Garlic and Olive Oil-Prevent High Blood Pressure and Bad Cholesterol March 9, 2008

Hello Dear Friends!
When you become in certain ages you start feel some strange new things in your body!
You realize that your whole body became more delicate and you cant live same as you live before!
We all have different problems but lot of as have problem with high blood pressure and bad cholesterol.
As Oprah said in one of her TV shows the Best thing is to prevent this Modern Ages Illness!
During few past months/after my doctor told me that i have high blood pressure/i made big
medicine and alternative medicine research about high blood pressure and bad cholesterol!
After all what i have had learn!!?
I learned that we have to think about our body from first day of our life!
Our body is like engine and we have to use the Best food for our engine!
All researches learn us that combination of olive oil and garlic in everyday food give our body the best prevent for this two The Worst Illness in Modern ages!
We can say -Eat olive oil and garlic and your body will be safe for a long time!
Yesterday i wrote a post about olive oil as Medicine,today i like to share nice post about garlic.
My advice for all of You M Dear Friends is that You have think about Your Body Need while You are still Young!
Here is the nice article about garlic :
from http://www.garlic-central.com/garlic-health-summary.html
This page summarises the possible health benefits often attributed to garlic.
Some of these have been scientifically demonstrated, others have not.
Obviously the efficacy or otherwise of any of these will depend upon individual circumstances. Remember that although garlic is potentially beneficial for some people it is also very strong. Some people are intolerant of or even actively allergic to it.

Always consult your doctor regarding any health or medical matter The medicinal properties and benefits of garlic are strongest when it is raw and crushed or very finely chopped Don’t overdo it – too much can irritate the digestive tract Raw, crushed garlic is an anti-fungal, however it can produce skin blistering Raw, crushed garlic is a powerful antibiotic Cooked prepared garlic is less powerful but still reputedly of benefit to the cardiovascular system Garlic cloves cooked whole have very little medicinal value There have been claims that garlic can help with cholesterol management however the research is inconclusive If buying garlic pills, check the ingredients Garlic should be seen a part of a healthy lifestyle, not an alternative to one Be aware of the possible problems with garlic

Olive Oil and High Blood Pressure March 7, 2008

I am 52 years old grandma from Croatia.
I was born in City of Split on The coast of Adriatic Sea.
All my life I prepare and eat a nice Mediterranean food with lot of domestic olive oil!
I was very healthy and in good shaped 8 years ago my husband start anew Job in a continental part of our country in Zagreb.
Here is a continental food and much more colder winter time than in my born city!!
I start prepare a more pork meat and less vegetables.
Here I start using a corn oil for preparing my food!
I am sure/Now/ that i made a HUGE mistake!!
Now I have a problem with my pressure!It is 160/90 or more!!
Last month I start with new/old/cuisine!!
I start prepare food as my grandma told me!!
I am happy because I can see that my blood pressure is better for Now!
I will continue with a nice grandma cuisine!!
According to a group from Athens, the answer is yes.
They looked at adherence to the Mediterranean diet (high in fruits, vegetables, olive oil, cereals, nuts, fish) among 20,343 persons in Greece, ages 20 to 86 years, and related the extent of adherence to that diet to systolic and diastolic blood pressures.
People with a diagnosis of hypertension were excluded.
A ten-point Mediterranean diet scale was developed ranging from 0 (minimal adherence) to 9 (maximal adherence).
There was an inverse relationship between adherence to the diet and both systolic and diastolic blood pressures; the greater the adherence, the lower the blood pressure, though in absolute values, the effect was relatively small.
Still, it was clearly significant. Olive oil, vegetables, and fruits were all beneficial in lowering blood pressure. Surprisingly, high cereal intake was associated with higher blood pressure and, not surprisingly, high alcohol intake (more than four glasses of wine or its equivalent a day) was also associated with higher blood pressure.
Nut consumption was not studied. Of the three effective dietary components (olive oil, vegetables, fish), olive oil appeared to be the dominant factor.

Commentary: This is an interesting study. The blood pressure was measured on only one occasion. That is a drawback, but there are some supporting data both from animal experiments and in humans (two studies). The Mediterranean diet is very similar to the DASH diet (high in fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products, nuts, poultry, and fish) which has been shown convincingly to lower blood pressure in those with normal or even somewhat high blood pressure. The only significant difference between the DASH and Mediterranean diets is the olive oil in the latter. Olive oil is largely a monounsaturated fat, primarily oleic acid. It also contains a variety of other substances, including carotene’s, poly phenols, and vitamin E. It is not clear which components of the olive oil seem to have a blood pressure lowering effect.

Why is this an important issue? Because the evidence now shows that a high normal blood pressure (130 to 139 millimeters of mercury systolic and/or 85 to 89 millimeters diastolic) carries some health risks (of heart attack or stroke). A normal blood pressure (120 to 129 systolic, 80 to 84 diastolic) is better – and better still is a blood pressure of less than 120 millimeters systolic, less than 80 millimeters diastolic (which we call optimal); see article in the Archives under Blood Pressure “New blood pressure recommendations”.

Certainly, there is no reason not to add olive oil to the recommended DASH diet which, in essence, is the prudent diet. After all, the Mediterranean diet is pretty clearly associated with a lower death rate from cardiovascular diseases (heart attack and stroke), and the olive oil component of that diet could be playing a significant health promoting role.

Psaltopodou, T., et al. Olive oil, the Mediterranean diet and arterial blood pressure. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vol 80 (October) Pgs 1012-1018. 2004

One member of our Scientific Advisory Board says he supports substituting olive oil for hydrogenated fats, but people should realize that olive oil, and other oils add calories to the diet.