High blood pressure is the most prevalent underlying condition in COVID-19 deaths in Mississippians, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health. In the United States, nearly half of adults have hypertension and only about 1 in 4 adults with hypertension have their condition under control. Having hypertension puts you at higher risk for heart disease and stroke, which are the leading causes of deaths in the United States.
WHAT IS HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE?
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. Arteries carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body. A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg. The guidelines used to diagnose high blood pressure may differ with each health care professional.
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HYPERTENSION
Unfortunately, high blood pressure usually has no warning signs or symptoms, and many people do not know they have it. Hence, high blood pressure is also known as “the silent killer.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT OR MANAGE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Get a least 150 minutes of physical activity each week ( 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week)
Eat a plant-rich diet, limit salt and alcohol
Obtain and maintain a healthy weight
Manage stress
Implement the DASH diet (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension)
HEART HEALTHY BENEFITS OF POTASSIUM
The recommended potassium intake for an average adult is 4,700 milligrams per day. Foods that are rich in potassium are important in managing high blood pressure because of the effect potassium has on sodium. Potassium also helps to ease the tension in your blood vessel walls, which helps to lower blood pressure.
Foods that are rich in potassium includes:
Lentils
Black beans
Cantaloupe
Avocados
Bananas
White Beans
Edamame
Beets
Dried Apricots
Sweet Potato
Butternut Squash
Greens (All green leafy vegetables are high in nitrates as well which may improve the flexibility and function of your arteries)
Quinoa
Broccoli
Zucchini
Treatment for high blood pressure most often starts with lifestyle changes, including losing weight, if needed, stopping smoking, decreasing salt in your diet, cutting down on alcohol consumption and getting regular exercise.
Controlling your blood pressure should be a priority in your healthy living and lifestyle. Unfortunately, the damage that high blood pressure causes does not cause any symptoms until serious damage has been done. Taking control of your health is one of the most important acts of self-care that you can do. There are so many things in life that are out of your control, why not control the things that you can?
This tasty guacamole recipe is quick and easy to make and it's ready to eat in less than 15 minutes. It makes the perfect game day snack or to add as a topping to your favorite Mexican dish.
In a large bowl, peel and mash avocados. Mix in red bell peppers, red onions, pickled jalapenos, and salt. Optional: Season with squeezed lime juice and black pepper to taste.
Keyword game day snack, guacamole recipe, healthy snack recipe, vegan appetizer recipe
This Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing is more than just a delicious, quick meal, it’s a powerhouse of nutrition! Packed with plant-based protein, fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants, this salad is a great way to nourish your body and keep you feeling satisfied. Whether you’re looking for a healthy lunch, dinner, or meal prep option, this recipe checks all the boxes.
Why This Chickpea Salad is Healthy
Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans): Chickpeas are an excellent source of plant-based protein and fiber, both of which are crucial for maintaining energy levels and supporting digestive health. The protein helps repair and build tissues, while fiber promotes healthy digestion, reduces cholesterol, and helps regulate blood sugar levels.
Antioxidant-Rich Grapes: Red grapes are a fantastic source of antioxidants, including resveratrol, which has been linked to improved heart health and reduced inflammation. They also provide natural sweetness, making this salad more enjoyable without added sugars.
Nutrient-Dense Vegetables: The combination of red onions and cucumbers offers a range of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium. These vegetables help boost your immune system, support hydration, and promote healthy skin.
Tahini Dressing: Made from ground sesame seeds, tahini is a rich source of healthy fats, calcium, and iron. It supports bone health, boosts metabolism, and provides a creamy, satisfying base for your dressing without any dairy. The addition of Dijon mustard and lemon juice adds tangy flavor while supporting digestive health.
Leafy Greens: The greens you choose, whether spinach, arugula, or mixed lettuce, provide essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. They help detoxify the body, promote heart health, and aid in maintaining healthy blood pressure.
Tips for Making this Recipe
Use Canned or Cooked Chickpeas: If you’re short on time, canned chickpeas work perfectly—just be sure to rinse them thoroughly to remove excess sodium. If you prefer to cook your own chickpeas, soaking and cooking dried chickpeas the night before will add an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Customize Your Veggies: This salad is highly versatile. You can swap out the red onion for shallots or the cucumber for bell peppers. Feel free to experiment with different veggies based on what you have on hand or what’s in season!
Make the Dressing Ahead of Time: If you’re meal prepping, you can make the lemon tahini dressing in advance and store it in the fridge for up to a week. It’s a great topping not only for this salad but also for roasted vegetables or grain bowls.
Add Protein-Rich Toppings: For an even more filling meal, consider adding a protein-rich topping like pepita seeds, tofu, or hemp seeds. These options will boost the protein content and turn this salad into a protein-packed meal.
Storage Tip: This salad stays fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge, making it an excellent choice for meal prepping. Just store the dressing separately if you want to keep the greens from wilting.
Health Benefits of This Chickpea Salad
Supports Digestive Health: The fiber from chickpeas, grapes, and leafy greens work together to keep your digestive system healthy and functioning optimally.
Promotes Heart Health: With antioxidant-rich ingredients like red grapes and healthy fats from tahini, this salad helps protect your heart and reduce inflammation.
Keeps You Full Longer: The combination of fiber and protein ensures that you’ll stay full and energized for longer periods, making it a great choice for weight management.
Blood Sugar Regulation: The fiber from chickpeas and grapes, along with the healthy fats from tahini, helps regulate blood sugar levels and prevent energy crashes.
Chickpea Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing
This quick and easy Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing makes an easy lunch or dinner. It's packed with protein, fiber, antioxidants and lots of flavor. This recipe make a great meal prep dish for lunch or dinner throughout the week. Stays fresh for 5 days in the fridge.
115 ouncegarbanzo beans drained, rinsedI used canned, organic
1/2 cupred seedless grapesorganic
1/2cupred oniondiced
1smallcucumberseedless, diced
2cupsleafy greenyour choice
Lemon Tahini Dressing
2Tbsptahiniorganic
4tspdijon mustard
2Tbsplemon juice
4tspmaple syrup
Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together tahini sauce ingredients.
Add chickpeas, grapes, red onions, cucumbers to a medium sized bowl. Pour tahini sauce over chickpea mixture. Toss well. Serve on top of leafy greens. Salt and pepper to taste.
Your gut is like the signaling hub for all of the other systems in your body. Hormones and gut health are naturally linked. When your gut microbiome is healthy and balanced, it is able to regulate the right levels of estrogen within your body, but when the gut is inflamed or out of balance, gut dysbiosis can drive the production of estrogen in either direction, disrupting the normal flow leading to estrogen related pathologies.
Why is Gut Health Important?
A healthy gut is important in order to keep your hormones in balance. In addition, your gut has many functions that are vital to your overall health. Some of its functions include:
Key player in your immune system function
Helps with the absorption of micro and macronutrients
Assist with the production and regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters
Contributes to regulation of estrogen levels in the body
Estrogens are made in the ovaries and in the adrenal glands. In women, estrogens help to regulate body fat, and are essential for your reproductive system, brain health, bone health and cardiovascular health. In men, estrogens help maintain libido and assist in the maturation of sperm.
Therefore, a healthy diverse gut is critical for hormonal balance. However, whenever there is gut dysbiosis, an imbalance of the gut bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, these hormonal imbalances can be associated with health condition such as:
Pre-menstrual syndrome
Obesity
Metabolic Syndrome
Estrogen-related cancers (prostate and breast)
Infertility
Heart Disease
Mood disorders
Endometriosis
Unfortunately, your gut microbiome is delicate and can be knocked off balance easily by many different factors such as genetics, antibiotics, age, weight, diet. alcohol use , environmental pollutants, and more.
Signs of an Unhealthy Gut
There are many symptoms of an unhealthy gut that often can be misdiagnosed as something else. As always consult with your healthcare provider should you experience on-going symptoms.
Digestive issues (bloating, gas, diarrhea, or constipation)
Autoimmune conditions
Fatigue
Skin Irritation
Hormonal imbalance
Weight changes
Food Sensitivities
5 Ways to Improve Gut Health and Hormone Balance.
What can you do to improve your gut health and achieve hormonal balance? By incorporating simple and practical nutrition and lifestyle habits daily into your routine, you can improve your gut health and overall well-being.
1. Be mindful of what you put into your body.
What you eat plays a vital role in your gut health and hormone balance. Eating an array of colorful fruits and vegetables that are high in phytonutrients and fiber promotes microbial diversity in your gut.
Not to mention, prebiotics and probiotics play an important role in promoting gut health. They work in tandem together, optimizing gut health. Probiotics are a group of live, active microorganisms, with intended health benefits in the gastrointestinal tract, a.k.a your gut. Probiotics help to ferment, decompose, and digest the food you eat.
Plant-based Probiotics Sources includes:
Sauerkraut
Tempeh
Miso
Water kefir
Pickled Vegetables
Kombucha
Kimchi
Vegan Supplements
Prebiotic are components of non-digestible fibers such as inulin, oligosaccharides, and polydextrose that are found in plant based foods. Prebiotic sources:
Asparagus
Chicory Root
Garlic
Jerusalem Artichokes
Onions
Bananas
Beans
Flaxseed
2. Be mindful of antibiotic use.
Antibiotics can be life-saving, however, according to the NIH, antibiotic use leads to gut microbial dysbiosis-associated diseases. In addition, excessive antibiotic use may also cause damage to your liver. Therefore, when antibiotic use is needed, it may be beneficial to take probiotics during the course of antibiotics therapy, however, it may be best to take several hours apart from the antibiotic. It is also recommended to take probiotics after a course of antibiotics to help restore some of the healthy bacteria that may have been killed during antibiotic therapy. Consult with your healthcare provider and/or dietitian for guidance on the use of probiotics while taking antibiotics.
3. Be mindful of your environment.
Estrogens are prevalent in the environment. Xenoestrogens which are synthetic (man-made) chemicals that mimics estrogen, disrupts your endocrine system, and interferes with your body’s ability to excrete estrogen. Xenoestrogens are absorbed in the body and stored in your liver and fat cells which can disrupt the delicate balance of hormones. These chemicals can be found in common household products like fragrances, plastics, and pesticides. It is important to find ways to reduce or eliminate these toxic substances due to the impact it has on your health and the environment.
Phytoestrogens are compounds that naturally occur in plants and are found in foods such as tempeh, tofu, and edamame. Many people are concerned with whether or not phytoestrogens can cause breast cancer. The American Cancer Society has noted that human research hasn’t shown harm from eating soy foods- and that eating moderate amounts of soy foods appears safe, even for cancer survivors.
New research suggests that phytoestrogens in soy are selective and don’t have much effect on breast tissue. However, the question still remains as to whether or not phytoestrogens are beneficial or harmful to human health. The answer may be dependent on age, health status, and gut microflora.
4. Be mindful of alcohol consumption.
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that if alcohol is consumed, it should be in moderation. That is up to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men. Alcohol is addictive and when consumed in excessive amounts it can cause dysbiosis, thus having negative effects on your gut microbiome.
In addition, excess alcohol consumption can impair the liver and its ability to detoxify circulating estrogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, potentially increasing the risk for estrogens related cancers.
Not to mention, in large amounts, alcohol and its metabolites can overwhelm the gastrointestinal tract (GI) and liver and lead to damage both within the GI and in other organs. Specifically, alcohol and its metabolites promote intestinal inflammation through multiple pathways.
5. Be mindful of daily movement.
It is well documented the positive health benefits that exercise can have on your body. Not only can exercise improve your mood, support mental health, manage your weight, reduce your risk for heart diseases, it can also promote a healthy gut microbiome. Exercise is a great way to support liver detoxification, reduce the stress hormone cortisol, and lower levels circulating estrogen.
Yoga or exercises that stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system may also be beneficial to hormonal health. If you currently don’t have an exercise regimen, it’s never too late to start one. Try incorporating a little exercise every day or as tolerated. Small simple changes can yield significant results over time.
To sum it up
In summary, your gut is like your body’s engine. Finding the right combination of nutrition and lifestyle habits are key to optimizing your gut health and for your overall well-being. If you are struggling with your diet would like some guidance, book a free consultation http://www.corenutritionhw.com/services with me to see how my services can help you.
Now more than ever, it’s important to eat a healthy well-balanced diet. While there are many components to a robust immune system, nutrition plays a key role. Eating adequate nutrients as part of varied diet is essential for the health and function of all cells in the body, including your immune cells. Certain diets may better prepare your body from attack from microbes and unwanted inflammation. Particularly, plant-based diets and pescatarian diets have been associated with a reduced risk of developing moderate to severe COVID-19 and may help support a healthy immune system.
Micronutrients and The Immune System
Micronutrients influence and support every stage of the immune response and are essential to immune health. Deficiencies of micronutrients can have a negative impact on the health of your immune system causing immunosuppression which increases your susceptibility to infections. To support optimal immune function, adequate levels of micronutrients must be maintained. Getting adequate intakes in your diet from real food sources is essential for both the prevention and recovery from infections.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D “the sunshine vitamin” has several important functions. Some of the most vital functions is to regulate the absorption of calcium, phosphorus and facilitate immune system function. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk of autoimmune disease as well as increased susceptibility for infections. For most adults, vitamin D deficiency is not a concern. However, those who are obese, or have dark skin, and who are older than age 65 may have lower levels of vitamin D. Adequate intakes of Vitamin D supports your innate immune system and works as a pro-hormone which supports a healthy brain, metabolism, thyroid function, bone health, among other important functions. Not to mention, having sufficient vitamin D levels in your body may help you to fight COVID-19 or improve your health outcomes, if you become infected. Plant sources of vitamin D include:
Mushrooms
Fortified Soy Milk
Fortified Cereals
Fortified Orange Juice
Fortified Almond Milk
Fortified Rice Milk
A recent study published in the British Medical Journal revealed that vitamin D supplementation decreased the risk of respiratory tract infections by 50% in those that were deficient and in 10% of those with favorable vitamin D status.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. It plays a significant role in immune defense by supporting cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. In addition, vitamin C supports several aspects of immunity, including growth and function of immune cells and antibody production. Clinical research suggest that low levels of vitamin C can lead to increased susceptibility to viruses, infection and compromised immune health. Food sources high in vitamin C include:
Sweet yellow peppers
Kiwi
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Strawberries
Citrus Fruits
Zinc
Zinc is an essential nutrient and is required to activate certain immune cells. People who are deficient in zinc are at increased risk for impaired immune function as well as increased risk for infections such as pneumonia in certain age groups. By consuming a well-balanced varied diet, you can meet your daily zinc requirements. These five plant foods contain good sources of zinc.
Seeds
Tofu
Oats
Nuts
Beans
Legumes like chickpeas
There are certain groups that are at increased risk for zinc deficiency. If you fall within any of these groups, you may need to discuss the need for supplementation with your healthcare provider or registered dietitian. People who may need supplementation include:
Vegans or Vegetarians
People with gastrointestinal and other diseases
Pregnant and lactating women
Older infants who are exclusively breast fed
People with sickle cell disease
Alcoholics
Immune Supporting Foods & Polyphenols
Black & Green Tea
Both black and green tea contain polyphenols which supports a healthy gut microbiome and helps to bind viruses to reduce the ability for the virus to replicate. A Harvard research study determined that consuming 5 cups per day increased the virus-fighting compound, interferon, by ten times! Enjoy 1-2 cups of organic green or black tea per day as a nourishing way to unwind and possibly support upper respiratory health.
Ginger Root
Ginger has antimicrobial, anti-fungal, and antiviral properties. Ginger root supplementation has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and immune-supporting benefits. Ways to incorporate ginger root into meals include: grating it into stir-fry, simmering slices in water to make tea, adding to smoothies, and grating into soups.
Garlic
Garlic contains alliin and allicin, which are compounds that have antimicrobial properties. While there isn’t strong evidence on the impact of garlic on the immune system, the studies that have been conducted suggest garlic may stimulate the immune system and have antimicrobial actions as well as lower inflammation, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Be sure to discuss increased garlic use (or supplementation) with a healthcare practitioner if you are currently taking a blood thinner, insulin, or protease inhibitor. Quick and easy ways to include garlic into meals is by adding to chopped garlic when sauteing veggies like spinach, broccoli or kale or by adding in minced garlic to salad dressings.
Quercetin
Quercetin, a polyphenol derived from plants, is available in a wide variety of foods and has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of upper respiratory tract infection symptoms. Studies suggest that quercetin may also help reduce inflammation. When combined with vitamin C, quercetin may provide additional immune-supporting effects. Food sources include:
apples
berries
capers
grapes
onions
tomatoes
green and black teas
citrus fruits
kale
5 Ways to Help Support a Healthy Immune System
While the food choices you make are a significant factor that impacts your health, there are other lifestyle habits that can promote a healthy immune system too which includes:
Maintaining adequate fluid intake. Adequate hydration is a key component to supporting your body’s immune system.
Limiting caffeine intake and alcohol. Too much of either may disrupt your gut microbiome.
Stress management. Chronic stress can weaken the immune system and cause a pro-inflammatory response.
Physical activity. Exercise acts a modulator for the immune system and causes anti-inflammatory cytokines to be released.
Quality sleep. Quality sleep supports a healthy immune system and may reduce your risk for chronic diseases.
There are many quercetin supplements out on the market. However, the best way to boost your intake is through whole foods that are rich in quercetin like red onions, capers, organic tomatoes, and kale into your daily diet. As always, it is best to consult with your healthcare provider before adding any supplements into your diet.
Need some guidance on how to improve your immune health with nutrition and lifestyle habits? Schedule a free consultation at http://www.corenutritionhw.com/services
