Tag Archive for: Healthy lifestyle

, ,

8 Tips To Help Control High Blood Pressure

8 Tips To Help Control High Blood PressureHere are 8 lifestyle changes you can make to control your high blood pressure.

Watch your waistline

Blood pressure often increases as weight increases, so losing just 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) can help reduce your blood pressure. In general, the more weight you lose, the lower your blood pressure.

Exercise

Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure 4 to 9mm Hg.  If you haven’t been active, increasing your exercise level can lower your blood pressure within just a few weeks. Make sure to talk with your care practitioner about developing an exercise program that’s right for you.

Avoid being a “weekend warrior” , because those sudden bursts of activity could actually  put you at risk.

Eat healthy

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and limits saturated fat can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.

Reduce sodium

Even a small reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg.   Limit  your sodium intake to 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day or less. Remember to read food labels, and that processed foods are high in sodium.

Alcohol consumption

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, it can potentially lower your blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm Hg. But that protective effect is lost if you drink too much alcohol — generally more than one drink a day for women and two a day for men.

Avoid tobacco products

We all know the dangers of smoking,  but did you know that the nicotine in tobacco products can raise your blood pressure by 10 mm Hg and for up to an hour after you smoke.

Sleeping

People who sleep five hours or less a night may be at higher risk of developing high blood pressure or worsening already high blood pressure.  Sleep helps your blood regulate stress hormones and helps your nervous system remain healthy. Over time, a lack of sleep can hurt your body’s ability to regulate stress hormones, leading to high blood pressure.

Reduce your stress

Stress or anxiety can temporarily increase blood pressure. Take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed such as work, family,or finances. Once you know what’s causing your stress, consider how you can eliminate or cope with stress in a healthier way such as getting a massage, acupuncture or start a yoga class.

As with any major health change, please consult a health care practitioner before you start your new health routine.

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Keeping Joints Healthy

Keeping Joints HealthyThe best way to care for your joints is to keep them, your muscles, ligaments, and bones healthy and strong. At Diversified Health our practitioners know the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and by incorporating a few simply tips on joint care, your joints will remain healthy and strong.

Keep an eye on your weight

Keeping your weight within a healthy range is the best thing you can do for your joints. Weight-bearing joints, such as your knees, hips, and back, have to support your body weight.

Exercise

Exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, so opt for low impact exercises such as swimming, yoga or bicycling. Eating a healthy balanced diet  will also help to maintain strong bones and muscles.

Another healthy tip is to stand as much as possible. Sitting at a desk all day, can increase joint pain and stiffness.  Change positions frequently, and take frequent breaks at work  – remember to stretch, or go for a short walk around the block or even around the office.  And always take the stairs!

Build muscles

Keep your muscles strong, they support your joints. If you have weak muscles, your joints will suffer, especially those in your knees, which  support your entire body weight. The smooth tissue called cartilage and synovium and a lubricant called synovial fluid cushion the joints so bones do not touch. Increasing age, inactivity and injuries from daily life can place wear and tear on your joints, so weight training exercises help build muscle and keep existing muscle and ligaments strong.

Check your posture

Standing straight protects your joints from your neck to your knees. Good posture also helps guard your hip joints and back muscles.

If your joints hurt, try ice

It helps relieve joint swelling and numbs pain. If you have a sore joint, apply a cold pack wrapped in a towel to the painful area for no more than 20 minutes.

If your joint pain is not going away or if it is getting worse, please contact our health care practitioners. Diversified Health has numerous treatment options including Class IV Laser, Shockwave Therapy, Hands Free Ultrasound and eToims.

/0 Comments/by

Small ideas – Big results

Small ideas - Big resultsHere are some “small” ideas that you can easily incorporate into your daily routine to improve your health.

Visualize what healthy means to you ~  Have an image of what healthy looks like for you.

Start a food journal ~ Just being aware of the food, and amount of food you are consuming can help you make better choices on a regular basis.

Drink water ~ Try replacing unhealthy drinks with water. Carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go!

Eat breakfast ~ Even if you’re not hungry, try to eat something. It can be a piece of fruit, an energy bar, bowl of cereal or a bagel.

Stop mindless munching in the late afternoon or evening ~  Think about what you’re eating!

Move your body frequently ~ Simply getting up and moving around regularly throughout your day has been linked to better overall health. Try to be as active as possible and not to sit in one spot for more than an hour. Get up, walk around, stretch, just keep moving.

Go outside ~ Exposure to natural sunlight increases energy, improves mood, and reduces stress . Try spending a portion of your lunch outdoors… even if it is just a walk around the block or a walk to get a coffee.

Take the stairs ~ Always take the stairs. Try parking your car  in the furthest parking spot and walk the extra distance to the store. Many physical inconveniences can be treated as opportunities to improve your health.

Connect with other health seekers ~ Find people with similar interests and attitudes about getting healthy, and encourage each other along the way.

Be Accountable ~ Your health is your responsibility. The choices that you make, large or small, will determine how well you feel and how healthy you are.

Get a massage ~ Massage therapy slows the heart rate, and lowers blood pressure and stress hormones. The decrease in stress hormones increases your body’s natural ability to “fight” off viruses, bacteria, and free radicals.

/0 Comments/by

4 Steps to Developing Health Habits

4 Steps to Developing Health HabitsWritten By Douglas Robb
This study found that individuals who focused on behavior-changing strategies were much more successful than those people forced to endure their doctor’s cognitive approach to behavior change.

Instead of attempting to change their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes surrounding exercise and healthy eating, study participants were successful at increasing their physical activity levels by implementing 4 simple strategies:

Goal Setting

Setting SMART fitness goals involves 5 steps:

S – A specific fitness goal could be a walk each morning before breakfast.

M – For a goal to be measurable, you should define how far you are going to walk and how often you will perform the workout

A – To be achievable, you should start off with a task that you can achieve, knowing that the distance / intensity will increase as for fitness improves.

R – To be relevant, your goal should be in tune with your overall fitness goal – weight loss, improved blood pressure, etc.

T – To avoid ‘accidentally’ missing a workout, you should arrange a specific exercise appointment in your daily calendar.

Stimulus or Cues

Establish physical reminders to encourage yourself to exercise – Pack your gym bag and leave it by the front door every night, leave yourself notes encouraging yourself to work out, schedule your workout into your electronic schedule with an alarm, ask friends or family to call and remind you…really any reminder will help.

Self Monitoring

Keep a workout and/or food log book. It’s tough at first, but it pays off in the end.

Feedback

Reward yourself with a non-food based treat when you succeed. The rewards should become larger / more important to match the degree of fitness success.

Successfully completing today’s workout deserves a small treat, but not missing a workout for 3 months deserves a really big pat on the back.

Doug Robb is a personal trainer, a fitness blogger and author, a competitive athlete, and a student of nutrition and exercise science. Doug has expanded his impact by bringing his real-world experience online via his health & fitness blog, Health Habits. 

/0 Comments/by
,

Why Green Tea?

Green tea has been used as a medicine for thousands of years, originating in China but widely used throughout Asia this beverage has a multitude of uses from lowering blood pressure to preventing cancer. The reason that green tea has more health benefits attached to it than black tea is (apparently) due to the processing. Black tea is processed in a way that allows for fermentation whereas green tea’s processing avoids the fermentation process. As a result, green tea retains maximum amount of antioxidants and poly-phenols the substances that give green tea its many benefits.

Here’s a list of some of its amazing benefits — benefits that you may not have been aware of. Some of these benefits are still being debated, so please do your own research if you want to use green tea for medicinal purposes.

  1. Weight Loss. Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories.
  2. Diabetes. Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage.
  3. Heart Disease. Scientists think, green tea works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks.
  4. Esophageal Cancer. It can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer, but it is also widely thought to kill cancer cells in general without damaging the healthy tissue around them.
  5. Cholesterol. Green tea reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
  6. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It is said to delay the deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies carried out on mice showed that green tea protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells.
  7. Tooth Decay. Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant “catechin” in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions
  8. Blood Pressure. Regular consumption of green tea is thought to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
  9. Depression. Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers.
  10. Anti-viral and Anti-bacterial. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective for treating everything from influenza to cancer. In some studies green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases.
  11. Skincare. Green tea can apparently also help with wrinkles and the signs of aging, This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Both animal and human studies have demonstrated that green tea applied topically can reduce sun damage.

How Much?

These are some of the many benefits but the reality is one cup of tea a day will not give you all the abundant gains. The jury is out on how many cups are necessary; some say as little as two cups a day while others five cups — and more still say you can drink up to ten cups a day. If you are thinking of going down this route, you may want to consider taking a green tea supplement instead (it would keep you out of the bathroom).

Another thing to point out is that there is caffeine in green tea — so if you are sensitive to caffeine then one cup should be your limit. Green tea also contains tannins (which can decrease the absorption of iron and folic acid), so if you are pregnant or trying to conceive then green tea may not be ideal for you. You can try mixing green tea with other healthy ingredients such as ginger.

For the rest of us with all these abundant benefits…it’s a wonder we drink anything else.

Written by: Ciara Conlon is author of “Chaos to Control,

/0 Comments/by

Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Programs | victoria health services

Cardiac Rehabilitation Exercise Programs have been shown to improve:

Fitness & Flexibility / Heart Rate / Blood Pressure Levels /Cholesterol Levels  / Blood Sugar Levels / Weight & Body Composition / Quality & Enjoyment of Life & reduce hospitalization / Stress Tolerance

Learn to exercise and monitor your own progress. Increase your confidence by working with staff who are trained as cardiac exercise specialists as well as your health care practitioners at Diversified Health Clinic.

 Program—12 weeks: with twice weekly supervised exercise sessions in a safe environment with an individual assessment & exercise prescription, aerobic and strength training, and informal risk factor information. You will be encouraged to do additional exercises on your own.

Is This Program For Me?

This program is of benefit to people who have had a heart event or who have risk factors such as:

High blood pressure / Abnormal cholesterol / Overweight / Diabetes /Smoking history / Inactivity / Stress / Lung & kidney disease

How Do I Start?

You need a referral or approval by your family doctor or specialist to attend. NOTE: a prior medical assessment by a physician will assist to develop an individualized exercise program. Contact one of the programs to help you start.

 Locations: For more information call

Henderson Recreation Centre 2291 Cedar Hill X Rd., Victoria P: 250–370-7200;

Panorama Recreation Centre 1885 Forest Park Dr., N. Saanich P: 250-655-2184;

Saanich Commonwealth Place 4636 Elk Lake Dr., Victoria P: 250-475-7619;

West Shore Parks 1767 Island Hwy., Victoria P: 250-474-8694;

YMCA-YWCA of Greater Victoria 851 Broughton St., Victoria P: 250-418-1843;

The program is recognized and recommended by physicians and follows the guidelines of the Canadian Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation, American Association of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, as well as the American College of Sports Medicine which is recognized world-wide as being the “gold standard ” in heart and lung exercise rehabilitation.

/2 Comments/by

Lunch Time Fitness Class

Join Dr. Tanya Crowle in this 45 minute interval training fitness class focused on core strength,

which will increase your metabolism and help you burn fat.

This class is perfect for lunchtime, and all levels of fitness will be accommodated.

~~~~~~~~

This series starts Tuesday,  December 4th  and runs until Thursday, December 20th

Register for 1 class or the whole series in the month of December

Tuesdays & Thursdays from 12:15 pm to 1:00 pm

Classes are $20.00 per session

Instructor – Dr. Tanya Crowle

Tanya’s emphasis is on personal & group fitness.  For her own workouts she enjoys running, HIIT (high intensity interval training), weightlifting, kickboxing, yoga, and Pilates all of which she implements in her specialized boot-camp classes.

Space is limited so pre-registration is a must!

/1 Comment/by

Victoria Teen Explains How to Catch Some ZZZZZZZ!

Victoria Teen Explains How to Catch Some ZZZZZZZ!It’s very important to get enough sleep every night and as a teenager I know it can be very hard to do.  Taking this into consideration, I thought sharing some tips on how to get a good night sleep would be appropriate.

A good way to get a better sleep is to keep a regular sleep schedule.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to simply have a set time for when you go to bed and for when you wake up.  If you’re planning on changing either of these times, makes small changes each day, say fifteen minutes difference, to allow your body to adjust. This will keep your circadian rhythm working in good order and make it much easier to get sleep.  You can also regulate your sleep cycle naturally by increasing and decreasing light exposure over the period of the day.

During day light hours, you should try and let as much light into your workspace or home as possible. You could even try keeping your sunglasses off to let light onto your face; spending more time outside during the day is helpful too.  At night or when you’re planning on going to sleep you should turn your television and computer off.  Lots of people like to have the television on in the background while they are falling asleep, but this has a risk of stimulating the mind rather than relaxing it.  It is better to read from a book than from something with a back-light such as an eReader or an iPad, as that sends the light directly onto your face.  Also, when it’s finally time to go to bed make sure the lights are off.  The darker it is the better you’ll sleep (unless you happen to be afraid of the dark) so try and keep curtains drawn over the windows or if you want you could invest in a sleep mask to go over your eyes.

Keeping noise down or masking sounds that can’t be controlled can help to keep you relaxed, try using a fan or earplugs.  It is also helpful to keep the room you are sleeping in cool and make sure that your bed is comfortable.  Try straightening the sheets out right before you go to bed as this can make it even more comfortable.  It’s also important to keep the bed for just sleep, this tells your brain that when you lie down on your bed it’s time for sleep.

Written by Hadley Parsons (Grade 9)

/0 Comments/by

Get Your Fitness Back On Track

Join Dr. Tanya Crowle in this 45 minute interval training fitness class focused on core strength and stability, which will increase your metabolism and help you burn fat and create more lean body mass.

This class is perfect for lunchtime, and all levels of fitness will be accommodated.

Classes starts Monday, November 5, 2012 – Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Mondays & Wednesdays from 1:15 pm to 2:00 pm   (more times available on request)

8 classes- $160.00

Instructor – Dr. Tanya Crowle

Tanya’s emphasis is on personal & group fitness.  For her own workouts she enjoys running, HIIT (high intensity interval training), weightlifting, kickboxing, yoga, and Pilates all of which she implements in her specialized boot-camp classes.

/0 Comments/by
,

Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Hosts – Ask an Expert in Victoria

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation – BC/Yukon Region (CBCF) is proud to host the Ask an Expert event in Victoria, BC on Tuesday, October 30th 2012 at 7pm at the Vic Theatre, 808 Douglas St., Victoria.

 Formerly known as the Breast Health Speaker Series, the primary purpose of the event is to engage with Vancouver Island’s brightest minds in the subjects of breast cancer and breast health to provide important information and encourage interactive discussion with the public. Hosted by this panel of experts, the public forum is designed to provide insight into this critical subject as part of the Foundation’s dedication to creating a future without breast cancer.

 The event will feature world-renowned researcher Dr. Peter Watson from the Trev and Joyce Deeley Research Centre/BC Cancer Agency, who will share the latest information on breast cancer research, Dorothy Yada, Breast Health Patient Navigator from Victoria General Hospital will cover the basics of breast health and cancer, and Jules Sesia, a breast cancer survivor and stand-up comic, will share her personal story.

Following the presentations, the floor will be opened to a question-and-answer period and discussion, providing the opportunity for attendees to gain clarity on breast cancer research, health, and to share their personal experiences.

For more information, please visit www.cbcf.org or call 250.384.3328. Please note that space for this free event is limited; please secure your seat by emailing rsvp@cbcf.org.

The BC/Yukon Region of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation was established in 1992 to make a difference in breast cancer and breast health for BC women. Every year, the Foundation, along with its donors, sponsors and partners, raises funds to support unique and innovative initiatives across the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment, research and emerging issues in the health care workforce. The BC/Yukon Region is committed to realizing a future without the fear of breast cancer by 2020, when breast cancer is a manageable and treatable disease.

/0 Comments/by