Few, if any people will have complete physical, mental and social wellbeing all the time. Trevor Smith, senior member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, will join us every week to talk about health and wellbeing

For the last few weeks, we have been discussing ways in which we can help our bodies to be healthy and boost our immune system. Last week we specifically looked at the new Better Health campaign from the government, which aims to support as many people as possible to lose weight and develop a healthier lifestyle.

Consequently, I thought this week it would be prudent to discuss some of the basics surrounding nutrition, as it is not just being physically active that contributes to a healthier body and mind.

Your body needs lots of different nutrients, from a variety of sources, and in unique amounts. When you hear the word diet, do you immediately think of being hungry and depriving yourself of your favourite foods? I believed this for a long time too. For years there was always the latest fad diet going around at work. Usually the fad diets ask you to cut out a major food group such as carbohydrates or proteins. These can be ill-advised, and care must be taken. There may well be an initial weight loss, however, this is rarely sustained and as soon as the missing food group is returned to the normal daily food intake, the weight that was initially lost does normally return.

Trevor Smith, Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity

I do not think it will come as a shock to anyone when I say that unfortunately, there are no quick fixes for natural weight loss. A healthy, balanced diet with regular exercise is still the best way to maintain a healthy weight or to facilitate natural weight loss of approximately 2 lbs per week.

When I decide to improve my food choices, and I usually end up doing this in January after the Christmas break, what I find works for me is I also use smaller plates. When dishing up your meals you will usually and unconsciously make the portion size appropriate to the plate you are using. Therefore, if you are using a smaller plate and make your portion size appropriate to that plate then you are already consuming less food.

Our body does some of the most wonderous things without us even knowing it. Our food and drink choices can help the body to continue to function effectively or they can hinder it. To give an example, did you know that some types of cancer can occur due to a lack of fibre in the diet? Heart attacks can occur when someone is carrying too much weight, especially around the waist. Arthritis and joint problems can become worse if you are carrying excess weight and high blood pressure (which can lead to a stroke) can occur if there is too much salt in the diet. This is not intended as a scare tactic rather this is information that we should all be aware of. So how can we act to guard against these illnesses? It is all down to the food choices we make.

There are five main food groups but let us just look at the two biggest ones today.

Fruits and vegetables (where you get most of the essential vitamins and minerals). We should aim to eat at least five portions of these every day. It is easier than you think:

Simply add some fruit to your breakfast cereal (I have started doing this and found I stay full for much longer).

Snack on fruit or vegetables (such as carrots or cucumber for example).

Have a side salad with a main meal or on the side of a sandwich.

Add vegetables into a sauce for example bolognaise.

Starchy Carbohydrates (rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals, oats). These should account for about half of your daily diet. Choose wholegrain or high fibre options with less added fat, salt and sugar. Sugars are classed as carbohydrates. Be careful, sucrose (the sugar you might put into your cup of tea) is very easily converted to body fat. It gives your body a quick energy burst followed by a rapid drop in blood sugar levels. This leaves you feeling tired, listless, and hungry. On the other hand, the complex carbohydrates release the energy into your blood stream at a much slower rate meaning you feel fuller for longer and your blood sugar levels remain stable.

This Weeks Challenge:

Considering this weeks information, I would like you to keep a food diary for one week. This will give you an overview to see how much of each food group you are eating. What changes do you need to make, if any, to ensure that your diet is well balanced? Only you choose what you eat, so make every mouthful count.

Share your healthy meals and recipes on Twitter with us @TheNorthernEcho and @TSmith_PE

Trevor Smiths works at Premier Education. He is a senior member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity

Read more:
Being healthier is not all about the exercise food counts too - The Northern Echo

For a short while, the novel virus identified in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, was referred to in the media as SARS-CoV-2, due to its supposed similarity to the SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus identified in 2003. Between late 2002 and summer of 2003, SARS had generated about 8,000 confirmed cases and almost 800 deaths were credited to the outbreak, indicating a death rate (per confirmed case) of about 10 percent.

After about the middle of April, 2020, the global media apparently stopped making comparisons between SARS and COVID, even though they had similar symptoms and were both caused by a contagious coronavirus transmitted via respiration. I went searching online, yesterday, for comparisons between the SARS virus and the COVID virus, but could not find any relevant articles dated later than about the middle of April. Four months later, in mid-August, public health officials presumably know more about COVID and they ought to be able to make a better comparison. But there seems to be little interest in SARS comparisons at this point.

From what I can tell, COVID is much more contagious than SARS, but also much less deadly.

And speaking of much less deadly, a Daily Post reader sent me a link to an interesting article this week: How Bad is COVID Really? (A Swedish doctors perspective) by Sebastian Rushworth, MD. According to Dr. Rushworths short bio:

I am a practicing physician in Stockholm, Sweden. Every day I get asked questions by my patients about health, diet, exercise, supplements, and medications. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet and it is easy to get the wrong advice, and hard to tell what is right and what is wrong if you dont have advanced scientific training. The purpose of this blog is to share what the science actually says.

One might have the impression, from this bio, that Dr. Rushworth is interested in sharing scientifically-valid information, with ordinary people (like you and me) who have been getting misinformation via the Internet, and who have possibly come to non-scientific conclusions. Those of us without advanced scientific training.

Doctor Rushworths story begins like this:

Ok, I want to preface this article by stating that it is entirely anecdotal and based on my experience working as a doctor in the emergency room of one of the big hospitals in Stockholm, Sweden, and of living as a citizen in Sweden. As many people know, Sweden is perhaps the country that has taken the most relaxed attitude of any towards the covid pandemic. Unlike other countries, Sweden never went in to complete lockdown. Non-essential businesses have remained open, people have continued to go to cafs and restaurants, children have remained in school, and very few people have bothered with face masks in public

And it concludes like this:

If only 6000 are dead out of five million infected, that works out to a case fatality rate of 0.12 percent, roughly the same as regular old influenza, which no one is the least bit frightened of, and which we dont shut down our societies for.

In the space between those comments, the good doctors essay proposes that Sweden which chose not to lock down completely during the pandemic simply allowed the people to die, people who (he surmises) would eventually die from COVID anyway even if the economy had been locked down and then reopened later. As a result, Sweden is now basically done with COVID, and on to better things, the doctor suggests.

He predicts that the countries that locked down will eventually see the same death rate as Sweden when they eventually reopen fully but will simply take longer to get there.

Dr. Rushworth is obviously a cool guy, to judge by his winning smile and his tattoo.

If you do a Google search for Sebastian Rushworth, you will find literally pages and pages of results that link to, or quote, his above mentioned article. Among the people and media outlets who believe the US made a huge mistake in shutting down our economy, Sebastian Rushworth MD has become an international hero. But do we know anything about Dr. Rushworth? And is his oft-quoted article built upon what the science actually says?

None of the articles I could find on Google told me much about Dr. Rushworths background. None of them, for example, linked to the good doctors LinkedIn page, where we can learn that he currently works in a rather large hospital north of Stockholm (Danderyds Sjukhus AB), and that he graduated from Karolinska Institute in January 2020, and that hes an Underlkare which translates (via Google) as assistant physician. (A fully accredited doctor in Sweden is often designated as a Lkare.)

In order to find Dr. Rushworths LinkedIn page, I had to do a search for sebastian rushworth underlkare sverige Sverige being the Swedish name for Sweden. (The bio on his own website tells us almost nothing about his background.) But we do know that hes reasonably honest about what the science actually says because he began his essay with this comment:

Ok, I want to preface this article by stating that it is entirely anecdotal

The article is written in English, so we need not translate that sentence. It says, quite clearly, that the essay is entirely anecdotal. That means it is entirely non-scientific. Although Dr. Rushworth would like to share with his readers, and the world, what the science actually says he has given us an essay that is entirely anecdotal. It would appear that thousands, maybe millions, of people around the globe have now read his non-scientific story, and are sharing it.

How many of those readers paid attention to the very first sentence?

I dont work in one of the larger hospitals in the Stockholm area, and I dont have a license from a medical school. But I can write anecdotal essays with the best of them, because anecdotes have nothing to do with science. They have to do with personal experiences in a small town in Colorado, or in an emergency room in Stockholm.

Read Part Two, on Monday

Bill Hudson

Bill Hudson founded the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 based on the belief that community leaders often tell only one side of the story while the public deserves to hear all sides.

Here is the original post:
EDITORIAL: COVID and the Power of Anecdotal Stories, Part One - Pagosa Daily Post

Welcome to your skin check-in with Life & Styles resident health and beauty expert, Dr. Will Kirby, a celebrity dermatologist and Chief Medical Officer of LaserAway. Every week, hell be spilling his candid thoughts and professional advice on all things skin, beauty and wellness as it relates to you and your favorite stars.

Skin chafing refers to superficial irritation of the skin often caused by physical forces. Skin-to-skin contact or clothing-to-skin contact coupled with repeat episodes of incidental friction is the most common cause of skin chafing. Chafing most typically occurs on the thighs, the groin, the armpits and even the nipples. This week I reached out to the nations leading skin experts to discuss ways to prevent and treat skin chafing! Check out these tips:

1. Dress Right Wearing the right clothing can make a huge difference in the prevention of skin chafing, says dermatologist Dr. Deanne Mraz Robinson. Wearing breathable cotton undergarments during the day and donning looser, moisture-wicking, seamless clothing while exercising will help tremendously. Also consider sleeping in a cool room, with lightweight cotton sheets, and completely naked your chafed, irritated skin will thank you!

2. Stay Dry Chafing can be worse in hot, humid environments and although it can be very difficult to accomplish in hot weather and especially while exercising, staying dry is a great way to prevent certain types of chafing, finds plastic surgeon Dr. Gaurav Bharti. So consider using an antiperspirant before exercising or working outdoors during the summer and always immediately dry the area with a clean towel after sweating!

3. Get In Shape While fit athletes can suffer from chafing, individuals experiencing obesity have a much higher incidence of irritating skin to skin contact, acknowledges dermatologist Dr. Tejas Desai. As such, losing weight via diet, exercise, and lifestyle modification or even surgery to minimize the surface area where chafing occurs should be a discussion point in heavy patients with a history of chafing.

4. Lubricate You can pre-treat to prevent chafing with a high quality moisturizer like Skin Medicas Rejuvenative Moisturizer before chafing even starts, says dermatologist Dr. Merrick Elias. But if chafing has already set in then consider applying a thick coat of Aquaphor three times a day. This will heal the irritated skin and minimal future friction.

5. Seek Professional Care While chafing is typically minimal and easy to treat, on rare occasions it may be severe and a frictional or mechanical burn may develop, notes dermatologist Dr. Alpesh Desai. If you have suffered from repeated episodes of chafing or have active chafing and notice prolonged pain, significant redness, crusting, bleeding or a discharge, you may need professional care so seek medical attention from a skin expert as an infection may be occurring.

So there you have it! The skin experts have spoken! Prevent and treat skin chafing by avoiding moisture and friction and if you develop chafing, follow these expert tips to heal it quickly!

Read this article:
5 Expert Tips to Heal and Prevent Skin Chafing - Life&Style Weekly

With the explosion of lockdown-friendly home exercise programmes and advice, it may seem as if its never been easier to workout at home. But the reality is, its probably never been harder. For every person posting a sweaty crushed it selfie on Instagram, theres another one (or four) just trying to endure pandemic-induced stress. Add in constant access to the refrigerator and a pantry overstocked with panic buys, and the guilt about what weve eaten or the exercise we havent done piles on faster than you can say Quarantine 15.

So youve gained weight, says Elyse Resch, a nutrition therapist. So what? Youre alive. Were doing the best we can with the resources we have. (Not to mention many others straining under severe challenges, like significant health concerns and financial worries.)

You, too, can shrug off minor or moderate weight gain or the loss of your pre-pandemic fitness level. Read on.

Above all, have compassion. I dont think most people change their minds by being yelled at or punched in the face, but thats how we talk to ourselves, says Phoenix Jackson, a clinical psychologist who specializes in trauma. When Jackson is having trouble speaking to herself as kindly as she might a beloved friend, she likes to find a photo of herself as a child and think of how gently shed like that person to be spoken to.

Next, recognize that weight and ambitious exercise regimens may offer the illusion of control in a world that seems out of control, but the anxiety they produce is not helpful. This is part of a larger problem: most of us feel pressure to achieve or maintain a certain body size because weve been taught that its important. Excess weight has been linked to considerable health risks, though it does not, by definition, mean a person is unhealthy. Unfortunately, fatphobia promotes just the opposite: fat people are denied health care, earn less money at work and have a harder time finding work in the first place, research has shown.

Break the cycle by asking yourself where you learned that weight gain was something to be ashamed of, Paula Freedman, a clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, writes in an email. Ask, does this belief help me be the type of person I want to be? (Freedman added that you may have to break this down further: What type of person do I want to be? How do I want to treat myself and other people?)

Christy Harrison, a nutrition therapist who examined the issue of excess weight and the virus in an article in US Wired, published in April, said in an interview last month that few of the early research studies on the matter controlled for race, socioeconomic status or quality of care social determinants of health that we know explain the lions share of health disparities between groups of people, she wrote. Nor did they control for how doctors biases influence the way they care for higher-weight patients. But strong evidence exists that obesity (defined as having a body mass index of 30 or higher) puts you at greater risk of dying from Covid-19.

At the end of the day, regardless of what the science does or doesnt say about Covid and weight, we still dont have any way for people to lose weight and keep it off, Harrison said.

She suggested asking yourself: What am I getting out of worrying about food and my body right now, and what am I losing? What could I be doing with that time and energy? One survey suggested women fretted for 21 minutes a day and men for 18 minutes a day. (And to some people, that number may sound awfully low.) Still, thats a lot of time that could be devoted to anything from guilty pleasures to relationships or to life- and world-changing causes.

Fearing weight gain and feeling bad about your body takes you away from what really matters and being able to participate in this cultural moment, Harrison said.

One tenet of diet culture or wellness culture, which is really just the rebranding of diet culture is that eating for any other reason besides screaming biological hunger is a bad thing. This belief came from the rise of diet clubs in the 1960s, where women went to talk out their feelings so they could avoid emotional eating.

You have to be starving to deserve to eat in this culture, Harrison said. But we are designed to get pleasure out of food and connect over food.

Lets say food really is giving you comfort. Go with it, love it, be grateful for it, Resch says. With one caveat: youll need to stay present to get the actual comfort and satisfaction. If youre too busy judging yourself when you eat, youre not savouring the texture and flavour.

So youre not working out enough, or as hard as you did pre-lockdown, and you think this is a problem. This may be because, for you, exercise is about controlling your body or compensating for what youve been eating yet another belief to be discarded.

Exercise is its own pleasurable thing you can do for joy and for mental health benefits, Harrison says. Its hard to tune into that when you have all these voices in your head saying, But if I cant get my heart rate to this Im not going to get the benefits.

Resch prefers the word movement to exercise.

Exercise connotes something you have to do, she says. You want to take out the sense of doing it for a purpose like weight loss or keeping muscle on. Instead, ask yourself what makes you feel good in your body. It could just be standing up and stretching.

Channel your energy into something more productive than obsessing about weight and exercise like working to change diet culture, such as calling out thin-promoting or fat-shaming comments on your social networks. Suman Ambwani, an associate professor of psychology at Dickinson College, says people are sometimes reluctant to challenge these sorts of statements. But we found in one study a couple of years ago that someone who called attention to this issue and rejected appearance-related self-worth and the thin ideal was actually seen as more likable than someone who just colluded with body-shaming, she says.

Ambwani suggests following the health-at-every-size movement a nearly 20-year-old movement that promotes weight inclusivity and social justice to educate yourself, and then looking for ways to get involved.

Finally, look at feeling bad as the canary in the coal mine the indicator that something might be ready to change, says Elizabeth Hall, an intuitive eating coach in Connecticut, USA. Although people often respond by vowing to buckle down or work harder, she says, the way to end the guilt and shame is actually just to notice those feelings, and to ask yourself if they are serving you or causing suffering.

Feeling bad is actually an invitation to expand and shift our consciousness and let go of expectations and old programming, she says. New York Times

Read more from the original source:
The quarantine 15: Dont be ashamed of those extra pounds - The Irish Times

Juice diets are based around consuming a variety of juiced fruits and vegetables and involve avoiding solid food for a set period of time. The calorie intake is usually very restricted which means your diet will be in a large deficit, allowing you to lose weight fast. Juice diets should only be done short-term but they can be repeated throughout the year.

For three to five days before a juice cleanse it is recommended to start eliminating certain foods like sugar, meat, dairy and alcohol to lower the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

Cutting these food groups out of your diet can also help improve your mood.

It is also advised to increase your fluid intake before the cleanse begins.

You can easily make your own juices at home and should be drinking around three a day, just like you would usually eat meals.

READ MORE:Weight loss: Clever foods to eat to get abs in 2 weeks

Foods to put into juices include raw fruits, raw vegetables and almond milk but this diet is so popular because you can put anything you want into your juice.

Incorporating calorie negative foods into your juices can also help you lose weight quicker because they virtually contain little to no calories.

Foods promoted as negative calorie foods are typically those with a high water content. The water content will keep your body hydrated and keep you fuelled. It will also help with the weight loss process.

Watermelon and cucumber are great refreshing foods that contain little calories but are also tasty and contain weight loss components.

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Watermelon contains lots of water and is one fruit that has almost no calories in it at all. 100 grams of this juicy fruit contains just 30 calories which will help keep you hydrated.

It is also rich in something called amino acids which can help burn fat when consumed daily in your juice.

Cucumber is one of the best foods that has a high water content and many nutrients.

It is packed with fibre and when juiced, can be refreshing and keep you full for a long time.

It is recommended to stay clear of fruits that are high in sugars as this can actually cause weight gain and high blood sugar.

One great benefit from a juice cleanse is that your body will be getting all of the vitamins and nutrients that it needs.

Healthline says: If you struggle to eat enough fruits and vegetables each day, juicing is a convenient way to get a wide range of important nutrients.

One study showed that a group of overweight men lost 20lbs in just two weeks following a simple juice diet cleanse.

After your juice cleanse it is important to stick to whole foods like legumes and fruits and continue to avoid foods with added sugar or preservatives.

However it isnt recommended to stay on juice diets for a long period of time as they can have many side effects including headaches.

Your body also enters fasting mode for many hours of the day and you can end up putting all the weight back on when returning to normal eating.

Although if you only do a juice diet for around 3 days at a time then you should be able to keep the weight lost off.

You may see weight loss results quickly and are suitable for a quick fix, but long-term, a healthy balanced diet with exercise is recommended to lose weight.

See more here:
Juice detox diet: How to lose half a stone in a week - and keep it off - Express

Devote some time to yoga on a weekly basis to strengthen your muscles and also relieve your stress levels.

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Heart disease is the number one killer for both men and women in America, causing one in three deaths each year (that's one person each minute!), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It's not just a concern of older adults, either: Heart disease can affect people at any age.

That's why it's important to stay on top of things like your blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, as well as embrace a heart-healthy lifestyle that includes eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep.

But it can be hard to remember to do everything you need to protect your ticker. Let this checklist be your guide as to what to do to stay on top of your heart health.

Print out this checklist or save it on your phone so you can keep up with your heart health.

Image Credit: LIVESTRONG.com Creative

Click here for a printer-friendly version of this checklist.

Aim to get at least 4 servings of fruit and 5 servings of veggies a day, per recommendations from the American Heart Association (AHA). Folks who munch on around 8 servings of fruits and veggies a day have a significantly lower risk of developing and dying from heart disease than those who get less than five, according to a June 2017 study in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

Ideally, you'll want to mix it up so that the fruits and veggies are different colors, adds Johanna Contreras, MD, a cardiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, as they all have different antioxidants and other nutrients key to heart health.

In the United States, only about one in five adults gets the recommended amount of physical activity (both aerobic and strength training), according to the CDC. But breaking a sweat is key to reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke, says Suzanne Steinbaum, MD, a cardiologist in New York City and an AHA spokesperson.

Exercising has been shown to improve risk factors for heart disease such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, and lowers your risk of heart disease, per the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Get moving with these three types of workouts:

Cardio: Both the AHA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (or a combination).

Try incorporating activity such as walking, running and cycling into your daily routine.

Strength training: In an analysis of nearly 13,000 adults, spending up to an hour a week on resistance training reduced the risk for heart attack or stroke by 40 to 70 percent, per a March 2019 study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

Spending more than an hour didn't lead to additional risk reduction. That is, you don't have to devote tons of time to resistance workouts to reap the heart health benefits: One set of 8 to 12 strength-training reps that works your muscles to fatigue is usually enough for each muscle group. Aim to fit strength training into your schedule twice a week, with at least two days of rest between workouts, per the AHA.

Yoga: Doing Downward Facing Dog may reduce risk of heart disease as much as aerobic exercise like brisk walking, according to a December 2014 review in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. People in randomized controlled trials examining yoga's effects on heart health lost an average of 5 pounds, lowered their blood pressure by five points and slashed their levels of bad LDL cholesterol by 12.

This is probably because yoga helps strengthen muscles, while also incorporating mindfulness techniques that can relieve stress, says Nieca Goldberg, MD, director of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health at NYU Langone Health in NYC. Try making time for yoga once a week (or more!).

A few minutes spent on a mindfulness practice will lower blood pressure and reduce stress levels.

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Mindfulness practices like deep breathing appear to help reduce your risk of heart disease, according to a September 2017 scientific statement in the Journal of the American Heart Association. When experts reviewed dozens of studies published over the last two decades, they found that meditation helped lower blood pressure, improved blood flow to the heart and lowered blood glucose levels.

"Mindfulness lowers levels of stress hormones, which can raise blood pressure and inflammation in the body linked to heart disease," Dr. Goldberg says.

Here are some ways to pick up the habit:

Getting enough shut-eye may be as important to your heart health as other lifestyle factors such as eating right and exercising, Dr. Goldberg says.

For example, one study examined the sleep habits of more than 400,000 people in the United Kingdom and found that sleeping fewer than six hours a night raised the risk of a first heart attack by 20 percent compared to those who clocked between six and nine hours, per September 2019 findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Try to set a consistent bedtime and wake-up time: Doing so makes it easier to get your needed zzzs, and will also keep your body clock in balance, which is also important for heart health.

Make time to see friends not only will it be enjoyable, but these relationship play a big role in your health.

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"Our social settings can play just as big of a role in affecting health as medications and physical lifestyle changes," Dr. Steinbaum says. "Social isolation can have adverse effects on our hearts and can encourage behaviors that increase your risk for heart disease, such as eating a poor diet, physical inactivity and excessive smoking or drinking alcohol."

Not having strong social relationships is associated with an increased risk for stroke or heart disease, per a May 2016 study in Heart. So, consider spending time with friends, family and loved ones a priority not something to push to the back burner. At least a couple of times a week, reach out and connect with friends.

Put fish on the menu at least twice a week, per the AHA. Aim for two 3.5-ounce servings of fatty fish (a serving size is slightly bigger than a checkbook) such as salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna. These are all rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to help reduce some of the inflammation that may contribute to heart disease, Dr. Goldberg says.

These fatty fish also reduce triglycerides, a type of fat in your blood, slow the buildup of plaque in your arteries and slightly lower your blood pressure.

Munching on an ounce of nuts at least five times a week is associated with a 20 percent lower risk of developing heart disease, according to a November 2017 study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Just don't eat much more than that (it's about the size of a small handful), as nuts are also high in calories.

Devoting some of your energy to being helpful is not just kind it's a potential stress-reducer that may help with heart health.

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Take some time during your busy day to do something small to help another whether it's letting someone cut in front of you in the grocery checkout line or bringing soup to a sick neighbor.

People who frequently perform these altruistic acts report a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives, according to a June 2015 study in the Journal of Positive Psychology. These positive feelings reduce stress, which in turn may improve heart health, Dr. Contreras notes.

In fact, instead of waiting for situations to pop up so you can be helpful, make an active effort to pursue volunteering. People who volunteer at least 200 hours a year are 40 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who don't, according to a June 2013 study in Psychology and Aging. That shakes out to less than four hours a week, or about 17 hours a month.

Schedule getaways and vacations for the pleasure of it, and also the health benefits.

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Even a short weekend trip can do your heart good. Each vacation taken during the year was linked with a 24 percent reduction with risk of developing metabolic syndrome (a cluster of symptoms that include high blood pressure, cholesterol, insulin levels and obesity), per a June 2019 study in the journal Psychology and Health. Just make sure you don't stray too far from your regular healthy eating and workout habits while on vacation, since that would undercut the benefits of time away.

Weight matters when it comes to heart health. Being overweight increases the risk for heart disease (and many other chronic conditions), according to an August 2019 study in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

You can weigh yourself to make sure you're maintaining a healthy weight. But stepping on the scale isn't the only way to track weight gains (or losses): You can also take heed if clothes fit you differently or scroll back in your social media to see if there visible differences in your weight.

Your dental health may be linked to your heart health: For example, people who had lost teeth due to untreated gum disease were at higher risk of heart attack and stroke, per a study presented in October 2019 at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology.

It's thought that gum inflammation may trigger inflammation in your arteries, Dr. Goldberg explains.

There often aren't any symptoms of high blood pressure, which makes getting tested essential.

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After age 40 and earlier if you have a high risk of high blood pressure get your blood pressure checked once a year, per the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Between the ages of 18 and 40, aim to get it checked every 3 to 5 years.

"It's one of the most important screenings because high blood pressure usually has no symptoms, so it can't be detected without being measured," Dr. Contreras says.

In fact, nearly half of all Americans now have high blood pressure, according to the AHA, which published new guidelines in 2017 recommending everyone aim for a blood pressure less than 120/80 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). What do those numbers mean? The top number measures the pressure of blood as the heart beats, while the bottom number reveals the pressure of blood between beats, per the AHA.

"We know now that people whose blood pressure level is between 130 to 139 over 80 to 89 have double the risk of heart attack or stroke as those whose blood pressure is under 120/80," Dr. Contreras says.

If your blood pressure reading is above 120/80, your doctor will recommend checking it more frequently and may want to discuss treatment options to lower it.

Starting at age 20, everyone should get a blood test that measures your total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol, per the AHA recommendations.

But you may need to get tested more frequently if you're at increased risk for heart disease for example, if you are overweight or already have high blood pressure. Your total cholesterol should be under 200 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), with your bad cholesterol under 100 and your good cholesterol at least 50.

To reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 infections, it is best to call your doctor before leaving the house if you are experiencing a high fever, shortness of breath or another, more serious symptom.

See more here:
Take Care of Your Heart Year-Round With This Simple Checklist - LIVESTRONG.COM

The key to living longer could be to eat a healthy, balanced diet - including at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day - as well as regular exercise. But you could boost your life expectancy by regularly eating the spice ginger, it's been claimed.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a well-rounded diet is crucial to prolonging your lifespan.

You could also boost your lifespan by doing regular exercise. Its the miracle cure weve all been waiting for, according to the NHS.

Making some small diet or lifestyle changes could help to increase your life expectancy and avoid an early death.

One of the best ways to raise your chances of a long life is to regularly eat ginger, it's believed.

READ MORE: How to live longer - a smoothie that may boost your life expectancy

Ginger has a number of health benefits, which make it an ideal addition to your shopping list, according to dietitian Juliette Kellow and nutritionist Dr Sarah Brewer.

It's been claimed to relieve nausea or stomach discomfort, while also reducing bloating pain.

The spice is a natural anti-inflammatory, which is crucial for patients of some conditions, including arthritis.

Some scientists have even reported that eating more ginger could lower your risk of bowel cancer.

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"Studies show ginger fights nausea, stimulates bile production, relieve stomach discomfort, and speeds transit through the digestive tract," they said in their book Eat Better Live Longer Understand What Your Body Needs To Stay Healthy.

"It also helps to break up and dispel intestinal gas, to counter bloating.

"Gingers strong anti-inflammatory action may help to relieve pain associated with conditions such as arthritis, they said.

"A review of five studies found taking ginger reduced pain by nearly a third and disability by 22 percent in people with osteoarthritis."

If you're not a big fan of the taste of ginger, you could also try swapping it for turmeric.

Turmeric is a great anti-ageing remedy, due to its active ingredient; curcumin.

Curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which specifically protects the heart, lungs and brain from a number of conditions.

People that eat the most turmeric have even been claimed to have a lower risk of developing cancer.

Regular exercise is a crucial aspect to improving overall health, and helping you to live longer.

People that do regular exercise are up to 50 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes and some cancers, said the NHS.

It may even slash the chances of coronary heart disease and stroke by up to 35 percent.

All UK adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week.

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How to live longer - the best spice to protect against early death and bowel cancer - Express

High blood pressure poses grave health risks because you cannot detect it. The condition produces no outward signs so it is easy to dismiss it but such complacency comes at a cost. High blood pressure, which is characterised by the amount of force pushing against your artery walls, hikes your risk of heart disease, a major killer worldwide.

How? Your artery walls respond to high blood pressure by hardening and becoming more narrow.

As a result, less blood flows around your body, supplying vital organs, such as the heart - conditions that make a heart attack far more likely.

The only way to check your reading is to get a blood pressure test, which is conducted at a number places, such as GP surgery or some pharmacies.

Blood pressure tests can also be carried out at home using your own blood pressure monitor.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: The 30p item shown to lower reading and other heart disease markers

If it is determined you have high blood pressure, lifestyle changes are usually recommended to bring your reading down within a healthy range.

Diet is one of the most effective countermeasures and is also instrumental in reducing your risk of developing high blood pressure.

Research provides a reliable guide to the best foods for combating high blood pressure.

Protein has been shown to be particularly effective at lowering high blood pressure.

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In fact, according to a study published in the American Journal of Hypertension, participants consuming the highest amount of protein (an average of 100 g protein/day) had a 40 percent lower risk of having high blood pressure compared to the lowest intake level.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) analysed protein intakes of healthy participants from the Framingham Offspring Study and followed them for development of high blood pressure over an 11-year period.

They found that adults who consumed more protein, whether from animal or plant sources, had statistically significantly lower systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure levels after four years of follow-up.

Systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure are the two figures used to record blood pressure.

Systolic pressure is the pressure when your heart pushes blood out and diastolic pressure is the pressure when your heart rests between beats.

In general, these beneficial effects were evident for both overweight and normal weight individuals.

They also found that consuming more dietary protein also was associated with lower long-term risks for high blood pressure.

When the diet also was characterised by higher intakes of fibre, higher protein intakes led to 40 to 60 percent reductions in risk of high blood pressure.

High protein sources include:

A regular exercise routine should compliment a healthy, balanced diet.

The NHS explains: "Being active and taking regular exercise lowers blood pressure by keeping your heart and blood vessels in good condition."

As the health body points out, regular exercise can also help you lose weight, which will also help lower your blood pressure.

"Adults should do at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week," it advises.

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High blood pressure: Increase your intake of this food to lower hypertension - Express

Diabetic? This Independence day, give yourself the gift of freedom from high blood sugar with these 8 tips |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi: Diabetes is a condition that occurs when a persons blood sugar or blood glucose levels are too high. For the uninitiated, blood sugar comes from the food you eat and is the main source of energy. Having too much sugar in the blood for long periods of time can lead to serious health complications such as heart disease, nerve damage, and kidney problems, etc. While diabetes is a condition which has no cure, one can take steps to manage symptoms and stay healthy. As India celebrates 74th Independence Day on Saturday, 15 August, 2020, we asked an expert to help you achieve freedom from high blood sugar levels and keep your diabetes in check.

Diabetes, perhaps, often needs complete commitment, along with the support of friends, family and medical professionals to manage the condition. For diabetics, the goal of treatment is to keep blood sugar within a healthy range - no matter what type of diabetes you have. A healthy lifestyle along with proper access to healthcare can help you treat and manage diabetes.

Living with diabetes doesnt mean you have to give up your favourite foods. All you need to do is know how your diet and other lifestyle habits affect your blood sugar. A diabetes educator or dietician can help you design a personalised diet and exercise plan that works for you, including how to count carbs, read food labels, increase daily activity levels, and stick to it. The good news is that consistent management and recommended lifestyle changes can easily prevent these complications in people with diabetes.

This Independence Day, commit yourself to diabetes self-management and give yourself the gift of freedom from high blood sugar levels by simply following these tips suggested by Sujata Sharma, nutritionist and diabetes educator, BeatO, to keep your glucose levels under control.

The bottom line is, diabetes care is not a difficult journey. By making smalls changes in your daily routine, it can be within your control. And if you do your part of diabetes self-management, the condition will not stand your way in leading a happy and healthy life. So, this Independence Day, take a pledge to adopt healthy habits and get freedom from diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

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Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

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Diabetic? This Independence Day, give yourself the gift of freedom from high blood sugar with these 8 tips - Times Now

Exercising, but still not getting that toned body you imagined? Here are the 4 different ways in which you can track your progress in the best way suitable for you.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has driven all the fitness enthusiasts crazy. Its extremely important to have a healthy body, healthy mind and emotional well-being.

The one thing that all fitness enthusiasts do is to keep track of their progress. Its important to start tracking the changes in your body for a better transformation. Here are the 4 different ways in which you can track your progress in the best way for you. 1. Keep A Workout Journal A major mistake that people do is that they stick to the same workouts each week with the same amount of weight. Logging in a workout journal is effectively simple to track the amount of exercises you did in the previous day.

2. Fitness Apps A fitness app is an application that can perform numerous purposes like to set fitness goals, track calorie intake, fitness advice, nutrition plans, personalised workout plans, and sharing progress to facilitate healthy behaviour change.

3. Fitness Bands A fitness tracker allows you to check and record your heart rate, daily burned calories and step counts at a flick of the finger. It also makes you stick to a healthier diet, exercise and have a good sleep cycle. Most trackers have data, alarms, and even history tracking. These features help users to check their progress instantly.

4. Smart Weighing Machines A smart weighing scale offers all-round measurement. From weight to BMI, BMR, muscle mass, hydration, skeletal muscle, bone mass, BMR, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, metabolic age, body fat and protein, a smart weighing machine is the need of the hour.

By tracking your body through one of these ways, you can achieve a more accurate view of what is working for you and what is not. If you are not losing or gaining the right kind of weight, you will know about the amendments you should make into your fitness regime.

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THESE are the 4 best ways to track your fitness progress - PINKVILLA