Acai Berry

I'm sure you have seen all the different products that include acai berry now. This fruit has just swept the nation in a short amount of time. So what is it about this fruit that everyone just has to have? What are the benefits? What are the side effects? Well, I'll tell you what I have found and then you can make the decision for yourself on if you want to join in on this new craze.

The benefit list from using acai berries has a wide range of things including:

• increased energy/weight loss
• reduces cholesterol levels
• reduces risk of heart disease
• improves mood and cognition
• improves blood sugar levels
• helpful in controlling blood pressure
• lessens possibility of cancer
• helps in digestion
• slows down aging process
• and the list continues to grow

The list of side effects have very few things to be very concerned about. It can reduce appetite but then that also helps in the benefit of weight loss. Excessive consumption can cause messy stools or an acidic taste in your mouth. This is caused by excessive vitamin C and E in the berry. The only major side effect I could find was that you may be allergic.

Besides the side effects the major concern is the scams that include the acai berry. This berry is perishable and will start decomposing with in 24 hours of being plucked. You can only find this in the Amazon region. The only way to export to the U.S. is in juice or pill form. Because of this, you should read all labels and you should only buy acai berry products imported from the Amazon region. Most juices in the stores are diluted with water taking away from their nutritional value. Also, you shouldn't buy the juice in plastic containers as the nutrients will stick with the plastic instead of the juice when exposed to high temperatures like sunlight.

If you want to buy a juice you should shake the bottle to see if it seems watery. It should seem sort of thick with solid pulp. Sugar is a leading cause for inflammation. If the juice includes sugar it takes away from the benefit of an anti-inflammatory in acai. So you should always read labels and look for 100% organic since any pesticides make the antioxidants of acai ineffective to fight.

It really comes down to the acai berry is a fruit not a drug so we need to be more worried about the scams than the side effects. Its just like anything else right now everyone wants to make money off of the biggest newest thing right now. If you pay attention to the labels you should be fine and get plenty of benefits from this product.

Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

High blood pressure can effect anyone. The causes can be a wide variety of things. Such as:

• Weight-the greater your body mass the more pressure there is on you artery walls
• Activity level-lack of physical activity tends to increase heart rate
• Tobacco use
• Sodium intake
• Potassium intake
• Stress
  
• Alcohol consumption-Excessive intake overtime can increase your risk
• Age
• Family history
• High blood pressure can also be cause by underlying issues such as kidney disease, hormonal disorders, thyroid disease, and adrenal gland disease

If high blood pressure is left untreated it may damage other organ and increase risk of heart attack, stroke, brain hemorrhage, kidney disease, and vision loss. It is always good to go over your options with your doctor and if your not wanting to use prescription drugs like they will more than likely offer they can give you other options or specialists.

Things to avoid when you have high blood pressure are meat, dairy, and intake of salt or sodium. This would include avoiding restaurants as they use an excessive amount of salt. If you need a salt flavor use sea salt or ocean salt.

You should increase your intake of water. When the body is lacking water it attempts to hold onto the supply that is available by resorting to vascular constriction throughout the body which helps reduce the loss of water through the skin. Avoid soft drinks, coffee, sports drinks and any other drink containing sugar and replace with water. You should also add fruits to your diet with plenty of berries.

Some natural remedies would be:

• Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)-in studies the people taking CoQ10 significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure
• Garlic-this supplement should only be used under the supervision of a health practitioner, especially if you are taking other prescriptions, as garlic can thin the blood.
• Hawthorne-reduces diastolic blood pressure
• Fish Oil-there is some evidence that shows DHA lowers blood pressure
• Folic Acid-Folate is a B vitamin necessary for the formation of red blood cells.
  

Most of the natural ways to lower blood pressure is just changing your lifestyle. By just changing your diet, exercising, and lowering stress levels you can change your blood pressure levels.