Published May 26, 2010

Lower your blood pressure 5-10 points in just 6 weeks

If you have high blood pressure, you may have had trouble correcting it. But now there’s a remedy that’s as simple as it is powerful. At least that’s what a new study says.

In a study out of Israel, researchers followed 54 subjects with moderate uncontrolled high blood pressure. They were already on one or two drugs, with no difference in their pressure. The researchers gave them a tomato extract for six weeks. Their systolic blood pressure dropped by more than 10 mm mercury. The diastolic fell by more than 5 mm. Their lycopene levels rose sharply — 300%. Higher lycopene levels correlated to lower systolic blood pressure.

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Published May 21, 2010

Keep your heart young without cutting calories

Keeping your heart young can keep you young. Researchers proved years ago that one of the best ways to keep your heart young is to restrict how many calories you eat each day. But scientists just discovered a new way to keep the hearts of animals young. And what they found directly benefits you.

I’ve written in the past that insulin is the hormone of aging and death when it comes in excess. These researchers found that manipulating genes involved in insulin regulation can keep hearts younger in animals. In this study, the scientists suppressed the p110 alpha-gene in animals. This gene encourages insulin production.

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Published May 20, 2010

The third leading cause of death in the U.S. —
don’t be a victim

You probably know that cancer and heart disease are the top two leading causes of death in the U.S. Nothing surprising there. But can you guess what the third leading cause of death is? Is it stroke? What about diabetes? Or could it be pneumonia? The Journal of the American Medical Association says the surprising answer is none of these.

The answer is so surprising that it startled the entire American medical community. The article, written by Dr. Barbara Starfield, one of its most respected and honored public-health experts in the country, said it isn’t a disease at all. It’s your doctor!

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