The Dash Diet

By Michael A. Smith, MD

Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. Blood pressure is the force exerted on artery walls when the heart is beating and when it is at rest.

The higher number is the "Systolic" pressure and is the pressure exerted on artery walls when the heart is in the contracting phase. The lower number is the "Diastolic" pressure and is the pressure exerted on artery walls when the heart is in the resting phase.

High blood pressure is a silent killer. If left unchecked, it can cause permanent damage, resulting in kidney failure, heart attack or stroke.

Blood pressure is considered high if the upper number (systolic pressure) is above 140 and the bottom number (diastolic pressure) is above 90 and stays there.

Although, many physicians believe these numbers are still too high. Soemthing like 130/80 might be what you need to shoot for in order to lower the risks of hypertension.

There are actually two types of high blood pressure. One is primary and the other is secondary. In secondary high blood pressure, usually something else causing it, like an overactive thyroid gland.

However, most people suffer from primary high blood pressure. The cause for high blood pressure in the primary form cannot be determined, but, while the cause may not be known, the treatment can still be effective.

Basic Rules for Controlling High Blood Pressure

1. Adjust your diet
2. Maintain a healthy weight
3. Exercise
4. Take medications as prescribed

There are also a few dietary interventions to start and help control your blood pressure...

Limit salt
Most medical experts recommend salt-sensitive persons limit salt to 2,000 milligrams per day. Watch out for "hidden" salt, found in butter flavorings, seasonings, tomato sauces, condiments and canned foods. Check with your healthcare practitioner before using a salt substitute.

Limit intake of high-fat foods
Try baking of broiling rather than frying.

Limit alcohol
Over consumption contributes to weakening of the heart muscle and to hypertension.

The Dash Diet

Follow the DASH diet. The Dash diet was designed to prevent high blood pressure, but it's also low in fat. The Dash diet is based on a 2,000-calorie- a-day meal plan. Check with your healthcare practitioner about whether the Dash diet may be the right diet for you.

Here is the Dash Diet...

• Low-fat or fat-free dairy 2-3 Servivings Daily
• Vegetables 4-5 Servings Daily
• Fruits 4-5 Servings Daily
• Grains and grain products 7-8 Servings Daily
• Meat, Poultry and fish 2 Servings Daily
• Nuts, seeds and beans 4-5 Servings per Week
• Fats and oils 2-3 Servings Daily
• Sweets 5 per Week

To Healthy Living!

Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics

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The following is common-sense advice from the Public Health Agency of
Canada regarding medical care for people with Influenza-Like Illnesses.


Public Health Agency of Canada



Home > Human Swine Influenza > How to look after someone at home with
H1N1 Flu Virus (Human swine Influenza)




How to look after someone at home with H1N1 Flu Virus (Human swine
Influenza)


Note: This guidance document is being provided by the Public Health
Agency of Canada in response to the recent outbreak of H1N1 Flu Virus
(human swine Influenza) in Canada. This guidance has been developed to
assist people in caring for someone at home who is recuperating from the
virus. This guidance is based on current available scientific evidence
about this emerging disease, and is subject to review and change as new
information becomes available.
Six Steps to Recovery
1. Protect yourself and others
If possible, have the sick person wear a simple surgical mask1 if you or
someone else is in the same room within 2 metres (6 feet) of him/her. If
the sick person cannot tolerate a mask, encourage the use of a tissue
when coughing or sneezing. If you are going to be within 2 metres (6
feet), you can wear a simple surgical mask and safety glasses2.

Clean your hands often, either soap and water or a hand sanitizer before
and after putting on or taking off a mask, after touching anything that
a sick person has touched (such as dishes, towels, clothes, and trash),
before you eat and before touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

2. Allow the ill person to rest away from others.
Anyone sick with H1N1 Flu Virus (Human Swine Influenza) is estimated to
be contagious for 7 days from the onset of the illness and should stay
at home. They should generally stay at least 2 metres (6 feet) away from
others, preferably in a well-ventilated room of their own. Ill people
need lots of rest; visitors should be few. Phone calls and a few
distractions, like a good book are helpful. Clean the phone or other
surface with a bleach-based cleaner after use by the ill person as the
virus can survive on a hard surface for up to 2 days.

3. Treat the fever and cough
"Coughs and sneezes spread diseases" as the spray has the virus in it.
The ill person should cover the cough with a tissue or his/her arm.
Tissues should be carefully placed in a waste basket and then the hands
cleaned with soap and water or a hand sanitizer. If needed, give a mild
cough suppressant, especially at night to help them sleep. It is not
recommended to give children under 6 years old cough suppressant. Fever
often comes with chills or aches and pains. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen
every 4-6 hours may help to bring down the fever and take away the
aches. Do not give aspirin to children with fever as it has been linked
to Reye's Syndrome, a potentially fatal disease associated with aspirin
consumption by children with viral diseases. A cool face cloth to the
face and neck or over the whole body can help the fever too. If
antiviral medications have been ordered, ensure they get it twice a day.

4. Give lots of fluids, nutritious food and ensure a smoke-free
environment with no one smoking in your home.
This all helps the body recover.

5. Keep the sick person's things separate from others and handle
anything he/she touches with care.
Each sick person should have his/her own towel, face cloth, toothbrush,
etc. that are kept away from those who are well. Wash dishes, dirty
laundry and towels with hot water and soap as soon as you take them out
of the room. Always clean your hands afterwards and avoid touching your
eyes. Line their garbage with a plastic bag, so you don't need to touch
the contents. Ideally, have a garbage bin with a foot pedal, so that you
do not need to touch the garbage to put something in it. You can
disinfect door knobs and light switches with a bleach-based cleaner or
by cleaning them with a mixture that is 1 part bleach and 10 parts
water. Clean the bathroom daily.

6. Be on alert for complications
Following these instructions, most people will begin to feel better
after a few days. However, be on the lookout. Sometimes complications,
such as asthma or pneumonia arise and the ill person may need to have a
health assessment.

Take his/her temperature daily. Here are some signs to look for:

Starts to feel better, then the fever returns Wheezing, shortness of
breath or difficulty breathing, coughing up blood Purple or bluish lip
color Chest pain Hard to wake up, unusually quiet or unresponsive,
strange thoughts or actions New onset of diarrhea, vomiting or abdominal
pain Signs of dehydrations such as dizziness when standing and low urine
production If any of these things occur, call a health care provider for
advice. If the ill person needs to seek medical care, they should wear a
surgical mask if available. This is especially important if the ill
person is using public transportation. Monitor yourself and other family
members for flu symptoms.

Tips on wearing a mask:
Tie the mask securely behind your head, and make sure the mask fully
covers your nose and mouth.
Replace the mask when it becomes wet or damp. A mask only works when it
is dry avoid touching your face while wearing the mask Do not let the
mask hang around your neck.Discard after use Remove the mask by only
touching the straps and place the used mask directly in the garbage.
Wash your hands immediately.


------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ------
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1 Surgical masks are quite inexpensive and can be purchased at your
local pharmacy. If you do not have a mask, other options such as
covering your nose and mouth with a bandana, could also provide
protection (launder after use). Respirators (such as N95 masks) will not
provide any more protection than surgical masks unless they are properly
fit-tested.

1. If time doesn't wait for you, don't worry, just remove the damn battery from the clock and enjoy life.

2. Expecting the world to treat you fairly coz you are a good person is like expecting the lion not to attack you coz you are a vegetarian. think about it.

3. Beauty isn't measured by outer appearance and what clothes we wear, but what we are inside. So try going out naked tomorrow and see the admiration!

4. Don't walk as if you rule the world, walk as if you don't care who rules the world! That's attitude ....! Keep on rocking!

5. Every lady hopes that her daugther will marry a better man than she did and is convinced that her son will never find a wife as good as his father did!!!

6. He was a good man. He never smoked, drank had no affair. When he died, the insurance company confused the claim. They said, he who never lived, cannot die!

7. A man threw his wife in a pond of crocodile? He's now being harassed by the Animal Rights Activist for being cruel to the crocodiles!

8. So many options for suicide: poison, sleeping pills, hanging, jumping from a building, lying on train tracks, but we chose marriage, slow sure!

9. Only 20 percent boys have brains, rest have girlfriends!

10. All desirable things in life are either illegal, banned, expensive or married to someone else!

11. Laziness is our biggest enemy - Jawaharlal Nehru
We should learn to love our enemies - Mahatna Gandhi
Ab aap bataaye kiski sune bapu di ya chacha di???? (which one you choose?)

12. 10% of road accidents are due to drunken driving. Which makes it a logical statement that 90% of accidents are due to driving without drinking.

For all the folks who have cellphones. (This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet. Good information to have you.)

There are few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies. Your mobile phone can be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it.

1st: Emergency

The Emergency Number worldwide for mobile is 112. if you find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.

2nd: Have you locked your keys in the car?

Does your car have a remote keyless entry? this may come in handy someday. good reason to own a cellphone: if you lock you keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cellphone from your cellphone. hold your cellphone about a foot form your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phoneon their en. your car will unlock. saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. distance is no object. you could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the door (or the trunk).

editor's note: it works fine! we tried it out and it unlocked our, our car over a cellphone

3rd: Hidden Battery Power

Imagine your cell battery is very low. to activate, press the keys *3370#. your cellphone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. this reserve will get charged when you charge your cellphone next time.

4th: How to disable a stolen mobile phone?

to check your mobile phone's number, key in the following
digits on your phone: *#06#. a 15-digit code will appear on the screen. this number is unique to your handset. write down and keep it somewhere safe. when your phone get stolen, you can phone your service provider and give this code. they will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. you probably won't get your phone back, but atleast you know that whoever stole it can't use/ sell it either. if everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.

5th: Free directory service for cells

cellphone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. most of us do not carry telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes tis situation even more of a problem. when you need to use the 411 information.

option, simply dial : (800)FREE411, or (800)373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. prgram this into your cellphone now.

"Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times" - Mark Twain

"Doing nothing is very hard to do, you never know when you're finished."

"Never argue with the fool. People might know the difference."

"Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted."

"Its always darkest before dawn, So if going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it."

"The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office."

"I always arrive late at the offfice, but i make up for it by leaving early" - Charles Lamb