Tag Archives: stroke

General

Tour De France 2016 – Cycling Health Benefits

The 103rd Tour De France starts 2nd July 2016 until 24th July 2016.tour de france

It is made up of 21 stages and covers a total distance of  3,535 kilometres.

The health benefits the 198 riders have from regular cycling include:

  • improved joint mobility
  • improved posture and coordination
  • increased cardiovascular fitness
  • decreased body fat levels.

Cycling can help to prevent depression, obesity and arthritis.

Riding a bike, along with a healthy eating plan, is a great way to lose weight. tour de france

According to  research, a half-hour bike ride everyday can burn nearly 5 kilograms of fat over a year.

For more information about Tour De France, CLICK HERE.

To read more about the health benefits of cycling, CLICK HERE.

If you are overweight (BMI 28 or over), tried dieting and excerise
but still haven’t had success in losing weight– please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free private online consultation for other weightloss options.

General

The Health Benefits Of Cherry Juice

We have some good news for the five million people in England who suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) – cherry juice could help lower high blood pressure. cherry

Researchers have found that drinking cherry juice is just as good as taking blood pressure medication.

A study found that people who drank 60ml of cherry concentrate, diluted with water, saw their blood pressure drop by 7% in 3 hours.

If high blood pressure is left untreated it can increase the risk of heart failure, kidney disease, stroke, heart attack and dementia.

But drinking 60ml of cherry concentrate can reduce  the risk of a stroke by 38% and heart disease by 23%.

The scientists think that cherry juice has a strong impact on blood pressure because it is rich in phenolic acids.

Study leader Karen Keane, whose work was funded by the Cherry Marketing Institute in the US, said: ‘The majority of cardiovascular disease is caused by risk factors that can be controlled, treated or modified.

These include high blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, tobacco use, lack of physical activity and diabetes.

Raised blood pressure is the leading cause of deaths from cardiovascular disease, yet relatively small reductions in blood pressure can have a large impact on mortality rates.

The magnitude of the blood pressure lowering effects we observed was comparable to those achieved by a single anti-hypertensive drug and highlights the potential importance that Montmorency cherries could have in the effective management of high blood pressure.’

Co-author Professor Glyn Howatson added: ‘This is the first study to investigate the acute effects of Montmorency tart cherry consumption on blood pressure, arterial stiffness and microvascular vasodilation in males with early hypertension.

This exciting set of data complements a growing body of research to show that eating the right sorts of foods can provide potential health benefits.

We believe these benefits might be linked to the combined actions of some of the plant compounds within the Montmorency concentrate and the positive impact they exert on vascular function.’

This is good news for those who suffer from the side effects of blood pressure medication. Some blood presure medicine can cause erectile dysfunction and depression.

If you have any concerns regarding high blood pressure, please see your GP.

If you are currently taking medicine for high blood pressure, you should not stop taking this for cherry juice.

To read more CLICK HERE.

If you think you suffer from erectile dysfunction, please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for your free online private consultation.

Diet, General, Mens Health

Five-A-Day Keeps The Doctor Away

Eating your five-a-day can help prevent heart attack or stroke, experts have revealed. five-a-day fruit

For seven years, scientists at the University of Oxford studied half a million people from across 10 urban and rural localities in China by tracking their health through electronic hospital records and death records.

The 500,000 participants did not have a history of taking medication to lower high blood pressure (hypertension) or cardiovascular disease when they joined the study.

Study author, Dr Huaidong Du, said: ‘The association between fruit consumption and cardiovascular risk seems to be stronger in China, where many still eat little fruit, than in high-income countries where daily consumption of fruit is more common.’

The results revealed that 100g of fruit each day lowered the risk of premature death from stroke or heart attack by a third, for both men and women.

They found that fruits, such as apples and oranges, were strongly linked with other factors such as lower blood glucose, education, lower blood pressure and not smoking.

The senior author, Professor Zhengming Chen, from Oxford University, said: ‘It’s difficult to know whether the lower risk in people who eat more fresh fruit is because of a real protective effect.

If it is, then widespread consumption of fresh fruit in China could prevent about half a million cardiovascular deaths a year, including 200,000 before age 70, and even larger numbers of non-fatal strokes and heart attacks.’

Fruit and vegetables are one of the 5 food groups which contribute towards a healthy balanced diet.

However fruit and vegetables aren’t on the top of everyone’s shopping list as they are more expensive compared to processed ready meals.

According to a study by the Overseas Development Institute this has caused a huge rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Obesity can cause many health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke and coronary heart disease.

To read more CLICK HERE

If you are overweight (BMI 28 and over) and tried dieting and excerise but still haven’t had success – please go to www.ukmeds4u.com for a free consultation for other weightloss options.

Diet

Can a Mediterranean diet really combat obesity and reduce the effects of metabolic syndrome?

There’s been a common belief for many years that if you eat a Mediterranean diet then you’re likely to live longer, but now, there’s research that claims that by eating a Mediterranean diet you may actually be able to reverse the effects of metabolic syndrome, by reducing obesity and blood glucose levels that lead to the condition.obesity

Metabolic syndrome is combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity which puts people at a higher risk of things like heart disease and strokes.

So….we thought that we would take a look into the facts and see what it all means to us…and see if there’s anything we can do to help ourselves, and you, get a bit healthier.

What’s involved?

Well….Its seems that the most important part of the diet is Olive Oil or nuts.

So, along with a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and whole-grains, by adding nuts or Olive Oil you can help your weight reduce and lower your blood glucose levels.

That sounds too good to be true doesn’t it?

The research..

This information has come from a Spanish study done at Universitat Rovira i Virgili and Hospital Universitari de Sant Joan de Reus on a group of nearly 5800 men and women (aged 55-80) and were all at risk of heart disease. They were split into three groups, One group ate a Mediterranean diet with extra olive oil, another had the Mediterranean diet, with added nuts and the final ate a traditional low-fat diet. (you know…they one we’re all trying to follow).

Research showed the both the ‘Mediterranean diet’ groups lost weight and reduced their blood sugar levels…Pretty significant, bearing in mind the current advice is to follow a low-fat diet to achieve these results!

The Mediterranean diet also seems to stop people from collecting fat around their middles (the classic apple shape), which is commonly identified as being a precursor to diabetes…

It is estimated that if we increased the amount of fruit and vegetables we eat by just one portion per day, and the amount of nuts eaten by two portions per week, then this could prevent up to 5.2 million deaths from cardiovascular disease in just one year!

So, will you change?

It seems like our Mediterranean cousins have been getting it right all this time….Maybe think of every meal as a mini holiday…. but we’re not sure all the wine counts!

To find out more, check out the NHS Mediterranean diet information here and make your choice.

Comment below and let us know what you think or if you will be changing your diet – We think we will!

For more information on obesity and treatments to help with weight loss, please go to: www.ukmeds4u.com