Ideal Blood Pressure.  What is the ideal blood pressure and how can you achieve it?

Recently the ideal blood pressure changed.  The American Academy of Family Physicians and the Mayo Clinic issued new recommendations for ideal blood pressure: 115/75.

First let’s go over how blood pressure measurements are attained and then we’ll go over the ideal blood pressure.  We typically determine blood pressure measurements with two numbers.

The higher number, called the systolic pressure, represents the pressure in the artery when the heart beats. The lower number, called the diastolic pressure, represents the pressure when the heart is at rest. The ideal blood pressure is in the range of 120/80.

As mentioned, ideal blood pressure is somewhat lower. A key to ideal blood pressure is the ratio between the two numbers. They should remain at a 3:2 ratio whatever the actual pressure may be.

If your blood pressure is “ideal,” congratulations! Your hard work has paid off. If it is higher or lower than ideal, don’t worry: Most blood pressure problems can be solved with the right approach. Let’s dissect the common problems with blood pressure and see what we can learn about possible solutions so you can attain an ideal blood pressure.

Systolic too high
A healthy systolic number is 120. This number represents how hard your heart must beat to get blood out to your body. If your arteries are stiff, inflexible, inflamed or too narrow your heart will have to beat harder and this will create a higher systolic number. The most common cause of a high systolic number is too much adrenaline and other stress-related hormones in the bloodstream. These hormones have the effect of artificially narrowing your arteries in a “fight or flight” stress response.

Stress-induced high blood pressure will usually be seen with a high systolic number and a normal diastolic number such as 150/80. We will often see this number normalize with just 20 minutes of deep breathing. Try to incorporate that in your life so you can attain your ideal blood pressure.

Some people respond well to biofeedback and supplementation with:

• Co-Q10, especially at bedtime to relax the heart
• Vitamin C morning and evening to relax the blood vessels
• Adaptogen 10 Plus morning and evening to help reduce the effects of stress

Both numbers too high
When both the systolic and diastolic numbers are high (160/110), the most common problem is inflammation leading to atherosclerosis or “hardening of the arteries.” This is a medical emergency; you should be under medical care as the disease has already progressed to the point where emergency measures are necessary. Dietary measures, such as the Dr. Dean Ornish “Reversing Heart Disease” diet, should be at the center of your self-care. Daily exercise, stress management and, very likely, medications will be needed to reverse this disease and get you on the path of achieving your ideal blood pressure.

An anti-inflammatory lifestyle will be helpful. Include supplements such as:

• Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids from OmegaPrime at every meal to reduce inflammation

• Vitamin C and Co-Q10 as suggested above

• Betalains found in Nopalea can reduce inflammation in the blood vessels and help your body drain away the excess fluid associated with blood pressure

Achieving an optimal body fat percentage is also critical when caring for high blood pressure and attaining your ideal blood pressure. The target body composition for men is 14% body fat; for women it is 23%. Remember, this type of high blood pressure is a medical emergency and it should be treated as such.

Diastolic too high
When the bottom number in your blood pressure reading is too high (120/90), but the systolic or top number is normal, it can mean that your lungs, kidneys and liver are not properly detoxifying your body.

Detoxification is an automatic process; your body does it every moment of every day. You can help support this process by reducing your exposure to toxins and supporting your lungs, kidneys and liver with daily nutrition:

• A multiple vitamin and mineral supplement to support healthy detoxification

• Vitamin C – a powerful detoxifier for the lungs, kidneys and liver

• Betalains found in Nopalea also drain away toxins

For more information on detoxification, listen to the audio books, “Body Systems 101” and “Healthy Aging.”

Too high, too long
Some people find that their blood pressure will not go down no matter what they do. This often happens because of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). With OSA, a person stops breathing during sleep. Sensing the shortage of oxygen, your brain increases blood pressure to compensate. These increases in blood pressure may last into the next day (you may awaken with high blood pressure that may go down by the evening). This type of hypertension will usually not respond to medication or alternative treatments.

Treatment for OSA begins with using a breathing machine called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) during sleep. Using CPAP at night reduces blood pressure in most people – even those without serious OSA. Eventually, reducing your body fat to the percentages listed above will open your airways enough to compensate for OSA.

Hypertension will damage you. Eventually, it will kill you. Check your blood pressure frequently. Your body is speaking to you when your pressure is imbalanced. Learning to listen will help you feel better today and be healthier tomorrow and make it a goal to achieve your ideal blood pressure.

Take Control of Your Health

* Test your blood pressure every month
* Check your blood pressure at different times of the day
* Eat a low-fat diet
* Eat 7, 9 or more servings of vegetables and fruits daily
* Exercise for 30 minutes on most days of the week
* If you have high blood pressure, test for OSA

If you want high quality products, take a look at TriVita. Go to www.havingplenty.com, and if you’re interested in finding out more about Sonoran Bloom, call me on 718-407-0035.

If you’re interested in being involved in a Wellness Opportunity, take a look at www.roadmaptowishes.com.

Wishing you much health and wellness

Kathy

Katherine Smith
TriVita Independent Affiliate Member 13158176

How To Cure Vertigo – Is Your World is Spinning and You’re Looking to Make it Stop?

There are two times when your world will spin: When you are in love, and when you have vertigo! Since there is no cure for being in love, the information here will help you to figure out how to cure vertigo.

Benign vertigo
When people are seeking how to cure vertigo, they should know that vertigo is not usually a sign of a serious disease. It is typically transient (it comes and goes) and resolves on its own without medical care. The most common cause is an upper respiratory infection such as a sinus infection. So it’s probably a great relief to those seeking how to cure vertigo to find out it may be benign vertigo.  Most people who suffer with vertigo learn instinctively to sit up slowly and avoid quick movements of the head.

If benign vertigo is associated with allergies, Vitamin C is in my personal opinion an absolutely awesome antihistamine. Using the Vitamin C flush* will often bring relief from signs and symptoms of allergies. If the vertigo is associated with bronchial or sinus congestion, adding TriVita’s Breathe Easy formula to your supplement regimen can help.  So if you’re seeking how to cure vertigo, try some of these ideas and see if it will work for you.

Breathe Easy works by drying out excessive mucous, and thinning normal body fluids. This is important because one of the causes of vertigo is abnormal movement of the fluid and crystals in the inner ear.

Dangerous vertigo
Those seeking how to cure vertigo need also take into consideration that dizziness may also be a sign of serious trouble. It can follow a head trauma, or be a symptom of a tumor or clogged arteries in the head. Vertigo with hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ears) may be a symptom of Meniere’s disease. Don’t just look on the internet trying to find out how to cure vertigo – see your healthcare provider if vertigo persists.

Head trauma and clogged arteries require medical intervention. These conditions also require extra nutrients called antioxidants. An antioxidant is a special nutrient that reduces oxidation. Oxidation can be likened to rust in your blood vessels, brain and inner ear. One family of antioxidants has a special affinity for the tiny blood vessels in the frontal lobe of the brain, the inner ear and the eyes. These antioxidants are found in TriVita’s VisionGuard.

Another consideration for those seeking how to cure vertigo is that a certain type of tumor called an acoustic neuroma may cause vertigo. These are rare tumors, but the incidence of acoustic neuroma seems to increase with cell phone usage. The evidence for this link is weak but troubling. Certainly, we should take appropriate precautions when using cell phones while scientists further investigate the link between cell phones and acoustic neuromas.

Meniere’s disease
If you’re seeking how to cure vertigo and the above does not apply to you, an extremely persistent type of vertigo is Meniere’s disease. It is vertigo associated with ringing or buzzing in the ears (tinnitus) and hearing loss. Meniere’s is a progressive disease. Trauma, toxins, infections and other causes may trigger Meniere’s. Rapid medical intervention is needed to determine the exact cause of this condition. When the cause is removed the condition may improve.

Unfortunately, damaged nerves heal slowly. Vitamin B-12 may help speed the repair of damaged nerves. Certainly, the antioxidant remedies mentioned above may add to the health of the blood vessels in the inner ear.

Learning to listen
The English language contains over 400,000 words (though most of us use merely 15,000 to 35,000). Our bodies – wonderfully complex and intricate – have only a few dozen “words” in the form of signs and symptoms with which to “speak” to us. Vertigo is one form of communication that indicates distress. Don’t just try to find out on your own how to cure vertigo.  Always consult a qualified health professional that knows the language of the human body.

*Please check with your healthcare provider before starting the Vitamin C Flush.

Take Control of Your Health

* When seeking how to cure vertigo, if it’s associated with:
o Allergies – take Vitamin C
o Head cold – take Breathe Easy
o Circulation – take VisionGuard
o Meniere’s – take Vitamin B-12 plus all of the above

* Again – very important – when seeking how to cure vertigo, see your doctor to determine the cause of vertigo!

Learn More…

* Vertigo
* Acoustic Neuroma
* Meniere’s disease

If you want high quality products, take a look at TriVita. Go to www.havingplenty.com, and if you’re interested in finding out more about Sonoran Bloom, call me on 718-407-0035.

If you’re interested in being involved in a Wellness Opportunity, take a look at www.roadmaptowishes.com.

Wishing you much health and wellness

Kathy

Katherine Smith
TriVita Independent Affiliate Member 13158176

Nitric Oxide Supplements – Is it really a source of energy? There’s so much buzz about nitric oxide supplements and if you search on the internet you’ll see pros and cons and it’s difficult to sort and sift through all the information.  I recently received a wellness report from the Chief Science Officer in my company talking about nitrogen,  nitric oxide supplements and having real energy.

It’s interesting because everyone creates energy but not everyone feels energetic.  What’s the difference?  It means having the resources you need to accomplish whatever you want: to make your dreams come true, or for the smaller tasks of the day. Feeling energetic inspires optimism and healthy self-esteem. Feeling energetic makes you happy and gives you hope.  How does this tie into nitric oxide supplements?  That’s what I want to talk about and share with you great information that I received.

Did you know that real energy is more than just a passing mood? It’s a complex series of biochemical and electrical processes. In order for you to feel energetic your body must carry out a long series of interactions, very much like a long line of dominos falling over in the right sequence. Each transaction requires the energy from the previous domino, and donates energy to the next domino in line. The end result contributes to the way you feel and your ability to live the life of your dreams.

I know many of you are reading this and want to know how is the information that I am sharing with you have to do with nitric oxide supplements.  Well, when you get to know me you’ll see that I live to provide the full answer to your questions and it’s more than just saying oh, nitric oxide supplements are good for you.

The first step in the production of energy is eating the basic nutrients: sugars, proteins and fats. Sugars provide a rapid but brief donation of energy. Proteins donate five times more energy than sugar. Fats donate eight times more! These three nutrients make up the basis for energy production and the basis for your future wellness. This makes the selection of your foods very important, so choose them well.  Notice how I mention of foods.  You want to look at your diet in addition to nitric oxide supplements.

Now let’s get to nitric oxide supplements and what it means to you.  To make energy from protein we must first process it through the nitrogen cycle.  Did you know that the air we breathe is about 78 percent nitrogen?  Bacteria in the soil “fix” nitrogen into the earth to grow healthy plants (so does lightning). Fertilizers are mostly made of nitrogen. Without it, plants will not grow and humans cannot process protein; nitrogen is a very important basic building block of life.

We get nitrogen from eating fruits and vegetables. We can also get it from whole-food supplements such as Adaptogen 10 Plus, a fantastic product that also helps with stress. In our body, nitrogen is stable as nitrate and active as nitric oxide. Aha, you knew I was going to get to nitric oxide supplements.  Nitric oxide is probably the most important source of energy for the heart, vascular system and immune system. Nitric oxide interacts with CoEnzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) to produce energy inside each and every one of our body’s millions of cells. So CoQ-10 is a great nitric oxide supplement.  In fact, the death of each cell occurs because nitric oxide and CoQ-10 cannot balance the cell’s energy.  That’s how important nitric oxide supplements are to you.

We need about 50 to 65 grams of protein each day (about 1/3 gram of protein per pound of body weight). However, we can only digest about 25 grams at a time (the amount that fills the palm of your hand). One reason for this is that we have only a limited reservoir of nitrogen. As mentioned, we get nitrogen from eating fruits and vegetables, but, like many important nutrients, we cannot store it. Since processing protein will use up large amounts of available nitrogen, we need to replace it by eating more fruits and vegetables. So, if we want energy from protein, we simply must eat our fruits and vegetables.

Nitrogen is also manufactured by bacteria in the human body. So, this is why probiotics and enzymes are needed − they also help convert protein into energy through the nitrogen cycle. TriVita’s Digestive Complex serves to encourage healthy bacteria in the gut for protein metabolism and increased energy.

There is a dark side to protein metabolism that’s found in a particular form of nitrogen: ammonia. Excess ammonia may be formed in our body and brain if we eat protein but do not have enough nitrogen to complete the energy process. This is often seen in people who experience bloating or uncomfortable fullness after a healthy, protein-rich meal. It may also be seen in those who experience excessive fatigue after a meal.

The remedy is to encourage protein digestion with probiotics (as found in Digestive Complex). We can also eat extra servings of fruit and vegetables. Plus, supplements can provide a lot of help. I would suggest one serving of Adaptogen 10 Plus and CoQ-10 at each meal until the fatigue eases and vibrant energy replaces it!

Want to take control of your health?  Don’t just take nitric oxide supplements.  Eat enough high-quality protein every day and eat nough nitrogen (fruits and vegetables) every day.  Try TriVita’s Adaptogen 10 Plus as a supplement and encourage healthy bacteria by eating fermented foods such as olives, kimchee, sauerkraut, yogurt, pickles and pickled mushrooms often and take probiotics.

If you want high quality products, take a look at TriVita. Go to www.havingplenty.com, and if you’re interested in finding out more about Sonoran Bloom, call me on 718-407-0035.

If you’re interested in being involved in a Wellness Opportunity, take a look at www.roadmaptowishes.com.

Wishing you much health and wellness

Kathy

Katherine Smith
TriVita Independent Affiliate Member 13158176