Oatmeal for Your Heart

Oatmeal for Your Heart
In recent years, clinical studies have affirmed the ability of oatmeal and oat bran to reduce blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure and generally reduce the long term risk of hart disease.

In recognition of these well-established benefits, in 1996 the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted manufacturers/packagers of oatmeal the right to make specific health claim about this food, stating that diets high in oat meal or oat bran may reduce the risk of heart disease.

It was the first permissible health claim ever accorded to a food by the FDA, an agency that generally has favored drugs over natural substance.

In 1995, researchers at John Hopkins, in Baltimore, Maryland, reported that people who regularly consumed even a modest portion of oatmeal (one ounce cooked daily) had lower blood pressure and cholesterol readings than those who never ate oatmeal.

The study was based in the evaluation of 850 men, 17 – 77 years old living in China; their oatmeal consumption was 25 – 90 g daily.

The researchers stated that “the higher the oats intake, the lower the blood pressure,” regardless of other factors such as age and weight or alcohol sodium, or potassium intake, which are known to affect blood pressure.

According to researcher, it is oatmeal’s high content of water soluble fiber (beta glucan) that can produces the heart benefits.

A six-year study involving 22,000 middle-aged Finnish males showed that consuming as little as 3 g daily of soluble fiber (from the beta glucan fiber component of oats, barley or rye) reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 27%.
Oatmeal for Your Heart

Diet and Hypertension

Diet and Hypertension
There is a suggestion to recommend diets that consist of 30% fats, 20% - 25% protein and 45% - 50% carbohydrates. The fats should come from fish such as salmon, mackerel, Greenland halibut, cod and blue fish. This is o basically the so-called Mediterranean diet.

One study conducted in 1980s, investigating the rate of heart attacks over a ten year period for individual in European nations, revealed that the island of Crete reported no heart attacks as a cause of death, even though many of the residents had dangerously high cholesterol levels, a presumed risk factor for heart disease.

According to expert, the Mediterranean diet, rich in monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and antioxidants, has proved to be crucial in cardiovascular protection. This diet is low in saturated fats (such as dairy products and meats), high in fiber and antioxidants (vitamin C, beta carotene, and vitamin E) from fresh fruits and vegetables, and high in essential fatty acids, found in fish, flaxseed oil and other omega-3 oils.

Avocado and asparagus, commonly eaten in this diet, are rich in L-glutathione, an amino acid that can scavenge for harmful free radicals. An olive oil is the healthiest of oils as expert said. Also garlic and other members of the onion family (prominent in this diet) help because the significantly reduce blood pressure.
Diet and Hypertension

Salt and Blood Pressure

Salt and Blood Pressure
Table salt is sodium chloride: it is the sodium which is important for your blood pressure, not the chloride.

High blood pressure is unknown among those peoples of the world which normal diet contains about 20 times less sodium than a normal Western diet, and even very high blood pressure can be controlled by reducing sodium intake to this level. The diet required for this consists entirely of rice, fruit, and vegetable and would be intolerable to most people.

The usual daily diet contains much more salt than anyone needs, it certainly does no harm to reduce sodium intake by not adding salt to cooked meals, and by reducing or avoiding high sodium processed foods (crisps, sausages, sauces, tinned meats and beans and ‘convenience’ food generally), Chinese take-away (which contain huge quantities of sodium glutamate) and strong cheeses.

Salt can be found in the most unexpected foods for example, both milk and bread contain salt in amounts which would surprise most people.

There is no convincing evidence that the roughly one third reductions in sodium intake you can achieve by these dietary changes is an effective alternative to drug treatment for severe high blood pressure.

Reducing fat in your diet by about a quarter reduces the potential complications of high blood pressure much more effectively than reducing your salt intake by about half. Most people find it difficult to reduce fat and salt at the same time, and fat reduction deserved a higher priority (especially as cutting down in fats will help you lose weight).

However, people whose blood pressure is high enough for them to need to take drugs for it may manage on lower dosage of their tablets if they reduce their sodium intake, and very heavy salt eaters should try to cut down.
Salt and Blood Pressure

Food Diet for High Blood Pressure

Food Diet for High Blood Pressure
In healthy people, blood pressure is no more than 120/80 mmHg. The top number of blood pressure reading – the higher number is systolic pressure, which occurs when the heart beats and pumps the blood. When heart rests between beats, the pressure falls – even as the blood continues to travel through the blood vessel – producing the bottom number, which is called diastolic pressure.

High blood pressure presents no symptoms, which is why it’s often called a “silent killer”. It is more likely to occur in people who are heavy drinkers and in women who take oral contraceptives.

People who have high blood pressure should strive for a heart healthy diet that helps to maintain weight and trim inches off waist. Studies show that waist circumference may be a more accurate predictor of heart disease and high blood pressure risk than even body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of body weight in relation to a height.

Any heart healthy diet should include several fruits and vegetable each day, which will fortify body with disease – fighting phytonutrients and antioxidants vitamin. Eating fruits and vegetable will help ensure get fiber as well.

Soluble fiber, the kind that dissolves in water, is especially critical because it will help slow down digestion and can help lower blood pressure. Both soluble and insoluble fiber can help with weight loss or maintenance by making us feel good. Good sources of fiber include oats, kidney, beans, peas, cauliflower, flaxseed, apples, oranges and carrots.

When it comes to protein, look for lean varieties. Good proteins include chicken, fish and soy products such as tempeh, tofu, soy milk, and soy burger. Fish has added omega 3 fatty acids.
Food Diet for High Blood Pressure