Women’s Tips Guides

A group of researchers from 5 major medical centers found that eating a specific diet rich in nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy can be a powerful tool in lowering blood pressure.

The Dash Diet(Dietary Approaches to Stop hypertension) was found in 1996 to lower blood pressure about the same as a blood pressure medication would, and since that time has quickly become one of the most often prescribed diets in clinical practice today.

The Dash Diet is recommended by the American Heart
Association, in the USDA’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, and is featured in the US High Blood Pressure Guidelines.

The Dash Diet Study 459 people were chosen to participate in the Dash Diet Study. They were randomly assigned to one of three different types:

* The “typical American diet”

* A diet with more fruits and vegetables, but otherwise similar to the typical American diet

* The “Dash diet” - rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products; moderate in fish, poultry, and nuts; and reduced in red meat, sweets, and sugar-sweetened drinks.

To assure they weren’t doing anything else that might lower their blood pressure, participants were asked not to make any major changes in the physical activity levels during the study.

Participants were weighed frequently to make sure their weight stayed constant; if someone gained or lost weight,they were given a bit less or more food to eat to get their weight back to what it was.

Salt/sodium intake was the same in all three diets -
slightly lower than the U.S. average, but still higher than what most guidelines recommended.

The Results Those who ate the typical American diet did not see a change in their blood pressure.

Those on the fruit and vegetable diet experienced a
significant lowering of their systolic blood pressure - The upper number, which is a measurement of blood pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts to pump out blood - but little change in their diastolic pressure.

But the men and women who ate the DASH Diet for eight weeks experienced a significant drop in both their systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings. Changes occurred within a week of starting the DASH diet, stabilized within two weeks,and stayed lowered for the remainder of the eight weeks.

On average, blood pressure fell 5.5 mmHg (systolic) and 3.0 mmHg (diastolic) among all participants (including both those with normal blood pressure and those with hypertension).

In participants with high blood pressure, blood pressure dropped an average of 11.4 mmHg (systolic) and 5.5 mmHg (diastolic).

These improvements in blood pressure are about the same as what can be achieved with a single antihypertensive medication.

There were positive health outcomes of the DASH diet beyond lowering high blood pressure. Most importantly, perhaps, the DASH diet lowered the study participants’cholesterol levels.

When blood cholesterol is high, cholesterol and other fatty substances collect on the walls of your blood vessels and in time restrict or block the flow of blood to your heart.

High cholesterol, which is generally caused by a diet high in saturated fats, is a major risk factor for heart disease.

The Dsh diet is low in total and saturated fat.

People who ate the diet during the study, dropped their cholesterol 14 points. The “bad” cholesterol (LDL) fell 11 points. The level of good cholesterol (HDL) also fell by 3.7 points (this type of drop in HDL is seen when people reduce their overall fat intake). Combining all the effects (changes in blood pressure, LDL, and HDL), there was an important improvement in overall cardiac risk with the Dash
Diet.

A later study was done at the Boston University Medical Center, which offered the Dash Diet in an online form to employees of a large US company.

Over 4,000 people enrolled in the Dash Diet program.

They received weekly email reminders to log in to the site for information on topics such as weight loss, exercise, reading food labels, grocery shopping and more.

They also were encouraged to track the changes they made to their diet, exercise, weight and blood pressure online.

After one year in the Dash Diet program, study participants had lost weight and lowered their blood pressure significantly.

They started eating more fruits and vegetables and moved from higher fat dairy products to lower fat versions.

After the success of the Dash Diet program, the researchers decided to offer the program to the general population online at Dash Diet

The reason the researchers think that the Dash Diet is
perfect for all Americans is that it doesn’t take a whole lot of learning.

It deals with real foods that are easily found in every grocery store across America, and allows dieters to choose how they plan to meet their food servings goals with foods that they enjoy.

Tips and Guides: Tom Moore, MD is the founder of the Dash For Health program and a best-selling author. To find out more about how you can lose weight with No Pain and to claim your free DASH Eating Profile Now, visit us at: DASH Diet

There are difficult conversations in our lives; and then there are the really difficult ones! Conversations between a manager and employee about poor performance at least have the advantages that roles are clear, and that performance can be measured and recorded. Conversations become a lot more difficult, and require a lot more skill, when you are talking about issues of respect, attitude and relationships in a team.

Consider how you would handle a conversation with a team whom you felt was not accepting you and was perhaps being discriminatory toward you.

You were recently appointed to the senior management team. Everyone has been very civil to you, they co-operate when you need information, include you in meetings and in task teams. But you cannot help noticing that in the three months you have been in the team, you have not been able to build any close working relationship with your colleagues. You never seem to be included in the general banter around the office or in casual conversations. No-one comes to hang around at your desk as they sometimes do with each other.

You have been trying not to be overly sensitive. After all, it has only been three months. However, you realize that you are the only woman in a team that has been together for many years. You also know that you do not have the length of experience or the depth of general technical background that most of the other managers have, although you are more than qualified to do your own job.

How could you approach a situation like this without seeming to over-react and perhaps make the situation worse than it is?

Dealing with this problem means first dealing with the voices in your head.

These are the voices that say: They do not like me: They will think that because I am a woman I am being emotional: They are not being fair: They should give me a chance. When you start to hear voices like these in your head, the first thing you should do is notice the data you have that supports your feelings. What exactly has happened? Who said what? Who did not include you? When and from where exactly did your feelings arise?

You may find you have made a generalisation from one instance or from one person, to include the whole group. Maybe you have exaggerated what has been happening. On the other hand, maybe you have been expecting too much, too soon. It can take some time before an established team accepts a newcomer, particularly one without their own background and experience: in other words, someone who is different. The wisest step may be to wait and notice some more. You might find that the voices go away.

At the same time you need to ask yourself if you have been part of the problem. Have you been waiting for people to approach you? Could you be more outgoing, offering friendship to others before you expect them to offer it to you? You could try to gently change your behaviour to see if others respond. All it may take is that you offer to meet people a little more than half way, to start breaking the ice.

Sometimes this is not enough to make the voices go away. Now you have to go further into considering whether you have actually been creating the problem. Have you been acting out your feelings of unacceptance? Does your eye contact or tone of voice betray you? Is there anything in your behaviour that subtly communicates your negative feelings to the group? Could their behaviour be a response to negativity in your own behaviour?

If possible ask for feedback from one of the group, perhaps someone with whom you have formed some relationship. Then use it to change your behaviour.

If none of this makes the voices in your head disappear, it is time to plan a conversation that will clear the air. Choose a safe place and time. Do not start with your feelings! Start with your observations of how the team behaves. This allows others to understand the source of your concern. Let them know that you accept your share of responsibility for becoming a full team member. Explain how you feel. Then ask if you can talk it through.

Although a conversation like this will not be easy, having it is the only sure way to clear the air so you can start to build up a good working relationship with your colleagues. Dealing with those voices in your head first, is the only way to make the conversation safe so you and the team can openly discuss any real issues that may exist between you.

Tips and Guides: Maureen Collins has a B.Sc. degree in Psychology from Edinburgh University and over 25 years of consulting experience. She consults in communication in the workplace. In Straight Talk, she trains people how to handle difficult conversations, on difficult topics, with difficult people. Get free Straight Talk Tips. http://www.straight-talk.co.za

Aside from the wedding gown, bouquets are one of the essentials that a bride must have on her wedding day. In ancient times, a wedding bouquet was not only for show; it is said to keep evil spirits off the bride. During those days, garlands and herbs are usually carried instead of flowers. Now, modern brides have so many beautiful varieties of flowers to choose from for their bouquets, and for the bouquets of the bridesmaids as well.

Here are some simple tips for choosing the perfect wedding bouquet:

1) Visit the available florists in your area so that you know your options. Take a look at their offerings and see different design ideas. This is also a good idea so that you know the price range that you can work with. Make sure to consult the florists at least eight months before the wedding, especially if your big day is scheduled for the holidays.

2) Choose flowers that are in season. If you want a beautiful wedding bouquet but you’re on a limited budget, you can opt to order flowers that are in season in your location. This guarantees that costs will be cheaper.

3) Leaf through magazines or attend bridal fairs. Magazines specializing in weddings can give you not only design ideas, but also listings of florists whose services can cater to your budget. Bridal fairs offer you lots of design ideas and you can have the chance to meet florists who can offer you the best deal for your money.

4) Ask your friends and relatives for help. The cost of hiring other people to make your floral arrangements can add to your worries. If you have friends or relatives who can do this for you and have lots of design ideas, it’s best to take that option. You might even have a relative that owns a flower shop.

5) Get creative. Most wedding bouquets are held in place by cone-shaped plastic pieces. If you don’t mind breaking tradition, you can have your flowers arranged in a basket or a bucket, provided that it will look great with your gown.

6) The bouquet should compliment the dress, not overshadow it. Do not use bouquets with ostentatious design, or made with very large blooms. Remember that the bride should be the center of attention, not the flowers.

7) Consider the style of your wedding gown when choosing a wedding bouquet. For instance, if you’ll be wearing a modern, Vera Wang dress with simple, clean lines, you can select a single lily as your bridal bouquet. If you’ll be wearing a grand, Victorian-style dress filled with lace, you can complement it with a bouquet of lily of the valley and roses in full bloom.

You can break traditions. Instead of choosing traditional fresh blooms, you can actually use silk and dried flowers. You can use flowers that are not traditionally used by other brides. Also, you can go for unusual combinations, Just make sure that it will complement the design of your gown and the wedding venue.

Tips and Guides: Sebastian Marders loves writing about a variety of things and sharing the website that inspires each piece with his readers. If you would like to browse a selection of cheap strapless wedding dresses, cheap vera wang wedding shoes, and a selection of the formal plus size wedding gown cheap, then please visit.