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COLLECTIVE
WIZDOM.COM
Real People (Sometimes Real
Names) Share Real Health
and Life Stories
WIZDOM.COM
Real People (Sometimes Real
Names) Share Real Health
and Life Stories
| 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
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.
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
If you found the information in this article helpful, please
take a moment to consider the products of the sponsors
whose advertisements help to keep this web page going.
Are These Two Foods The Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers of Blood Pressure?
Ginger Rogers of Blood Pressure?
Related Links
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How Much Is Too Much Salt
Bowel Movements Indicate Your Overall
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Why We Americans Read In Bathrooms
Why We Go Soft In the Middle
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