To Keep Blood Pressure under Control

Blood pressure refers to the pressure exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) puts stress on the heart and blood vessels and is one of the major preventable risk factors for premature death from cardiovascular disease.

To Keep Blood Pressure under Control, we must:

Get moving: Exercise strengthens the heart, so we can pump more blood with less effort, thereby decreasing the force on our arteries. It also helps with shedding kilos — which in itself helps slash your blood pressure.

You should aim for 30 minutes a day of activity. It should leave you warm and slightly out of breath — brisk walking, for example.

If you can manage something more strenuous, that's great. But even easily achievable activities — walking to work instead of driving, for example — can reduce it.

Get your daily five: All fruits and vegetables are high in blood pressure-lowering nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium and fibre. Five-a-day is great (aim for handful-sized portions).

Ditch salt: The evidence that links salt to blood pressure is as strong as that linking cigarette smoking to cancer and heart disease. Simply put, salt draws in fluid, raising the volume and pressure of blood in your arteries.

Most of the salt we eat is not what we add to food, but what is already there in foods such as bread, sauces, breakfast cereals and packaged foods. A useful guide when you're checking labels is this: more than 1.5g salt per 100g is a lot, but less than 0.3mg per 100g is little.

Go for purple: Purple-red fruits and vegetables — like aubergines and beetroot — seem to have particular blood pressure benefits. It may be because the anthocyanins they contain increase the output of nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow.

Control the peg: Drinking too much will raise blood pressure over time. Heavy drinking may affect the function of muscles within the blood vessels, causing them to constrict. Keeping to recommended limits of no more that three units a day (for example, a 175 ml glass of wine), with preferably an alcohol-free day or two every week, is what's needed to help keep your rate at a healthy level.

Go for wholegrain: Swapping a refined grain cereal for a wholegrain oat one helps reduce the blood pressure readings and allows some patients to reduce or quit their medication. Go for wholemeal bread and porridge, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholewheat pasta.

Yoga Poses and their Benefits

List of super-effective yogasanas that will help keep you healthy and fit.

Tadasana (also called Samasthiti) or mountain pose:
This is the basic standing pose. It teaches you the art of standing correctly and increases your awareness of your body.

Stand with your feet together. Tighten the knees, keep the navel drawn into the spine with a neutral pelvis, and chest lifted but with shoulders relaxed and pressed down away from the ears.

Benefits: It corrects bad posture and improves the alignment of your body.

Uttanasana or intense forward stretch
Start from Tadasana and inhale while stretching the hands up and exhale reaching down with your hands. Try to press down with your palms.

Benefits: Tones the liver, spleen, kidneys and the abdominal region. Stretches the hamstrings and the spine.

Adhomukha Svanasana or downward-facing dog stretch
Lie down on the floor on your stomach and face downward. Place the palms next to the chest. Exhaling, raise your trunk from the floor. Straighten the arms, move the head inward towards the feet and extend the back, trying to press the heels firmly into the ground keeping the knees straight making an inverted 'V' with the body.

Benefits: Calms the brain, reduces stiffness in the shoulder region and tones the legs.

Urdhvamukha svanasana or upward-facing dog stretch
Lie on the floor with face downward and toes pointed. Inhale raising the head and trunk and stretch the arms completely. Push the head and trunk as far back as possible, without resting the knees on the floor.

Benefits: Rejuvenates the spine, relieves stiffness of the back and significantly
increases your stamina.

Utthita Trikonasana or extended triangle pose
Stand in Tadasana pose. Keep your feet around three feet apart and turning the right foot to 90 degrees, turn the left foot slightly to the right, raising the arms sideways. Bend to your right, bringing the right palm towards the right ankle keeping both legs absolutely straight. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Improves flexibility of the spine and relieves backache. Massages and tones the pelvic region, relieves gastritis, indigestion and acidity.

Utthita parsvakonasana or extended side stretch
Stand in Tadasana pose. Keep your feet around four feet apart. Stretch the hands sideways, bend the right knee at a 90-degree angle, not pushing the knee beyond the ankle. And while exhaling, place the right palm on the ground outside the right foot and stretch the left arm in a diagonal line over the left ear. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Tones and strengthens the legs, improves lung capacity and relieves arthritic pain.

Virabhadrasana 1 or the first warrior pose
Stand in Tadasana pose. Keep your feet around four feet apart. Bend the right knee above the right ankle and not beyond it. Keep the left leg stretched. Extend your hands up in a namaskar, stretching the spine up. The face, chest and right knee should face the same way as the right foot. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Tones abdominal muscles, legs and hips, strengthens back muscles and relieves backache.

Virabhadrasana 2 or the second warrior pose
From Tadasana pose, keep the feet around 4 to 4 1/2 feet wide. Bend the right knee above the right ankle, keep the left leg straight. Stretch the hands straight in two opposite directions. Turn your face to the right and gaze at the right palm. Repeat on the other side.

Benefits: Tones the muscles of the legs. Stretches the shoulders and shoulder blades and significantly tones the abdominal organs.

Utkatasana or the fierce pose
Stand in Tadasana pose, stretch your palms straight over your head. Join the palms, exhaling bend your knees and lower your trunk till your thighs are roughly parallel to the floor.

Benefits: Tones the legs, abdominal organs as well as the back.

Dandasana or staff pose
Sit on the ground with your legs straight ahead of you. Keep them straight without hyper-extending the backs of your knees. Keep the chest lifted, shoulders relaxed. Place your palms next to your hips.

Benefits: Tones the abdominal organs, the spinal, leg and chest muscles. Good for those suffering from asthma.

Paschimattanasana or intense back stretch
From the Dandasana pose, stretch the hands forward and grab your toes, stretch the spine forward reaching towards the legs with your head. Try to stretch the spine from the buttocks.

Benefits: Soothes the adrenal glands, activates a sluggish liver, stimulates the ovaries and uterus. Tones the abdominal organs and helps detox the body.

Janu Sirsasana or head-on-knee pose
From Dandasana, bend the right knee, placing the right foot near the perineum. Stretch the hands up, reach forward and hold the toes of the left foot. Try extending the spine from the buttocks to the back of the neck - lengthening the spine.

Benefits: Stabilises blood pressure, helps correct curvature of spine. Tones abdominal organs, stretches the spine, hamstrings and hips.

Baddhakonasana or bound angle pose
From Dandasana, bend the knees and bring the feet together towards the pelvis. Use your hands to grab your feet and try pushing both your knees down by pressing your thighs firmly down on the floor.

Benefits: Relieves stiffness of the hips, prevents hernia, keeps the ovaries healthy, corrects irregular menstruation and helps to treat urinary tract disorders.

Marichyasana 3
From the Dandasana pose, bend the right knee and press the foot on the floor in line with the right hip. Extend the left arm and wrap it around the right knee, keeping the right hip pressed down, twist and try grabbing the right hand from behind.

Benefits: Tones and massages the abdominal organs, helps detox the body, increases energy levels, relieves backache, stimulates the functioning of the liver, kidneys and pancreas.

Sarvangasana or the shoulder stand
Lie down on the floor on your back. Lift the legs straight up and supporting the hips, keeping the elbows inward try to straighten the legs up towards the ceiling. Eventually the chest should be pressed into the chin. The body weight should be extending upwards not falling into the neck and shoulders, if it feels uncomfortable, do the pose while resting against the wall.

Benefits: This helps in the proper functioning of the thyroid and parathyroid glands. It helps to rejuvenate and detox the body. This is known as the 'Queen of Asanas'.

(Note: People suffering from high blood pressure, cervical ailments, cardiac condition should not practice this pose. Women should not practice during menstruation.)

Halasana or plough pose
From Sarvangasana pose, bring the legs down till the toes touch the ground behind you. Interlock the fingers, keep the hips lifted, stretch the arms away from the armpits and extend the legs from the buttocks to the heels.

Benefits: Relives fatigue and rejuvenates abdominal organs. Helps in the proper functioning of the thyroid and parathyroid glands.

(Note: People suffering from high blood pressure or cervical spondylosis should not practice this pose. If you are overweight practice with props. Women should not practice during menstruation.)

Savasana or corpse pose
Lie down on the floor like a corpse - completely relaxed and on your back. Keep your legs apart and hands away from your body with the palms facing upwards. Shut your eyes and concentrate on relaxing each and every muscle in your body.

Benefits: Helps reduce stress, insomnia. Soothes the nervous system, gives the entire body and mind rest. Makes one feel peaceful, calm and blissful.

Health Benefits of Lemon

Rich in vitamin C, lemon has many health benefits

Nimbu paani, the good old humble drink has many loyal followers. In a tropical country like India, lemon is quite easily available. Lemon is also used for culinary and medicinal purpose.

Squeeze a lemon in a dish of poha and then the taste changes. And there are many who simply can't have enough of lemon chicken or lemon tarts. Lemon is a rich source of vitamin C. Lemon water makes a healthy drink, especially when taken in the morning. If you like your tea without milk, then you can add a little bit of lemon and honey in your tea.

It is really soothing. Daily consumption of lemon water has a number of health benefits.

Good for stomach: Lemon is really helpful when it comes to digestion problems. Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching are relieved. Traditionally grandmoms always recommended a glass of lemon juice when somebody suffered from fever or stomach upset.

Glowing skin: Lemon, being a natural antiseptic medicine, can participate to cure problems related to skin. Lemon is a Vitamin C rich citrus fruit that rejuvenates skin and results in a glowing skin. Lemon also acts as an anti-aging remedy.

Lose the flab: In India, many people drink lemon water with a dash of honey early in the morning to lose weight.

Cures throat infections: Lemon is an excellent fruit that aids in fighting problems related to throat infections, sore throat as it has an antibacterial property.

Controls high blood pressure: Lemon water works wonders for people having heart problem owing to its high potassium content. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea as well as provides relaxation to mind and body.