About a year ago Sutton et al. published a study that showed that intermittent fasting has benefits that are independent of food intake and weight loss. Their trial tested the effects of 5 weeks of “early time-restricted feeding” (eTRF) on 8 men with pre-diabetes. The subjects were asked to start breakfast between 6:30-8:30 and to…
Several years ago I wrote a few articles showing that exercise, yoga and other strategies were helpful at regulating high blood pressure (BP). Even small reductions in blood pressure can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. The risks associated with hypertension are continuous – this means that with each 2mm…
A few months ago Terenteva et al. published their research findings on the effect of acupuncture in a group of middle-aged individuals with hypertension. Forty five adults with hypertension were randomly assigned to either an acupuncture group or a control group. The acupuncture group received 3 sessions of acupuncture per week for 8 weeks. The…
A recent study published in Medical Acupuncture has shown that electroacupuncture can significantly reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hypertensive subjects. After the treatment, plasma levels of norepinephrine, renin and aldosterone were all significantly decreased and this is thought to be related to the beneficial effects of the electroacupuncture.
It’s now well-known that having high levels of salt in one’s diet can lead to high blood pressure and associated cardiovascular disease. What is not commonly known, is that effervescent (fizzy), dispersible and soluble medicines have a high sodium content. In a study published in the British Medical Journal, Dr George from the University of…
A new study by Cohen et al. at the University of Pennsylvania has found that yoga can help lower blood pressure. In fact, it was more effective than a supervised diet/weight reduction and walking programme. The patients did yoga 2-3 times a week for 24 weeks and lowered both their systolic and diastolic pressures by…
Last week we discovered that exercise is very effective at decreasing high blood pressure but what else can help? For those with hypertension, you’ll be relieved to hear that there are several things you can do to decrease your blood pressure and cut down the risks of heart disease and stroke. Weight loss. Losing 8kg…
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood on the arteries and is measured in millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). There are two measures of blood pressure: the systolic blood pressure (SBP) is taken when the heart contracts and the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) is taken when the heart is relaxed. That’s why the…