BEAT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE WITH EXERCISE
   
           
            
     

Regular physical activity can lower your blood pressure by an amount similar to that achieved with some blood pressure drugs.

Have high blood pressure? While it is crucial to take your medication, did you know that exercise is one of the best ways to bring your blood pressure down?

“High blood pressure, or hypertension, is diagnosed when your systolic blood pressure is equal to or greater than 140mmHg, or if your diastolic blood pressure is equal to or greater than 90mmHg,” explains Mr Png Eng Keat, Physiotherapist at the LIFE Centre,

As the condition has no symptoms, it is commonly known as a “silent killer”. If left untreated in the long-term, it can cause damage to the heart and blood vessels, leading to heart attack, stroke or renal failure.

To control your blood pressure, your doctor may prescribe medications like diuretics (“water pills”), beta-blockers or calcium channel blockers. But sometimes, your doctor may first recommend lifestyle changes, such as exercise and cutting down on salt.

“Becoming more active is an important and effective way to help bring your blood pressure down to normal levels,”. “However, this needs to be done together with pharmacological therapy, if prescribed.”
How working out can help lower your blood pressure

Blood pressure is affected by the resistance of the peripheral blood vessels (those vessels outside the heart): the higher the peripheral resistance, the higher the blood pressure. Long-term exercise has a positive effect on blood pressure because it reduces the resistance of the peripheral blood vessels via hormonal effects and structural adaptations.

Regular physical activity of at least 30 minutes on most days of the week can lower your blood pressure by five to 10 mmHg, a reduction similar to that achieved with some blood pressure drugs.

Importantly, working out can help you to maintain a healthy weight, which is also crucial in controlling your blood pressure. “Usually, the greater the BMI, the greater the blood pressure. This is attributed to the greater output from the heart, as well as the reduced insulin sensitivity, which also affects the blood pressure,”
Here are some tips to work out right:

Do heart-pumping exercises: There are many types of exercises, but aerobic activities are best at lowering blood pressure. “This includes basketball, tennis, jogging, swimming, and even household chores like mopping the floor. But you have to maintain a certain intensity to achieve benefits. Do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercises per week, as recommended by Health Promotion Board (HPB).”

Train with weights: Another type of exercise that might be helpful is weight training, even though it can actually cause a temporary spike in blood pressure during the exercise, especially when you hold your breath or lift very heavy weights (a similar, temporary spike can also occur during aerobic exercises). “But over the long-term, weight training has some benefits for your overall health and blood-pressure- reducing goals,”
Don’t be a “weekend warrior”: If you don’t have enough time to exercise for a 30-minute session, consider breaking up your workout into 10-minute blocks. “This would be better than squeezing all your physical activities into a weekend, as sudden bursts of activity could be risky to your health,” “It can also put you at risk of certain musculoskeletal injuries.”

Listen to your body: If you experience any chest pain or tightness, dizziness, excessive fatigue, or severe shortness of breath, stop exercising immediately and seek medical help immediately.  “Before starting any exercise program, you should consult your doctor too.”

To keep your blood pressure within a normal range, you have to keep exercising. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to three months to see results. “After an acute bout of exercise, you can actually see some blood pressure lowering, which can be maintained for hours. This is known as the post-exercise hypotension (PEH) effect,”.

At the same time, you should not neglect other aspects of treatment such as keeping to a healthy, low-salt diet and taking medications as prescribed by your doctor. 


Source: By Jaclyn Lim for Health Xchange, with expert input from the LIFE Centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH), a member of the SingHealth group.

5 Ways to Beat Type 2 Diabetes

The secret to managing type 2 diabetes doesn't come in a pill. In most cases, these simple lifestyle changes will do the trick.

It's no secret that type 2 diabetes is on the rise in the United States and around the world. But if you've been diagnosed, there's a lot you can do to improve your health — and the best place to start is by changing your lifestyle.

“Basic principles of good health like eating right, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight can be as effective as medicine in the management of type 2 diabetes for most people,” says dietitian Sue McLaughlin, RD, diabetes educator and president of health care and education for the American Diabetes Association. That's backed up by the Look AHEAD study, a large clinical trial funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The researchers found that over a four-year period, changes like eating a healthier diet and getting more exercise led to weight loss and improved diabetes control in 5000 overweight or obese participants with type 2 diabetes.

If you're ready to make positive changes to help control diabetes, here's how to get started.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Improve Your Diet

Keeping close tabs on your diet is a major way to manage type 2 diabetes. A healthy diet for people with type 2 diabetes includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, lean meats, and low-fat dairy. Focus on eating fruits and non-starchy vegetables, like broccoli, carrots, and lettuce, and having smaller portions of starchy foods, meat, and dairy products. Be especially careful about loading up on foods that are high on the glycemic index (GI), a system that ranks foods according to how they affect glucose levels. High-GI foods include white breads, white rice, and soda.

Limit fast food, too. In a 15-year study of 3,000 young adults, those who ate fast food more than twice a week developed insulin resistance (a diabetes risk factor) at twice the rate of people who weren’t fast food junkies. Plus, fast food is loaded with refined carbohydrates, trans fats, and sodium, which can be especially unhealthy for people with type 2 diabetes.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Lose Weight

Shedding pounds can improve blood sugar levels and help keep type 2 diabetes under control. And you don’t have to lose a lot of weight to make a difference. “If you already have type 2 diabetes, losing just 10 to 15 pounds can lower your glucose levels,” says McLaughlin.

Where your fat is distributed also affects your diabetes risk and management. People who carry most of their fat in their belly (apple shape) are more prone to type 2 diabetes than those with fat mostly in the thighs, hips, and buttocks (pear shape). A woman whose waist measures more than 35 inches and a man with a 40-inch waist need to lose weight for good diabetes management, says McLaughlin, adding that a healthy diet and regular aerobic exercise will whittle away weight in the stomach area.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Exercise Regularly

Even without losing a pound, exercise can help keep type 2 diabetes under control.

“When you do physical activity, such as walking, your muscle contractions push glucose out of your blood into your cells,” explains McLaughlin. The result: Better blood sugar levels.

Of course, the more intense the exercise, the better. In one study of vigorous exercise and type 2 diabetes, women who walked quickly gained more protection from type 2 diabetes than those who walked at a more leisurely pace.

Regular weight-lifting sessions can also help keep blood sugar levels steady. McLaughlin recommends using hand weights or resistance bands for 30 minutes two to three times a week.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Control Sleep Apnea

Many overweight people with type 2 diabetes also have sleep apnea, a condition in which a person stops breathing temporarily while sleeping.

People with type 2 diabetes and sleep apnea are at higher risk of death from heart attack and stroke. Their blood sugar levels also fluctuate more dramatically while sleeping than in those who have type 2 diabetes, but not sleep apnea, according to one study. These fluctuations have been linked to a higher risk for diabetic complications.

Severe cases of sleep apnea may need to be treated with surgery or by wearing a special device while sleeping, but less severe cases can be managed by losing weight. Talk to your doctor if you suspect you may have sleep apnea — loud snoring is one sign. A special sleep test can diagnose sleep apnea.

Managing Type 2 Diabetes: Soothe Stress

Stress can make blood sugar levels harder to control, says McLaughlin. Try relaxation techniques to chase away stress. Top-notch stress busters include yoga, tai chi, meditation, massage, and soothing music.

As a bonus, stress relief may help you sleep better, important because studies show that not getting enough sleep can worsen type 2 diabetes. Sleeping less than six hours a night has also been found to contribute to impaired glucose tolerance, a condition that often precedes type 2 diabetes.

Besides yoga, try deep breathing before bed. Other tips to try:

    Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods at night.
    Maintain a slightly cool temperature in your sleep environment.
    Block out all light and noise.
    Go to bed at the same time every night to establish a sleep schedule.

These management strategies can have a dramatic impact on blood sugar levels and the progression of type 2 diabetes, says McLaughlin. Simple lifestyle changes will improve how you feel today, and help ensure a healthier future.






SOURCE:Everyday health

THE LAST MOMENT OF DROWN UNILAG STUDENT

The death of two of its postgraduate students on Sunday at Elegushi Beach, saying they were not on school assignment.Funmi Odusina, 24, and Adesola Ogunmefun, 27, were swept away by heavy tide on Sunday during the birthday celebration of a friend, simply identified as Bolu.

  The institution knew nothing about the party, adding: "They are postgraduate students. They were not on our assignment. They were there on their own. What can we do?

We were not aware that they went there. Please leave the UNILAG out of this. We can only commiserate with the families. It is a coroner case and the police should handle this. If it happened in our lagoon now, we would have been involved. But when students are out of the institution, they are not under our watch. The Dean, Students Affairs (DSA) and Dean of Postgraduate Studies would contact the families on our behalf," Adebule said.
Family members and friends yesterday took to social media to relive their last moments with the deceased.

Odusina was brought out of the water dead by local divers; Ogunmefun died after being rescued. Bolu Akinyokun, who survived, was discharged from the hospital yesterday.
It was gathered that Funmi whose father's birthday, according to her elder brother, Gbenga Odusina, was last Monday, boycotted a family function that Sunday to attend Bolu's beach party.

The Nationlearnt that the families are insisting on autopsy on the bodies, which are still at the Lagos Island General Hospital mortuary.

According to Funmi's older sister, Bukola Odusina, their family is devastated by the incident.
On his Facebook wall, Gbenga Odusina said his sister was not a swimmer, stating:

"Sadly, I saw these two on Sunday afternoon…I even joked with Shola about her makeup against Funmi's own. She just came back from church and had to hook up with my sister for the party…Wished I restrained them from going to meet their death. Their friendship baffles me even in death. They had the same hairstyle and died the same day. At the mortuary, they weren't too far apart too. My sister laid there dead even as my other sisters cried to her to please wake up…

"It felt like a deep sleep and her feet were cold with water still running out of her nostrils. Sadly, she doesn't swim and I would have bet she wasn't anywhere near the ocean until I saw this picture.
"I respect life more now and would make the best of every opportunity while still here. I wonder what we keep malice for; hold grudge against someone and never get another opportunity to say something to someone or forgive them. Life is short! Rest in peace Shola Ogunmefun and Funmi. Get well Bolu too!"

Gbenga, the first family member to comment on the issue on Monday went on:
"Happy birthday to my dad as much I would have loved to celebrate his 65th birthday, death snatched away his baby daughter; my sister Funmi, a few hours before. I have never experienced death this close. I still saw her in the afternoon (Sunday) making up. I even asked her, 'Funmi you're really dressed like a big madam today.' She cleaned her room so well; maybe she knew she was going to meet her creator a few hours ago.
"I saw her lifeless body at the mortuary. But I never really queried how God does His things and I continue to give thanks to Him for all. Rest in peace dear sister!"

A close friend to Ogunmefun, Samson Tobore Chritos, who took a picture with her in church that Sunday recalled the peck she gave him.
He said: "It was just two days ago (on Sunday) that we were both together laughing, playing, taking selfies at church and you gave me a kiss on my right cheek, only to find out the next day that you've departed this world. I never knew that was a goodbye kiss and that was the last time I was going to see you.

"It's sad how a lot could happen within 24 hours. Like Morenike Olusanya will say 'Life is too short. Please learn to appreciate the people in your life all the time. Be at peace with them, help them, show them love, compliment them, treat them well, forgive them. Nobody knows when nor what will happen'. "Rest in peace dear. You will forever remain in our hearts. You will forever be a part of our family. We will always love and remember you Adesola Olubola Ogunmefun."
Another of their friend Mayowa Oyebanji, said Ogunmefun had promised to attend his wedding.

"R.I.P. Adesola Olubola Ogunmefun and Phummie Toe'dunni Odusina So I lost two of you in a day! I still can't believe you are gone Sola…No!

"Sola, you promised to be at my wedding as Iya oko the last time I came to your house. Memories won't let me be…been reading our chats, stalking your instagram and trying your phone number maybe you will pick.

"Continue to rest in heaven my teflon nihga till we meet to part no more. No goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart," said Oyebanji.
The police have begun investigation into the matter. The parents were at the Ilasan police station, Lekki yesterday afternoon.

The Nation

TINUBU DISCUSS ABOUT APPOINTMENT INTO BOARDS WITH BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari, held a meeting with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, leader of the All Progressives Congress, in London to discuss about appointment of Board and some issue about the party and to check on his health.

Anxiety in Akure as President of Ogboni Fraternity in Nigeria dies On June 20,

 ‎TRADITIONALISTS across the country weekend converged on Akure, the Ondo state capital for the burial of the President of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity (ROF) in Nigeria, Chief Araba Ajemoju. However, his death and burial ‎elicited anxiety as there were rumours that many people especially strangers would be killed as rituals for the burial of the late traditionalist. ‎He was buried on Saturday at his residence located at Araromi area of Akure after public procession by other traditionalists. ‎The rumour went round the town as all the streets in the state capital were deserted while the parks were closed to avoid travelers from coming in from outside the state. Many resident stayed indoor through out the weekend while shops and commercial places were closed before 6pm since he died. News went round the state capital that a curfew had been declared from 530am to 630pm and without checking it’s authenticity, resident obeyed it for fear of the unknown. None native of the town were mostly affected as the rumour had it that strangers are to be used for the rituals. The development also prevented many people from their normal businesses as many were scared. Speaking on the development the Police Image Maker, Femi Joseph said the culture and tradition of the people should be respected, hence the need for people to co-operate with the traditionalists. Joseph however assured that the security of all the residents of the town would be guaranteed. He added that lives would not be allowed to be lost, neither would there be crisis in the town despite the burial.