Encouraging Health

Want to keep your blood pressure below the 140/90 danger point?

Get at least four servings of whole-grain foods a day.

Hypertension risk starts to drop with just one to two servings of whole grains daily, but getting four makes the greatest impact.

Whole-Grain Heroes

For maximum benefits — younger arteries, better bowel function, lower cancer risk, etc. — you’ll need six servings of whole grains daily. Not consistently reaching that goal yet? Use four as a stepping stone and research shows you’ll enjoy better blood pressure on your way to six. (Whole grains are a key component of the hypertension-fighting DASH diet, too.

What is the DASH diet?

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) is a diet that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat. It emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods. The DASH diet also includes whole-grain products, fish, poultry, and nuts. It encourages fewer servings of red meat, sweets, and sugar-containing beverages. It is rich in magnesium, potassium, and calcium, as well as protein and fiber.

How do I get started on the DASH diet?
The DASH diet requires no special foods and has no hard-to-follow recipes. Start by seeing how DASH compares with your current eating habits.

The DASH eating plan shown is based on 2,000 calories a day. Your healthcare provider or a dietitian can help you determine how many calories a day you need. Most adults need somewhere between 1600 and 2800 calories a day. Serving sizes will vary between 1/2 cup and 1 1/4 cups. Check the product’s nutrition label to determine serving sizes of particular products

4 in a Flash

It’s easy to get four — or more! — whole grains into your day. Start early with a whole-grain cereal like shredded wheat.

Then, use two slices of a whole-grain bread in your sandwich at lunch, air pop some popcorn for an afternoon snack, and have a scoop of brown rice with dinner.

Remember to also reduce the salt and sodium in your diet. Try to have no more than 2000 milligrams (mg) of sodium per day, with a goal of further reducing the sodium to 1500 mg per day.

The DASH eating plan was not designed for weight loss. But it contains many lower calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables. You can make it lower in calories by replacing higher calorie foods with more fruits and vegetables.

For more diet and health tips, browse Encouraging Health.

[tag]whole grains, hypertension, DASH Diet[/tag[

How many miles must you cover over the course of a day to earn an “active” fitness label?

a. 2 miles
b. 5 miles
c. 7 miles

You’ll need to cover at least 5 miles to meet government — and RealAge — fitness guidelines. That’s equivalent to about 10,000 steps, so clip on your pedometer and get counting!

The Flip Side
Know what fitness label you’ll earn if you cover roughly half that 5-mile ground? Sedentary. People who walk little more than 2 miles (less than 5,000 steps) over the course of a day are not considered active at all.

Get It Where You Can
The good news is that you can tally up those miles not just during the course of a formal workout but through any kind of physical activity — from puttering around your house while you cook or dust to walking to and from your car. But give yourself a head start by taking a 30-minute walk each day.

“Walking saved my life.”

So say many walking enthusiasts who picked up the habit and as a result either reduced their risk of disease, lost weight, beat depression, or enjoyed countless other major health rewards.

Although you may not be surprised to know that walking is considered a superior health habit, it might surprise you to learn just how much research has confirmed the far-reaching and diverse health benefits that regular walkers experience. Read some personal accounts from the “Walking the way to Health” Initiative (WHI) of how walking changed these people’s lives.

Some doctors and scientists even believe that walking regularly can reverse illness and aging, making the simple act of walking quite possibly the most underrated prescription for good health.

Read on to discover the long list of health wishes that walking can fulfill for you.

I wish I had more energy:
A short brisk walk has both a calming and an energizing effect, according to research. And walking may help you feel more alert and well-rested because of its ability to improve the quality of your sleep. Walking at a moderate pace later in the day can help encourage deep, restful sleep. Finally, the mood boost you experience from walking may further enhance your energy levels.

For more health tips, browse Encouraging Health.

exercise, walking

exercise, walking

Besides boosting your bone health, taking vitamin D with your calcium could give you another big benefit: protection from cancer.

It’s true. This powerful pair may help reduce the risk of five different kinds of cancer, according to a recent study.

Cancer D-fense
Healthy postmenopausal women taking vitamin D daily with their calcium over 4 years had fewer breast, colon, lung, lymph/leukemia, and uterine cancers than women taking calcium alone.

When calcium and vitamin D get together, their powers multiply. Not only do they help build your bones and boost your immune system function, but, according to new research, they also help ward off type 2 diabetes. Research shows you’ll be a whopping 33 percent less likely to develop the condition if you get at least 1,200 milligrams (mg) of calcium and 800 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day compared to an intake of only 600 mg of calcium and less than 400 IU of vitamin D daily.

Although it’s best to get many nutrients from food, the study showed that getting vitamin D and calcium from supplements — not dietary sources — was associated with a lower diabetes risk. It’s difficult to get enough vitamin D and calcium from food, anyway — especially vitamin D — so make sure your supplement includes both. It’s particularly important during the shorter winter days when you may get little sunlight, which helps your body manufacture vitamin D.

How the vitamin might defend against cancer still needs to be determined, but researchers know that certain genes and cells need adequate D to do their jobs flawlessly.

Supplementing Sunshine
Since the winter months tend to be short on sunlight, taking a supplement and getting more vitamin D in your diet can help protect you from shortages of the sunshine vitamin.

In addition to a supplement, you can also get a boost from salmon and other fatty fish, fortified cereal, and dairy products.

For more information on cancer, browse the 451 Press network of blogs, as well as Encouraging Health.

calcium, vitiman d, cancer, sunshine

calcium, vitiman d, cancer, sunshine

Brain’s clean-up crew gets to work as soon as you doze off, study suggests

In a new study, German researchers have shown that if you nap just six sublime minutes during the day, it will not only make you feel better but will also improve your ability to learn and remember.

The connection between sleep and learning is something that researchers have only recently pinpointed, but many people know from their own experience — such as the mathematician who says he’s going to sleep on a problem and has a Eureka! moment upon nodding off.

But what wasn’t known was just how much shut-eye was needed to get an edge. To get a better sense of that, researchers from the University of Duesseldorf performed two experiments described in the March issue of the Journal of Sleep Research.

In both experiments, students were asked to review and memorize a list of 30 words. Afterwards, study participants were either allowed to play a videogame or to take a nap in a quiet room.

In the first, researcher compared 26 university students’ abilities to remember what they’d learned after a 50-minute nap or playing a video game. In the second, the allotted naps were shortened to 35 minutes or six minutes for another 18 students.

When researchers compared the groups, they found that nap takers consistently remembered more words. On average, six-minute nappers remembered one word more than the video game players, while people taking the longer naps remembered two words more.

Benefits kick in quickly
The research suggests that most of the memory improvement is linked to changes that occur in the brain just as you start to doze off, said Olaf Lahl, a researcher at the Institute of Experimental Psychology at the University of Duesseldorf and the study’s lead author. “These processes remain active for a certain time period even if sleep is terminated shortly thereafter,� he said.

Sleep experts were surprised that just six minutes of snoozing could lead to better learning and memory. “You can’t argue with data,� said Dr. Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center in Minneapolis and a professor of neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “Still, this is a small group of individuals and it needs to be replicated.�

The results may help scientists get a better handle on just what happens when we go to sleep, said Matthew Tucker, a researcher at Harvard University School of Medicine and the Center for Sleep and Cognition at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

For more articles like this, browse Encouraging Health.

catnap, sleep, memory improvement

catnap, sleep, memory improvement

Reaching for the fruit bowl might keep your brain sharp as a tack when you get older.

That’s because big fruit-eaters — besides getting boatloads of good-for-you nutrients — score high when it comes to memory and reasoning skills.

Mind Your Flavonoids
The reason for fruit’s brain-boosting effect? It’s all about the flavonoids, those amazing antioxidants that fight disease and might be one of your best defenses against cognitive decline. In a study, people who had the highest flavonoid intake performed best throughout a 10-year period on tests of verbal fluency, logical reasoning, and visual memory.

How to Get Your Fill
Sneaking more fruit into your diet is one way to load up on flavonoids, but vegetables like onions and broccoli provide some, too. You’ll need a wide variety of fruit and veggies in your diet to get the RealAge-recommended 31 milligrams of flavonoids per day. You can also sip some with several cups of tea or juices like cranberry every day.

Flavonoids Fever
Cranberries may help raise HDL (good) cholesterol and thwart plaque-building oxidation of the bad kind (LDL). Not only that, but some studies also link the almighty cranberry’s killer flavonoid combination with cancer-fighting properties. And cranberry flavonols — particularly quercetin — appear to help quell inflammation.

For All Seasons
So don’t forget this tangy tongue teaser after the holidays. Load up on dried cranberries to mix into your granola, top fish with fresh cranberry relish, and bake fresh cranberries into cookies, muffins, and breads. You can also treat yourself to a glass or two of cranberry juice (choose diet varieties for less sugar and fewer calories). The bonus with the juice: It may help ward off urinary tract infections.

Browse Encouraging Health for more health ideas.

fruit, flavonoids, brain health, mental acuity

fruit, flavonoids, brain health, mental acuity

Stress isn’t all bad.

Short-term, it can help you meet a deadline, turn a double play, or keep your bumper from getting crumpled.

But when stress lingers like week-old leftovers, it’s time to pull the plug with a quick stress-busting technique like scrunching, breathing, or corking. Here’s how to do ‘em:

Quick Fix
Chronic stress can destroy your sleep patterns, boost the rate at which your arteries age, and turn your immune-system function down too low. But you can quickly rein in stress with these tricks:
Scrunch your face tightly for 15 seconds, then release. Repeat several times. Repetitive contraction and relaxation helps release tension you’re holding above the neck.
Breathe in, lick your lips, and then blow out slowly. The cool air helps you refocus and slow down.

Stop for a second and focus on your breathing. Now look down. See anything moving? Probably not. That’s because most people typically take very short, shallow breaths — the kind that simply come from your chest. For you to really improve your lung function, you need to practice taking deep, whole breaths. It should take about 5 seconds to inhale and 7 seconds to exhale. And your belly should get big, then small. Ahhh . . . that’s better.

Remember what makes the lungs move? Your diaphragm. That’s the muscle that pulls your lungs down, so your lungs expand and you can really circulate oxygen throughout the whole lung. As your diaphragm pulls your chest cavity down and you inhale, your belly button should be moving away from your spine as you fill your lungs. Your chest also will widen — and maybe even rise ever so slightly — as you inhale. When your lungs feel fuller than a sumo wrestler’s lunchbox, exhale slowly. You can pull your belly button toward your spine to force all the air out of your lungs.

Cork it. Hold a wine cork vertically between your teeth (some people may first need to slice a bit off the top before it will fit). A gentle bite on the cork will force your jaws — a major tension-holder — to relax.

Browse Encouraging Health for more articles.

What better gift to give your sweetie than a basket of heart-shaped fruit that’s brimming with heart-loving nutrition?

Yes, strawberries are a near-perfect fruit. Tightly packed into each one you’ll find folate, fiber, vitamin C, and other nutrients that help ensure you’ll never be made lonely by heart disease.

Berries That Love You Back
Recent research suggests that eating strawberries may even help shave down your C-reactive protein (CRP) levels — which would be a very good thing, because high CRP levels signal heart-hampering inflammation in the body. So eat strawberries one by one, or try something different, like this colorful Strawberry Bruschetta.

Astoundingly good for minimal effort, this makes an indulgent weekend breakfast or anyday dessert. A judicious smear of mascarpone (half the fat of butter) is part of the luxury, but even lighter low-fat cream cheese will work as well. The real secret is warming the berries just enough to make the flavor bloom and transform their juices into a rosy syrup.

Makes 4 servings

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes

EASE OF PREPARATION: Easy

4 thick slices whole-wheat bread
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups sliced or diced hulled strawberries
4 tablespoons mascarpone (Italian cream cheese)

1. Toast bread in a toaster.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over high heat. Add sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and cook, stirring, until the sugar melts and the mixture begins to bubble, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add strawberries and stir until juices begin to exude and the berries are heated through, 30 seconds to 1 minute more.
3. Spread 1 tablespoon mascarpone on each piece of toast. Top with the warm berries.

Top 5 Reasons Why This Berry Is a Winner
Chocolate-dipped or plain, strawberries shout, “I love you!” with all these nifty, nutritious qualities:
Folate
Fiber
Vitamin C
Potassium
Flavonoids (like quercetin, kaempferol, and anthocyanin)
And getting all of these goodies combined in a juicy strawberry may be far better for your heart than getting them individually — another example of food synergy.

For more great health tips and recipes, browse Encouraging Health and the 451 Press Network.

strawberries, folate, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, heart health

strawberries, folate, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, heart health

Fresh spinach is a nutritional powerhouse, but don’t let it linger in the fridge.

The best way to use your leafy greens is during the first 4 days after purchase. After that, the antioxidant and folate levels of spinach plummet, turning it into a wimpier green.

Spinach on Ice
Even at the coldest refrigerator temperatures, researchers found that after 4 days, folate levels in a bag of fresh spinach dropped big time, and the loss escalated with each passing day. Colder temps were better for holding onto carotenoids.

The Power of Fresh
Buying local spinach (at a farmers market or co-op store) may deliver the most nutrients to your table. Grocery-store fresh is a good second choice. Can’t plan ahead? Then grab some frozen spinach. Spinach that’s frozen and packaged soon after harvesting retains much of its nutritional value.

Fresh is best when it really is farm-fresh and ripe. However, many commercial fruits and veggies are picked before peak ripeness — which also means before their nutritional peak — to avoid spoilage during transport and storage. And just a few days after harvest, fruits and vegetables begin to lose some of their nutritive goodness. What’s more, the longer they sit on the shelf — during transport, in the supermarket, and in your fridge — the fewer nutrients they have left to pass on to you.

On the other hand, fruits and vegetables intended for freezing are usually picked closer to the peak of ripeness and are flash-frozen immediately after harvest. The processing does deplete some nutrients, but it locks in the rest for up to 12 months. So in some instances, frozen fruits and veggies may actually have more of the vitamins and minerals your body needs.

For more nutritional articles, browse Encouraging Health

spinach, folate, antioxidant, carotinoids

spinach, folate, antioxidant, carotinoids

Trying to lose a few?

Aren’t we all. You’ll lose even more if you set out a plate of this before each meal: apple wedges.

Eating a bit of high-fiber fruit — like a small apple or pear — before each meal is a proven weight-loss booster.

Fruit Booster
You’ve seen those ads for weight-loss pills that promise to help you lose even more weight when you diet. It’s possible that apple wedges could give those pills a run for the money. In a recent study where women were divided up into fruit-before-meals and no-fruit-before-meals groups, the fruit group lost more weight — even though they all followed the same reduced-calorie diet. The key? Choosing fruit that’s high in fiber but low in calories (read: high water content, like apples).

The food duo with the most muscle? Fiber and water. Together they keep your food bulky and soft, so it can move easily through your system without putting too much pressure on your intestines. Remember, without water, fiber often turns to cement.

The combo of fiber and water also makes you feel full, which helps your overall health, because it keeps you from eating other things that are more likely to lead to problems associated with obesity, like heart disease and diabetes.

Where to get it? Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, oats, beans, and some cereals. Your goal: 25 grams a day for women and 35 grams a day for men. And don’t forget the water.

More Waist-Shrinking Diet Tips
Let’s face it: We need all the help we can get when it comes to whittling our waists. Here are some other easy changes that help support that effort:
Have a boiled egg instead of a bagel for breakfast.
Change what, not how much, you eat.
Hit the snooze button.

Search Encouraging Health for more weight loss tips.

fiber, weight loss

fiber, weight loss

Battling that bug that’s been going around? You might want to consider reinforcing your cold-relief arsenal with this herb: andrographis.

I’ve used Echinacea this cold and flu season. The herb, plus Vitamin C, greatly lessened my symptoms.

Squashing a cold is like curing hiccups: We all have our favorite methods. But do any of them really work?

Seems echinacea, that controversial cold-quelling herb, really can help people feel better faster. Researchers pored over 14 different studies and determined that echinacea can shorten a cold’s stay by an average of 1.4 days. Now how about that soup?

Immune-System Booster
Certain compounds in echinacea, mainly alkamides, chicoric acid, and polysaccharides, may stimulate the immune system. The end result? Echinacea could help both shorten and prevent colds.
The andrographis plant has been used for years in traditional Chinese medicine to treat respiratory infections and ease cold symptoms. Now, new research lends support to the cause.

Symptom Stopper
In a small study, adults with upper-respiratory-tract infections and sinusitis took andrographis for 5 days. The result? Headache, nasal and throat symptoms, and general malaise improved significantly. Temperatures fell, too. And the herb was well tolerated. Promising.

Safety First
Of course, no matter what one single study concludes, herbs can cause side effects and interact with medicines. So before you jump on the andrographis bandwagon, check with your doctor. Especially if you don’t know how much to take.

Browse Encouraging Health for more health and lifestyle tips.

cold, cold relief, andrographis, Echinacea, chicken soup

cold, cold relief, andrographis, Echinacea, chicken soup