High blood pressure can be improved by eating Canned sardine.
Canned sardine is rich in EPA. Canned sardine contains about two times as much as canned mackerel. Why EPA improves High Blood Pressure? When we eat meals, salt comes into the blood vessel. To reduce the density of salt, a lot of water also comes into the blood vessel. The increase of water pressurizes the wall of the blood vessel. This condition is high blood pressure. When EPA comes into the blood vessel, EPA softens the wall of the blood vessel and lowers the pressure. Canned sardine in brine is recommended because raw sardine is canned, so EPA is not lost, compared to seasoned canned sardine. The benefit of eating canned sardine in brine is that you can lower your blood pressure without changing your usual diet. Tomato helps more improvement of high blood pressure when eaten with canned sardine in brine. Since EPA is easily oxidized, the amount of EPA reduces because of being oxidized by active oxygen. But lycopene contained in tomato removes active oxygen and protects EPA from oxidization. Recipe: Almighty sauce of canned sardine in brine and tomato Mix 2 cans of canned sardine in brine (about 200 grams, 7 oz.), 2 cans of diced tomato (about 800 grams, 28 oz.), tubed ginger and garlic and 3 teaspoons of sugar in the frying pan and heat them up. If you refrigerate it, you can use them for 3 days. You can put it on a bread (Fig. 1), an omelet (Fig. 2) or bake it placing a slice of cheese (Fig. 3). When you cook rice adding the sauce and chicken brose, you can make seasoned rice (Fig. 4). Trial A 63 years old man whose blood pressure was 165 tried to eat one canned sardine in brine a day for 2 weeks. He had been eating foods containing a lot of salt, but he didn’t change his diet. 2 weeks later his blood pressure dropped to 146.
1 Comment
Canned salmon improves aged eyes (presbyopia).
Astaxanthin which is a substance contained in canned salmon improves aged eyes. We can change the thickness of the lens in the eye with ciliary muscle and focus on what we want to see. But as we age, increased active oxygen attacks the ciliary muscle and the function of the ciliary muscle declines, causing to unable to change the thickness of the lens. This condition is aged eyes. (Fig. 1) But when you eat canned salmon, astaxanthin contained in canned salmon removes the active oxygen, the function of the ciliary muscle is restored and you can focus on what you see. If the lens is not already very hard, aged eyes can be improved by eating canned salmon. Check the degree of aged eyes If you are wearing reading glasses, take them off. If you are wearing contact lens or glasses for nearsightedness, keep wearing them. (1) Hold the pad of your index finger in front of your eyes (Fig. 2). (2) Move your index finger away and stop when you can focus your eyes on the finger print (Fig. 3). (3) If the distance between your eyes and the finger is more than 30 cm (1 foot), you have aged eyes (Fig. 4). The longer the distance, the higher the degree of aged eyes. How much canned salmon and how long should be eaten to improve aged eyes? 1 canned salmon (about 200 grams (7 oz.)) a day for 2 weeks should be eaten to improve aged eyes. Sockeye salmon is recommended. It is recommended to eat canned salmon with sesame oil because astaxanthin is dissolved in oil, so eating canned salmon with sesame oil raises the absorption ratio by liquefying astaxanthin. Astaxanthin decreases on the way to the eye by being attacked by active oxygen in the blood vessel, but the substance contained in sesame oil, which is called sesamin, protects astaxanthin from active oxygen and makes more astaxanthin reach the eye. Trial A 52 years old female whose degree of aged eyes was 2 ate 1 canned salmon a day for 2 weeks. 2 weeks later her degree of age eyes was improved from 2 to 1. Fatty liver (Fig. 2) is caused by the repeat of too much eating and drinking.
Fat stored in the liver disturbs a long-healthy life. 20 % of people who had had fatty liver developed type II diabetes within 10 years. Leaving fatty liver as it is makes the risk of stroke and heart attack double. In addition, in the case of men, the risk of developing colon cancer will be double and in the case of women, the risk of developing breast cancer will be double. But it has turned out that there is food preventing and improving fatty liver. The food is soy (Fig. 3). Protein contained in soy acts on the liver, leading to secreting a hormone called FGF21 which burns extra neutral fat stored in the liver. FGF21 is also expected to improve blood sugar, neutral fat and cholesterol. How much soy products do we need to eat? If you eat 100 grams of soy a day, the improvement of fatty liver can be expected. Experiment A 43 years old female whose fat in the liver had been 60 % (referenced value: 5 %) tried to eat more than 100 grams of soy products a day for a week. The amount of soy contained in soy products: A pack of Natto: 25 grams A piece of Tofu: 80 grams A piece of Aburaage (deep-fried bean curd): 7 grams A cup of Miso soup: 5 grams A cup of Soy milk: 12 grams After a week of the experiment, her fat in the liver became less than 5 % (referenced value: 5 %). LDL cholesterol delivers cholesterol which becomes the material of cell membrane to all the body through the blood vessel. But when the cholesterol is too much due to unhealthy lifestyle, LDL cholesterol leaves the excessive cholesterol in the blood vessel, which forms plaque. Plaque narrows the blood vessel and once the plaque is broken and forms blood clots, they cause stroke or heart attack (Fig. 1 & 3).
HDL cholesterol collects the excessive cholesterol from the plaque and returns the blood vessel to its normal state (Fig. 4). Fig. 2 shows LDL cholesterol before adding HLD cholesterol and after adding HLD cholesterol. Red parts are LDL cholesterol. After adding HLD cholesterol, LDL cholesterol decreases. So it seems better that HDL cholesterol is more. But actually, whether the amount of HDL cholesterol is large or small doesn’t change the risk of developing stroke, meaning that there is not much point in increasing the amount of HDL cholesterol. The absorbing power of HDL cholesterol is important. When checking the absorbing power of HLD cholesterol of 50 people whose ages were from 20s to 60s, 19 people’s (about 40 %) HDL cholesterol didn’t have enough power to absorb LDL cholesterol. What makes a difference in the absorbing power of HDL cholesterol? There are 2 persons whose BMI, the amount of consumption and the habit of smoking are the same among the people who attended the above experiment. Person A’s HDL cholesterol has enough absorbing power, but person B’s HLD cholesterol doesn’t have. Person A eats a food 2 to 3 times a week and person B eats the same thing only once a month. The substance contained in the food is EPA. The food contained EPA is a blue-back fish (Fig. 5). Does eating blue-back fishes really improve the absorbing power of HDL cholesterol? 5 people whose absorbing power of HDL cholesterol had been less than the reference value (0.3) tried to eat blue-back fishes at least once a day for 2 weeks. The result of the experiment was that 4 out of 5 people’s absorbing power of HDL cholesterol increased and became more than 0.3, and 1 person’s absorbing power was the same as before the experiment. Why does a blue-back fish contain EPA a lot? Because blue back fishes migrate in the cold sea where are rich in phytoplankton which produces EPA to keep their body elastic in the cold water. EPA keeps the blood vessels soft and elastic so that EPA prevents hardening of the artery. In addition to that, it has turned out that EPA strengthens the absorbing power of HDL cholesterol. Lowering the LDL cholesterol by medication only prevented 20 to 30 % of the diseases caused by hardening of the artery so that the medication to increase HDL cholesterol was developed, but it didn’t have any effect. So the function of HDL cholesterol stated to be paid attention to. It is easy to take blue-back fishes by getting canned ones. EPA is easily oxidized by the heat, so carpaccio, which coat raw fishes with olive oil and prevents EPA from oxidization, is recommended. Summary
Other things to lower LDL cholesterol Nuts and green tea (Fig. 6): 25 grams of nuts and at least a cup of green tea a day Walking: 30 minutes a day 5 people whose absorbing power of HLD cholesterol was lower than the reference value tried taking nuts for 2 weeks, and their absorbing power was improved. 4 people tried walking and the absorbing power of 3 out of 4 people was improved. What lowers the absorbing power of HDL cholesterol is oxidization or inflammation of blood vessels due to smoking, alcohol, obesity or high blood pressure. Nuts, green tea and walking are considered suppressing the oxidization and inflammation Conventional exercises to prevent diabetes are aerobic exercise and muscle-building exercise.
Aerobic exercise is the exercise to reduce fat because that makes sugar easier to reduce and is recommended to do 30 minutes for 5 times a week. Muscle-building exercise is to increase muscles because muscles need a lot of sugar as the energy and is recommended to do 45 minutes for 3 times a week. Both exercises are hard to continue. Another exercise to lower blood sugar This exercise reduces sugar and also uses a lot of sugar, and needed to be done 20 minutes for 2 times a week. A 63 years-old man who couldn’t have continued aerobic exercise and whose blood sugar had been 142 mg/dl before starting this exercise started this exercise for 20 minutes, 2 times a week and his blood sugar became 86 mg/dl in 3 months, and his weight also reduced to 73 kg from 80 Kg. A 46 years-old man whose blood sugar had been 330 mg/dl, which had been serious diabetes, started this exercise and 2 months later his blood sugar became 160 mg/dl. In a research, 62 people tried this exercise for 2 months and the average of their HbA1c became 7.5 from 9.9. When checked the blood sugar of the above 46 years-old man for 24 hours for 1 week, it turned out that his blood sugar didn’t rise rapidly after meals, compared to before he had stared this exercise. That means he got the body that blood sugar was difficult to rise. This exercise doesn’t change the quantity of the muscle but the quality of the muscle. 2 types of muscle fibers Slow-twitch fibers (also called red fibers) which are good for endurance and fast-twitch fibers (also called white fibers) which are good for rapid movements (Fig. 1). But there is another muscle that is “peach colored fibers”. This exercise turns white fibers to peach-colored fibers. This exercise increases something red in white fibers, which is mitochondria. Mitochondria burns fat with oxygen to produce energy. White fibers originally consume sugar, so peach-colored fibers have the effects of both consuming sugar and burning fat (Fig. 2). If peach colored fibers increase, the amount of oxygen after this exercise increases, meaning that mitochondria in the muscle increases. How to do the exercise lowering blood sugar If you have high blood pressure or knee problems, consult before starting this exercise. The exercise is Slow Squat. (1) Stand with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and with your toes outward 30 degrees (Fig. 3). (2) Have your knees face in the same direction of your toes (Fig. 5). (3) Look straight ahead, keep your knees behind your toes and extend your arms in front (Fig. 6). (4) Slowly squat down until your knees make 90 degrees, counting out to 10 (Not to stop breathing), hold the posture for 2 seconds and stand up (Fig. 4). (Keep your back straight and push your butt back (Fig. 7)) (5) Repeat 10 reps and rest for 3 to 4 minutes, repeat 10 reps, rest for 3 to 4 minutes and repeat 10 reps (Fig. 8). Doing this exercise for 3 sets of 10 reps, 2 times a week is effective. For the elderly and people whose legs are weak: (1) Prepare 2 chairs. (2) Sit on the edge of the chair. (3) Put another chair in front of you as a support and stand up holding the backrest (Fig. 9). It is necessary to continue doing this exercise for 3 months. Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea (obstructive) is a sleep disorder that is diagnosed when stop of breathing of more than 10 seconds is repeated more than 5 times within 1 hour during sleep. The major causes of sleep apnea are said to be aging, overweight and so on. Leaving sleep apnea as it is, the symptoms such as strong sleepiness during daytime or tiredness due to lack of sleep occur and there is a high risk that the various complications like heart failure, high blood pressure or diabetes are caused. But it is difficult to check whether your breathing stops or not during sleep. Actually, if you look at the inside of your mouth, you can check whether you have sleep apnea or not. How to check whether you have sleep apnea or not (1) Prepare a hand mirror and look upward at an angle of 45 degrees. (2) Look at the inside of the mouth with putting your small finger at the corner of the mouth, saying “Ah” (Fig. 1 & 2). Normal: The gap between the uvula and the tongue is wider than the width of the small finger. (Fig. 3 & 4) Sleep apnea: The gap between the uvula and the tongue is narrower than the width of the small finger, or the uvula can’t be seen (Fig. 3 & 5). Apple pectin is a dietary fiber contained in apples and harmonizes the intestinal environment.
At the time of constipation, apple pectin softens the stool and encourages the bowel movement. At the time of diarrhea, apple pectin protects the inside of intestines not to damage. The best method to eat apples to harmonize intestinal environment is… Cutting an apple with the skin into round slices (Fig. 1). Why cutting an apple with the skin into round slices is good? Because apple pectin is rich between the skin and the flesh, it is important to eat an apple including the skin. Cutting into round slices makes it easier to eat the skin and enables to eat near the core of the apple. Other nutrition like polyphenol or vitamin E is rich around the skin, so it is better to eat an apple with the skin. Dangerous Low Back Pain
It is said that many of low back pains are caused by stiffness or scars of the muscles, but there is a dangerous low back pain caused by the compression of the nerve in the low back, which is a herniated (intervertebral) disc. A herniated disc is the condition that the disc between bones in the low back, which called Intervertebral disc, bulges out and stimulates the nerve, causing low back pain or numbness in the leg (Fig. 1). How to check whether your low back pain is caused by a herniated disc or not (1) Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart (Fig. 2). (2) Stand on tiptoe for 10 seconds. If you stagger or your heels touch the ground within 10 seconds, you may have a herniated disc. When the nerve from the back to the leg is disturbed by a herniated disc, the calf doesn’t have strength or feels numb, making difficult to stand on tiptoe stably. Exercise to prevent a herniated disc (1) Sit straight on a chair (Fig. 3). (2) Bend your upper body forward slowly to more than 45 degrees and return to the original state (Fig. 4). (3) Repeat 10 reps. Lycopene contained in a tomato has the effect to lower blood sugar.
When blood sugar in the body goes up, blood sugar is lowered by secreting insulin. Lycopene contained in a tomato has the effect to make insulin work better. The best method to increase lycopene contained in a tomato to lower blood sugar is… Storing a tomato at room temperature. Why storing a tomato at room temperature is good? Because storing a tomato at room temperature accelerates the ripening process which increases lycopene. A tomato comes from South America originally, where the weather is warm so that a tomato doesn’t like the cold. Storing it in a refrigerator doesn’t accelerate the ripening process. When you store a tomato, it is important to face the calyx of the tomato down because the flesh of the calyx side is thicker than the other side so that facing calyx down prevents bruising easily (Fig. 1 & 2). Cooking a tomato increases the absorption of lycopene. Aspiration Pneumonia
People who choke on something to eat have high risk of developing aspiration pneumonia. How does aspiration pneumonia occur? In the case of normal people, the epiglottis (the flap covering the trachea) in the throat closes when eating food so that the food is delivered to the esophagus (Fig. 1). But in the case of people whose function of the throat declines with age, the epiglottis in the throat doesn’t close well so that the food enters the trachea. As a result, bacteria propagate from the food delivered to the lung, causing pneumonia (Fig. 2). It is supposed to be impossible to know whether the function of the throat declines or not without X-ray at the hospital. But by drinking a glass of water, you can check whether the function of your throat declines or not. How to check the decline of your throat Drink up 100 cc (3.38 FL OZ) of water within 10 seconds. If you can’t drink up within 10 seconds or if you choke in the middle of drinking it, there is a high possibility that the function of your throat declines. Since people with the declining throat like the elderly can’t close the epiglottis, they choke and can’t drink water well when they drink it at a gulp (Fig. 3). The elderly tends to drink tea or coffee little by little, so it is difficult to notice that the function of their throat declines. How to strengthen the function of the throat Lift-Up-Jaw exercise: (1) Place the fists of both hands under the jaw (Fig. 4). (2) Push your jaw to your fists and keep pushing each other for 5 seconds (saying “Eeh” while doing this is more effective) (Fig. 5). (3) Repeat (1) and (2) for 10 reps. (4) Do (3) for more than 3 sets a day. Singing a song is also effective. |
IchiroThis Blog is for a memo of my clinical realizations, information about health I have learned recently and update information. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|