High Blood Pressure: A Silent Killer!

High blood pressure  is one of those health problems you can have for a long time without knowing it. Often, it doesn’t cause symptoms right away. But it can still lead to serious issues like heart attacks and strokes. So it pays to know what can lead to it.

Your heart acts as a pump that pushes blood through your body. Blood pressure is the force your blood puts on your blood vessels as it flows. The higher your blood pressure, the higher the force. Without some pressure, your blood wouldn’t flow. It’d be like trying to blow up a balloon with a hole in it. But too much pressure and you’ll have problems.

What Boosts Your Blood Pressure?

You have high blood pressure if the first number is 140 or higher or if the second number is 90 or higher. Most of the time, doctors don’t know what causes high blood pressure. Your age, race, and family history can all play a part. But some things raise your blood pressure:

Being overweight. As your weight goes up, so does the amount of blood you need. That puts more strain on your heart and more pressure on your blood vessels. This is partly why physical activity and a healthy diet are so important.

Little or no physical activity. When you don’t move much, you usually have a higher heart rate, which makes your heart pump harder with each heartbeat. But when you exercise, your body makes hormones that relax your blood vessels and lower your blood pressure.

Too much salt. Sodium, which is in salt, can boost your blood pressure because it plays a role in narrowing your blood vessels and makes your body hold on to more fluid. So it’s best to limit salt in your diet. You also need to get enough potassium, found in foods like bananas, potatoes, and yogurt. It helps to balance your sodium levels and keep your blood pressure in check.

Tobacco use. Cigarettes and chewing tobacco both raise your blood pressure while you’re smoking or chewing. Plus, chemicals in tobacco damage your blood vessels, which narrows them and leads to higher blood pressure.

Alcohol use. Over time, heavy drinking can damage your heart's muscle. If you drink, it’s best to limit yourself. For healthy women, that means one drink a day. For healthy men, it’s two drinks a day up until age 65, then just one.

Stress. Chronic stress can cause problems for your blood pressure. Also, it often leads to behaviors such as smoking and drinking that also raise your blood pressure.

Medical Conditions

Certain health conditions can cause high blood pressure. This is one of the few times when the cause is clear. For example, certain conditions, such as sleep apnea, kidney disease, and thyroid problems, can cause high blood pressure. Sometimes, hypertension can happen during pregnancy and requires special treatment.

How Does Blood Pressure Get Too High?

As your blood pressure climbs, your heart has to work harder to pump blood. Over time, that’s a problem because it’s like constantly flooring the gas pedal in your car -- you’ll wear out your engine. Same with your heart.

Another problem is that your blood vessels are fragile and can only take so much force. Over time, the vessels get little tears in them, which is where plaque starts to collect.

As plaque builds up, your blood vessels narrow, so you have less room for blood to flow through. Your heart then has to pump harder, which creates even more pressure, and the cycle starts over.

Keeping your hands busy

Many smokers find the rituals involved with smoking calming and satisfying, and handle cigarettes as a way to feel less self-conscious in public. But of course, there are many alternative things to do with your hands when you quit.

Find other objects to handle - for instance, keep a pen and pad in your pocket or on your desk (pick this up instead and write down your reasons for giving up smoking, or just doodle); hold a real cigarette if the touch is all you miss - but not if handling a cigarette makes you want to light up; don't confuse hunger with the desire to put a cigarette in your mouth - eat regular meals and keep healthy snack foods on hand; and take up a hobby that keeps your hands busy, e.g. painting or wood carving.

What are unhealthy diets?

There is a great deal of controversy about what constitutes an unhealthy diet and how precisely to define ‘junk food’. In general, however, it can be stated that an unhealthy diet is one which does not contain a good balance of all the components of the diet which are necessary to health, or which is eaten in excess of the body’s requirements, or which places a strain on the body’s metabolic system by introducing toxins and chemicals such as preservatives and colouring which interfere with the natural processes of the liver and intestine. Particularly toxic components of many people’s daily diets are tea, coffee, and alcohol.

Both tea and coffee contain caffeine, which is a nervous system stimulant, and which can be habit-forming. Cola-based drinks also contain caffeine, and children in particular can become addicted to them. Alcohol on the other hand is a central nervous system depressant, which exerts its effects by loosening the inhibitions, which usually prevent us from acting in an anti-social fashion. Whether stimulants of depressants, all these agents have two things in common - they all have a rebound effect (hangover) when their effects wear off, which can only be countered by waiting for them to eliminate themselves from the body , or more commonly, taking more of them; secondly, they are harmful to the body’s metabolism, particularly when taken in excess.

Tip: A pleasant and satisfying hot drink can be made by soaking a slice of lemon in hot water and drinking it. Alternatively, herb teas such as rooibos tea, chamomile tea, or hibiscus tea or any of the herbal tea mixtures can be pleasant and refreshing without being toxic to the body.

  The Importance of Protein to the Human Body

Six anti-ageing tips

Here are six tips to protect your skin against premature ageing:

1. Use sunscreen liberally.

For daily wear, choose a sunscreen with at least an SPF of 15, if you do not expect to be outdoors or it is not a sunny time of year. If it is a sunnier season, step up to at least a 30 SPF.

2. Avoid tanning, whether from the sun or tanning booths.

It is one of the biggest mistakes that younger women make, whether it is tanning indoors or outdoors, on purpose or accidentally during sports.

Damaging your skin with ultraviolet radiation will make it look worse, and too much sun can also cause skin discoloration and damage to elastin and collagen.

3. Wear sunglasses.

Not only will you protect your eyes from the sun, but also the delicate skin surrounding your eyes. Furthermore, you will not be creating more wrinkles by squinting all the time.

4. Wear hats, visors, and sun-protective clothing.

The importance of physical protection from the sun, instead of relying only on sunscreen cannot be overemphasized. Hats with a broad brim are a good choice, while visors look good with sportier or more casual outfits.

5. Don’t smoke.

Smoking harms the skin in many ways. For instance, it speeds up collagen breakdown and constricts blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to your skin.

Smokers are more likely to develop premature wrinkles, such as tell-tale lines around the mouth and crow’s feet from “smoker’s squint. In time, nails and fingertips will turn yellow, too.

6. Avoid too much alcohol.

Drinking too much alcohol dehydrates your skin. Furthermore, alcohol dilates your blood vessels. If you drink to excess, you could develop unsightly broken blood vessels and rosacea, a skin disorder marked by redness and tiny pimples.

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