Health related information and news from around the world.

Blood pressure goes up with age in most people in most populations that have been studied, but one study reports thirteen small populations where this does not occur and a major study in Kenya in the 1930s found that high blood pressure was hardly ever seen. A study of 1,000 post-mortems in Kenya in 1936 found that only 36 of the deaths were the result of heart disease and there were no cases of high blood pressure. Ii the early 1940s one doctor found 2 cases of high blood pressure over four years-most of those were salaried and prosperous. At this time strokes and angina were still considered to be very rare and serious hypertension was not seen in East Africa until 1953.

Today, hypertension has become a very common disease in East Africa and a review of deaths in hospitals there found that hypertension was responsible for ‘something like 40 t 60 per cent of the heart disease hospital diagnoses’. By 1978 it was the second commonest cause of death among the urbanized Bantu. Research has implicated many factor in this dramatic story but apart from the stresses of urbanization (which are difficult for quantify and are arguably not much greater than the stresses of tribal life), the amount of sail a population eats seems to be crucial. An analysis of the Kikuyu diet in 1930 found that salt was never added to food. The vast majority of the diet was unrefined starch in the form of carbohydrate (72 per cent of calorie: consumed); the rest was made up of fat (9 per cent) and protein (19 per cent). Salt intake started to rise in the 1920s and 1930s, first in urban areas. In places where diets were supervised by Europeans salt use was common.

Western man consumes 6-18 g of sodium (as common salt) daily. Primitive hunter-gatherer man consumes about 0.6 g daily. A recent study of such peoples found that their blood pressure does not rise with age.

Ethnic groups who do not add common salt “to their food have lifelong low blood pressure and no exceptions have been found to this rule. A part of this might be explained by different sensitivity to dietary salt. Genetically controlled salt sensitivity varies considerably both in animals and in man. It is now suggested that most people can tolerate a daily intake of up to about 4 g of salt but that above this level an increasing proportion of salt-sensitive subjects develop blood pressure with age. Above 6-8 g almost all salt-sensitive people will develop blood pressure with age. It is interesting that although fat people so often have hypertension in the West, obesity itself is not the cause-it is the high salt intake that so often goes with the obesity.

This knowledge has led to many trials of low-salt diets to alleviate hypertension. One major study found that reducing salt intake to 3 g daily was as effective in lowering blood pressure as drugs prescribed to another group for the same purpose. Many centers now claim to achieve normal blood pressure in their patients within a few weeks of putting them on a low-salt diet (4 g a day or less) and many people can then stop taking drugs entirely.

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Having to return to work after two days of “rest and relaxation” is not the only reason to dislike Mondays. Researchers in Germany say that the risk of suffering a heart attack, among people who work, may be as much as 50 percent greater on Monday than on any other day of the week.

The researchers studied almost 6,000 people who had suffered heart attacks and found that among working people Mondays were especially dangerous, accounting for about 18 percent of all heart attacks.

Compared with the rest of the week, Mondays had a 40 percent higher risk of heart attacks. Thursday was the second riskiest day, followed by Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sunday was the safest day, accounting for 12 percent of all heart attacks.

The researchers also noted in their report, which was presented at the annual scientific meeting of the American Heart Association, that for retirees and others who were not employed, there seemed to be no significant difference when heart attacks happened.

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Getting out of bed after a good night’s sleep may be one of the most dangerous things you do all day. That’s because the first two hours or so after waking you are up to three times more likely to suffer a heart attack or a stroke. On the other hand, late evening is the safest cardiovascular time of the day, according to researchers at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California. The researchers say their study also shows that 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. is, on average, the time of day people are most vulnerable to many other leading causes of death including cancer, emphysema, asthma, bronchitis, and ischemic heart disease.

Recent research reveals that while you sleep many changes are taking place inside your body— your blood pressure falls, your temperature drops more than one degree from its normal afternoon high and some blood collects in your body’s extremities. When you wake, your body makes the transition by producing a surge of “stimulation” chemicals called catecholamines. This causes the heart rate to increase and blood vessels to constrict, resulting in higher blood pressure and reduced blood flow to heart muscle. Such a “condition” could lead to angina, or ischemia, as well as myocardial infarction.

While this less-than-cheerful bit of news may make you want to stay in bed and avoid the potential danger as long as you can, you do have other more realistic options. For example, you can set your alarm clock 10 to 15 minutes earlier in order to give yourself time to stretch your arms and legs slowly while you are still in bed. This helps get the pooled blood in your extremities circulating. You should also avoid taking a very hot or a very cold shower. Either extreme is likely to result in a thermal shock which could cause your blood pressure to rise. It is also important that you eat a good breakfast. According to medical experts, skipping breakfast may lead to an increase in platelet activity and possibly contribute to heart attacks and stroke during the first few hours of the morning.

In some cases, aspirin and some prescription drugs can help reduce the risk of morning heart attacks. Results from one major study revealed that men who took an aspirin every other day reduced their overall occurrence of heart attack by almost 45 percent and morning risk by almost 60 percent. However, you should not begin taking aspirin to “protect” yourself from heart attacks without first consulting your doctor.

Doctors say that by understanding how our bodies work, even when we are asleep we can be better prepared to take the necessary steps to reduce many health risks and promote our survival.

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New Anti-Gas Tablet Works Better And Safer Than Medicines

People who have a problem with intestinal gas may find relief in the new CHARCOAL PLUS. The new product is an anti-gas tablet that has two active ingredients which combat the pain and bloating caused by stomach or intestinal gas.

CHARCOAL PLUS fights gas in both the stomach and intestines with two potent anti-gas agents— Simethocone for stomach gas, and Activated Charcoal for intestinal gas. You can get CHARCOAL PLUS without a prescription at your pharmacy, or you can have your pharmacy contact Kramer Laboratories, 8778 S.W. 8 St., Miami, FL 33174.

The Delicious Candy That Is Good For You

According to some recent studies, peppermint may help relieve stomach gas and indigestion. Researchers say that the intake of peppermint can help the sphincter muscle to relax which can in turn help relieve the discomfort of indigestion. Some specialists recommend using spirit of peppermint drops, which are available from your pharmacist, drinking peppermint tea, or eating peppermint candy made with real oil of peppermint.

Another candy, licorice, may, according to some studies, have therapeutic potential for treating some viral infections, such as chronic viral hepatitis, and for treating some ulcers. Real licorice has been used in China for thousands of years as a treatment for various ulcers, sore throats, coughs, and other health problems.

A Sore Throat And Cold Relief Secrets

Evidence—which is yet to be defined as conclusive— suggests that honey helps to alleviate both sore throats and symptoms of the common cold. While experts generally agree that honey seems to be effective in relieving a sore throat, they are currently at a loss as to exactly why.

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Allergy sufferers are especially vulnerable during “ragweed” season as the watery-eyed and congested will attest. A string of warm, sunny days brings up the ragweed pollen, followed by allergic reactions. While there doesn’t seem to be any miracle cure for this type of allergy, there are ways to avoid the conditions that trigger allergic reactions. Here are some tips to help allergy sufferers:

1) Keep your windows closed in both your home and your car.

2) Avoid exercising during the peak pollen hours (5-10 a.m.)

3) Use your air conditioner or furnace fans to trap pollen in filters.

4) Be sure to shower and wash hair nightly to remove pollen.

5) Don’t dry your clothes outdoors.

6) Keep your lawn cut low, and wear a mask when cutting

7) Always wash your hands after being outside.

Little Known Foods That Can Cause Allergies

Certain foods and some food additives are known agents of allergic reactions. Even such “innocent” items as chewing gum, cake mixes, salted peanuts, and potato chips can trigger allergies because of the additive BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). BHT can cause a sudden inflammation of the blood vessels, triggering allergic reactions in some people. If you develop a sudden skin rash or other allergic reactions, the culprit may be in some product you’ve been using or food you’ve been eating. Skip each food you suspect for a week to see if it helps.

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To understand about diet we must know a little of what is going on inside our bodies when we eat our food.

There is a very complex action on the food we eat by digestive enzymes such as protease, an enzyme that can break down protein and amylaze, one of the enzymes that can break down carbohydrate. These processes break the food we eat down into micro-nutrients such as amino acids (the building blocks of protein), vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates. Only foods that have been broken down this way can be absorbed into the systemic system of the body.

There are a number of things that can interfere with the proper digestion and absorption of foods into our bodies. Some factors are illness, pollution, and stress. The air we breathe and the water we drink are part of our daily food intake. If these are polluted then the absorption of our food will be affected.

Heart and vascular diseases, gastric and indigestion problems are the most common problems that affect our quality of life as we grow older. We have looked at some of the problems such as stress, pollution, smoking, and lifestyle that are all critical in reducing our quality of life.

It is now time to look at the most important part of our daily life and that is what and how we eat. We, ‘as Australians, need a diet to suit us, not bits and pieces that we have picked up from tradition or the junk foods that are tempting us around every corner. Vitamins cannot take the place of the well-balanced diet.

Diet is the cornerstone of all therapy and, unfortunately, most Australians do not recognise this.

Patients suffering from a variety of complaints such as indigestion, constipation ask ‘Is there something natural that I can take to solve my problem?’

The answer is yes, but that is not the answer that I give my patient. My approach is to look at the lifestyle and diet.

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