High Blood Pressure
A staggering 10 million people in the UK - that's one in five of us -has high blood pressure. However, unless you regularly suffer from headaches or dizziness, you might not even realise you've got it. This can be a real problem because high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack, a stroke or kidney damage.
It'll come as no surprise to you to read that a major cause of high blood pressure is diet - I nearly wrote 'poor diet', but it is possible to have a diet that is generally quite good, but with just one or two weak areas. The key point with blood pressure is to maintain a healthy balance between two of the minerals in our diet - potassium and sodium. The trouble is, most of us tend to get too much sodium - the main constituent of salt - and we don't get enough potassium (present in avocados, seeds, nuts, fresh fruit, bananas, potatoes and pulses).
One of the best meals for maintaining a healthy potassium-sodium balance also happens to be an ideal summer lunch: Crispy Salad with Avocado Dressing, which you can make as follows...
SALAD: a head of cos lettuce, a bunch of watercress, 1/2 a cucumber, 2 tomatoes and 1 yellow pepper
DRESSING: 1 ripe avocado, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 small clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons cold pressed olive oil, 1-3 tablespoons water. Blend all dressing ingredients in a food processor.
Arrange the salad, then pour the dressing over the top. Finally, top with a mixture of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
A staggering 10 million people in the UK - that's one in five of us -has high blood pressure. However, unless you regularly suffer from headaches or dizziness, you might not even realise you've got it. This can be a real problem because high blood pressure can lead to a heart attack, a stroke or kidney damage.Read also:
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An A to Z of Healthy Eating - I, J & K
There aren't many foods beginning with 'I' and 'J' (iceburg lettuce and juniper berries are about all I could come up with), so we're going to skip to 'K' today. You've probably eaten kidney beans and kiwi fruit, but my guess is you might not have tried kale or kohlrabi. Let's take a look at each of these in turn and find out why they're good for us and how they can be used. -
Ulcers
While we were living in Japan, David (my husband) started getting very uncomfortable pains in his lower stomach. He mentioned this the next time he visited one of his students, Dr Koike, whom he taught English. Quite matter-of-factly the doctor said, “You either have gastroenteritis, an ulcer, or cancer. Let's go next door to my operating theatre and I'll tell you in 10 minutes.” -
Tips for Eating at Your Desk
Watch out - while you're sitting at your desk expanding the boss's profits, you may be expanding your own waist line! If you're in the habit of eating at your desk, you'll be well advised to bear in mind the following top ten tips..
