So that’s why baseball players always eat seeds
Here’s today’s way to let loose those “love handles” you may have developed. Supposedly, you eat this way and you lower your blood pressure.
And I thought all you had to do was make the kids move out and get apartments!
Anyway, Fad Central claims following the so-called DASH diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat is just as effective as old-fashioned diuretics in lowering blood pressure, the Reuters news agency reported on CompuServe. It seems American and Japanese researchers found that if you eat the right food you won't need blood pressure medication.
How’s that for timing? Last week, the Government revised guidelines for "normal" and "borderline" hypertension, with this bottom line: If your blood pressure is 120/80 - what has always been considered "normal" - you may be what doctors now call "pre-hypertensive" and need measures to ward off a full-blown case of high blood pressure later.
High in potassium and calcium, DASH (an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has been recommended by the American Heart Association as a way to lower blood pressure. Until now, doctors didn’t know WHY it worked. This new research seems to answer that question in that the diet's high mineral levels can help the body get rid of excess salt - just as diuretics do.
The study findings were published in the journal Circulation.
If you enjoy them, the easiest thing to do is to chow down on apples and broccoli. The DASH diet suggests you eat: 7-8 servings per day of grains and grain products (these can include breakfast cereal, whole grain bread, rice, and pasta); 4-5 servings of vegetables; 4-5 servings of fruit; 2-3 servings of low-fat or nonfat dairy products, no more than two servings per day of meat, poultry, and fish; 4-5 servings of nuts, seeds, and legumes per week, and a limited intake of fats and sweets.
I just knew they’d hit on chocolate! There’s goes my Bear Claw ice cream!
If you want a copy of The DASH Diet for Hypertension by Thomas Moore and Mark Jenkins, try Amazon.com for $6.99.
Reuters states that the diet may prevent the development of high blood
pressure. Hypertension is a huge U.S. health problem: a U.S. resident has a 90% chance of developing high blood pressure after age 50.
Just think of watching the N.Y. Mets these days or working for N.Y. Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.