Posts

Showing posts from October, 2019

Tips to Reduce Blood Pressure

Image
Blood pressure medications Medications used in lowering blood pressure fast are diuretics, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin antagonists, alpha-blockers, alpha-beta blockers, nervous system inhibitors, and vasodilators. Diuretics help prevent retention of water by flushing out excess water and sodium from the body. Proper excretion of these elements in the urine helps alleviate congestion in the organs of the body such as the heart. Beta-blockers decrease nerve signals to the heart and blood vessels, thus reducing the number of heartbeats and lessening the force of contraction of the cardiac muscle. As the heart works less hard, the blood pressure drops. ACE inhibitors thwart the formation of angiotensin II, a hormone that narrows blood vessels. Drugs from this group relax the arteries and cause the blood pressure to go down. Angiotensin antagonists protect the blood vessels from angiotensin II. Calcium chann...

Beets Health Benefits

Beets are a unique source of phytonutrients called betalains. Betanin and vulgaxanthin are the two best-studied betalains from beets, and both have been shown to provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support. The detox support provided by betalains includes support of some especially important Phase 2 detox steps involving glutathione. Although you can see these betalain pigments in other foods (like the stems of chard or rhubarb), the concentration of betalains in the peel and flesh of beets gives you an unexpectedly great opportunity for these health benefits. Unlike some other food pigments, betalains undergo very steady loss from food as the length of cooking time is increased. For example, one recent study has shown the red betalain pigments in beets to be far less heat stable than red anthocyanin pigments in red cabbage. The difference between 15 minutes of steaming versus 25 minutes of steaming, or 60 minutes of roasting versus 90 minutes of roasting can b...