold standard for blood pressure monitoring devices or a home blood monitoring machine.

Blood pressure can become affected by numerous things such as: time of the day, age, weight, height, mood, fitness, diet, degree of activity and stress, which may or may not be part of ‘white coat syndrome’ amongst others. ‘White coat syndrome’ is the anxiety experienced by some people while they have to be examined by a physician. This applies to children more than to any other age group.

Blood pressure also changes during the day, so in order to acquire an accurate reading, it is necessary to take several all at the same time of day. It is also prudent to wait 45 minutes after drinking caffeine or ten minutes after arriving before taking a reading.

So, what is standard? The real answer, although it is annoying, is that only a medical doctor can tell you, but for an adult, they say that it is 120/80, for an adolescent it is 110/70 and for an infant it is 80/45.

However, whilst measuring and evaluating the blood pressure of adolescents, you have to remember that age, sex and height matter. Therefore, an adolescent is said to have high blood pressure if the blood pressure is over that of ninety percent of people of his/her age, gender and height.

The causes of hypertension are classified as primary or secondary. Primary means that it is all your body’s fault and secondary means that the reason is something else, say, medication. Hypertension can also be caused by race or other hereditary reasons. Males of African descent are especially at risk.

One of the things you can buy to keep you knowledgeable about your family’s blood pressure concerns is a home blood pressure monitor. These devices are quite cheap yet are very accurate, so buy an automatic digital monitor and take it to your physician to make sure that it is accurate and get the readings that are applicable to all the members of your family.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several of topics, but is currently involved with work on the cause of high blood pressure. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, please go to our website at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

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Blood Pressure Control Is Just Good Health Control

If you have been informed that your blood pressure is too high (that is, that you have hypertension), then what you were actually being told was that your lifestyle is not especially healthy. This is because, unless your hypertension has come about because of ethnicity, age, sleeplessness or medication, you are doing something wrong in your daily life.

Blood pressure control for most individuals means initiating lifestyle changes for the better or taking tablets for life. If you have hypertension but you cannot go to see your GP as frequently as you would like, you could always buy a home blood pressure monitor and keep tabs on your blood pressure yourself.

The best sort to get is an automatic digital monitor with a self-inflating cuff. It should also have a pulse monitor and a number of memories, although you can always use good old-fashioned pen and paper. They are not costly any more and ought to cost between $30 and $100.

Some have a lifetime guarantee and are as accurate as your GP’s sphygmomanometer, which is the gold standard of blood pressure monitors. You should take your readings at the same time every day (or two or three times a day at the same times) and keep a record of it or them. In this fashion you can compare your progress (or lack of it).

The first thing to do is give up smoking (if you smoke, obviously) and then cut down on heavy drinking sessions, if you do that). Doing that will improve your general health whether you have high blood pressure or not.

The next thing to do is to reduce your weight, if you are overweight by dieting and exercise. If you are not overweight, you will still need to raise your level of exercise and change your diet for the following reasons. Exercise decreases your blood pressure and too much salt (also called sodium) will increase your blood pressure.

So, whichever way you look at it, you will need to exercise more and take on a low-sodium diet. One of the methods of reducing sodium in your diet is by eating fresh fruit and vegetables and stop eating canned and other fast foods, which are stuffed with salt.

These lifestyle alterations are not easy, so if you have to take some of them on board, consider getting help. For instance, you could use patches to help you stop smoking. You could visit the pub less frequently or simply go there later in the evening. You could ask your spouse to go on the diet too or you could join a support group on or off line.

There really are lots of resources out there to help you circumvent hypertension, but if you just cannot be bothered, then nip along to your doctor’s and get your first batch or high blood pressure tablets and be sure to create a repeat appointment, because you will be going back and forth for the rest of your life.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on a number of subjects, but is currently involved with work on foods for high blood pressure. If you want to know more or check out some great offers, just go to our site at High Blood Pressure Recipes.

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Taking Care After Lasik Surgery

The patient of Lasik surgery has two foremost responsibilities regarding his or her eyes: firstly to pick a responsible, skilled surgeon, which should not be very difficult and secondly, to take care of his eyes after the operation by following the guidance of the surgeon on post-operative care. This second part is very important and should not be taken lightly.

The post-operative supervision process is not difficult, but if you are worried about it, you could enquire of your surgeon what it will entail before the operation. The medical doctor or a nurse will be able to explain the method of supervision to you in detail or they will give you a brochure.

There may be some peculiar sight aberrations for a few days after the operation, some of which are quite normal. One of the most common aberrations that are standard for a couple of days are halos around lights.

However, you should be certain that you understand the difference between what is standard and so no grounds for concern and what should be reported immediately

There are different Lasik procedures and the procedures are advancing all the time so it is not possible to give exact details in this article. Moreover, the shape of the eyes and the causes for deteriorating eyesight are peculiar to each patient.

Some of the advice that your Lasik surgeon might give for your post-operative eye care may include the following, although different doctors might have their own advice.

The first thing is to remember that you have just had an operation including anaesthetic. There might not have been any blood but it was surgery nevertheless.

All patients are desired to rest after an operation and you will be no exception. If you had had an operation on your knee, you would use it as little as you could for a while and the same is helpful advice for your eye.

Attempt to sleep for a couple of hours after the operation or at least close your eyes and rest. Infection is the chief anxiety, so do not poke or rub your eye and do not strain it by trying out your recently improved eyesight by reading or watching TV.

If you have to entertain yourself in this fashion wear an eye patch. Your surgeon will almost certainly have given you a stiff plastic eye guard, which you ought to wear at all times.

Some surgeons will warn against getting water into your eye for a few days, which means washing only from the neck down, no showering, no going out in the rain and definitely no swimming.

Be careful with bright light, it cannot damage your eye but it does hurt. Your world will get much brighter after the surgery and looking at a light bulb can be painful. Be careful of watching moving traffic whilst the sun is shining, a car window can catch the sun and reflect it back into your eye all of a sudden.

You will be given eye drops so do not fail to use them. Lasik surgery can dry your eyes out, if this happens they might be able to give you substitute or extra drops.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with wet macular degeneration treatment. If you would like to know more, please go to our site at Macular Degenerative Disease

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Atkins Diet Free Plan.

What is the Atkins diet and what will you have to sacrifice in order to obtain the results you’ve seen other people realize? You hate your size twelve, and you desperately want to come down to the size six that you were once, although you’ll settle for a size eight, if you have to. It doesn’t really matter as long you’re nowhere near your current size twelve!

You’ll have to begin with a working knowledge of what the Atkins diet is all about and what it might entail. On the other hand, if you don’t want to get caught up in detail, you could always just try out an Atkins diet free plan, which might help you to get a grip on the situation.

There is not definite place I can say for you to get an Atkins diet free plan of course, but I’ve discovered that the Internet is the best place for you to find out just about anything and everything you need to learn. Start by turning on your computer, it’s truly amazing how many snotty looks I receive when I state this blindingly obvious fact! In fact, you probably did the same just now!

Anyway, if you just cruise the Internet for an Atkins diet free plan, you’ll be amazed at the amount of other free plans that you’ll come up with as well. And if you’re not dead set on going the Atkins diet way, then you could just trial any one of the other free plans. As it suggests, it won’t cost you more than the time spent on the Internet.

So, what can you possibly hope to get from an Atkins diet free plan? To start with, you can see which types of foods you can eat and which type of foods you can’t eat. If you’re considering going with the Atkins diet then in the induction phase alone, there are some things that you’ll need to give up in order to stay on your diet.

On that list of food, which you may eat and still stay on your Atkins diet free plan, you’ll find that you can eat cream, cheese and butter as long as you remain within your moderate daily carbohydrate allowance, but avoid the fruits, the breads, the pastas and the pizzas. Basically everything that tastes great, you may think.

But, the statement is not completely true, as you’ll see when you look at the Atkins diet plan recipes which may or probably won’t come with your Atkins diet free plan. There are quite a few great tasting recipes you can consume and, although you may not not it yet, they’ll incorporate many of your favourite foods, just not anything high in carbohydrates.

As far as drinks go, the same principles remain true as in the rest of the Atkins diet free plan. That means, you must avoid sugared drinks or sodas like Pepsi, Ovaltine and sugared tea or coffee. Furthermore, you must to be careful with coffee, because it can be more addictive while on the Atkins diet for some people.

Likewise, caution is required with regard to alcohol. Some types, like lager or sherry contain too much sugar, while others, like Guinness or whisky are all right in moderation. However, you ought always to refer to your Atkins diet free plan before deciding what you may or may not drink.

Do you want to lose those excess kilos rapidly? Well, take a free look at Atkins Diet Free Plan, by visiting our website called The Atkins Diet Plan

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High Cholesterol Levels and Diabetes Is Dangerous

Diabetes is a chronic disease which can have numerous side effects. The condition (normally) comes about as a result of the pancreas not creating enough insulin, which you require to handle the sugar level in your blood. Having diabetes, or too much sugar in your blood can have serious results such as cataracts (treatable blindness), bad teeth and an increased risk of general infections.

However what lots of individuals do not comprehend is that there is a connection between high cholesterol levels and diabetes. This link is known as macular edema and it affects eyesight. If you have diabetes and high cholesterol levels, you should be paying meticulous attention to your diet in order to avoid macular edema

Macular edema is frequently a painful, non-reversible kind of blindness.

In case you are uncertain about cholesterol, it would be best if we talk about this topic in order to clarify. Individuals talk of ‘cholesterol levels’ because there are three measurements that are important. HDL cholesterol is frequently called ‘good cholesterol’ and LDL cholesterol is known as bad cholesterol.

It is important to have LDL because it helps in the generation of bile and vitamin D and it assists regulate hormones, but too much of it can block arteries and cause heart issues. HDL is ‘good’ because it mops up LDL and takes it back to the liver where it is got rid of.

Those are the two main levels. You might be forgiven for thinking that it is best to have as much HDL as you can, and this is a fact, to a large extent, because you do need LDL as well, but the total of both of these levels is also important. You should not have a high level of both together either.

The added reason why these levels are more relevant to diabetics is because diabetics with a high level of LDL run approximately three times more danger of developing macular edema than non-diabetics. Therefore the danger of high cholesterol for diabetics is crucial.

This is such a significant problem that diabetics are warned to check the levels of their cholesterol very frequently. The good news is that diabetics will already be following a diet and the decreased cholesterol diet is fairly comparable and is easy to integrate into your current regime.

The foodstuffs that you should avoid to reduce your level LDL cholesterol include saturated fats such as are found in red meat and dairy products like full-fat milk, butter, cream and cheese. It is also to be found in trans and hydrogenated fats, which are present in junk foods and cheap margarine.

The foodstuffs to eat in order to increase your level of LDL are in essence mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, vegetarian foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, soya products, fish, nuts and grains, particularly whole grains. Roughage and fibre are what you should be searching for. Fish and olive oil are also good in the battle against LDL cholesterol.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on several subjects, but is now concerned with lowering cholesterol without medication. If you want to know more, please visit our site at What Foods Lower Cholesterol?

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