Archive for January, 2012

Help Dogs Fight Cancer With an All Natural Healthy Dog Food

January 17th, 2012

You love your dog and to find out he or she has to battle such a horrible disease can be very scary for you. You likely want to do anything possible to help your dog through this time. The main goal for dog cancer treatment is to provide as healthy of a life as possible. Your dog’s veterinarian will determine his quality of life by his appetite, as well as other indicators. Dogs that have a poor appetite will have a weaker body. If their body is weak from malnutrition, then their body will take longer to recover from cancer treatments. This will make their overall quality of life poor.

Why is Nutrition so important in Fighting Cancer?

Helping your dog to maintain her appetite with an all natural healthy dog food is critical in helping her to battle cancer. Cancer cells thrive on carbohydrates. Carbohydrates give the energy they need to grow and reproduce at a very fast rate. Also, cancer cells cannot use the fat stored in your dog’s body. Therefore, high fat will starve the tumor cells of the food they need to grow.

All Natural Healthy Dog Food is Critical for Dog’s with Cancer

An all natural healthy dog food can give your dog the diet your dog needs. The best diet found for your dog to battle cancer is a diet that is low in carbohydrates, has moderate, yet quality protein sources, and is high in Omega 3 fatty acids.

All natural homemade dog food can be an option, as well as all natural healthy dog food that is prepared. An example of an all natural homemade diet can consist of 75% meat, 25% vegetables, plus eggs and supplements. This type of diet would not include any carbohydrates. This means you should avoid rice, potato, pasta or bread and nothing that contains sugar and starch.

Make sure that the prepared all natural dog food you choose is low in carbohydrates and has a higher percentage of protein and fat. Consider adding Omega 3 to your dog’s all natural diet. The trick is to help your dog stay interested in his food.

Keeping your Dog Interested in Eating is part of the Battle

Just as in humans, cancer or the treatments can greatly reduce your dog’s appetite. It will depend on where the tumor is on whether the tumor will cause increased appetite loss. For example, if your dog has oral cancer and it is painful to eat, he will likely not eat. Also, there is a condition called food aversion. This is when your dog associates eating with pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

Keeping your dog interested in the all natural healthy dog food you have chosen for him is a battle in itself, but must be overcome in order for him to have the strength to fight. Although you are desperate to get your dog to eat, it is important that you do not force him to eat. This could reinforce the food aversion and will make it harder to get him to eat.

Here are some tips to help keep your dog interested in eating:
* Provide tasty all natural healthy dog food.
* Warming the food can increase appeal because it can enhance the smell.
* Feed him in different places.
* Make mealtime relaxing. Sit and talk to your dog. Fuss over him.
* Divide the healthy dog food into small portions.

Eat These Ten Healthy Foods to Reduce High Blood Pressure

January 17th, 2012

Do you suffer from high blood pressure? Many Americans do. It’s a rapidly growing health concern. For some people, high blood pressure is hereditary, for others it’s due to being overweight from eating junk food that contains too many carbs and too much fat. Your doctor may prescribe medicine for this condition but you’ll also want to adjust your diet to get the best results. Optimal blood pressure is at or below 120/80. Have you checked your lately? If you do have high blood pressure, it’s very important to keep a close eye on your numbers. Some people check theirs every day.

You may already know that the very first thing you should do is cut out the salt. Hide your salt shaker at home. Most foods already contain way too much salt. You sure don’t want to add any more. A great way to reduce your salt intake is to avoid fast food, heavily processed and “instant foods such as “noodles in a cup” and that kind of thing”. Basically any kind of junk you take from a box, heat and eat in a few minutes should be avoided.

Here is a list of five healthy food that will help you keep your blood pressure down:

1. Foods High In Fiber: Eat lot’s of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These are great for your blood pressure as well as your heart and overall health. It’s best to eat them raw when possible to get the best results.

2. Celery: Believe it or not, there is a compound found in celery called phthalide (3nb) that actually help improve blood flow. Just eating a couple of celery stalks a day can drastically improve your blood pressure numbers. One good thing about celery is that it’s easy to consume. Eat it raw for a healthy snack throughout the day, put it in your juicer and drink it or just add it to homemade vegetable soup.

3. Garlic: Eating fresh garlic by adding it to your meals will help lower your blood pressure. Eating garlic helps to open up your arteries, letting your blood flow easier. You have to take it on a regular basis for the best results. If you don’t like the smell and taste of raw garlic, you can find many good natural garlic supplements at your local health food store. You can even get an “odor free” version. Less bad breath this way and worth the extra cost. One note of caution, garlic also acts as a natural blood thinner so it should not be taken by some people already using blood thinning medicine or those who do not want their blood thinned. Ask your doctor first if you think this applies to you.

4. Tomatoes: Eat plenty of tomatoes as they are a rich source of lycopene. Lycopene lowers your blood pressure. Eat two or three fresh tomatoes a day or juice them in your juicer. If you find you can’t eat that many, you can try a lycopene supplement from a health store or buy it online.

5. Foods Rich In Potassium: High blood pressure is sometimes caused by not consuming enough potassium. It’s important not to get your sodium/potassium levels out of balance. Most people get way to much sodium and nowhere near enough potassium. While potassium supplements are available, it’s best to get it naturally from the healthy foods you eat. Meat, potatoes, bananas and oranges all contain potassium. Don’t go overboard though. Try to get a good balance of potassium and sodium. Too much of either is not good. Taking the middle way is best.

6. Skim Milk: The vitamin D and calcium in skim milk work as a powerful team to fight high blood pressure. Try to drink at least one or two glasses a day.

7. Unsalted Sunflower Seeds: This good tasting natural food is loaded with magnesium, an important substance for lowering blood pressure. Sunflower seeds are also contain a good source of potassium.

8. Dark Chocolate: Don’t go overboard. Just one ounce per day is enough to help keep your blood pressure down.

9. Baked Potato: A rich source of potassium which helps in maintain proper sodium levels in the blood. Baked is better for you than mashed due to the nutrients in the skin of the potato. Try and eat the skin and not just the inner part.

10: Spinach: This leafy green vegetable contains a lot of magnesium and potassium. If you don’t like the taste of cooked spinach, just put some in your salad. It tastes good this way. As an added benefit, it also has quite a bit of fiber it too.