Posts Tagged "alcohol"

How To Lower High Blood Pressure

Posted By Robert Gordon on Aug 11, 2016

We often talk about wanting to live our life to the fullest. We want to life as we want with the freedom to eat and do as we desire without limitations. Unfortunately as we age, our bodies change, and living the lifestyle that you lived in your teen years and even your twenties may not be an option. Who doesn’t love juicy hamburgers, pizzas and sodas? Enjoying life and eating whatever we want is enticing, yet it’s not always practical. What we eat eventually catches up with us and can lead to disease or other issues like a high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

If you are experiencing high blood pressure, it is imperative that you visit a doctor. Your physician will guide you in making specific changes to your lifestyle and diet that can make way for a healthier you. It may require sacrifices that you may not like, but making changes to your diet may the answer to lowering your blood pressure.

The dangers of high blood pressure

High blood pressure can lead to dire health conditions like heart disease, a heart attack, and damage to the heart and arteries. It is no laughing matter. If you’re experiencing any of these conditions, it may be time to make some serious changes to your diet and lifestyle. Be aggressive with your wellness. Start researching ways to lower your high blood pressure!

Some practical ways to lower your blood pressure

Sometimes our blood pressure rises with our daily lifestyle choices. Stress can also be a factor.

Consider the following options to help you keep your blood pressure in check.

Lose weight. It is sad but true that weight gain can affect your blood pressure. Being overweight can disrupt your breathing, and affect your sleep. Losing just ten pounds can help reduce your blood pressure. Women are usually at risk for high blood pressure if their waist measurement is greater than 35 inches.

Reduce anxiety. Stress can induce anxiety and cause your blood pressure to rise. Learn to not take the entire world upon your shoulders. You can’t fix everything, so stop trying to. Make it a goal to eliminate stress triggers from your life. And if you’re an anxious eater, try to divert your stress by staying active or doing some yoga.

Limit alcohol consumption Alcohol can reduce your blood pressure if taken in small amounts. But like anything in life, moderation is key. If you enjoy a little wine with a meal or while reading a relaxing book by the fire, try to drink in small amounts. Drinking more than moderate amounts not only raises blood pressure, but it can also reduce the effectiveness of the medications you’re taking for your blood pressure.

Change your eating habits. Eating a well-balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains is essential to maintain overall health and wellness. Speak to your physician about a specific diet. Many doctors and medical experts call the Mediterranean diet the answer to a well-balanced meal.

Stay positive and maintain discipline!

Mindset is key in wellness. Eating healthy foods that help you maintain wellness and balance is key to a healthier you. Keep a journal if you must and strive for a healthier lifestyle. You are well worth it!

Alcohol Consumption Guidelines in the UK

Posted By Robert Gordon on Feb 5, 2016

The news may be tough to hear for many drinkers, but the British government recently unveiled new recommendations for alcohol consumption. The recommendations suggest fewer drinks per weeks than have past recommendations.

What are the new guidelines? What is the reasoning behind them? And does this new announcement signal a global change in recommended alcohol intake? Let’s find out.

Stick to Two Drinks a Day

The basic new National Health Service (NHS) advice is that regular drinkers should stick to 14 drinks per week. This has long been the standard advice given to women, but it now applies to men as well. Luckily, regular drinkers can still safely get some of their evening drinking in; 14 drinks per week averages out to 2 a night. Not too bad. And since men and women now get the same recommendations, sticking to this schedule will be easier for couples to stick to.

Pace Yourself Over the Course of a Week

Regular moderate drinking is still preferred over quick binges. It would not be safe to have seven drinks twice a week, for instance. Binge drinking is never safe or advisable. Bingeing is associated with high risks of long-term health problems, and it leads to greatly increased risks of accidents, falls, and other physical damages that come with drunkenness.

The NHS advises drinker to pace themselves, to consume food with alcohol, and to alternate alcoholic drinks with nonalcoholic drinks. This will prevent drunkenness and encourage a huge variety of healthy lifestyle choices.

Pregnant Women Should Avoid Alcohol Completely

If you’re pregnant, you should cut out drinking completely. Everything you consume will filter down to your unborn child, and your future child’s body is not yet up to the challenge of dealing with alcohol. You wouldn’t give beer to a toddler, and you should give one to a fetus.

This advice is, of course, not new. Pregnant women have been told for years to avoid alcohol, but the new guidelines reiterate this important point.

Why Were the Guidelines Changed?

Governments have been offering drinking advice for decades, so why has the NHS recently changed its tune? Science always improves on itself, and more data means that public health experts are always improving their knowledge and advice. The NHS had not updated its policy in about twenty years, so researchers figured it was time for a fresh look at the guidelines that included more information. They took that look, and the new guidelines are the result.    

What About Other Governments?

Every government in the world offers drinking advice. Why should you be paying attention to the NHS’s guidelines, especially if you’re not a British citizen?

The UK’s guidelines are much more limiting than most of the world’s governments’, at least for men (14 per week is a common recommendation for women around the world). One thing the British research takes into account is the link between alcohol and cancer. 21 drinks per week may not be immediately dangerous for men, but it may increase risks for many cancers.