Fighting Heart Disease: Maintaining a Healthy Blood Pressure

High blood pressure (HBP) is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease (also called coronary artery disease), heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and other health problems. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), one out of three U.S. adults (31.3%) has HPB. High blood pressure was the primary or contributing cause of death for 326,000 Americans in 2006. In 2010, high blood pressure cost the United States $76.6 billion in health care services, medications, and missed days of work. 25% of American adults have prehypertension (PHT) (blood pressure numbers that are higher than normal, but not yet in the HBP range. PHT raises your risk for high blood pressure). HBP has been labeled as the silent killer, due to the fact that there are no warning signs or symptoms for this disease. Most people are not aware that they have high blood pressure until it's too late.

BP is written as two numbers. The first (systolic) number represents the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart beats. The second (diastolic) number represents the pressure in your vessels when your heart rests between beats.

BP Levels:

Normal systolic: less than 120 mmHgdiastolic: less than 80mmHg
At risk (prehypertension) systolic: 120-139 mmHgdiastolic: 80-89 mmHg
High systolic: 140 mmHg or higherdiastolic: 90 mmHg or higher

The exact causes of HBP remain unknown; however, a number of factors are believed to contribute to this deadly disease. Several factors and conditions may play a role in its development, including:

• smoking
• Being overweight or obese
• Lack of physical activity
• Too much salt in the diet
• Too much alcohol consumption (more than 1 to 2 drinks per day)
• Stress
• Older age
• Genetics
• Family history of high blood pressure
• Chronic kidney disease
• Adrenal and thyroid disorders

Who Is More Likely to Develop HBP?

• People with family members who have HBP.
• People who smoke.
• African-Americans.
• Women who are pregnant.
• Women who take birth control pills.
• People over the age of 35.
• People who are overweight or obese.
• People who are not active.
• People who drink alcohol excessively.
• People who eat too many fatty foods or foods with too much salt.

The best approach to fighting HBP is prevention. Watching your diet, getting plenty of exercising, limiting stress (See our article Gaba: The Natural Alternative to Benzodiazepines), adequate sleep, normal weight, and not smoking (or quitting).

HBP does not discriminate against age. Hypertension in children is hard to diagnose due to the fluctuation in their BP as they grow. Children with hypertension tend to have underlying medical conditions. However, close to 19% of young adults may have high blood pressure, and just half of them are aware of it despite this condition's strong link to heart attack and stroke risk, according to a new study.

"There is a sleeping epidemic among young adults," says study researcher Kathleen Mullan Harris, PhD, the interim director of the University of North Carolina's Carolina Population Center in Chapel Hill. "We tend to think of them as a rather healthy group, but a prevalence of 19% with hypertension is alarming."

Aside from the health risks associate with HBP, medical costs are another side effect of this deadly disease. As stated above, HBP cost the United States $76.6 billion dollars in medical costs. The average cost of care for a patient up to 90 days after suffering a stroke is $15,000. Heart attacks on average can cost as much as $250,000 (without surgery).

Again, prevention is the key. There are numerous things that can be done to prevent HBP such as:

• Changes in diet (limiting salt, fats, cholesterol, refined sugars, and increasing fiber intake)
• Daily exercise (at least 20 minutes daily)
• Shedding excess pounds (avoid diet pills, instead increase exercise, see changes in diet above)
• Ceasing smoking (smoking can greatly increase your risk of heart attack and stroke, as well as increase blood pressure)
• Getting adequate sleep (at least 8 hours per night)
• Reducing stress (stress plays a major role in developing high blood pressure)
• Ceasing or reducing alcohol consumption (less than 1 - 2 daily, limit alcoholic beverages to a few per week at most)
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Listening to soothing music
• All natural supplementation

There are numerous prescription drugs on the market which help control high blood pressure, but these are expensive, dangerous, and have a substantial list of side effects ranging from minor to severe, including stroke and death, which is the very reason for wanting to lower your blood pressure. All natural supplementation removes the possibility of these deadly side effects and of harmful toxicity caused by their chemical makeup. However, if you are currently taking ACE inhibitors for HBP, talk to your doctor about natural health alternatives. Never stop taking any medication before seeking medical advice.

Natural supplementation can be as simple as supplementing with potassium, magnesium, calcium, and many other vitamins, minerals, and herbs. There are numerous blends available that include several natural necessities to help reduce or maintain a normal BP. Some of the most trusted blends include: Michael's Blood Pressure Factors, and New Chapter Blood Pressure Take Care, just to name a few.



While supplementation can help lower high or maintain normal blood pressure numbers, the most important thing to do is exercise daily, eat a more balanced healthy diet, and reduce stress, just to name a few.
The importance of maintaining a normal blood pressure or lowering high blood pressure cannot be stressed enough. Be sure to monitor your blood pressure regularly. Home BP monitors are available for under $50, such as Panasonic EW3106W Upper Arm Blood Pressure Monitor (White), Omron BP629 Intellisense Advanced Averaging 60 Memory Wrist Blood Pressure Monitor Bundle, and many more.



Take back control of your health by learning more about natural health alternatives today. Visit The Rx Alternative today.

Acne affects millions of people around the world. Nobody is immune to it, nor does it discriminate against age or race. Everyone is at risk.

Although there are no definitive answers as to the true cause of acne, there is a basic process at work. Acne occurs when pours get clogged, trapping in bacteria and oils that result in inflammation, eruptions, and infection. This can lead to scaring of the surrounding tissue.

Acne appears as white heads, black heads, cysts, skin rashes, redness, and scarring. These skin eruptions can appear on the face, neck, back, legs, and arms; with the face being the most common.

Even though the cause of acne still remains a mystery, there are some contributing factors that can be controlled or remedied. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, diet, stress, and environmental factors.

Medical treatment can help control acne breakouts, but there are inherent dangers associated with prescription drug treatments. For instance, Accutane has serious side effects such as increased risk of suicide, hypertension (high blood pressure), impaired liver function just to name a few. Is clear skin really worth the risk to your health, when natural alternatives exist? If you do resort to traditional medical treatment try to limit them to dermabrasion and drainage of cysts. Avoid chemical peels which have their own associated health risks.

Dietary changes to reduce acne risks or to relieve outbreaks are: Eliminating processed white flour, caffeine, chocolate (yes, I know, I'm sorry), sugar, fried foods, fatty dairy foods, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, peanut butter, and tobacco. Avoiding these foods can control or eliminate outbreaks.

Other dietary changes include increasing the consumption of healthy fresh organic foods, whole grains, green vegetables, wild caught fish (not farm raised), brown rice, apples, and low-fat dairy foods.

Flushing toxins that have built up in the body, which can contribute to breakouts, can further control breakouts. This can be as simple as drinking plenty of water or doing a 4 - 5 day juice cleanses, which involves drinking 6 or more glasses of purified water along with carrot, pineapple, and papaya juices daily to eliminate waste and toxins.

Supplementation is another effective way to reduce the risk of breakouts and to control current breakout.



Supplementation support for acne includes, but is not limited to:

• Evening primrose oil (essential fatty acids)
• External application of Tea tree oil
• Digestive plant enzymes, such as pancreatin to digest oils
• Milk thistle extract for liver detoxification
• Fresh pineapple rubbed on the face to reduce acne scars
• Royal jelly, which is the highest quality honey that nourishes only the queen bee in the hive
• Fiber to aid in elimination of toxin rich feces
• 30mg Zinc twice a day
• 1000mg Vitamin C twice a day
• Acidophilus

Other natural healing remedies include:

• Early morning sunshine on the face (sunshine is converted by the skin into Vitamin D)
• Daily exercise
• Plenty of rest
• Apple cider vinegar (applied to breakouts)
• B-complex vitamin fortified with extra Pantothenic acid (for stress caused acne)

Once acne has already damaged your skin, you still have hope for healthier clearer skin. There are numerous natural health remedies to reduce or eliminate scar tissue and redness.

A short list of scar tissue remedies includes:

• Rubbing fresh pineapple, which contains the enzyme bromelain, directly on scars and blemishes every day
• Applying aloe vera or lemon juice to scars and blemishes before bed
• Rubbing affected area with the inside of a papaya skin, which contains the enzyme papain to help neutralize the acid wastes on the skin

There are many more alternative remedies, enough to fill a book, and too much to list all of them here. There are also several herbal blends that can significantly reduce acne outbreaks or control a current outbreak. The bottom line is this: you do not have to resort to dangerous prescription drugs to combat acne when nature has provided healthy, natural alternatives.

GABA: The Natural Alternative to Anti-Depressants

For many in today's economy, life in the United States is synonymous with stress. With an ever increasing number of stress factors, Americans find themselves dependent on prescription drugs to find relief from this growing epidemic. However, those prescription drugs (a class known as benzodiazepines) are not only expensive, but possess a long list of undesired, and often dangerous, side effects and deadly toxicity.

These side effects range from mild (changes in appetite) to severe (suicidal thoughts and death). Xanax (the #1 prescribed benzodiazepine) is fourth in the line of most deaths attributed to overdose. The top four are cocaine, methadone, and oxycodone type-drugs such as Oxycontin, Xanax comes in fourth place. Xanax has such a high rate of death associated with overdose because the body builds a tolerance towards it, and when this happens people take more to compensate. In turn, they once again become tolerant to this increase dosage and again up their dosages. This continues until a fatal overdose results.

Along with the extensive list of side effects is benzodiazepines risk of addiction, which can lead to tolerance, which can eventually lead to overdose. But what can be done? Stress is taking over your life. Stress is tearing your family apart. You risk losing your job. Your children no longer know who you are. Life seems empty. You feel as though you can't go on. What can you do? The answer is simple, GABA.

What is GABA and what can it do for you? GABA or gamma-Aminobutyric acid is the natural alternative to benzodiazepines. GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It regulates anxiety, muscle spasms, depression, and chronic stress. GABA receptors are located throughout the human body. GABA depletion can result from a number of factors including, but not limited to: pain, fear, anxiety, grief, anger, and panic. GABA depletion can lead to chronic pain, illness, panic attacks, crying, back pain, rapid heartbeat, insomnia, neck pain, difficulty breathing, headaches, suicidal thoughts, and death.

Supplementing with GABA can reduce your anxiety and instill a sense of calm, thereby improving your quality of life without the dangerous side effects and risk of addiction associated with traditional prescription drugs, which are over prescribed for anxiety or stress. Since GABA is a natural amino acid found in the human body there are no side effects. Although, there have been a few reports of tickly or itching sensation on the face and neck, change in breathing (either slower or faster) and a throbbing heartbeat these occurrences cannot be definitively linked to GABA supplementation, as these sensations are also linked with panic attacks. When compared to the risks of benzodiazepines, these sensations are tolerable, harmless, and last for a brief period of time.

Not only is GABA effective with stress and anxiety, GABA supplementation may also combat insomnia (a common side effect of stress and anxiety), tobacco dependence, fibromyalgia, and epilepsy.

As you can see, GABA is not just for anxiety and stress. In fact GABA has a number of additional uses, such as: in children who are suffering from ADHD, treating alcohol dependency, improve concentration, and aid in meditation. GABA may also aid in lowering high blood pressure.

GABA supplements are available from numerous manufactures, and are available in several forms including: powder, sublingual pills, chewable, liquid, and capsules.

If you are currently taking a benzodiazepine you should consult your physician for advice on how best to wean yourself from benzodiazepines before you stop taking your medications, as adverse reactions may occur.

By avoiding benzodiazepines you not only save yourself from the harmful side effects, toxicity, and addiction, but you will feel better and healthier knowing you are not filling your body with deadly toxins. So, if you would like a stress free, anxiety free, healthier life, give GABA a try.