The US is experiencing unprecedented rates of high blood pressure.
Recent stats have come in showing that 1 in 4 men between the ages of 35 and 45 suffer from it.
Incredible! 12% of men between 20 and 34 also have high blood pressure, and as our diets, weight and health spirals out of control as a nation, you know those numbers are only going to get worse.
It's getting so bad that the Institute of Medicine is urging the government to restrict salt in our diets, because salt helps retain water, which swells our arteries, and increases our pressure levels.
Smoking, drinking, inactivity, and unhealthy diets all contribute to raising your blood pressure, often invisibly as we don't realize how bad things are getting until later in life and the situation is dire.
So what can you do to lower your pressure today? A great trick of which I am a personal fan is dark chocolate.
That's right.
Even though people's bad diets are often a powerful contributor to high blood pressure, dark chocolate (note: not milk chocolate or white chocolate) can help lower it.
In 2008 an Italian study demonstrated that people with prediabetes and at risk for cardiovascular disease managed to lower it by consuming 3.
5 ounces of dark chocolate for 15 days.
This is due to the flavanoids found in it, which are a powerful anti-oxidant.
But you need to eat the right chocolate, preferably one with more than 65% cacao.
With chocolate comes sex, and that's exactly what can also help lower your blood pressure.
Men who have sex more than twice a week can lower their blood pressure and chance of cardiovascular disease by up to 65% compared to those who have sex less than once a month according to a recent New England Research Institute study.
This is thought to be because of the release of Oxytocin, a hormone associated with intimacy and reduced stress which is released during orgasm.
Sex with a partner is the most intimate way of making love, which is why going solo won't help quite as much.
Finally, booze can also help.
Researchers in Denmark found that men who have 2 drinks a day were 31% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
This is because alcohol, in small amounts, can make your arteries larger and more flexible.
But don't have more than two drinks, because then you'll be doing more damage than good, and raising your blood pressure to boot.
So two drinks and no more, and you are set.
Recent stats have come in showing that 1 in 4 men between the ages of 35 and 45 suffer from it.
Incredible! 12% of men between 20 and 34 also have high blood pressure, and as our diets, weight and health spirals out of control as a nation, you know those numbers are only going to get worse.
It's getting so bad that the Institute of Medicine is urging the government to restrict salt in our diets, because salt helps retain water, which swells our arteries, and increases our pressure levels.
Smoking, drinking, inactivity, and unhealthy diets all contribute to raising your blood pressure, often invisibly as we don't realize how bad things are getting until later in life and the situation is dire.
So what can you do to lower your pressure today? A great trick of which I am a personal fan is dark chocolate.
That's right.
Even though people's bad diets are often a powerful contributor to high blood pressure, dark chocolate (note: not milk chocolate or white chocolate) can help lower it.
In 2008 an Italian study demonstrated that people with prediabetes and at risk for cardiovascular disease managed to lower it by consuming 3.
5 ounces of dark chocolate for 15 days.
This is due to the flavanoids found in it, which are a powerful anti-oxidant.
But you need to eat the right chocolate, preferably one with more than 65% cacao.
With chocolate comes sex, and that's exactly what can also help lower your blood pressure.
Men who have sex more than twice a week can lower their blood pressure and chance of cardiovascular disease by up to 65% compared to those who have sex less than once a month according to a recent New England Research Institute study.
This is thought to be because of the release of Oxytocin, a hormone associated with intimacy and reduced stress which is released during orgasm.
Sex with a partner is the most intimate way of making love, which is why going solo won't help quite as much.
Finally, booze can also help.
Researchers in Denmark found that men who have 2 drinks a day were 31% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
This is because alcohol, in small amounts, can make your arteries larger and more flexible.
But don't have more than two drinks, because then you'll be doing more damage than good, and raising your blood pressure to boot.
So two drinks and no more, and you are set.