Why Does Blood Pressure increase with Age

Hypertension is a medical condition where blood pressure reaches above 140/90. Blood pressure of a healthy person should be 120/80. In today's world we most often notice people in their 40s and 50s affected with hypertension. Hypertension is becoming a lifestyle disease today, but these are some aspects of it that make it an age related disease as well. Here we will discuss some ageing related factors that make us prone to hypertension and how we can defy them by adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Why does blood pressure increase with age ?

Our body go through several changes due to ageing. Some of the age related factors responsible for increased blood pressure are described below.

• Elasticity of blood vessels decreases with age : There are some elastic tissues in the walls of arteries which are lost with age and the arteries become stiffer and lose their capability to expand themselves when heart pumps the blood. It increases the systolic blood pressure with age.
• Eating higher amount of salt : Salt has direct link with blood pressure. More salt in diet means increased blood pressure. Efficiency of our taste buds decreases with age and some people start eating more salt which increases their blood pressure gradually.
• Body's ability to process salt decreases : As we age our body's ability to process salt decreases gradually. It makes our blood stream retain sodium in higher quantity which increases blood pressure.
• Decreased kidney function : Kidney function decreases with age so our body releases some hormones to make our body retain more sodium and water in blood and other body cells. This excess sodium increases blood pressure.
• Change in hormones :  Some hormonal imbalance may occur with age which may lead to increased blood pressure. Women are more prone to such hormonal imbalance due to menopause.
• Decreased efficiency of heart : Our heart is directly connected to blood pressure. Its ability to pump the blood and its ability to fill blood in its chambers decreases with age which can hypertension with age.
• Decreased blood volume : In some cases the blood volume decreases with age. However decrease in blood volume is linked to lowering of blood pressure (hypo-tension) but reverse usually happens in such some cases of old age and the person gets affected with hypertension.

Lifestyle changes that can be done to maintain right blood pressure

• Active lifestyle is a key factor to maintain good blood pressure
• Eat adequate amount of salt
• Exercise regularly
• Elasticity of blood vessels can be maintained till a higher age if you exercise regularly.

Some researches have found that size of our heart increases with age. It is because of the increase in the size of heart muscles with age. Walls of heart chambers also become thick. Totally it increases the capacity of heart chambers. So it takes longer to fill blood in them. It causes a decrease in pulse rate. As we discussed earlier that elasticity of arteries decrease with age. Both of these factors may result in hypertension as the quantity of blood pumped becomes more and elasticity of blood vessels is decreased. It is one of the reasons behind lower pulse rate and increased blood pressure in old age people.

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Do you clean your Ear wax using cotton swab ? Be Careful !

A number of people use cotton swabs to clean their ears or to get rid of itching in ears. They take it as a clean and easily available instrument that can enter their ear hole and solve the purpose. But the truth is that it is not helpful at all. We will tell you about cotton swabs and cleaning of ears in detail in this article. An interesting fact about cotton buds is that they are responsible for nearly 50% ear infections. In such case most people will ask about an alternative to clean their ears. You will get an answer to this question at the end of this article.

How do cotton swabs harm harm your ear ?
People usually use cotton swabs to clean their ear with the intention to drag out the wax out of the ear. But in reality the purpose is not solved. Instead of bringing the wax out of ear, most of the wax is dragged inside the ear. Only some part of wax that stick to cotton swab comes out while most of the remaining wax is pushed inside.

Is it necessary to clean you ear wax after certain time ?
Most of the people fall prey to this misconception the periodic cleaning of ear wax is necessary. But the truth is that it is not necessary at all. Only in some rare cases the wax blocks the ear hole and decreases the hearing capacity. In such cases it is better the visit a specialist to get your ear cleaned. Today there are instruments using which a doctor can monitor you ear canal from inside and suck out the wax using some sort of micro vacuum cleaner.

How should you clean your earwax at home ?
Usually it is not recommended to clean your ear yourself, but if you are really in need to do so the you should use some ear drops. Olive oil or almond oil can also solve the purpose if ear drop is not handy. 4-5 drops of lukewarm oil can be put inside ear using a dropper and lay in that position for 5 minutes. Repeating this process for 2-3 times in a day will make the wax swell and come out of the ear. Some people find oil as a better alternative than ear drops as some ear drops cause irritation is people with sensitive skin.

Why do our ear develop wax ?
It is a preventive mechanism of our body. By developing wax in the ear canal, our internal ear is prevented from external dirt and micro organisms that can cause infection. Usually excess wax automatically comes out of ear while taking a bath. When some water enters our ear and comes out after some time, some excess wax also comes out with it.

We hope that this information will help you in getting rid of the excess ear wax and not getting the infection through cotton swab.

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What happens when you don't express your Anger

If you don't express your anger then your mind tries to show it through some other ways such as rough tone while talking, criticizing others, not eating properly. These are just a few symptoms which not only affect your health for long term but also affects your social life.

Why is it necessary to express your anger ?
Anger is an energy. Its expression can be done in both positive and negative ways. But its expression is must. If you don't express it then it will start boiling you from inside and one day will come when you will explode like a volcano on some very simple issue. So it is better to express it.

What happens when you don't express your anger ?
Every person have a capacity to hold his/her anger. But it is better to not check your limit. If you start holding your anger then your holding capacity will decrease gradually. Anger is an emotion and every emotion is meant to be expressed. Suppression of an emotion can create some form of psychological disorder. Some common changes made in the behavior by not expressing your anger or uncomfortable feelings are listed below.

• You start feeling that your partner don't know you anymore.
• It will become harder for you to be happy.
• You feel trapped inside your own body.
• You will feel stressed but don't know the reason.
• Others start finding your behavior emotionless or like robots.
• You feel afraid of expressing your emotions.
• You will feel that hiding your emotions is becoming a habit.
• Your trust on others will start decreasing.
• It can make you suffer from depression for years.

Apart from the above changes in your behavior, there are some physical changes in your body as well. Holding your anger can cause following changes in your body.

• Some stress hormones level remain always high in your body.
• It can make rise in body temperature and elevated blood pressure.
• Risk of heart diseases increase.
• Some antibodies decrease in the body due to constant anger.
• Lack of these antibodies make you prone to some common diseases.
• You will start eating either more or less than required by your body. Both of them are harmful.
• All of the above medical conditions can easily decrease your lifespan.

How should you express your anger ?
Expression of anger can be done in both negative and positive ways. Most people think that anger can be expressed only in negative ways such as yelling at others, scolding, talking in harsh tone or being physical sometimes. But what most people don't know is that expression of anger can be done in positive ways which is called constructive anger expression. You may get more information about constructive anger from our last article Constructive Anger  - The anger that is actually healthy.

Expressing your emotions in a healthy way is necessary to save yourself from diseases. Instead of getting constipated with anger and other emotions, it is better to release the pressure and feel light from inside.

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Constructive Anger - The anger that is actually Healthy

Usually we consider anger as a negative energy that can only harm a person. Very less people are aware of the fact than anger can be utilized in a healthy way. Constructive Anger Expression is way to express your anger in a constructive way. It seems a little tricky to utilize the anger, but it can be done with a little practice. Normally anger is found connected to heart diseases, but constructive anger is not associated to heart diseases. Most important fact is that constructive anger can save you from depression.

Constructive Anger Expression

When it comes to anger management then most people think that only way to not losing your temper is hiding your anger. But hiding your anger can only worsen the condition as one day will come when your body will deny to hide it and your anger will explode like a volcano. It is better to express your anger to others in appropriate way. Shouting and yelling at others can worsen the condition, but expressing your anger in a normal tone and telling the person in front of you what you didn't like. It can not only save your health but also makes a better image of yours.

Benefits of Constructive Anger Expression

• It can save you from heart diseases
• It can save you from depression
• Constructive anger expression can change your overall personality in a positive way.
• It can save your relationships
• It makes you understand the person more with whom you were angry.
• It reduces the chances of conflict in future.
• After expressing your anger with a constructive approach, you will feel that something positive happened.
• It makes you the master of your body. If you study your anger with a bit of intrinsic approach, you will find that you were the main the reason behind your anger, not the event that just happened or the person in front of you. It seems a bit philosophical but it is the truth. Our anger is something created by our own mind. Once you start controlling your anger with constructive approach, you become the master of your own body. 

How to implement Constructive Anger Expression

Once you know the benefits of Constructive Anger, you will start understanding the situations in a different way. No person in the world would like to do things wrong. If something wrong is done by other person, the most probably it is not intentional.

• Things get wrong by mistake. If you start understanding the other person's point of view then your anger is automatically diminished. So the best way to implement Constructive Anger Expression is putting yourself in other person's shoes.
• Mind your tone. It is something you have to work upon. Even if you are angry, but you use a normal tone to talk, then you can hear the wrongdoer's point of view. Yelling at others not only makes others voice inaudible but also makes the situation worst.
• Don't show disrespect to others. Sometimes in your angry behavior you may show some gestures or use some words which are disrespectful. If you control such gestures and mind your language at the time of anger then you can implement the constructive anger expression more easily.
• Think before your talk. Most often it happens in an angry behavior that you talk so much without thinking. In the heat of moment you sometimes say such things which were not your original thinking. It can sometimes make the situation irreparable. So take your time and don't utter a word without thinking.
• Let the other person talk too. It is important to hear the other party. It should be a two way talking if you really want to calm down the situation. Biggest wars can be avoided with discussion on table.

Anger is not bad, it is the way we express it. Constructive approach towards your anger can change a lot of things. It is not only for a good health but something more.

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How to Control your Anger

The worst thing about anger is that if you don't control it, then it will control you. Anger can easily destroy not only your relationships and social life but also your own health. Being healthy is the primary motive of this website and this article will tell you about some simple steps that you can take to control your anger and don't let it make you unhealthy. There are some very simple and easy methods that you can apply on yourselves and you will instantly feel that your anger is gone and you are not loosing your temper like before.

Methods to control your Anger

• Deep Breathing: It is the most common and easiest way to calm yourself down. Deep breathing can easily lower your anger and blood pressure. Within a few deep breaths you will feel that your anger is gone and a calm person can easily handle a situation.
• Change Environment: If it is possible for you to leave the scene and go for a walk, then it can calm you down. Continuously facing the cause of anger can delay the time taken to calm down, so take a walk and make a conscious attempt to calm yourself down.
• Get Busy: Leaving the scene and engaging yourself in some other work will take your mind to some other activity and may help you forget your anger.
• Express your anger in appropriate way: This is the thing that most of us don't do. Instead of the expressing your anger in the form of yelling, talk about the situation and help the person in front of you understand what he/she has done wrong as per your point of view. Yelling can only trigger the anger in opposite person, while talking can solve the matter and makes a better image of yours.
• Identify Triggers: A problem can only be solved if you know the reason behind that problem. Only a certain set of situations make a person lose his/her temper. You should identify those triggers and make a conscious attempt to change your response to such situations. Deep breathing can help you in changing your response to such situations.
• Don't hide your anger: If you hide your anger then it will be stored somewhere inside and you may blast one day. This act is more harmful instead of expressing your light anger in appropriate way. Light anger can be easily utilized rather than trying to control yourself when you are losing your temper.
• Constructive Anger: Anger is an energy. You can either use that energy to destruct yourself or construct yourself. If you control that energy then you are the master but if you let that energy control you then you become a slave. A constructive way to utilize your anger can be some physical activity which can make your body a little better. You can do sprint running, power lifting or any other physical activity which suits your body type and accessible to you.

Getting angry is actually punishing yourself for the mistake of others. If you keep this thing in your mind then your anger will always be in control.

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How Anger affects your Body, Brain and Life

Anger is an energy that is often released in a negative way. It not only disturbs the environment around us but also affect our own body, brain and life. Usually we think that it is the expression of anger that creates the negative impact, i.e. shouting loudly, getting physical or breaking some thing. But the truth is that all of these impacts are just instant impacts that are visible to eyes. There is something more inside our body that is disturbed by anger. Betterhealthfacts.com has collected some facts about anger and its impact on body and your life.

Anger is a natural expression of emotions activated due to some activity that is unpleasant to a person. In other words anger is ignited due to some stressful situation. Adrenaline and some other stress hormones are released in our body during such condition. It increases the heart beat and contracts the blood vessel, which increases the blood pressure. This condition is usually temporary and blood pressure drops to normal within a few minutes.

Is anger always harmful for body ?
No, if it is occasional and not a habit of yours then it is a natural trait. It is harmful only if you are habitual of getting angry on every topic, or if you are suffering from some cardiovascular disease. If you are a cardiovascular patient then anger can increase your chances of heart attack by five times. If you suppress your anger too much then it can also harm your body.

How anger affects your body, brain and life?

If you get angry too much then most of the times your blood pressure will be on higher side, you hear rate will be more and your blood vessels will be contracted. Apart from that the hormones responsible for such condition of body will always be on higher side. Combination of all these physical conditions creates a number of side effects on body. Some of them are listed here.
Some visible effects on body are

• Increased blood pressure
• Increased pulse rate
• Increased breathing
• Increase in body temprature
• Increased respiration

Some effects which are not visible on outer body but harms a person from inside are listed below.

• Under the influence of stress hormones, blood supply to gut is lowered and that blood is supplied to muscles awaiting for energy supply to express that anger. If you remain angry most of the day then your digestive system will be disturbed due to lack of blood supply.
• Stress hormones can cause inflammation in your airways and continuous episodes of anger can not only lower your lung capacity but also makes you prone to respiratory problems.
• Immune system weakens due to Anger. A research done in Harvard University found that level of antibody immunoglobulin A dips for 6 hours just by recalling some anger episodes of yours. If just recalling can do such harm then you can imagine the actual effect of anger on your immune system.
• Even if you used to be healthy, the long term anger episodes will increase workload on your heart and put you at risk of some heart disease.
• Chances of stroke are increased. Some tiny arteries in our brain can't handle the always high blood pressure and get ruptured and blood clots in the brain which can either cause stroke or paralysis.
• Anxiety can occur due to anger. This is a condition known for excessive and uncontrollable worry, which can disturb the life of a person.
• Anger can shorten your life span. All of the above negative effects on your body can easily shorten your life. 

In spite of getting angry too much try to learn to control it and express it in a healthy way.

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Blood Pressure & Short Tempered Behavior

We often correlate short tempered behavior of a person with high blood pressure. But is it correct to correlate them. Can High Blood Pressure lead to short tempered behavior or vice-versa ? Most of the people think that there is some link between high blood pressure and anger. We tried to find some researches done on this subject and bring you the actual information based on facts. Anger is a part of human behavior and often researched to know its consequences on the person itself. Here we have collected some interesting information that connects your blood pressure with short tempered behavior.

Does an Increase in Blood Pressure makes a person short tempered ?
The direct answer is No. Hypertension can't make a person short tempered. Sometimes on temporary basis some event might trigger both. Something that makes you angry can also increase your blood pressure. But just an increase in blood pressure can't make you angry.

Does short tempered behavior increases the blood pressure ?
Yes, short tempered behavior can easily increase your blood pressure. If you have a healthy body then that increased blood pressure might not harm you, but anger increases the chances of heart attack five times. If you are already a patient of hypertension then you should definitely worry about your short tempered behavior, as you are risking your own life due to it.

How does short tempered behavior increases our blood pressure ?
Usually short tempered behavior is caused due to some stress. In the condition of stress our body releases some stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) to handle the stress. These hormones create a temporary effect of increasing the heart rate and contracting the blood vessels and our body enters into a fight or flight mode, which increases the blood pressure temporarily. As the stressful situation goes away, our body returns to normal mode and blood pressure is lowered.

If stressful situation and short tempered behavior occurs occasionally and you have a healthy body to handle that increased blood pressure then it won't harm your body. But if you are already suffering from some cardiovascular disease then it can increase the chances of heart attack up to five times. Even if you have got a healthy body but short tempered behavior is becoming a regular habit of yours then it can easily keep your blood pressure at an elevated level throughout the day, which can lead to serious side effects for your body.

Instead of letting the stress igniting your short tempered behavior, motivate yourself to sort things out by talking. Anger only complicates the things. Any problem in the world can be solved by talking with each other and finding a solution. Peace in your behavior will make your body a peaceful place for your soul to live.

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Swine Flu Symptoms and Treatment

Swine Flu or the so called H1N1 Virus first became a news in 2009 when it was spread in Mexico. The flu virus which usually infects humans is different from the one that infects the pigs. But those who work closely with pigs in the pig farms often get flu from each other, but it remained a local infection and never spread to large populations until the 2009 Mexico outbreak. After that this infection became worldwide people became aware of this kind of flu. As it was an infection commonly found in pigs with the same symptoms of flu, people called it swine flu.

Swine Flu Symptoms in Adults

Swine Flu symptoms resemble to seasonal flu. Following symptoms may occur.

• Cough
• Fever
• Runny or Stuffy nose
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Muscle pain
• Chills
• Vomiting or Diarrhoea

Even if any one of these occur then it may be swine flu. Number of symptoms increase with severity.

Swine Flu Symptoms in Kids
Symptoms in Kids is same as seasonal flu. If you feel that kid is getting high fever or being irritating then you must consult a doctor.

How does Swine Flu Spreads ?

This disease can spread through air. If you are near an infected person then you may get the virus through air or through a tiny droplet of sneeze or cough. If a person in infected by this virus then it may take 1 to 4 days to develop the symptoms. An infected person can start spreading the virus 24 hours before appearance of symptoms and continue to do so after 5 to 7 days after the symptoms are developed.

Who is at risk of Swine Flu ?

However Swine Flu can infect person of any age and sex but a few groups are at more risk as the H1N1 virus can do more harm in these groups. These groups are

• People with weakened immune systems
• Children below three years of age
• Adults above 60 years of age
• Pregnant women
• People already suffering from heart disease, lung disease, asthma or diabetes

Swine Flu Prevention

Swine Flu prevention can  be done by avoiding exposure to the H1N1 Virus. It can be done by taking following precautionary measures.

• Avoid touching things at a public place
• Washing hands more frequently, especially if have been to a public place or touched some things which is accessible to others such as door handles.
• Avoid touching your face, especially nose and mouth
• Don't go near a person showing symptoms of flu.
• Clean your door handles and other touchable items with some disinfectant regularly and H1N1 virus may survive on such surfaces for upto 48 hours. 

Foods that prevent Swine Flu

A good immune system is best to save you from swine flu. So you may eat foods rich in protein, vitamin C and Zinc, which help in building a healthy immune system. Green Vegetables, orange fruits (such as carrots, pumpkins, apricots, and mangoes) and protein rich diet can help you in saving yourself from Swine Flu.

Swine Flu Treatment

Swine Flu treatment is usually same as seasonal flu. But its better to consult a doctor and let him decide which treatment is best for you. Vaccine to prevent you from getting H1N1 infection is also available in market. The groups listed above who are at higher risk of swine flu need special attention of medical practitioners. People with healthy immune system and good resistance power can easily recover from this infection. Apart from antiviral medication and pain relievers doctors may suggest rest and plenty of fluids to save you from dehydration. 

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Polythene is degrading your Health #rejectpolybags

Most of us know that polythene is harmful, but we don't care. The reason is that we don't know the extent of harm that it can create. We are not aware of its harmfulness. What we care is the convenience that we have in carrying our grocery from a shopping outlet to our home in a thin plastic bag. Most of these polythene bags are also called single use plastic bags as most often they are used only ones and then thrown in garbage. Betterhealthfacts.com has collected some important information about the harmful effects of these polythene bags on your health and your environment.

How Polythene bags affects your health ?
Polythene bags and plastic bottles are widely used to carry food items and water. Sometimes people don't even hesitate is drinking some hot drink in a plastic glass. Chemicals like polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene and polystyrene can leach from a plastic bag or container into the food item. Therefore eating food stored in plastic bags or drinking water from a plastic bottle can make you a prey of these compounds. According to a cardiovascular specialist every person in a  metro city have 2 to 3 grams of plastic in their body. Whenever a hot food item is carried in a plastic container the chemicals in plastic can easily leach into the food item and will end up in your body.
Some people try to burn the plastic garbage to get rid of it, but they don't know that plastic fumes can cause skin and respiratory problems.
According to some medical practitioners kidney and throat ailments, cancer and infertility are increasing due to usage of plastic bags in food items.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is compound found in plastic which can cause breast cancer in women and lower sperm count in men. BPA has serious health hazard on pregnant women and kids. Some highly priced brands use BPA free plastic in their products such as plastic containers and toys to ensure safety of users. US CDC found BPA traces in 93% urine samples in 2004. This figure is sufficient to show you the impact of plastic and polythene on our lives.


How polythene bags affect the environment ?

• In 2002 Bangladesh became the very first nation to ban polythene bags. It was done to avoid the floods in cities which was caused due to blockage of drainage system by these polythene bags. Blockage of drains is a very small environmental hazard caused by these poly bags. There are much larger extent of damages that these polythene bags have done. 
• Cattle are selective while eating and they often eat plastic bags if there is some food in them. Sometime even a healthy cow may have half of the rumen filled with plastic bags.
• Plastic bags are harmful for animals in the sea. Tortoise eat plastic bags thinking of it as a jelly fish and get themselves killed. Even after a marine animal is killed by a polythene bag, the poly bag remains intact after the animal rots and continues to kill more marine life. In this way a single polythene bag can kill over 100 dolphins.
• As plastic and polythene is not biodegradable and remains in the soil or water for thousands of years, it leaches its harmful chemicals into the soil and underground water. Thus whole soil and underground water gets contaminated.

Some Facts about plastic bags / bottles across the world

• 100,000 animal deaths are caused due to polythene every year and the figure is increasing.
• 500 billion plastic bags are used in a year worldwide.
• 40% of plastic usage in in packaging of products.
• 4 out of 5 bags in India are plastic bags.
• 125 plastic bottles are used in USA per second, while only 5 are processed.
• Only 2.5% plastic bottles in UK are processed.
• 8% of oil produced all around the world is used in manufacturing of polythene bags.
• In 2002 a  United Nations survey found that plastic pollution costs $ 7 Trillion to world's economy every year.

The problem with plastic is that it can't biodegrade. It remains in environment for thousands of years in the form of smaller pieces. It is a health hazard which can't be recycled and causing health problems is more than 250 species around the world including humans. The number 250 is just of the known species which are found ingesting plastic. The actual number can be much more.

Most of people wait for government to ban poly bags, why can't we do it ourselves. Do we need a government to tell us that poly bags are making us sick. Please do it yourselves , #rejectpolybags yourselves and your rejection may inspire others to #rejectpolybags. Trend this hashtag on twitter and show the world that you have rejected the poly bags yourselves and show them that you are not only a good citizen but a good human being.

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How much Salt should one eat ?

Salt has a direct effect on blood pressure of a person, which makes it more important to be taken in controlled amount. But how much amount of salt should be taken by a healthy person to keep his/her blood pressure within normal range ? We will try to answer this question in this article. Usually the salt we eat is Sodium chloride (NaCl). But Sodium and Chlorine are not the only components in it. There are various other minerals and one them is Iodine. All components of the table salt are important for our body.

The salt that is prepared by evaporating the sea water is composed of following chemical compounds.

• Sodium chloride 77.76 %
• Magnesium chloride 10.88 %
• Magnesium sulfate 4.74 %
• Calcium sulfate 3.60 %
• Potassium chloride 2.46 %
• Magnesium bromide 0.22 %
• Calcium carbonate 0.34 %

Apart from the above minerals Iodine is usually mixed in it to save people from thyroid related diseases.

All of the chemical compounds listed above are necessary for our body and so does salt. But the question is how much is sufficient and which amount can make us sick.

How much Salt should one eat ?
2300 mg of sodium is present in one teaspoon or 6 grams of salt which is adequate for an adult per day. According to some surveys today an average person is eating 8 to 9 grams of salt per day which is around 50% more than required. According to WHO 5g of salt per day is sufficient for an adult.

Why do our body need salt ?
On an outer level salt is necessary for taste. But if we look at our body internally then Sodium ions play an important role in electrical signalling of our nervous system. Salt is also necessary for Water/Fluid balance within our body. Blood sodium level of our body should be always between 135 and 145 mEq/L (milliequivalents per liter).

What are the harmful effects of overeating of salt ?

• Increased Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Long term overeating of salt can lead to high blood pressure.
• Hypernatremia: If blood sodium level reaches above 145 mEq/L then brain cell shrinkage may occur and cause confusion, muscle twitching or spasms. Seizures and comas may occur in this medical condition.
• Death may occur if salt is consumed is very large amount of more than 1 g per kg of body weight.
• Edema (fluid retention) may occur due to high salt intake, but this condition can be reversed by lowering your salt intake.
• Stomach Cancer: Stomach cancer is related to high level of sodium in body.

Effects of lack of Salt in our diet ?

• If an adult eats less than 3g of salt per day then it can lead to cardiovascular diseases and early death.
• Hyponatremia: If blood sodium level falls below 135 mEq/L then it causes brain cells to swell which results in altered personality, lethargy, and confusion. Seizures, coma, and death may occur if blood sodium level falls below 115 mEq/L. Hyponatremia may occur if a person consumes very large amount of water without any salt intake, which is known as Water Poisoning.

Salt is a highly necessary content of a balanced diet and getting it in too high or too low amount can cause side-effects on your health. So be health conscious and eat it in the prescribed amount. 

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How to keep your Blood Pressure in Check with Increasing Age

Increasing age often comes with a number of diseases and hypertension (high blood pressure) is one of them. We start feeling ourselves older when we are affected by age related diseases. Often medication becomes the final way keep your blood pressure in check. But if you start preparing yourself for that a little earlier than old age might not affect your body that much. How to keep your blood pressure in check with increasing age is a question that comes in mind of most of us. Here we are providing some simple tips and techniques to help you with your blood pressure and increasing age.

How to keep your Blood Pressure in Check with Increasing Age

• Balanced Diet: A balanced diet is something that you body needs to stay fit. For some people it is hard to stick to it. Sometimes you get some calories more just because it was your favorite dish, or it was a birthday cake. In such a case do some physical activity to burn those extra calories as well. Balanced diet also means keeping you liquor and salt intake in check. Both liquor and salt have harmful effect on blood pressure if taken in excess amount.
• Remain Active: Being active not only burns calories and also provides exercise to your complete body. It not only help in keeping blood pressure in check but also makes your joints fit for a longer life. An active men/women never feels the age.
• Exercise Regularly: Exercising regularly is one of the best activity that can be part of your daily routine. It is not necessary to do weight training to stay fit. Even some light exercises will work.
• Running/Jogging: If you don't like being in a gym then running/jogging can also help.
• Yoga / Meditation: Yoga and Meditation are well known for their good effect on blood pressure. Some deep breathing yoga can instantly lower the high blood pressure. Yoga for High Blood Pressure.
• Keep your weight in check: It is the target of all physical activities mentioned above. Physical activities burns calories and thus your can't get the extra fat which increases the weight. Increased weight has direct effect on blood pressure. An overweight person can't stay away from hypertension for a longer period.
• Other Physical Activities: Any physical activity that burns calories can help you with your increasing age. Either it is some sports you are interested in or it is just swimming for fun. Choose some activity that makes you happy and also burns your calories.
• Quit Smoking: Smoking and tobacco has direct effect in increasing your blood pressure. So restrict yourself and try to quit smoking to have a better life. 

Prepare for Increasing Age

Get a BP Monitor, so that you can keep an eye on your number and consult a doctor if you find the readings unusual.
Weighing machine to measure your weight regularly is also recommended. If you find your weight increasing then either you are eating more or doing lesser physical activities. Measure your weight regularly as it helps you in examining your fitness level yourself.
Don't be inactive after Retirement. It is the most common reason for increasing weight and then hypertension. Even if you are retired from office, you can do some gardening to get get fresh vegetables, you can do some walking or cycling, you can play with kids, tell them stories through your experiences, teach them for a few hours in the evening.
Try to stay happy: Sadness in your behavior can easily let age leave its mark on you. A happy behavior don't let you age. Moments of happiness and sadness are part of every person's life but it is you who choose to keep any one of these feeling always with you. Be positive and make happiness a part of your behavior and it will not only keep your blood pressure in check but also make you look younger.

Age is just a number. If you are confident of living a healthy life and take all measures to remain healthy then age can not leave its effect on you. Color of your hair might change but don't let your inner being age. Being happy is another and most important key to not let you age. So be happy and stay fit.

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Why Men are usually taller than Women !

In different geographical areas around the globe the height of humans differ a lot, but still men are 4-9% taller than women everywhere. Sometimes some exceptions occur but on an average men are always taller. Different studies tell about different reasons for this difference in height.  A single factor can't be held responsible for this difference in height. Some factors are related to our evolution, while some are related to our cultures. Here are a few of them.

Biological Reasons

• Natural Selection: We all know that humans evolved from apes and gorillas and it took millions of years in this process. All of the previous species of humans lived in forests and males often fight for females (just like we see on animal channels). Most of the times taller males win and only winners were able to continue their genes. In this way natural selection helped men to be taller.
• Women stop growing a few years earlier: If you look at the growth chart of both men and women, then you will find that women stop growing a few years earlier. It gives men an upper edge and they become taller.
• Testosterone hormone: This hormone is responsible for muscular growth. Women's body have just 5% of testosterone compared to men. This is a major reason behind lesser muscles which can easily lead to lesser height. More height requires more muscle mass to support the larger frame. Why women don't develop muscles like men ?

Cultural Reasons

• Better food for males: In most of the cultures boys and girls are not treated equally. Boys are given more preference in terms of better food. This practice when continued for generations will automatically result in taller and muscular males.
• Outdoor Exposure: In most of the cultures men are the main earning member of the family and often get more outdoor exposure. This resulted in more physical activity and thus muscular development and better height. This factor is also connected to previous factor of better food for males.
• Women select taller guy: Just like the biological factor of natural selection, men don't fight for women anymore. But still taller men win. It is because still in modern world women prefer their men to be taller. So taller genes of men continue to rule.
• Men select shorter women: In most scenarios men opt for a shorter women instead of the taller one. So the shorter genes of women continue in the gene pool.

Who's body is better: Men or Women !

All of these biological and cultural reasons were a part of our life from past thousands to millions of years. In some species the difference of height of males and females is much larger than humans. So human females are still better than a lot of other species. Shorter height of women does not mean women are lesser than men in any way in the modern world.

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Do you think Chubby kid is Healthy ! Rethink !

95% parents of overweight kids think that their kid looks right. Only 5% parents consider that overweight as a health hazard. Parents often care for their kids too much then required, but it becomes a problem if you don't look at the weight. Parents can't notice the weight gain as the kid is always in front of them. Most of the time parents of obese kids think that their kid is just healthy and feel proud of their chubby cheeks and also feel that they are doing good parenting. Chubby cheeks are good but only up to a certain extent. If your baby is getting obese then it can not only affect other development activities but can also make him/her sick.

Parents perception of their kid

A number of researches are done on childhood obesity and what parents think about it. Outcome of most of the researches is that most of the parents don't consider their kid as overweight while he/she is. This perception of parents either comes from increasing number of overweight kids which are being considered normal or from their own ignorance. Whatever the matter is, the truth is that parents need to change their perception and consider overweight as overweight. Unless you acknowledge your kid as overweight, you can't do anything to get him/her back into shape.

Fat Babies make Fat Adults

In movies you might have seen fat kids turning into perfect adults but in real world fat babies turn into fat adults. Even if that ratio is not 100%, the chances are still higher. Eating habits are something hard to change, which is usually the major reason behind being overweight.
Under the age of 2 years and an adult there is no direct correlation of weight. but after the age of 2 it matters. Its better to keep an eye on your kid's weight.

Why do some babies become overweight or obese ?

Overfeeding: When it comes to babies, parents can't let him/her cry and mothers often offer them breastfeed / formula milk more than required. Sometimes babies need just some sort of entertainment or physical activity to get rid of their boredom, but parents think that it is due to hunger.
Overeating: Overfeeding can easily turn into a habit which can transform into overeating as the baby grow and starts eating himself/herself.
Ignorance of parents: If parents notice the kids being overweight at the right time then they can take steps to keep their weight in check. But of the parents don't take it seriously or just ignore it which becomes a major reason of overweight or obese kids.
Hormonal imbalance: Sometimes kids become obese due to some medical conditions like hormonal imbalance. But in such cases medical intervention can help the kid.
Inherited Obesity: Sometimes obesity is in the genes, where most of the family members are obese or overweight.

Steps you can take to reduce your kids weight

• Don't overfeed the baby.
• When your baby tuns to solid diet, decrease the number of milk feedings.
• For kids above the age of two, its better to keep their diet in check and don't let them over eat.
• Watching TV and eating at the same time can disrupt the eating pattern and kids often eat more. especially when there is some food that they like.
• Inactivity and video games should not be encouraged among kids, which is a leading reason behind obesity in kids. Instead you should encourage your kids for outdoor games or some physical activity.
• If overweight of your kid is due to some medical condition then consult your doctor for it.

There is no harm in having a baby with chubby cheeks as babies need more body fat compared to an adult but it becomes an issue only when weight grows more than height. Keeping a chart to compare your child's weight and height is a good habit.

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