Health and Your Life

Stress and Anxiety

• Nutrition Rx

  Knowing how to use diet and nutrition to remain calm is the first step to handling stress. Certain foods contain the nutrient tryptophan, a precursor to serotonin, a substance naturally occurring in the brain that is associated with feelings of relaxation and contentment. Tryptophan-rich foods include turkey, whole grains, beans and vegetables, yogurt, milk and cottage cheese. Including tryptophan-rich foods in your diet creates a relaxing, chemical reaction without the side-effects associated with anti-anxiety medications.

  There are also foods that you should avoid when you feel stressed or anxious. Stimulants like caffeine, for example, worsen feelings of stress. Instead of reaching for coffee, black tea and cola drinks, brew a cup of chamomile or peppermint tea, both of which have relaxing properties.

• Exercise Rx

  Yoga is the ideal exercise to combat stress; the combination of physical exertion and controlled breathing calms the body and mind. For years, men and women have been taught to use controlled breathing to manage the stress of everyday life.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a ticking time bomb that can lead to heart attack and stroke. Experts believe that many people on high blood pressure medications may be doing themselves a disservice by relying solely on pills when attention to diet and exercise can have an enormous impact.

• Nutrition Rx

  You've probably heard that eating lots of fruits and vegetables can help lower blood pressure. What you may not know is how quickly you reap the benefits. A study conducted at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and other medical centers found that a diet including 9 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables (about twice the amount in the average American diet), plus three servings of low-fat dairy products, reduced blood pressure in just two weeks.

  Also, consider switching to sesame oil. Researchers in India, reporting at an American Heart Association meeting, found that people who took blood pressure-lowering medication and also used sesame oil for 60 days were able to lower their mediation dosage. Controlling your weight can also help. Weight loss of even five pounds, when necessary, lowers blood pressure significantly.

• Exercise Rx

  Aerobic activity such as jogging, biking and brisk walking, lowers blood pressure effectively, and promotes weight loss. Be cautious, though, if you try heavy weight lifting or sprinting. These short bursts of intense activity, called anaerobic exercise, coupled with aerobics, may temporarily raise blood pressure, according to the American Society of Hypertension. Don't skip such activities; just be careful not to lift too much weight or hold your breath.

High Cholesterol

When your cholesterol levels are too high, the risk of heart attack increases. In recent years, the market has been flooded with drugs called statins, which help lower LDL (bad) and total cholesterol levels. Experts feel diet and exercise can dramatically affect cholesterol levels, however.

• Nutrition Rx

  Soluble fiber helps clean LDL cholesterol from the blood. Oats contains a lot of soluble fiber, but barley may be even better, according to a recent study at the Diet and Human Performance Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland. Researchers found that adding barley to an already heart-healthy diet effectively lowered LDL levels and total cholesterol. Plant sterols are another newsworthy nutrition prescription. These naturally occurring substances, found in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and other plant sources, inhibit the absorption of cholesterol in the small intestine. It's difficult to get sufficient sterols from foods because their concentration is so low, but margarines and salad dressings that have been fortified with sterols have proved effective when used a part of a daily diet.

• Exercise Rx

  Research at Montreal's McGill University recently found that regular exercise, in combination with a diet high in plant sterols, reduced cholesterol levels more than either exercise or diet alone. A study at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute found that people who increased their exercise levels to 60 minutes of combined aerobic exercise and weight training, three times a week, lowered their risk of heart disease and diabetes.