Natural Health

6 Alternative Treatments for High Blood Pressure

Stress and other factors can lead to high blood pressure, a potentially dangerous health condition. While there are several ways to lower blood pressure, one effective and natural strategy is to use stress relievers that have also been shown to reduce high blood pressure. These stress relievers tend to steer clear of negative side effects and carry with them other health benefits. Learn more about healthy and natural treatments for high blood pressure that also relieve stress and promote overall health at the same time.

1

Meditation

 Practicing meditation at home is easier when you have a good spot for it. PeopleImages.com/DigitalVision/Getty Images

Meditation is a very effective stress reliever that carries many health benefits as well. Chief among them is lowered blood pressure. If you think of meditation as a challenge, you may pleased to know that there are different types of meditation, and some include easy strategies for beginners. You can find a practice that works for you.

5 Meditation Techniques to Get You Started

2

Yoga

 BJI/Getty Images. BJI/Getty Images

Yoga is great for your body, mind, and blood pressure. Whether you're able to bend into a pretzel or can barely touch your toes, there are many different levels of yoga, so there's a yoga workout that's perfect for you. Learn about the benefits of yoga and fine the resources you can use to get started.

How Yoga Can Improve the Stress in Your Life

3

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR)

 Breathing mixed with visualization can lead to more powerful relaxation. Geri Lavrov/Photographer's Choice/Getty Images

Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a very effective stress reliever that can be performed in many places including your office as well as your home, making it convenient as well as effective. It's a great stress reliever as well as a blood pressure reducer. Learn more about PMR and find out how you can get started right now.

Reduce Tension with Progressive Muscle Relaxation

4

Breathing Exercises

 zianlob/ Getty Images. zianlob/ Getty Images

Breathing exercises are one of my favorite stress relievers because they can be done virtually anywhere--even as you navigate stressful situations like conflicts with others and racing to meet deadlines. Because breathing is included in this list, you can probably guess that they can also lower blood pressure. Learn more about how to use breathing exercises to lower blood pressure, relieve stress, and promote overall health.

Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

5

Music Therapy

 Music can help you get going in the morning, and feel happy throughout the day. FrancescoCorticchia/ Getty Images

Music has been shown to be a great stress reliever by calming the body and the mind, and has other health benefits as well. In fact, music therapy is actually a tool used in hospitals to relieve pain and promote healing. Listening to music can speed up or calm down your physiology, and has been shown to aid in lowering blood pressure as well. Learn more about the benefits of music, and find how to use music in your daily life to lower blood pressure and relieve stress.

7 Ways to Use Music for Stress Relief

6

Sex

 Tom Merton/Getty Images. Tom Merton/Getty Images

Besides being enjoyable, sex can be a very effective stres reliever. Within the context of a healthy relationship, sex brings many benefits for stressed individuals, and has even been shown to bring physical benefits such as lowered blood pressure. Learn more about how stress can affect your sex drive, how sex can be a great stress reliever, and how to get in the mood for sex, even when you're under stress.

10 Ways to Improve Your Vision Naturally

Are you taking the right steps to improve your vision naturally? As we age, our eyesight begins to decline. That’s inevitable. But, when we start to see signs of declining vision, our first instinct is to get glasses, contacts, or even surgery depending on the underlying condition. It’s unfortunate that so many people choose these options when you can improve your vision naturally. You can take advantage of less invasive and more holistic solutions.

It’s important to understand your vision condition, then assess every aspect of your lifestyle and make appropriate changes. If you’re open to improving your vision (well, duh!), then check out these 10 natural ways to do so.

1. Protect Your Eyes from Damage

Your eyes are extremely vulnerable to your environment. Air pollution, particles, UV rays, and blue light can all cause damage. It’s crucial you protect your eyes from these culprits if you want to improve your vision. To start, always wear UVA and UVB protection sunglasses when you go outside. Too much sun exposure can lead to a sunburn-like condition on the eyes called photokeratitis. When you look at devices like smartphones and laptops, be aware of the blue light emitted, as blue light exposure can cause macular degeneration. Wear sunglasses and use blue-light filters to save your eyes from damage.

2. Learn About Your Family’s Vision Health

You can live a healthy life and still develop a vision-altering eye disease. We all inherit different risks from our parents in our genes, so do your research on which eye conditions are common in your family line. If your parents, grandparents, or even further back, had glaucoma, you could too. Perhaps type 2 diabetes was common, or cataracts. By knowing what you have a higher risk of developing a vision condition, you can work to prevent it. This step might not improve your vision, but it will prevent further decline.

3. Avoid Inflammation in the Eyes

Inflammation in the eyes is called uveitis, which can be a sign of a ton of underlying causes. And, it can lead to vision loss and blindness. If you notice redness, pain, blurry vision, or abnormal sensitivity to light, see your eye doctor. There are four main types of uveitis with different causes. In all cases, early detection and treatment are key. You can prevent some forms of inflammation in the eye by never touching them with unwashed hands, or by wearing protective glasses when working with machinery or chemicals. To improve your vision, protect your eyes from inflammation.

4. Exercise Your Eyes Every Day

Every part of your body benefits from exercise. When you work out, your cardiovascular system switches into high gear. Blood circulation gets improved which is awesome for the eyes, especially for the optic nerve. And, all it takes is 30 minutes each day of walking, jogging, or another form of exercise you enjoy.

Regular exercise helps prevent diseases that can lead to vision loss, like diabetes. However, did you know there are specific exercises for the eyes? These eye stretches can help prevent computer vision syndrome, blurry vision, and loss of peripheral vision. Schedule five minutes every morning and every night to practice eye exercises and stretches – one of the easiest and most natural ways to improve your vision.

5. Stop Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

We all have our vices, but some are more harmful to your eyesight than others. Smoking cigarettes causes inflammation in the eyes, and can cause macular degeneration, cataracts, and cancer. Drinking alcohol causes the optic nerve to communicate more slowly with the brain. Alcoholics often have red eyes from the swollen blood vessels, along with difficulty seeing. If you want to improve your vision, quit these two vices, or at least cut back on them.

6. Eat More Antioxidants

You likely already know how impactful your diet is on your health. For the eyes, it’s crucial to eat foods high in antioxidants, like greens and berries. Free radicals occur naturally in the body; left alone, they’ll cause oxidative damage to the body and eyes. It’s hard to improve your vision when free radicals are causing macular degeneration and vision loss. Antioxidants combat the free radicals to keep their levels balanced and your eyes protected.

7. Get Enough Carotenoids

The retina is a critical part of the eyes that receives light, and it’s very vulnerable to damage emitted from blue light and UV. Carotenoids are fat-soluble pigments that protect the retina from cancer and disease. There are only two carotenoids found in the macula, a tiny part of the retina: lutein and zeaxanthin. Since no other carotenoids can protect your eyes like these two, you should really make an effort to get them in your diet or through a supplement. If not, you could develop macular degeneration and other diseases that affect your eyesight.

8. Rest Your Eyes During the Day

Your leg muscles get to rest every time you sit down, but your eyes have to wait until bedtime when you close them for 8 hours (hopefully). By waiting too long to rest your eyes, you can develop eye strain, dry eyes, and headaches. These conditions can display as blurry vision. But you can improve your vision and keep it clear by resting your eyes often. Take regular breaks to close them for a couple of minutes. Practice palming exercises to help them relax.

9. Get Enough Sleep Each Night

If resting your eyes is important, then it shouldn’t surprise you that not getting enough sleep can have negative effects on your eyes and vision. You might develop eye twitches, dryness, and redness. People with insomnia often have bloodshot eyes from popped blood vessels. A more serious effect is anterior ischemic optic neuropathy which can lead to vision loss. Try to create a consistent sleeping routine that’s quiet and cool. Use an eye mask to keep your eyelids closed. Put away your devices an hour before bedtime. To improve your vision naturally, give your eyes the rest they need.

10. Get Regular Eye Exams

The most common reasons people get glasses are refractive errors. These are conditions like myopia, presbyopia, and hyperopia. If you suffer from one of these errors, you may be wondering how to improve your vision without glasses. Luckily, if you go for regular eye exams, you can stop these conditions before they progress. When you start to notice a decline in your vision, make an appointment. Then look into natural ways to treat the condition. You should also make regular checkup appointments so your eye doctor can ensure your eyes are healthy. Early detection is key for eye diseases!

You can improve your vision naturally without the use of glasses, contacts, or surgery. It all starts with living a healthy lifestyle. Eat well, exercise often, and avoid smoking and drinking. At the first sign of change in your eyesight, see your eye doctor.

Natural Health

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COMMON HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF EATING DISORDERS

Eating disorders are serious, potentially life-threatening conditions that affect a person’s emotional and physical health. They are not just a “fad” or a “phase.” People do not just “catch” an eating disorder for a period of time. They are real, complex, and devastating conditions that can have serious consequences for health, productivity, and relationships. 

Eating disorders can affect every organ system in the body, and people struggling with an eating disorder need to seek professional help. The earlier a person with an eating disorder seeks treatment, the greater the likelihood of physical and emotional recovery. 

COMMON HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF EATING DISORDERS

CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

• Consuming fewer calories than you need means that the body breaks down its own tissue to use for fuel. Muscles are some of the first organs broken down, and the most important muscle in the body is the heart. Pulse and blood pressure begin to drop as the heart has less fuel to pump blood and fewer cells to pump with. The risk for heart failure rises as the heart rate and blood pressure levels sink lower and lower.
• Some physicians confuse the slow pulse of an athlete (which is due to a strong, healthy heart) with the slow pulse of an eating disorder (which is due to a malnourished heart). If there is concern about an eating disorder, consider low heart rate to be a symptom.
• Purging by vomiting or laxatives depletes your body of important chemicals called electrolytes. The electrolyte potassium plays an important role in helping the heart beat and muscles contract, but is often depleted by purging. Other electrolytes, such as sodium and chloride, can also become imbalanced by purging or by drinking excessive amounts of water. Electrolyte imbalances can lead to irregular heartbeats and possibly heart failure and death.
• Reduced resting metabolic rate, a result of the body’s attempts to conserve energy.

GASTROINTESTINAL SYSTEM

• Slowed digestion known as gastroparesis. Food restriction and/or purging by vomiting interferes with normal stomach emptying and the digestion of nutrients, which can lead to:
• Stomach pain and bloating
• Nausea and vomiting
• Blood sugar fluctuations
• Blocked intestines from solid masses of undigested food
• Bacterial infections
• Feeling full after eating only small amounts of food
• Constipation, which can have several causes:
• Inadequate nutritional intake, which means there’s not enough in the intestines for the body to try and eliminate
• Long-term inadequate nutrition can weaken the muscles of the intestines and leave them without the strength to propel digested food out of the body
• Laxative abuse can damage nerve endings and leave the body dependent on them to have a bowel movement
• Binge eating can cause the stomach to rupture, creating a life-threatening emergency.
• Vomiting can wear down the esophagus and cause it to rupture, creating a life-threatening emergency.
• Frequent vomiting can also cause sore throats and a hoarse voice.
• When someone makes themselves vomit over a long period of time, their salivary (parotid) glands under the jaw and in front of the ears can get swollen. This can also happen when a person stops vomiting.
• Both malnutrition and purging can cause pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. Symptoms include pain, nausea, and vomiting.
• Intestinal obstruction, perforation, or infections, such as:
• Mechanical bowel problems, like physical obstruction of the intestine, caused by ingested items.
• Intestinal obstruction or a blockage that prevents food and water from passing through the intestines.
• Bezoar, a mass of indigestible material found trapped in the gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach, or intestines).
• Intestinal perforation, caused by the ingestion of a nonfood item that creates a hole in the wall of the stomach, intestines or bowels.
• Infections such as toxoplasmosis and toxocariasis may occur because of ingesting feces or dirt.
• Poisoning, such as heavy metal poisoning caused by the ingestion of lead-based paint.

NEUROLOGICAL

• Although the brain weighs only three pounds, it consumes up to one-fifth of the body’s calories. Dieting, fasting, self-starvation, and/or erratic eating means the brain isn’t getting the energy it needs, which can lead to obsessing about food and difficulties concentrating.
• Extreme hunger or fullness at bedtime can create difficulties falling or staying asleep.
• The body’s neurons require an insulating, protective layer of lipids to be able to conduct electricity. Inadequate fat intake can damage this protective layer, causing numbness and tingling in hands, feet, and other extremities.
• Neurons use electrolytes (potassium, sodium, chloride, and calcium) to send electrical and chemical signals in the brain and body. Severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalances can lead to seizures and muscle cramps.
• If the brain and blood vessels can’t push enough blood to the brain, it can cause fainting or dizziness, especially upon standing.
• Individuals of higher body weights are at increased risk of sleep apnea, a disorder in which a person regularly stops breathing while asleep.

ENDOCRINE

• The body makes many of its needed hormones with the fat and cholesterol we eat. Without enough fat and calories in the diet, levels of hormones can fall, including:
• Sex hormones estrogen and testosterone
• Thyroid hormones
• Lowered sex hormones can cause menstruation to fail to begin, to become irregular, or to stop completely.
• Lowered sex hormones can significantly increase bone loss (known as osteopenia and osteoporosis) and the risk of broken bones and fractures.
• Reduced resting metabolic rate, a result of the body’s attempts to conserve energy.
• Over time, binge eating can potentially increase the chances that a person’s body will become resistant to insulin, a hormone that lets the body get energy from carbohydrates. This can lead to Type 2 Diabetes.
• Without enough energy to fuel its metabolic fire, core body temperature will drop and hypothermia may develop.
• Starvation can cause high cholesterol levels, although this is NOT an indication to restrict dietary fats, lipids, and/or cholesterol.

OTHER HEALTH CONSEQUENCES

• Low caloric and fat consumption can cause dry skin, and hair to become brittle and fall out.
• To conserve warmth during periods of starvation, the body will grow fine, downy hair called lanugo.
• Severe, prolonged dehydration can lead to kidney failure.
• Inadequate nutrition can decrease the number of certain types of blood cells.
• Anemia develops when there are too few red blood cells or too little iron in the diet. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, and shortness of breath.
• Malnutrition can also decrease infection-fighting white blood cells.

MORTALITY AND EATING DISORDERS

While it is well known that anorexia nervosa is a deadly disorder, the death rate varies considerably between studies. This variation may be due to length of follow-up, or ability to find people years later, or other reasons. In addition, it has not been certain whether other subtypes of eating disorders also have high mortality. Several recent papers have shed new light on these questions by using large samples followed up over many years. Most importantly, they get around the problem of tracking people over time by using national registries which report when people die. A paper by Papadopoulos studied more than 6000 individuals with AN over 30 years using Swedish registries. Overall people with anorexia nervosa had a six fold increase in mortality compared to the general population. Reasons for death include starvation, substance abuse, and suicide. Importantly the authors also found an increase rate of death from ‘natural’ causes, such as cancer. 

It has not been certain whether mortality rates are high for other eating disorders, such as bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified, the latter of which is the most common eating disorder diagnosis. Crow and colleagues studied 1,885 individuals with anorexia nervosa (N=177), bulimia nervosa (N=906), or eating disorder not otherwise specified (N=802) over 8 to 25 years. The investigators used computerized record linkage to the National Death Index, which provides vital status information for the entire United States, including cause of death extracted from death certificates. Crow and colleagues found that crude mortality rates were 4.0% for anorexia nervosa, 3.9% for bulimia nervosa, and 5.2% for eating disorder not otherwise specified. They also found a high suicide rate in bulimia nervosa. The elevated mortality risks for bulimia nervosa and eating disorder not otherwise specified were similar to those for anorexia nervosa.

In summary, these findings underscore the severity and public health significance of all types of eating disorders.

Special thank you to Walter Kaye, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Director, UCSD Eating Disorder Research and Treatment Program, University of California, San Diego

Learn more about eating disorders >