Here’s a powerful exercise to try: wherever you are, wherever you go, simply look at the people around you. According to recent findings from the American Heart Association, one third of everyone you see has high blood pressure.

Hypertension is not just for grandfathers any longer. A whopping one in three Americans now have it. According [...]]]>

Here’s a powerful exercise to try: wherever you are, wherever you go, simply look at the people around you. According to recent findings from the American Heart Association, one third of everyone you see has high blood pressure.

Hypertension is not just for grandfathers any longer. A whopping one in three Americans now have it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, hypertension is now common in everyone from toddlers to college students to grandpas (and grandmas.)

Scary, right?

More commonly known as high blood pressure, the disease occurs when blood pumps too forcefully through blood vessels. The great push of blood stretches veins and arteries out of shape. The vessels then tear and develop scar tissue as they try to heal. These scars act like burrs, on which cholesterol gets caught and builds up. Another scenario: vessels tear and rupture, sending fast-flowing blood everywhere.  

The thing is, elevated blood pressure doesn’t cause symptoms (headaches, shortness of breath, dizzy spells) until it’s in its late stages, meaning most people don’t even know they have it. By then, they’re already at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes, the first and third leading causes of death in the United States.

So why the increase? A lot of it has to do with America’s rapidly rising obesity rates: over 33.8% of American adults and 17% of children ages 2 through 19 are clinically obese. Plus, people are increasingly sedentary, and they’re eating more high sodium manufactured food than ever before—two more strong factors for high blood disease.

Fortunately, hypertension can be both prevented and treated with lifestyle changes alone:

Or, an easier way to look at preventing and helping to treat hypertension: live healthily. As Latin poet Marcus Valerius Martial said: “Life is not merely to be alive, but to be well.”

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Let’s start the series with a relationship that has been proven essential [...]]]> February is all about one thing: Love. Or as we like to call it: Vitamin L. This month we will be exploring the various relationships that not only help define who we are, but bring us closer to our happiest, healthiest selves!

Let’s start the series with a relationship that has been proven essential to our health and well-being: Friendship.

What would life be without our friends? Slightly lonely? Probably. Much less fun? I think so.

But could being friendless also affect your health? Several studies say yes.

In 2006, a study, involving 3,000 women diagnosed with cancer, was conducted to see what effect friendship had on cancer patients. Researchers found that women, who had 10 or more close friends were four times more likely to recover from the disease.

In The Girls From Ames: A Story of Women and a 40-Year Friendship, authorJeffery Zaslow, shares similar findings. The story centers around cancer survivor Kelly Zwagerman, who leaned on her long-time friends for support as she battled the disease.

When Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, she immediately reached out to her closest childhood friends, who showered her with love and support. One woman sent her a blender and smoothie recipes after Kelly complained of painful sores in her throat from the treatment. Another knit Kelly a hat, knowing that her head would be cold once her hair started to fall out from the chemotherapy.

Kelly, who has since beat the disease, credits her recovery to her lifelong friendship with the women from Ames, Iowa.

But friendship is important not only for those with potentially terminal diseases— it also provides the support each of us needs to live our best lives.  I’ll use myself as an example: Surrounding myself with close friends makes the good times great and the bad times bearable.  My friends also keep me on track. I have a tendency to bite off more than I can chew, which means I sometimes get so overwhelmed with my commitments that I lose sight of my big goals. If it weren’t for my friends’ constant support of my endeavors—and their gentle reminders of why I’m working so hard—I wouldn’t be as successful or as happy.

Or, as music legend John Lennon sang, “I get by with a little help from my friends.”

How about you?  Why not get together with your favorite friends this week? It’s a great way to give yourself a mega dose of Vitamin L.

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More than 350 million people worldwide now have diabetes. That’s greater than the entire population of the United States (307 million), and more than double the number of diabetes cases in 1980.

These frightening statistics from The Guardian will only get worse if [...]]]> By Integrative Nutrition

More than 350 million people worldwide now have diabetes. That’s greater than the entire population of the United States (307 million), and more than double the number of diabetes cases in 1980.

These frightening statistics from The Guardian will only get worse if we do not make dramatic changes to the our accustomed lifestyles.

By 2020, the UnitedHealth Group anticipates that 50% of Americans could have diabetes or prediabetes. As much as 95% of these cases are predicted to be Type 2 adult-onset diabetes, a condition highly correlated to obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity. In some cases, the condition can lead to kidney failure, heart attack, or stroke.

To reverse this trend, we’ve got to start at the source: the Standard American Diet and lifestyle that is now proliferating through all the nations of the world.

Non-smoking adults at a normal weight who eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise have been proven to be 89% less likely to develop diabetes. That’s a very encouraging prevention statistic!

What about those already diagnosed with diabetes? Just earlier this month, researchers had a breakthrough in diabetes care. As reported by the BBC, eleven people who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes underwent a drastic eight-week diet regimen of 600 calories a day. At the end of the study, 7 of the 11 participants no longer had diabetes.

The researchers anticipate that by combining a healthy diet with regular exercise, these former diabetics may be able to live diabetes-free the rest of their lives. This is great news for those 350 million already coping with diabetes.

In a 2009 documentary, Simply Raw, six diabetics switched to a raw food diet for 30 days and found their “incurable” disease wasn’t so permanent after all.

The prevention and the cure are based on the same principle – live healthfully. We can start reducing the number of people affected by diabetes as soon as we can embrace the lifestyle we all know we should: eat right and exercise.

What advice do you have for someone battling diabetes?

Every year, the Environmental Working Group tests the amounts of pesticides that remain on fruit and vegetables after they have been picked, power washed and stocked onto grocery store shelves.  The EWG uses this information to compile two lists for consumers to [...]]]> By Integrative Nutrition

Every year, the Environmental Working Group tests the amounts of pesticides that remain on fruit and vegetables after they have been picked, power washed and stocked onto grocery store shelves.  The EWG uses this information to compile two lists for consumers to reference while they shop, The Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15.

The dirty dozen are the 12 produce items that contain the most pesticides, and should either be avoided or bought organic.

Dirty Dozen

1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines – imported
7. Grapes – imported
8. Sweet Bell Peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries – domestic
11. Lettuce
12. Kale/Collard Greens

We always recommend eating fresh, whole, organic foods for optimal health. However, buying all organic isn’t always an option.  Which is why the EWG also released a list of the Clean 15 – produce that contains the least amount of pesticides.

Clean 15

1. Onions
2. Sweet Corn
3. Pineapples
4. Avocado
5. Asparagus
6. Sweet Peas
7. Mangoes
8. Eggplant
9. Cantaloupe – domestic
10. Kiwi
11. Cabbage
12. Watermelon
13. Sweet Potatoes
14. Grapefruit
15. Mushrooms

Notice a trend?

Produce that has to be peeled before being consumed is usually a safer choice if you are going to buy non-organic food. Dr. Weil, nutrition expert and Integrative Nutrition Speaker, notes on the EWG website that if you do not have access to organic produce, cutting all of the Dirty Dozen out of your diet and focusing instead on the Clean 15 will dramatically reduce the pesticide build-up in your body.

Next time you go to the grocery store, it might be a good idea to print out the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to bring with you.

What guidelines do you follow when shopping for organic in the produce aisle?