Odds and Ends

I seem to have misplaced my list of topics for tonight - or maybe I did not keep one.  It has been a busy weekend and a busier week is ahead.  I think that I have three or four things to say - from this past week, so let's have at it:

Blood Pressure - The numbers associated with a person's blood pressure are two. We have a top - systolic and a bottom, diastolic.  As I understand it, one of the has to do with your heart pumping blood out and the other with it  relaxing.  I do not think about it too much because then when I get my blood pressure reading, I feel nervous and that is not good!  Blood pressure is a continuous value however and there is no exact point on the top or bottom, that is certain of the disease hypertension.  Having blood pressure that is too high puts the person at risk for heart and kidney disease as well as stroke.  This week, research was released that said that people with even lower BP  readings than previously thought, are at higher risk for problems. According to the Heart Lung Blood Institute, normal blood pressure is at or below 120/80 and hypertension begins at 140/90.  The condition between these two ranges is considered pre hypertension.  In my opinion, the group that has the most to gain by lowering the value of what is normal or safe is the pharmaceutical industry.  Persons with pre hypertension are strongly encourage to exercise, lose weight and to not smoke.  People with hypertension are fools if they don't follow the same advice.

Swimming - ACK.  A classmate was swimming in the lane next to me on Thursday and encouraged me to use a kick board.  Holy Cows - It took forever to get down one length of the pool.  How could my legs be so wimpy! I did it though - down and back, which led me to do a whole extra lap of free style just to get the kinks out of my arms (from holding the board).  I might just try it again tomorrow.

Research Study - Just the upshot from a CDC inspired report that was authored by an E. Ford and published in the American Journal of Public Health.  Reviewing data for over 17,000 persons aged 17 and older, the researchers' concluded that those who do not smoke, do exercise regularly (I do not know what that means because I haven't had a chance to review the data), eat a healthy diet (again, I do not know how that is qualified, but I expect it is a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat), and who drink moderately (usually defined as one or two drinks a day or less) - were LESS likely to die of any cause during the study years, 1988-2006.  In fact, there was a 63% less chance of death in this "healthy lifestyle" group.


DD - This is not going to be part of the healthy eating criteria to be sure - the Dunkin Donut sandwich that I have been hearing about in on line commercials.  The big and toasty has nearly 600 calories, 35 grams of fat and 1370mg of sodium. Oh and the irony is that they have a picture of the My Plate icon on their webpage.