Healthy Blood Pressure – 6 Things You Can Do.
We all have a blood pressure. We don’t see it. We don’t feel it. Unless someone checks our blood pressure, we don’t know we have it. And, unless someone tells us our blood pressure is bad, we don’t even think about it.
That makes high blood pressure a quiet killer. While we go about our lives unaware of the situation, hypertension damages our blood vessels, heart, and eyes. High blood pressure is a set-up for heart disease, stroke, dementia, and kidney disease.
So, pay attention to your blood pressure. When your blood pressure is high, your heart is working too much to do its job properly. This stresses your arteries.
So, what can you do to get your blood pressure down to normal?
For starters, STAMP OUT YOUR CIGARETTES. Smoking, whether cigarettes or pipes, is not good for your arteries. When nicotine reaches your blood vessels, they constrict – which is not good for you.
GET A PET – Statistically, people with pets have healthier blood pressure scores. So, what is the best pet for you? I, personally, love dogs and cats. But you don’t have to get something that barks and meows. Birds, fish, snakes, even a gold fish make good pets. The important thing is to get one that is good for your situation.
DO YOU HAVE A HOBBY? – Find something that you really enjoy and can get interested in. Drawing, writing, skating, running, walking, and a thousand and one other things can be just what you need to calm your hypertension.
GET RID OF YOUR EXTRA WEIGHT. – When you lower your weight you’ll have better blood pressure scores, you will also feel better and look better. And, this is a segway right into the next suggestion:
NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING – Some foods encourage a good blood pressure score. Fruits and vegetables are good. Some people feel oatmeal has magical qualities. You’ll have better luck with this if you get several sessions with a nutritionist whose training aligns with your health needs.
EXERCISE HELPS, TOO! Yoga is good. But, so is anything else you do regularly. This includes almost any physical activity you like. The important thing is to move.
Not included in this list is pills. I think they are important and have been taking my blood pressure medication daily for decades. Just like everyone else I know, I objected to them for a long time. Once I admitted that I needed them, life became better. This is a decision for you to make, though. Everyone I know who takes a hypertension medication, including myself, went through stages of resistance.
After all, it’s hard to face up to needing a medication for the rest of my life. But, once I matured into this reality, my health improved and my attitude about myself certainly got better, too.
Thanks so much for reading this article. There are many other posts in this blog which will help you lower your blood pressure. I hope you get time to check out a few of them.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Five Things You Can Do For Your Good Health
Good health is not that hard to achieve. Really. When it comes down to a bottom line, five things are essential to establishing and maintaining your good health.
NOT SMOKING IS ESSENTIAL.
Do you smoke? Reduce your habit to five cigarettes a day. When you are down to five, you can get to zero with little effort.
Join a smokers’ support group.
Hypnotherapy and Biofeedback both offer successful results for many smokers.
The bottom line is this: Do whatever you have to do to give up this habit.
MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WEIGHT.
This is a high priority. Losing or gaining weight to reach your ideal weight for your good health gets harder with every passing year so the younger you are when you work on your weight, the easier it will be.
Weight Watchers is a good support group.
An interested nutritionist can help you reach your desired goal and include specific foods contributing to your continued good health at the same time. You’ll get twice the bang for your buck with a nutritionist.
An example of this: If you need to gain or lose weight and you have heart health issues, a nutritionist can work on the weight issues along with your heart issues. I don’t know about you, but I love to be able to do a couple of things together. I get all involved in the different aspects of synchronicity.
EAT MANY FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.
Many wellness gurus teach five servings of fruits and vegetables are a minimum number for a well nourished person to eat daily. This five serving recommendation is easy for me to pass on. And, it’s also easy to have fun with.
I like the concept of thinking about which five fruits and vegetables will be on my plate today. Planning ahead for each day’s selection gives them focus and importance.
I also like the idea that advance planning gives me a chance to play and experiment a bit. You can do this too. It’s easier than you think. All you have to do is choose one new vegetable or fruit each week.
Take it home and learn what it’s called. What countries is it commonly grown in? Learn how to cook it, store it, combine it with other foods, and finally how to eat it.
If you learn about one new fruit or vegetable each week, your dietary skills will be vastly different in a year. Adventure!
EXERCISE REGULARLY.
This can be a drudgery or it can be fun. Your good health options are open here. Participate in one or more activities regularly. The point is to keep yourself active daily as you go throughout your life.
You can put in as much time or money as you want here.
You can also combine exercise with other daily habits. I wear an exercise watch which beeps when I’m not moving enough. It also congratulates me when I’ve gone beyond my daily goal.
I went out and got a second job which requires that I stay off my seat and on my feet. So, I’m making money while exercising. I enjoy this a lot.
AVOID STRESSORS.
This can be a biggie. Stress contributes to many health problems. Like the sleep suggestion a few pages back, you’ll find a chapter on stress later in this book. Things like meditation, walks, laughter, sharing, singing, nature bathing, journaling, drawing can help you avoid stress.
Stress relief is important – just as important as your diet and exercise.
Thank you for reading this blog post. Please refer it to your favorite media network.
Thurman Greco
Longevity and the Fountain of Youth
In 1513, Ponce de Leon discovered the fountain of youth in what is now St. Augustine, Florida. Fortunately for us all, the fountain of youth still exists and there is a branch of it in your neighborhood. It is the sidewalk where you can walk daily as you exercise. It can also be found at your nearest fitness class.
The truth is that the best thing you can do to assure that you live a long and healthy life is move, move, move. Exercise is where it’s at!
A good exercise class or activity is one that you enjoy, can practice at least three times a week, and is one which strikes the right balance between enthusiasm and safety. You are doing yourself no favors if you experience sports injuries. The fountain of youth is one where you move, move, and move.
Everybody has excuses to not be physically fit through regular exercise.
Teens are distracted from exercise by schoolwork and the powerful pull of a social life.
Young adults in their 20’s seem to be physically fit more by accident than anything else. After all, young people are busy with careers and social activities.
Careers and family relationships are the major pulls of adults in their 30’s and 40’s. People exercising in this age group are often motivated by vanity. For some, health and longevity concerns become important as muscle strength declines. Issues surface such as slower reaction time, shortening ligaments, loss of elasticity. People in their 30’s and 40’s need to use warm ups, stretching more often.
If a person in the 50-to-60 age category continues to ignore the fountain of youth, daily life becomes more difficult when the time comes to get out of a chair, lift and carry objects. The quality of life improves when people rely on regular exercise routines. Regular exercise improves the life of a retiree! Go Fountain of Youth!
Exercise which supports physical fitness makes the difference between independent living and an assisted living facility for a person in the 70-to-80 age group.
The good news is that we are never too old to enjoy the benefits of the fountain of youth. Exercise is always there for us – no matter what our age! It ‘s never too late to discover the fountain of youth for yourself.
Whatever your age category, get off the sofa and move for just 30 minutes a day.
Thanks for reading this article. Please share it with your preferred social media network!
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
Positive Longevity: 10 Tips You Can Use
Positive longevity habits always help us if we use them.
GET YOUR SHOTS – Shots can be a royal bore but they can save lives and much disease. These are positive longevity habits. The problem is that we have a tendency to make sure the children and the pets get everything but we skip our own vaccinations. These things should just be added into our schedules.
Vaccines and booster shots can help us avoid things like whooping cough, shingles, hepatitus.
Some people are afraid to vaccinate and immunize themselves and their children. I am not in that camp.
I lived in both Mexico and Venezuela for several years. I am a great grandparent. My life experiences have permitted me to both experience and see other people I know experience some of the planet’s dread diseases. I have seen dengue fever first hand. A friend of mine had typhoid. And on and on and on. I lived through a polio epidemic. Fortunately, no one in our family was struck. But still.
There are some diseases I do not want to have. There are some diseases I do not want anyone I know to have.
My friend who had typhoid was extremely ill. When he finally got over the disease, he was a tragedy to behold. He looked like he was a prison camp survivor.
I have a friend with shingles now. Shingles is a terrible disease I definitely never want to experience.
Vaccinations only take a few moments. They save lives.
Join the prevention club. Get vaccinated.
SCREENINGS ARE A GOOD WAY TO PREPARE FOR A LONG LIFE – Plan for the screenings now. Screenings are positive longevity habits in action. Know what screenings are good in your 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, …..70’s? In future posts, I’ll list the screenings needed by agecategory. For now, just know that you need to get these screenings periodically.
An easy beginning is an annual trip to your health care provider.
Plan to get your screenings every decade. They are important longevity goals in action.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR TEETH – If you are interested in a long healthy life, your teeth are important in your life. Positive longevity habits include attention to every tooth.
When your teeth deteriorate, so does your life. Without teeth, there are a lot of foods you cannot eat because you can’t chew them. This directly impacts your health because you won’t be receiving the nutrients you need. A visit to a dentist at least once a year is important. Learn to brush your teeth properly. Learn about which toothpaste is good for you.
DON’T FORGET YOUR FEET – Your feet move you forward in life so they are important too. For one thing, 25% of the bones in your body are in your feet. Neglected feet may result in painful bunions, corns, warts, and other problems which make walking painful to impossible. Comfortable, well fitting shoes are important.
Regular foot reflexology sessions promote homeostasis, the balance of all body systems. If you are interested in feeling your best, include these sessions regularly.
-DIET IS IMPORTANT IF YOU ARE TO LIVE LONG AND WELL – Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. When you eat lots of veggies and fruits, you can help prevent chronic diseases and…prevent obesity! Select as many colors of produce as you can and go for the leafy greens. These are positive longevity habits in action!
DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE SOAP AND WATER IN BATHROOMS. Washing your hands five times a day is a good minimum goal. When you wash your hands often, you’ll be less likely to catch colds and other germy diseases.
STRETCH! Stretching regularly makes sure your daily life is easier as you get in and out of cars, buses, elevators. Stretching regularly will help prevent falls because you’ll have better coordination and balance. Your joints will love you for it. You’ll love your joints because your life will be easier.
KEEP A TO-DO LIST. This will make your life easier day after day after day. Year after year after year. If you keep postponing your to-do list until you need it, it’ll be much harder to include in your life.
Besides, nobody wants someone to tell you that you need to keep a to-do list because you forgot an appointment and stood up some important friends or co-workers.
DO WHAT THE DOCTOR DAYS – As we go through life, it’s a given that we’re going to come down with something. Who knows what? Diabetes, bifocals, a broken bone, high blood pressure, whatever.
When the time comes to take medicine, get glasses, exercise regularly, eat properly, it’s important to do what should be done.
Unless you don’t really care whether you live a long, healthy life or not.
GET A DOG! The happiest people I know are dog owners. Your pet gives you unconditioned love, something you can’t get anywhere else. Dogs also need to be fed at certain times of the day and they need to be walked, communicated with, and enjoyed. These are all activities that have positive outcomes. Go for it!
WHAT DOES YOUR GOOD HEALTH MEAN TO YOU? I hope you’ll take a few moments to define your health care goals and what you hope to get out of longevity.
This is one of the last posts in the longevity articles. It is my sincere hope that you found a few things that resonated for you. I hope you will be a healthier person because of these posts. Thank you for reading this blog.
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York
