Walking is good!

Ben Ritter

Anyone have success with walking and lowering your blood pressure?

I'm not overweight, but have a slightly elevated blood pressure that I'm trying to control without medicines. I've been trying to speed walk about a mile a day for the last 2 months. I'm seeing little result in my BP, but some greater results in my pulse.

Looking for encouragement to continue.

Ben

Stu

Ben,
Well here it is, pretty well spelt out.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/HI00024
Looks like you just need another month
An if you can get through life without taking beta blockers, so very much the better.
Stu

Bernard Hagan

Walking is good, not only for getting the most out of a healthy diet - weight-wise, but it also helps maintain my general health - physical and mental. I also intend to start some light weight training to improve muscle tone.

Having said this I still find it difficult to keep it up over long periods, as something always seems to come up to derail my good intentions. Computers, SketchUp and an obsessive personality don't help!

Ben Ritter

Stu and Bernard,

Thanks for the encouragement and tip to Mayo Clinic.

Ben

thoscon

I'm starting a walking program with my neighbor/buddy today.

Need to lose 100 lbs.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3, 5-6

Ross Macintosh

You can do it thoscon! Great to hear you have a buddy to walk with -- it will make it easier to get motivated and more enjoyable. Since you are just starting one thing you can do is mark the distances on a calendar or a log book. Soon you will get enjoyment in totalling the distances up. Seeing the totals can be motivating too -- allowing you to set goals. You can match your total distance goals to things like the distance across Texas, or the length of the Nile if you get really ambitious. Have fun & think of ways to stay motivated.

Those little step counters can be motivating too.

Regards, Ross

boofredlay

@ross macintosh said:

You can match your total distance goals to things like the distance across Texas, or the length of the Nile if you get really ambitious. Have fun & think of ways to stay motivated.
Regards, Ross

That is a great idea Ross.

thoscon, definately keep us informed of your progress. We are here to walk with you too.

I have started my weight loss journey as well. My first hurdle was getting off caffeine. The headaches were not fun but subsided after about 6 days. Now that I only drink water and maybe 8 oz of a diet caffeine free soda I am less hungry. I have been eating less and have lost 6 pounds.

Ross Macintosh

That's great news Eric! Please stop drinking the diet sodas. You don't need them and their chemical cocktail can't be good for you. Celestial Seasonings make lots of good fruity herbal teas -- they all make very enjoyable ice teas without any sugar.

Regards, Ross

boofredlay

Yeah I know. Actually my wife bought the diet caffeine free mt. dew because that is what I used to drink most of the time, with caffeine however.
I tried a couple glasses over the weekend of the caffeine free and it did nothing for me. I actually had an annoying film in my mouth.

It is amazing how much my body is craving water now that I have introduced it. I am looking forward to finding some Rooibos.

Have you tried the Kashi brand cereals? My wife has been eating them for a while. I tried some recently and I enjoy it. I am also using soy milk which does not taste much different than skim to me.

3eighty

Glad to see this topic here..It's hard to find a place where you can talk to actual 'Guys" and not all the professional lingo..I live in Rio Rancho, NM, USA...Does anybody know what stores might sell the tea in the US? Iam a BIG Diet-Mt Dew drinker..I can drink 3-4 cans a day..I gather you all feel that this is a bad thing even though it is diet?
Richard

Maggy

http://www.strandtea.com/rooibos.htm , http://www.newlands.ca/Pricelist.htm and http://www.port-trading.com/order.html sell Rooibos in the US, Google told me.

Mountain dew diet contains: CARBONATED WATER, CONCENTRATED ORANGE JUICE, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, CITRUS PECTIN, POTASSIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), ASPARTAME, POTASSIUM CITRATE, CAFFEINE, SODIUM CITRATE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM, SUCRALOSE, GUM ARABIC, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVES FRESHNESS), CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (TO PROTECT FLAVOR), BROMINATED VEGETABLE OIL, YELLOW 5

Sorry for the capitals, cut and paste from their website. I've never seen this stuff in Amsterdam, but the ingredients do not invite me to search for it.

The best ingredients for a good health are:
walk/bike a lot
eat 3 meals a day, no in betweens, no grazing
eat and drink natural, fresh ingredients
eat balanced with enough fibres

poster-Maggy

jeff jacobs

Tea can block the bodies ability to absorb iron.

http://health.ivillage.com/eating/evita ... x1,00.html

It's always something.

Ross Macintosh

Jeff - unfortunately that tea-related link is dead.

It is the tannins in regular black tea that have been linked with interference with iron absorption. Rooibos and the other South African tea called Honeybush both feature extremely low levels of tannins and so should have no negative impact on iron absorption. By the way coffee is also known to interfere with iron absorption.

Regards, Ross

Maggy

Yes, tannins do block iron absorption. But you'd have to drink an absurd amount of of tea and/or wine to block so much iron that it would cause a health risk. In the contrary, too much iron absorption creates free radicals in the blood that speeds up aging and even increases the risk of cancer.
BTW phytates also block iron absorption. And guess which food products are rich in phytates? Primarily cereal grains, legumes, and nuts.
Wanna ban these from your diet??? C'mon, givusabreak.

BTW I found out today that the English word "legumes" stands for something different than in French, where legume=vegetable. For those who didn't know, like me:
Legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, soy, lentils, lupins and peanuts.
Cereals include maize (aka corn), wheat, rice, barley, sorghums, millets, oats, rye, triticale, buckwheat, fonio, quinoa.

As I said: eat balanced.

poster-Maggy

jeff jacobs

@ross macintosh said:

Jeff - unfortunately that tea-related link is dead.

It is the tannins in regular black tea that have been linked with interference with iron absorption. Rooibos and the other South African tea called Honeybush both feature extremely low levels of tannins and so should have no negative impact on iron absorption. By the way coffee is also known to interfere with iron absorption.

Regards, Ross

I brought it up because my Mother is getting a knee replacement in a week. Her iron is low anyway, but the doctors told her during "knee camp" that she should avoid tea with her meals because of this issue. They told her all teas caused this problem.

Maggy

According to Wikipedia Rooibos contains no tannins. Wine can contain a lot of tannins and phytates block just as much iron or more than tannins. So it's a bit strange, selective advice unless the doctor would know that your mother usually drinks an awful lot of tea.

poster-Maggy