High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common yet serious health condition affecting about 1 out of every 3 adults in the U.S.

It is often called the “silent killer” because it greatly increases the risk of heart attack and stroke yet many people with hypertension do not have the classic symptoms of high blood pressure: sweating, nervousness, or trouble sleeping.

With this being National High Blood Pressure Education Month, we thought we would help dispel harmful misconceptions surrounding this condition.

Myth 1:  High blood pressure runs in my family so I will get it too.

While a family history of hypertension does increase your risk of developing it, that doesn’t mean you can’t avoid it. These healthy lifestyle factors can help prevent high blood pressure:

• Eat a healthy diet that consists of fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. Limit unhealthy saturated fats, sodium and fast carbs (sugar and processed flour)
• Get regular physical activity – about 30 minutes a day
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Manage stress
• Avoid tobacco and limit alcohol consumption to 1 drink per day for women and 2 for men.

Myth 2: I feel fine. I don’t have to worry about high blood pressure.

Even if you feel good and have no family history or other risk factors for high blood pressure, that doesn’t mean you are safe. Many people don’t have symptoms. Be sure to get your blood pressure checked at least once every two years.

Myth 3:  If my blood pressure is 119/79 (considered normal) then I’m in good shape.

Not so fast. Normal blood pressure for a healthy person may be 119/79 (or below) but if you have other health conditions such as diabetes, excess body weight or high cholesterol, then your doctor may want your blood pressure even lower.

Myth 4:  Kosher and sea salt are low sodium alternatives to table salt.

Like table salt, both kosher and sea salt contain 40% sodium and count the same toward total sodium consumption.

Myth 5:  I was diagnosed with high blood pressure but I have it under control now so I can stop taking medication.

High blood pressure can be a life-long disease. Don’t stop taking your medication, but do speak with your doctor about your concerns and prognosis.

Take Control

For more ways to lower your risk of hypertension or keep it in check try these 10 Top Ways to Manage Blood Pressure Naturally.

Sources:

American Heart Association

Prevention

After a long dreary winter and drenching spring rains, the warmth of the summer sun can feel so good that we may forget the harmful effects of those warming rays.

That’s why the American Academy of Dermatology designates the first Monday in May “Melanoma Monday.”  This observance reminds us that the risk of getting skin cancer is not only real--it’s one of the fastest growing cancers.

Did You Know?

• Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, accounting for half of all cancers.
• Current estimates are that one in five Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime.
• Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is the most common cancer for 25- to 29-year-olds.
• According to estimates, more  than 76,600 cases of melanoma will occur  this year.

Once melanomas have metastasized, they are often deadly, but new research is giving us hope for new treatments.

Just in the last month, scientists found that gossypin, a flavone originally isolated from the hibiscus plant (H. vitifolius), inhibits the action of two gene mutations that commonly occur in people with melanoma. Gossypin treatment also reduced tumor volume and increased survival rate in mice transplanted with human melanoma tumors containing the two mutated genes.

In another recent study, researchers report that a virus-based melanoma drug TVEC is showing promising early results in a phase 3 trial.

Protect Yourself

Most skin cancers are preventable and survivable if you follow these basic steps:

• Prevent. Seek shade, cover up, and wear at least an SPF 15 sunscreen.
• Detect. Look for new or changing spots on your skin.
• Live. See a dermatologist if you spot anything changing, itching, or bleeding.

The good news is, you don’t have to give up your favorite outdoor activities or that sun-kissed glow to be sun safe. Just remember to wear sunscreen before going outdoors and instead of baking in the sun or a tanning bed, try sunless tanning sprays or lotions.

In addition to lowering your risk of skin cancer, protecting your skin from damaging rays also prevents premature aging—wrinkles and skin discoloration.

A Final Word

If you’re a parent with teenagers, you know that it’s often difficult to convey to them that they are not invincible. Unfortunately skin cancer often strikes young men and women with a history excessive tanning (both indoors and outdoors).

This video is a must-watch for parents and young people.

Sources:

Melanoma Monday

American Cancer Society

Medical News Today

Colorectal Cancer is the third most frequently diagnosed cancer in both men and women and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. And while more and more people are getting screened for these cancers each year, there is still some confusion about who should get screened and how often.

As part of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we are providing some basic information and links to resources to answer these important questions.

Who’s at Risk?

• People age 50 and older
• People who smoke
• People who are overweight or obese, especially those who carry fat around their waists
• People who aren’t physically active
• People who drink alcohol in excess, especially men
• People who eat a lot of red meat (such as beef, pork or lamb) or processed meat (such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs or cold cuts)
• People with personal or family histories of colorectal cancer or benign (not cancerous) colorectal polyps
• People with personal histories of inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease)
• People with family histories of inherited colorectal cancer or inherited colorectal problems

When Should I Get Screened?

This is a discussion to have with your doctor based on your individual risk factors. Current guidelines indicate that people with an average risk for colorectal cancer, should start getting screened at age 50.

However, if you have a family or personal history of colorectal problems or other risk factors, you may need to start regular screening at an earlier age and be screened more often.

If you’re older than 75, ask your doctor if you should continue to be screened. At this age, screening guidelines conflict and a person’s overall health may determine whether a person should be screened and which tests may be appropriate. For example, a less invasive screening procedure such as a stool test that looks for the presence of blood, may be more appropriate that a colonoscopy which requires anesthesia.

Which Screening Method is Best?

When speaking with your doctor about getting screened, you may also want to discuss which method is right for you. A colonoscopy remains the “gold” standard for screening as it provides the best view of the entire colon and is typically done every 10 years for average risk people.

Other options include virtual colonoscopies and stool tests with screening intervals every 5 years and annually, respectively.

Among people at high risk for colon cancer, a recent study found that completing an annual fecal immunochemical test (FIT) detected colorectal cancer two years earlier than colonoscopy alone.

What are the Symptoms?

Early stages of colorectal cancer usually don’t have symptoms, which is why it’s important to get screened. However, as the cancer progresses, symptoms may include:

• Bleeding from the rectum or blood in or on the stool
• Change in bowel habits
• Stools that are more narrow than usual
• General problems in the abdomen, such as bloating, fullness or cramps
• Diarrhea, constipation or a feeling in the rectum that the bowel movement isn’t quite complete
• Weight loss for no apparent reason
• Being tired all the time
• Vomiting

If you have any of these symptoms, see your healthcare professional.

How Can I Reduce My Risk?

You can reduce your risk of developing colon cancer by:

• Being physically active for at least 30 minutes, at least five days a week.
• Maintaining a healthy weight.
• Not smoking. If you do smoke, quit.
• Having no more than one drink a day if you’re a woman or two drinks a day if you’re a man.
• Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Reducing the amount of red meat you eat and cutting out processed meat.

For more information about colorectal cancer, visit the Colon Cancer Alliance.

Sources:

Prevent Cancer Foundation

Medical News Today

Health Day

A new study found that being exposed to high amounts of secondhand tobacco smoke may increase your chance of having coronary artery calcification by as much as 90%. Even low levels of secondhand smoke increased the risk of early signs of heart disease by 50% compared to those who had little or no exposure to secondhand smoke.

Compared to other established risk factors for artery calcification including high cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes, the study indicates that secondhand smoke exposure is an equivalent or stronger risk. Moreover, passive exposure to smoke seems to independently predict both the likelihood and extent of calcification.

“This research provides additional evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful and may be even more dangerous than we previously thought," study author Dr. Harvey Hecht, associate director of cardiac imaging and professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Study Details

Among 3,098 study participants aged 40-80 that never smoked, researchers found that the greater the exposure to secondhand smoke, the higher the odds of calcium build up in coronary arteries:

• low exposure increased odds by 50%,
• moderate amounts of smoke upped odds to 60%
• high levels of secondhand smoke increased odds to 90%

The results also indicated that the association between secondhand smoke and coronary artery calcification existed whether the exposure occurred during childhood or adulthood.

Implications

The researchers say this study provides more evidence for the need for public smoking bans and other measures to protect people from secondhand smoke.

It should also prompt doctors to ask patients about past or present exposure to secondhand smoke as part of routine health exams, they said.

Sources:

American College of Cardiology

Tomorrow, February 1, is National Wear Red Day® --time to don a red dress, shirt or tie and help raise awareness that heart disease is the leading cause of death among women.

Why Wear Red?

When the campaign began in 2003 as a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the American Heart Association, heart disease was claiming the lives of nearly 500,000 American women each year. However surveys indicated that women were more concerned about other diseases and viewed heart disease as a problem for “older men.”

In reality, heart disease strikes more women than men, and is more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. While one in 31 American women dies from breast cancer each year, heart disease claims the lives of one in three. That’s roughly one death each minute.

The Wear Red campaign also works to dispel other dangerous myths about women and heart disease:

Myth: Heart disease is for old people.

Fact: Heart disease affects women of all ages. For younger women, the combination of birth control pills and smoking boosts heart disease risks by 20 percent. And while the risks do increase with age, other factors like overeating and a sedentary lifestyle can cause plaque to accumulate which can cause clogged arteries later in life. But even if you lead a healthy lifestyle, being born with an underlying heart condition can be a risk factor.

Myth: Heart disease doesn’t affect women who are fit.

Fact: Even if you’re a workout fanatic or marathon runner, your risk for heart disease isn’t completely eliminated. Other risk factors such as cholesterol, poor eating habits and smoking can “undo” your healthy habits. You can be thin and still have high cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends you start getting your cholesterol checked at age 20, or earlier, if your family has a history of heart disease. And be sure to keep an eye on your blood pressure and blood sugar levels as well.

Myth: I don’t have symptoms.

Fact: Sixty-four percent of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms. But since women’s symptoms are different than men’s, they’re often misunderstood. While men are more likely to have chest pain, women may experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain. Other symptoms women should look out for are dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen and extreme fatigue.

Myth: Heart disease runs in my family so there’s nothing I can do about it.

Fact: Although women with a family history of heart disease are at higher risk, that doesn’t mean that heart disease is unavoidable. Tell your doctor about your family medical history and work together to create an action plan to eat right, exercise and get regular checkups.

Making Progress

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of National Wear Red Day®. And looking back, we can see the impact that the movement has made:

• 21 percent fewer women dying from heart disease
• 23 percent more women aware that it’s their No. 1 health threat
• Publishing gender-specific research that established differences in symptoms and responses to medications, and women-specific guidelines for prevention and treatment
• Legislation to help end gender disparities

But there’s so much more to be done. Many women are still unaware of their risk for heart disease.

So, tomorrow, it’s more important than ever to go to your closet and pull out your favorite little red dress or snazzy red tie and show your support for National Wear Red Day®.

And since February is also Heart Month, we’ll be focusing on ways to help keep your ticker in good shape. Stay tuned or subscribe to our RSS feed and have our blog posts sent to your email box or favorite news reader.

Sources:

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute

American Heart Association – Go Red for Women

In the minds of many, low dose aspirin is an inexpensive way to prevent a heart attack or stroke. But it is important to realize that taking aspirin is not without risks. And for some people, the risks outweigh the benefits of aspirin therapy. So is it right for you?

Inner Workings

Aspirin therapy works by reducing the formation of blood clots that can cause a heart attack and the most common form of stroke.

As for the other side of the equation, aspirin comes with a risk of bleeding in the stomach and brain.

Weighing the Odds

The good news is that we have good data on who is most likely to benefit and when the risks may be too high.

In general, aspirin therapy makes the most sense for people who have already had a heart attack. Their benefit to risk ratio is favorable: for every six people it helps (prevents a heart attack) only one person experiences a bleeding problem.

"If somebody already has evidence of cardiovascular disease, there's no question he or she should be on an aspirin regimen unless there are some major bleeding issues or an allergy that prevents taking aspirin," said Dr. Deepak Bhatt, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of cardiology at the VA Boston Healthcare System.

For healthy people who do not have a history of cardiovascular problems the benefit of aspirin therapy is less pronounced. On average, aspirin only helps two people for ever one person it harms. For this reason, European cardiologists don’t recommend aspirin to prevent heart disease in healthy people.

The decision to take aspirin daily becomes less clear for people who have risk factors for heart disease such as smoking, high blood pressure or high cholesterol or other health conditions. Taking aspirin then becomes a highly individual decision that is best considered with a doctor’s advice.

Sources:

WebMd

Harvard Medical School

Chances are you’ve heard that using tanning beds can increase the risk of skin cancer. But the results of a new study indicate that using tanning beds when you’re younger—under 35—can raise your risk of skin cancer by 87%. (That should make even the most die-hard tanning bed user think twice before baking in the coffin-shaped beds.)

The French study also estimates that one in every 20 cases of melanoma—the most lethal form of skin cancer—can be attributed to tanning bed use.

The study findings were based on an analysis of data from 27 published studies between 1981 and 2012 involving over 11,000 cases of skin cancer.

Among people who regularly used tanning beds, they found a 20% increased risk of developing skin cancer compared to those who never used them. That risk increased to 87% if a person started using beds before age 35. The risk increased almost 2% for every additional tanning session reported per year.

But, the news gets worse.  Since the use of tanning beds is relatively new—the researchers believe the risk might even be greater.

Bans on Beds

Tanning bed bans are already in place in Brazil and New South Wales with France considering a ban. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have also been eyeing a ban for anyone less than 18 years of age.

Source:

Health Finder

According to the Alliance for Natural Health International, a European supplement industry organization, supplements and herbal products are among the safest things you can put in your body.

Citing statistics for the risk of dying from other typically ingested products, the Alliance points out that pharmaceuticals are 62,000 times more likely to cause death than a supplement. They add that the odds at dying from a supplement are 1 in 10 million—which is about the same as being struck and killed by lighting.

Despite this safety record, the European Union is considering legislation to restrict supplement marketing and advertising on the grounds of public safety. So now the Alliance is waging a “war of statistics” that challenge the government’s justification for new regulation.

To put the risk of supplement use in perspective, the Alliance says:

• you are 900 times more likely to die from food poisoning than supplement use
• 300,000 times more likely to die from a preventable medical injury during a stay in a UK hospital
• and about 300,000 more likely to die from active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan

Arguing against the proposed regulations, the Alliance executive and scientific director, Robert Verkerk, PhD, said, “Governments justify the increasingly elaborate and restrictive new laws affecting natural health products on the grounds of public safety. They argue that reducing consumer access to food supplements and herbal remedies with the consequent negative impacts on small business manufacturing, distributing and selling such products is in society’s interest.  But the evidence is simply not there.”

U.S. Supplement Crackdown?

Do you rely on supplements for your health and well-being? Would you want the U.S. government to limit supplement access or impose new restrictions on supplements?

Let us know what you think on our facebook page.

Source:

Nutraingredients