4 Tips To Lowering Your Blood Pressure Naturally

According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 3 America adults have high blood pressure. This is a rather large number. High blood pressure can lead to heart disease and stroke which are both in the top three for leading causes of death in the U.S.

Needless to say, this is a relevant health concern for many people, AND the CDC estimates it costs the United States 93.5 billion in health care costs. Wowza! (This was a 2010 projected estimate.)

So what are some ways we can combat this issue naturally? Here are 4 tips that will help lower your blood pressure naturally:

1. Eat Real Food And Avoid Foods That Raise Insulin: When I say real food, I mean food that is minimally processed and that will decay over time. Vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, legumes, meat (minimally processed... so salami doesn't count.)--these are all great whole foods that will nourish your body and also bring healing. Also, avoid foods that raise your insulin. These include foods that are high in sugar and sugar substitutes. Carbs are also insulin raising foods--including organic whole grains. Carbs are rapidly broken down into sugar in your body. Foods to avoid would include: breads, pasta, rice, cereal, and potatoes. A food to add to your diet that has been linked to lowering blood pressure would be raw garlic.
2. Exercise: Regular exercise consisting of strength training, core, sprint-burst type exercises have shown to be effective in reducing your insulin levels and blood pressure.
3. Stress Management: Mild stress is all it takes to increase your blood pressure. Keeping stress levels under control is very important. Some recommended stress management techniques include: exercise, praying, meditation, and verbal processing.
4. Optimize Vitamin D Levels: Vitamin D is a vitamin that is essential to many parts of your health. It has been shown to help lower your blood pressure. Make sure you have the RIGHT amount of vitamin D in your system. Too little or too much can be harmful to your health. 

(The Hulk probably suffered from high blood pressure and could have benefited from this blog post) ;)

These are just four EASY and inexpensive ways to lower your blood pressure and/or keep it under control. Many blood pressure drugs (beta-blockers) have been found to cause type 2 diabetes by decreasing your insulin sensitivity. I am not a drug advocate and would encourage you to try a natural approach to lowering your blood pressure before looking to drugs. HOWEVER, sometimes it is necessary to take drugs. I am not a doctor, so if you need to take medication because your blood pressure is super high--take your medication! If you are taking medication you can implement these lifestyle changes and potentially, with the help of a doctor (I would recommend a natural healthcare practitioner) to slowly wean yourself off medication.

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

Preparation = Success

I am currently living the gypsy lifestyle. I couch surf at least three nights a week! I moved back in with my parents while I work on creating and starting my business(s). Let's just say, it has been quite the adventure. With all that being said my home-base is about an hour from Minneapolis which is where I am doing an apprenticeship (I say apprenticeship because it sounds way cooler than intern) at an amazing gym. I also do some odd jobs up in the cities for extra income. With all that being said, I am on the move a lot!

Okay, now I'll get to my point.

Many of us are VERY BUSY. Probably too busy. If you have every tried living a healthy lifestyle, you most likely found that it takes time and preparation. I found this for myself when I was working my corporate nightmare--I mean job, and now while I live the gypsy lifestyle.

I would like to say, when in doubt eat Chipotle... but then I think--oh yeah, they are owned by McDonald's. Watch out. So how do I manage to maintain my healthy lifestyle when I usually don't have a kitchen handy and am on the fly?

Planning

From my own personal experience, and watching and talking to people, PLANNING is the only way that you are going to be able to achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle. My mother is amazing. She not only had seven children, but she also managed to home school (shoot, the secret is out... I was home schooled), taxi, love, feed, clean, and support us! Talk about a full-time job. She fed us little... or not so little Sevlie children very well! The key? Planning. To put it nicely... My family eats a LOT.

(I wish this picture showed how tall my brothers are: 6'9", 6'8", 6'5", 6'3", 6'3")

Here are some tricks that I have learned that make planning EASY! Let me introduce crockpot cooking. If you haven't already tried crockpot or slow cooker cooking I highly recommend trying it. Two of my favorite crockpot cookbooks are the Slow Cooker Bible and Fix It and Forget It cook books. There are hundreds of recipes and a good number of them are delicious. It is pretty easy to modify them to gluten and dairy-free. Also, when feeding big eaters you can always add beans to make the dishes go farther (this is a trick my mom uses). You can also serve a lot of these dishes on rice or potatoes if you are trying to feed growing hungry boys for cheap! 

Another great thing about slow cooker recipes is that you can freeze them and heat them up at a later time and they still taste really good. When I go up to Minneapolis for extended periods of time I try to freeze enough food throughout the week so I can keep it in a cooler in my car over the weekend. It saves me money and I feel so much better when I eat good food.

Another Tip: Have Healthy Easy Snacks Around

If you have healthy snacks ready to be eaten you are much less likely to eat something that you will regret eating later. Some of my favorite healthy snacks that I try to have around at all times include:

• Homemade hummus--You can make this in a blender, I prefer my Vitamix.
• Any green veggie (broccoli, green beans, snap peas, celery, etc.) to dip in the hummus--also carrots
• I also like making almond/cashew butter in the Vitamix and dipping carrots in it
• A small handful of nuts or seeds is great quick snack if you are on the go (I avoid peanuts)
• Hard boiled eggs

So, let's start planning to be healthy! Think ahead, and prepare for your week. You wont regret it. 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

Why Looking Good Is Important

Looking good is important. There it is, I said it. My whole life I have lived on the tomboy side of things. In high school getting dressed up consisted of wearing jeans rather than sweatpants with my t-shirt and hoody. Even when I was a little girl my mom would try to put me in dresses and I would wearing basketball shorts under my dress and tennis shoes--who knows, I just might need to climb a tree. 

My first year after high school I lived in a city and state where know one knew who I was. There were no preconceived notions of who Hope Sevlie was supposed to be. I decided that I was going to start dressing like a girl. It was a turning point for me. First of all, it was great not having people ask me why I was so dressed up all the time... because they had no idea that that wasn't how I normally dressed. Secondly, I was very uncomfortable at first. I felt as if I was trying to draw extra attention to myself... however, I persevered and now I can wear four inch heels (putting me at 6'2") and I don't feel self conscious or weird about it!

What I have noticed for myself is that I perform better, work harder and walk taller if I have put myself together. I think this is applicable to all areas of life--work, school, the gym etc. In college I heard a professor say that if you get dressed up for a test you will score better. I'm pretty sure he said it was a proven statistic... but I don't have a reference so believe it at your own expense! 

I think this concept crosses over into our time at the gym and how we feed ourselves. I think if you walk into the gym feeling good about how you look you are more likely to have a better workout and perform better. It is purely physiological but I have seen the truth of it in my own life. In regard to how you feed yourself, I think it has to do a lot with respecting yourself. If you take the time to put yourself together I think you will be more likely to take the time to feed yourself well. I've noticed that sweatpants almost always = ice cream. I think other ladies can relate...

I realize this post it quite a bit different than my usual posts but I think it is relevant! Living a healthy lifestyle is about loving yourself. If you love something, you take care of it. If you "love" your car, you don't only put the right type of gas in it, you also clean it out, get it detailed and waxed (no pun intended).

Try dressing for success this week. Let me know if you see a difference in your attitude and outlook! 

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

The Smelly Truth

Today I am going to share a little information about everyone's favorite topic. Poop. If you read my previous post, the Magnificent Seven, you will have found that as uncomfortable as it may be to talk about, making sure that you are having regular bowel movements is very important for your health.

The fact is that Americans spend over three-quarters of a billion dollars a year on laxatives. This statistic was put out by the American Gastroenterological Association. In 2004 it was reported that about 1 in 7 adults were constipated (Ref 3).

If we are going to take a very simplistic approach to our bowel movements, what goes in and isn't used as fuel, must come out. I have talked to people who only poop sometimes once or twice a week. When on vacation and not in a comfortable place to "go number two," they might go over a week without having a bowl movement. 

Conventional medicine considers less than two or three bowel movements a week constipation. However, one to three bowel movements a day is considered healthy.

Why is it important to be having daily bowel movements? Bowel movements are your bodies way to excrete toxins and waste. If you are not having bowel movements on a regular basis, this waste is staying in your body. Think of it as the waste basket in your bathroom. It is typically filled with all sorts of gross things which I wont name. If you don't ever take out your trash it overflows onto your bathroom floor. Gross.The same concept happens within your body. When you don't "take out the trash" or have a bowel movement, the toxic waste sits in your body and is partially reabsorbed into your blood stream. Don't think about it too hard... it's really gross.

Here are a few ways you can naturally make sure you are having regular bowel movements:

• Drink more water!! As I talked about on my post on hydrating, your body is over 70% water. If you aren't drinking enough water your body will pull water from different organs to make sure your vital organs, i.e. your brain and heart, get enough fluid... If your bowels are all dried up, they aren't very likely to move very well. 
• Eat plenty fiber rich foods. Vegetables are a great source. I personally enjoy eating large amounts of salad. 
• Exercising is also a great natural way to increase circulation in your body improve bowel function. 

For additional help: 

• A high-quality probiotic will help make sure you have healthy gut flora and balance the bacteria in your gut. 
• Magnesium is also a supplement that can help naturally help soften stool and help bowel movement. 

Hopefully, rather than avoiding this topic, I have helped you see the benefit of making sure pooping is a priority (I really just wanted to say that).

Until Next Time,
Hope
xoxo

Reference
(1) http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band130/b130-3.html below

The Progression of Choice

The progression of choices. A conversation I had last week got me thinking. All the choices I make on a daily and hourly basis have brought me to were I am right now. This is true for every area of my life. My job, my health, my finances and my relationships.

As sad as the video above is, I love what it shows. We didn't get sick or unhealthy overnight. Choices that we've made brought us to where we are at this moment.

So then the question becomes, what will it take to change? If we focus in on just changing one thing will we really be able to be successful in long-term, sustainable change? I think some would argue that you wouldn't be able to. Changing eating patterns goes far beyond just changing the food in your cupboards. What is the root cause of your unhealthy eating habits? There is no cookie cutter answer. People eat because they are stressed. They eat for emotional reasons. They for social reasons... the list goes on.

It is important to identify what is the main cause of unhealthy habits, because this will need to be addressed. However, I think to truly make lasting change not just one thing in your life changes, but a large portion of it. If it is true that all your past choices have brought you to this point, major changes are going to be implemented so that a year from now you can look back at the thousands of choices which hopefully lead you to a point of living a healthier life.

To try and wrap my thoughts up, I don't believe someone is going to change their whole way of living overnight. That just doesn't work. The key is to try and start a domino effect. One change that will domino into a whole lifestyle of change. This happens one choice at a time.

Until next time,
Hope
xoxo

Inflammation

Yesterday, I wrote briefly about how our lifestyle choices either create the perfect storm for disease and sickness to flourish in our body or are creating that "sunny beach day" in your body and promoting health and eliminating the ability for sickness to grow.

I believe I only said the word "inflammation" once yesterday, and today I want to expound on what inflammation is and what it does within your body.

Have you ever twisted your ankle and watched is swell before your eyes? This is called acute inflammation and it is a healthy process within your body which triggers a series of biochemical reactions. Your body sends white blood cells and other chemicals to the site of the injury or infection to fight off infection and promote healing.

The other form of inflammation is called chronic inflammation. Unlike acute inflammation there are often no symptoms until the sight of inflammation stops functioning. Chronic inflammation can be the result of a mal-functioning and/or over-reactive immune system.  It also may be caused by an unknown infection or allergy that your body is trying to get rid of. Chronic inflammation can go on for years without being detected resulting in neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases. Studies have shown that chronic inflammation is mainly due to an unhealthy lifestyle.

When your immune system triggers an inflammatory response when there is no threat in your body, this leads to inflammation. Depending on which organ the inflammation is effecting, there will be a number of different symptoms that you can look for. Such as:

• Inflammation in your large intestine: Cramps, excessive gas, constipation and diarrhea
• Inflammation of the small tubes that bring air to your lungs: Asthma attack
• Inflammation of your heart: fluid retention or shortness of breath
• Inflammation of your kidneys: High blood pressure or kidney failure

You are probably wondering what the main causes of inflammation are. Here is a short list of factors that promote chronic inflammation:

• Being obese or overweight
• Eating a poor diet
• An existing heart condition
• Poorly controlled diabetes
• A sedentary lifestyle (little, or no exercise)
• Smoking
• Long-term infections
• Stress

If you struggle with any of the eight listed above it might be time to start taking steps to make sure your inflammation is under control. Here are some of the best, natural ways to make sure your insides are not inflamed.

1. Eat a healthy diet. Eating a diet that includes real food--vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, legumes and meat. Avoiding pro-inflammatory foods such as sugar, fried foods, processed foods, trans fats and junk food (we all know what that is.)
2. Increasing omega-3 fats. Many people in the U.S. are have a ratio of 15:1 omega-6 to omega-3 in their bodies, leaving them prone to inflammation. The recommended ratio is 3:2. Taking high-quality omega-3 supplements (also known as fish oil) can greatly help this deficiency. High-quality krill oil is also a great way to get omega-3 fats.
3. Exercise regularly. I think this one is pretty straight forward. ;)
4. Quit smoking. Smoking increases inflammation and hardens your arteries. The good news is, that you can revers the damage done to your arteries within 10 years of stopping. Making healthy lifestyle choices is a huge part of this.
5. Make sure your waist size is normal. I didn't say it, the doctors did. If your waist size is over 35 inches for a women or 40 inches for a man, you most likely are inflamed and should take steps to lose weight. (Please note that I do recognized that everyone is built differently. I feel that this one could make for some heated debate...)
6. Control stress. Excessive stress can leave your body with excessive stress hormones. These excess hormones can lead to the release of inflammatory chemicals. Make sure you are dealing with your stress in a healthy way. Exercise is an excellent way to deal with stress and is also anti-inflammatory!
7. Vitamin D. Make sure you are getting enough vitamin D. This is especially important in cold winter months.

I will revisit this topic in my next post and talk about some of the foods that are great for decreasing inflammation.

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/08/what-you-need-to-know-about-inflammation.aspx

The Perfect Storm

When does a hurricane happen? When the conditions are just right.

When does a tornado happen? When the conditions are just right.

When does disease happen? When the conditions are just right.

When does cancer happen? When the conditions are just right.

My instructor from my nutrition program used to say this all the time. How we treat our bodies through what we ingest, what we expose our bodies to, and what we do to our bodies is either setting our body up for a sunny beach day or a hurricane.

VS.

"It's easier to STAY out of trouble then GET out of trouble." -Rakowski

The fact is we all have cancer cells in our bodies. However, this doesn't mean we are all going to get cancer. Through our lifestyle choices we can create an environment in our bodies which will allow those cancer cells to thrive or we can create an environment that will shut them down.

I had a women ask me today about genetics. Her idea was that we are given a set of genes at birth and we have to live with it. We have no control. Thankfully, this is not the case. Just because you have a family history of cancer, alzheimer's, etc. doesn't mean that has to be your future. Let's talk about epigenetics for a minute. Epigenetics is the study of gene expression and how our environment has the ability to actually change our genetic expression! Now that is something to get excited about. Dan Buettner, the auther of the book Blue Zone, finds that 90% of our genetic express comes from our lifestyle and only 10% comes from our parents. Also, the English Journal of Medicine published in 2008 with the findings only 10% of breast cancers are due to hereditary mutations (or what we inherit from our family history).

Hopefully, my point is made clear. We have the power to choose how our genes are going to express themselves. We doesn't have to live in fear of getting cancer, disease, and sickness because we have a family history of it. Every time you decide to eat a side of vegetables rather than deep fried french fries, you are working toward that "sunny beach day" in your body, decreasing inflammation, not allowing those cancer cells to grow, and giving your body the ability to thrive and beat the odds of your family history.

I hope you find this as interesting as I do! Let's either start or keep making healthy choices BECAUSE we have control of our destiny. (Yes, I know that sounded super cheesy.)

Until Next Time,

Hope

xoxo

Ahhh Gluten-Free?

If you know me at all, you most likely know that I've been eating gluten free for about 6 years now. I am happy to say I was on the "gluten free band wagon" before it was cool. ;) Over the years I've gotten a lot of strange looks when I tell people I don't eat gluten and that it makes me sick. Back in 2007 people didn't even know what gluten was. There were no gluten free sections at any of your local grocery stores (maybe at a health food store), and there was no chance that you would find gluten free food on a restaurant menu.

When I went off gluten in 2007 I lost 20 pounds. It was great! I was a senior in high school and in the best shape of my life. I had been experiencing exercise induced asthma while playing basketball and would cough up mucous. Just two weeks after taking gluten out of my diet I went from playing a maximum of 8 minutes before having to a rest to being able to play a solid 16 minutes! Needless to say, I was floored. All my asthma and mucous issues were gone, I had a tone of energy and I felt amazing.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and some oats. Our bodies have a hard time digesting this protein which causes our bodies immune system to attack the lining of our small intestine. This can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea. Unfortunately, the side effects don't stop there. The graph below from a Mercola article shows the varying types of symptoms. The symptoms can reach past gastrointestinal issues to these listed below:

Osteoporosis or osteopenia	Tooth enamel defects		Vitamin K deficiency
Central and peripheral nervous system disease	Dementia, and impairments in mental functioning that could cause or aggravate autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADD or schizophrenia		Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH), a skin condition that causes intense itching and blistering
Anemia of various types	Infertility, and earlier menopause		Organ disorders
Weight loss or gain	Depression		Fatigue

If you don't feel well and can't seem to figure out what the problem is, I would encourage you to try going gluten free for a month. You can also have blood testing done to see if you are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease. There are multiple people in my family who are gluten intolerant and we all have different symptoms from eating it.

There is a lot more I could say about gluten, so I am sure we will revisit this topic, but that is all I'm going to talk about tonight!

Until next time,
Hope
xoxo

References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/23/Why-is-Wheat-Gluten-Disorder-on-the-Rise.aspx

The Magnificent Seven

I am hoping when you hear the "Magnificent Seven" it brings fond memories to mind. I absolutely loved this movie growing up! There's nothing quite like a good ol' western flick. Unfortunately, today I won't be breaking down the different characters of the movie and cleverly relating it to your health. However, I will be sharing the "Magnificent Seven" for optimal health.

I was introduced to the "Magnificent Seven" for optimal health by Dr. Bob Rakowski, the instructor for my nutrition certification program. He came up with theses seven and I believe that if you can focus on these seven things you'll see great improvements in your health. Here they are:

1. Think Right   Choose health, choose life!  Thinking right and making the right choices impacts each of the Magnificent Seven.  Omega 3 fats, B-Vitamins and Magnesium all help to create a healthy functional brain whereas stress, toxins and poor food choices can damage or even destroy neurons.
2. Eat Right - Eat Light   Honor your body with only the best organic unprocessed foods.  Nine or more servings of delicious fruits and/or vegetables each day can help to alkalize your system.  This improves energy efficiency and prevents chronic disease
3. Drink Right Our bodies, our cells and our planet are predominantly water.  Pure water cleanses our body and primes nearly every biologic process.    Divide your body weight by two and drink that many ounces of good filtered water each day.  Add 4 oz for every 15 minutes of intense exercise.
4. Move Right  Life is motion!  Research shows that 30 minutes of exercise each day can help you feel better and live longer. Work up to stronger intensities for fastest results.
5. Talk Right  All healthy relationships require good communication.   EVERY one of our 100 trillion cells can communicate with every other cell.   Positive speech has a positive effect on you and those around you.  Lighten up, laugh more and be good to yourself! 
6. Poop Right   Your body wants to eliminate toxins in a timely manner.  Your food should pass within an 18 to 22 hour digestive cycle.  Additionally EVERY cell of your body eats, drinks and eliminates.    Each of  the Magnificent Seven lifestyle strategies enhance elimination.
7. Sleep Right  A good night of sleep allows you to awaken refreshed without an alarm.  A good mattress; the right pillow; a quiet, dark, cool room; and comfortable sleep positions all make for quality sleep.  Relax for at least one hour before going to bed.  Calming herbs and/or melatonin can help those with sleep challenges.  

Let's start making sure we are taking ALL seven of these points into consideration when thinking about our health. They are ALL important! 

Hope
xoxo

Fruit Overdose

What a lovely Sunday! The sun in finally out and no rain in sight. This beautiful weather always inspires me. I find myself dreaming bigger dreams, coming up with better ideas and I always have way more motivation to dominate the day. Sunshine does the heart good. :)

Today I want to talk a little bit about fruit and how consuming too much of it can be hinder weight loss. I want to start off by saying I absolutely love fruit. When I was in college and needed a little pick me up from studying (mainly my economics classes), I would swing by a health food store and pick up a cantaloupe, chop it up and eat the whole thing. It is so delicious! I have been known to eat six plus pieces of fruit a day and not ever think twice about it. I LOVE fruit.

Super cute.... Right? 

As I’ve been on my journey to meet my health goals I've found that eating this much fruit regularly has actually been hindering my progress. Let me give you an explanation. For a healthy person eating one to two pieces of fruit a day is not going to hinder their health. Fruits contain vitamins, minerals, and those wonderful anti-aging antioxidants that will keep us young, longer. However, fruit also contains fructose. Fructose is a simple sugar that is metabolized to fat in your liver. As I have mentioned have before, too much of a good thing can be bad and there is no exception when it comes to fruit.

When eating fruit, one typically doesn’t see an increase in their blood sugar levels because of the fiber in fruit. This fiber works to balance the sugars in fruit and keep your blood sugar in check. However, when you go into fruit overload like I enjoy doing, your liver has to metabolize all of that fructose and your body doesn’t have a need for all the metabolized fat so it goes into storage. Another issue we run into with fructose is that it doesn’t stimulate insulin or leptin production. For those of you who might not have heard of leptin before, leptin is the chemical that is released after you eat to tell your body you are full and to stop eating. It also regulates fat storage.

In closing I want to say I don’t believe eating fruit is THE major cause of weight gain. In America we consume fructose in sweetened beverages, and in many processed foods (mainly high-fructose corn syrup). If you are struggling to lose weight this might be something to think about. Some of the side effects of eating too much fructose include:

• Insulin resistance (See Too Much Good for more on this)
• High blood pressure
• High triglycerides
• Impaired glucose tolerance
• Leptin resistance
• Obesity
• Metabolic syndrome
• Oxidative stress

I hope this post put one more tool in your toolbox to help you meet your goals and have faster results!

Hope
xoxo
References:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/11/29/why-large-amounts-of-fruit-may-not-be-healthy.aspx