Newstart Lifestyle?

The Newstart Lifestyle program claims the ability to lower blood pressure as effectively as medication.  In general, I approve of such approaches’ it is good if physicians and patients use medication as a last resort instead of a first-line treatment.  I quibble with some details; for example, I doubt that a strictly vegan diet is really necessary, not desirable for optimal health.  As regards the “spiritual activities” at least they are deemed “optional” – if that was required I would more strongly object.  In my case I lowered blood pressure by: losing abdominal fat (“spare tire”), reducing saturated fat and excess sugar, eating more fruit, and getting more aerobic exercise mostly in the form of walking with some occasional brief jumping rope thrown in several days per week.

June 11 (UPI) -- By modifying their lifestyle, including diet and exercise, people can lower their blood pressure just as effectively as with medication, according to a study.

Researchers studied the effects of adapting the Newstart Lifestyle program, which includes a vegan diet, daily outside walks, substantial quantities of water, adequate daily sleep and optional spiritual activities. The findings will be presented Monday at the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting, Nutrition 2018, in Boston.

The idea of altering diet as part of treatment for high blood pressure is not a new one -- most people with hypertension, among other cardiovascular conditions, are advised to change their diet, and often also to get some exercise.

A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in 2017 also found that a low-salt and heart-healthy diet may be just as effective as medication. The diet for that study, called the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH, has been endorsed by the American Heart Association.

The latest research involved the Newstart program of lifestyle changes.

"The Newstart Lifestyle program works quickly, is inexpensive and uses a palatable diet that allows for moderate amounts of salt and healthy fats from nuts, olives, avocado and certain vegetable oils," M. Alfredo Mejia, an associate professor at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich., said in a press release.

On its website, Newstart touts that half of all hypertensives are off medication and return to normal blood pressure. Also, 50 percent of type 2 diabetics who adopt the system are off insulin and medications in as little as 18 days.

The website includes testimonials from people getting off medication.

The researchers' study confirmed the results. They found half of people in the study achieved normal blood pressure --- the recommended 120 mmHg -- within two weeks and avoided the side effects and costs of blood pressure medications, despite lowering their blood pressure on average 14 percent.

Researchers evaluated data from 117 people with high blood pressure who had participated in the Newstart Lifestyle program at the Weimer Institute in California for 16 days in 2014. Their average age was 66.5 years old with a body mass index of 31.6 and blood pressure of 138 mmHg.

Blood pressure was lower in people who have several medical conditions but are healthy otherwise -- women and people with diabetes, who are obese or have high cholesterol levels.

The researchers plan to expand studies of the program to more people, and over a longer time period. They also want to see if the diet improves other health problems, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

The Mayo Clinic offers a set of lifestyle changes that can lower blood pressure and reduce risk of heart disease which are reminiscent to those noted in the new study, as well as in previous research on high blood pressure and diet.

Changes spotlighted by researchers at Mayo include regular exercise, healthy diet, limiting alcohol, smoking cessation, reduces caffeine and sodium and lower stress.

"If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you might avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication," the organization has included in its recommendations.

Attention: Vegans

The following is I think self-explanatory.  Even if you don’t want to eat actual animals, why not at least eggs and dairy?  Even most people lactose intolerant can eat certain yogurts and cheeses low in lactose, and there is also LACTAID and other lactase supplements.  Abstract:

OBJECTIVE:

We describe a case of irreversible subacute sclerotic combined degeneration of the spinal cord in a Western vegan subject.

METHODS:

A 57-y-old man, member of a vegan cult for 13 y, developed weakness, paraplegia, hyper-reflexia, distal symmetric muscular hypotrophy, impairment of superficial sensation in the hands and feet, loss of deep sensation in the lower limbs, and neurogenic bladder and bowel. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cervical and dorsal spine disclosed abnormally increased signal intensity on T(2)-weighted sections in the posterior and lateral columns. Subacute sclerotic combined degeneration of the spinal cord was diagnosed and treatment with cobalamin was started.

RESULTS:

Despite rehabilitative treatment, the patient developed spastic hypertonia with mild improvement of paresthesias. Six months later, vitamin B12 plasma levels and hematological analysis were normal. One year later, spastic paraplegia was still present and the patient was unable to walk despite improvement on magnetic resonance imaging.

CONCLUSION:

Irreversible subacute sclerotic combined degeneration of the spinal cord is a rare but possible effect of a strict vegetarian diet.

Life is an experiment

Yep, it is best when life is a series of experiments, and I hope that you are planning and/or implementing your next experiment right now. Remember one of my last posts about searching for meaning? Well, experiments are the approach of this search.

My experiment today is modest and not too impressive: I  will prepare a Christmas Eve dinner that is VEGAN. That is right, according to my ethnic background, on Christmas Eve, we do not eat any meat or any animal products.

So, I am planning on: red peppers stuffed with spicy chickpeas, roasted walnuts, potato-onion salad, homemade high-fiber bread, and baked apples. Here are the details:

1. Stuffed peppers. The peppers are coming roasted and peeled from a jar. The chickpeas are from cans, I already made them crispy and spicy in a pan with olive oil, garlic, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, mint, and winter savory. I crushed them a bit. (If the bean mixture is too dry, add a bit of salsa or cut tomatoes.) Later on, I will stuff the peppers and bake these quickly (just to warm up) in a pan with olive oil.

2. Potato salad. I will boil some red potatoes (cleaned and cut) with the skin and mix them with one sweet onion. The onion will be cut thinly, crushed with salt and covered in olive oil and apple cider vinegar before the potatoes are ready.

3. Spicy walnuts. I will mix the walnuts with spicy Buffalo wings sauce and bake. The sauce sticks to the nuts better if it is thicken with starch or arrowroot powder.

4. Bread. I will use my recipe for fried dough. In this case; however, I will divide the dough into fist-sized balls and baked them on an oiled cookie sheet to have individual breads for everyone. The breads are usually baked at 350 F for 35-40 minutes.

5. Baked apples. I will cut these in two halves, remove the core with the seeds with a little teaspoon, then arrange them in a spayed pan, sprinkle with cinnamon, and bake at 400F. I usually cover the apples with foil for most of the baking time. Depending upon the type of apples, baking time differs, so I would recommend to try for readiness by piercing an apple with a fork. If the fork goes in easily, the apple is ready.