Intensive treatment to lower high blood pressure can decrease older adults’ risk of sharp blood pressure drops that can cause dizziness and increase the likelihood of falling, a new study says. It included more than 2,800 patients, average age 63, who had recently suffered a stroke. Half received more aggressive treatment to lower their blood pressure to below 130/80 mm Hg. The others got less intensive therapy with a target of between 130-149/80-90 mm Hg or more. Blood pressure levels and symptoms were monitored over an average 15 visits per patient. During each visit, blood pressure was measured three times while a patient was seated and one time after two minutes of standing. This was done to detect any changes and symptoms of orthostatic hypotension (OH), a sudden drop in blood pressure that can occur when a person goes from sitting to standing. OH is associated with dizziness and increased risk of falling. More aggressive blood pressure treatment and systolic blood pressure of 130 mm/Hg or under was associated with a lower risk of OH. Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a reading and represents the force of blood flow against the arteries when the heart contracts. The study was presented Saturday at an American Heart Association meeting, in New Orleans. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in a…  read on >

Make the most of your farmers market bounty with fast salads that highlight end-of-summer’s best produce, like a filling Cobb salad with tomatoes, corn, and green and red lettuces. Some simple prep tips make it an easy lunch or dinner, and smart swaps help streamline the traditional version’s calorie count. Start by prepping your greens the right way. Carefully wash the lettuce leaves, shake them dry by hand or with a salad spinner, and then wrap them in paper towels to crisp for about 15 minutes in the fridge. When you’re ready to use them, roll them up like a cigar and use a serrated knife to slice them into ribbons. This makes lettuce a lot easier to eat. Adding fresh corn to a salad is a snap. If the corn is really fresh and the kernels are tender, there’s no need to cook it. If you’re unsure, bring a large pot of water to boil, drop in the shucked cobs, cover and turn off the heat. In about seven minutes, they’ll be ready. Once cool, use a serrated knife to slice off the kernels. Traditional Cobb salad contains bacon and cheese — and that can add up to too much fat. Make a leaner swap for the bacon by using prosciutto, which is cured so no cooking is required. In place of the usual…  read on >

To the many ways in which coffee seems to confer unexpected health benefits, add a lowered risk of painful gallstones. After tracking nearly 105,000 Danes for an average of eight years, researchers found that those who downed more than six cups per day of the world’s most popular beverage saw their gallstone risk drop by 23%. “High coffee intake is associated with a lower risk of gallstone disease,” said study author Dr. A. Tybjaerg-Hansen. She’s chief physician of Rigshospitalet’s department of clinical biochemistry at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark. That’s good news for Danes, 6% of whom drink six or more cups of coffee every day, she said. But what about the average Dane, who knocks back just two cups a day? Or the average American or Brit who consumes between one to two cups daily? The study has good news for them, too. It turns out that even small amounts of coffee appeared to lower gallstone risk. Compared to those who abstained from coffee, participants who drank just one cup of Joe a day saw the risk of gallstones dip by about 3%. Meanwhile, those who consumed three to six cups per day saw their risk slide by 17%. The findings were published Sept. 5 in the Journal of Internal Medicine. Gallstones are hard pebble-like pieces that can accumulate in the gallbladder, where they…  read on >

When made at home, smoothies can be delicious and nutritious (store-bought versions often contain lots of sugar and an abundance of calories). But when it comes to feeling satisfied, a rich, thick soup has them beat. There’s science behind the diet tip to eat filling soup when the soup is a thick, blended puree. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that you’ll feel fuller for an hour longer than you would if you ate the same ingredients in their whole form while sipping a glass of water. Think of a pureed soup as a savory smoothie, perfect for cool weather. It’s fast and easy to turn a cooked vegetable like squash, carrots, peas or sweet potatoes into a hearty meal with a traditional or immersion blender, or a food processor. Cauliflower is particularly versatile because, as a soup base, it will take on the taste of whatever herbs, spices or other ingredients you flavor it with. If you’re short on time, you can use frozen vegetables. If you want to start from scratch, bring out the most flavor by roasting the vegetables in the oven. Alternatively, you can sweat them on the stovetop in a small amount of oil to soften them before adding enough water to just barely cover them and simmering until tender before you puree. Try to always include…  read on >

Spices add not only great flavor to foods, but also micronutrients for a healthy diet. Spice blends can be especially zesty, but many on grocery store shelves are loaded with sodium, which can spike your salt intake and detract from the spices’ benefits. Mix your own blends instead. A very versatile mix is taco seasoning. It’s great for marinating meat, adding depth to chili, using as a dry rub on chicken and fish, or instead of salt to flavor a cooked dish. Dried chili powder is one of the main ingredients in a taco seasoning blend. Chilies give your spice mix a smoky tang. You can pulverize whole dried chilies in a coffee bean grinder or buy them already ground. You’ll find many varieties to choose from, including mildly sweet anchos, spicy chipotles and the hotter cayenne and urfa from Turkey. The hotter the chilies, the higher their capsaicin content, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. Another key ingredient is cumin. Cumin is high in iron and adds an earthy tang, which complements the smoky flavor of chilies. You can buy cumin seeds to grind yourself or buy cumin already ground. Oregano is a great herb to add to a no-salt blend. It has the highest antioxidant levels of any herb. Use fresh, finely chopped oregano leaves if you plan to use your mix right away or…  read on >

The number of cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping has now doubled, with more than 450 people in 33 states struck by the illness, U.S. health officials reported Friday. At least three of those patients have died. The leading culprit at this point is an oily chemical called vitamin E acetate, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been three confirmed deaths linked to vaping, as well as one death that’s potentially connected, Ileana Arias, acting deputy director of non-infectious diseases at the CDC, said during a media briefing on Friday. The deaths occurred in Illinois, Indiana and Oregon. “The focus of our investigation is narrowing and that’s great news, but we’re still faced with complex questions in this outbreak that will take time to answer,” Arias said. The CDC urges people to not use e-cigarettes until more is known about what’s causing these lung injuries. “While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products,” said Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, the incident manager in charge of the CDC’s response to this health crisis. “People who do use e-cigarette products should monitor themselves for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and vomiting, and promptly seek medical attention for any health concerns,” she added. Many patients hospitalized More information has also been released regarding…  read on >

Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 (American Heart Association News) — Incorporating pumpkin pulp or seeds into a healthy diet may help reduce blood pressure levels, according to a new study using rats. The research, presented Thursday at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, compared the effect of a control diet to one that contained pumpkin pulp or seeds on the rats’ blood pressure and heart muscle. The rats were put on the diet at 6 weeks old and fed it for eight weeks. The rats on a diet in which 4% of the calories came from pumpkin seeds or pulp had blood pressure levels more than 20% lower than the rats on the control diet. For close to two decades, researchers have looked at the nutritional benefit of pumpkin oil and seeds, said Dr. Soweto Thomas, a biomedical researcher at Tuskegee University in Alabama who conducted the study. “But most of this research has been in other countries.” Until now, he said, no one had looked at the effect of pumpkin flesh on high blood pressure. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, affects nearly half of American adults. Often called “the silent killer,” it has no symptoms. High blood pressure puts people at risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and more. Using medications as prescribed and making lifestyle changes, such…  read on >

Spices add not only great flavor to foods, but also micronutrients for a healthy diet. Spice blends can be especially zesty, but many on grocery store shelves are loaded with sodium, which can spike your salt intake and detract from the spices’ benefits. Mix your own blends instead. A very versatile mix is taco seasoning. It’s great for marinating meat, adding depth to chili, using as a dry rub on chicken and fish, or instead of salt to flavor a cooked dish. Dried chili powder is one of the main ingredients in a taco seasoning blend. Chilies give your spice mix a smoky tang. You can pulverize whole dried chilies in a coffee bean grinder or buy them already ground. You’ll find many varieties to choose from, including mildly sweet anchos, spicy chipotles and the hotter cayenne and urfa from Turkey. The hotter the chilies, the higher their capsaicin content, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. Another key ingredient is cumin. Cumin is high in iron and adds an earthy tang, which complements the smoky flavor of chilies. You can buy cumin seeds to grind yourself or buy cumin already ground. Oregano is a great herb to add to a no-salt blend. It has the highest antioxidant levels of any herb. Use fresh, finely chopped oregano leaves if you plan to use your mix right away or…  read on >

About half of all Americans take steps to limit or avoid saturated fats, the kind found in foods like fatty red meat and cream. But fewer than one-third stick to the limit set by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to keep saturated fat intake under 10% of daily calories. You might be surprised to learn that the single biggest source of saturated fats — 35% — comes from mixed dishes, especially those with both cheese and meat. Think lasagna, burritos and pizza. A gram of fat has twice the calories of a gram of protein or carbohydrate, so if you’re trying to lose weight, cutting back on fat frees up calories for foods with greater volume. One way to scale back is by limiting prepared foods. Fat is often added to make them taste better, rather than to add any nutritional value. Home cooking lets you control fat content, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Rather than preparing complicated recipes, simplify by broiling or baking chicken or fish to serve with sides. Meat can be on the menu once or twice a week, but choose lean cuts of beef and pork, and trim away all the white fat you can. When you do make recipes that call for meat and cheese, replace half the meat with vegetables or beans. Use grated parmesan, which goes…  read on >