Bananas are believed to be grown in over 100 countries throughout the tropics. Native to Southeast Asia, bananas were most likely first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. It is also one of the most inexpensive fresh foods in your grocery store, and who doesn't like that? But can a banana make you healthy and happy?

A banana-remedy for high blood pressure?

According to the American Heart Association, potassium supplements can be increasingly dangerous as people get older. Now medical studies done in England have revealed that food sources of potassium are an excellent way to fight high blood pressure without the side effects and risks of supplements. Potassium can be found in almost every fruit and vegetable but is higher in bananas. Don't believe a little old banana can help you? In a study done by St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, participants with high blood pressure ate 3,754 mg of potassium/day were able to lower their blood pressure to pre-hypertension levels after one week. Impressed?

A banana-a-day will make you smile.

A lack of vitamin B6 been linked to anxiety, stress and depression. "[B6] facilitates synthesis of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which makes you feel calm and happy," says Hanjo Hellmann, Ph.D., a plant biologist at Washington State University. "But if you have a B6 deficiency, your brain may not be able to make enough dopamine." Women are more likely to be deficient. B6 is not stored well in any body, however, so eat foods high in B6 like bananas, potatoes, red meat - remember your portions - poultry and chickpeas regularly.

Remember, exercise is also a way to relieve hypertension. Massage is an effective treatment of anxiety, depression and sleepness. Imagine if you ate a banana before you got a massage?

Labels: banana, eating healthy, hypertension

Excessive cola consumption can lead to anything from mild weakness to profound muscle paralysis, doctors are warning.

This is because the drink can cause blood potassium to drop dangerously low, they report in the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

They tell of the curious case of an Australian ostrich farmer who needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking 4-10 litres of cola a day.
He made a full recovery and was advised to curtail his cola drinking.

Another example included a pregnant woman who regularly consumed up to three litres a day for the last six years and complained of tiredness, appetite loss and persistent vomiting.
A heart trace revealed she had an irregular heartbeat, most likely caused by her low blood potassium levels.

Once she stopped drinking so much cola, she made a full and uneventful recovery.
The investigators believe these cases are not atypical and that many people risk problems due to their intake.

Manufacturers insist the products are safe when consumed in moderation.

In a commentary, Dr Clifford Packer from the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre in Ohio said: "We have every reason to think that it is not rare.

"With aggressive mass marketing, super-sizing of soft drinks, and the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialised countries drink at least 2-3 l of cola per day.

"It follows that the serum potassium levels of these heavy cola drinkers are dropping, in some cases, to dangerous low levels."

Moderation

The author of the research paper, Dr Moses Elisaf from the University of Ioannina in Greece, said it appeared that hypokalaemia can be caused by excessive consumption of three of the most common ingredients in cola drinks - glucose, fructose and caffeine.

"The individual role of each of these ingredients in the pathophysiology of cola-induced hypokalaemia has not been determined and may vary in different patients.

"However in most of the cases we looked at for our review, caffeine intoxication was thought to play the most important role.

"This has been borne out by case studies that focus on other products that contain high levels of caffeine but no glucose or fructose."

Despite this, he warned that caffeine free cola products could also cause hypokalaemia because the fructose they contain can cause diarrhoea.

"We believe that further studies are needed to establish how much is too much when it comes to the daily consumption of cola drinks."

Excessive consumption has already been linked with obesity, diabetes and tooth and bone problems.

A spokeswoman from the British Soft Drinks Association said: "The examples used in this paper by the IJCP are all very extreme cases - moderate consumption of cola drinks is completely safe and people can continue to enjoy such drinks as part of a balanced diet and active lifestyle.

"The soft drinks industry is committed to encouraging responsible consumption of all its products. Nutrition labelling is included on pack so people can make an informed choice about the products they are drinking."

Story from BBC NEWS

Labels: eating healthy, heart health, lifestyle management, nutrition

An essential nutrient is a nutrient your body cannot produce itself. Sunlight and oxygen are essential nutrients - just as as much as vitamins and minerals are. But unlike any other essential nutrient, water is the most abundant compound in the body - humans are two-thirds water - and most of us do not drink enough of it.

If you have a hard time drinking two to three quarts of water per day, which is the recommended amount, it might help you to think of it as the most essential nutrient.

For example, humans can die of starvation, but will die first from dehydration.

Water is helps the:

• digestion of food
  
• transportation of nutrients to the tissues
  
• elimination of body wastes
  
• circulation of body fluids (like blood and lymph)
  
• lubrication in the joints and internal organs
  
• regulation of body temperature.

Brain tissue consists of 85 percent water and blood is 90 percent water.

Also consider this: when you are well-hydrated, your body works efficiently. Every part of you has what it needs. But when the body is dehydrated, it becomes a great compromiser - it reserves water for certain bodily jobs and because there is not enough water to go around, prevents some work - like the protection of different tissues and organs - from getting done.

While we do get a certain amount of water from our foods, remember, just because something is liquid or juicy, does not mean it will or should replace your water intake. Coffee and soda pop, for example, are diuretics and will actually cause you to lose water.

How much water have you had today?

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Labels: eating healthy, water