New studies evaluating the effects of high-carbohydrate and high- monounsaturated fat diets indicate that patients with type 2 diabetes suffered of modestly raises blood pressure after being exposed to 14 weeks of a high-carbohydrate diet compared to a diet high in monounsaturated fat.
One diet consisted in a high-carbohydrate diet consisting of 55 per cent of calories as carbohydrate, 30 percent as fat, and 10 percent as monounsaturated fat. The other diet consisted in a high-monounsaturated fat diet deriving 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 45 percent from fat, and 25 percent from monounsaturated fat.
The research compared the effect of two same-calorie diets among 42 patients with type 2 diabetes, who consumed each diet for 6 weeks, with about 1 week between the two periods. These patients were invited to continue the second diet for 8 weeks more. Eightof them continued on the high-monounsaturated fat diet and 13 continued on the high-carbohydrate diet.
Findings after the first 6-week periods demonstrated that there were no significant differences between both diets in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, the upper and lower numbers on a standard reading, respectively, or in heart rate. Read more…
If counting sheep is not working for you, here are some facts you may want to sleep on-chronic sleep deprivation can do more than make you tired. It can significantly affect your health, safety, performance, and lifestyle.
Most people are surprised to learn that sleeping less than six or seven hours a night can increase their mortality risk more than smoking, high blood pressure or heart disease.
Losing as little as one and a half hours of sleep for just one night could result in a reduction of daytime alertness by as much as 32 percent. This loss can impair memory and the ability to think and process information effectively.
Decreased alertness can also affect your life by limiting your participation in activities that require sustained attention, such as reading a book or watching your favorite TV show. And the risk of receiving an occupational injury more than doubles when a person is sleepy.
Car accidents are another problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates conservatively that each year drowsy driving is responsible for at least 100,000 automobiles crashed, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities.
As many as 70 million Americans have sleep disturbances-which include taking a long time to get to sleep, sleeping less and waking up frequently. Read more…
Marvelous things happen beneath the skin in the heat of the sweat bath. The capillaries dilate permitting increased flow of blood to the skin in an attempt to draw heat from the surface and disperse it inside the body. The bather’s skin becomes cherry red. The heart is pressed into a faster pace to keep up with the additional demands for blood. Impurities in the liver, kidneys, stomach, muscles, brain, and most other organs are flushed out by the faster flow of juices. The skin and kidneys filter the wastes, excreting them in sweat and urine.
Exercise Your Heart!
Some researchers claim that the rapid flexing of the heart and blood vessels in the heat of the sweat bath is a healthy exercise that puts little more strain on the heart than strolling on level ground. The increased capillary volume, they say, keeps blood pressure normal. Other medical people, however, qualify their commendations. One Finnish study observed that whereas blood pressure of healthy persons remains approximately normal in a sweat bath, there occurs a marked reduction of pressure in persons suffering from high blood pressure. However, this effect is only transient, Read more…
Recent Comments