Yanomami and hypertension

Statistical connections between elevated blood pressure and stress have been made for a number of human populations.

Yanomami are the tribes of roughly twenty thousand Amazonian Indians living in 200 to 250 villages along the border between Venezuela and Brazil. The yanomami diet consists of locally grown crops, nuts, insects, fish and game. It contains less than a gram of salt a day, the lowest salt intake recorded for any population.

Cultivation of crops accounts for about 80% of Yanomami food grown in a series of ‘garden’ usually about 5 hectares in size which are cleared from the forest not far from the Yano.

The Yanomami have very low average blood pressure and no hypertension. Studying the salt intake and blood pressure of the Yanomami and 51 other populations around the globe helped to establish a relationship between salt intake and hypertension; diets that are high in salt are associated with an increased incidence of hypertension.

The findings in the Yanomami population were as follows: a very low urinary sodium excretion (0.9 mmol/24h); mean systolic and diastolic BP levels of 95.4 mmHg and 61.4 mmHg, respectively; no cases of hypertension or obesity; and they have no knowledge of alcoholic beverages. Their BP levels do not elevate with age. The urinary sodium excretion relates positively and the urinary potassium excretion relates negatively to systolic BP (Arq Bras Cardiol, volume 80 (nº 3), 295-300, 2003).
Yanomami and hypertension

Calcium maintaining of bone density and strength

Bone strength is the bone’s resistance to fracture. Calcium intake is essential for the formation and maintenance of bones. Ninety nine percent of the body’s calcium is stored in the bone as hydroxyapatite.

Scientific studies have clearly demonstrated that supplemental vitamin D intake (200 – 1000 IU/day) usually combined with calcium, increases bone density and helps prevent osteoporosis.

Higher calcium intake has been linked to increased bone density in short-term studies, but high protein intake and high dairy calcium intake are both related to increased risk of fractures in long-term prospective studies of men and women.

A study by Dawson-Hughes found that adding 500 mg calcium daily in postmenopausal women with very low calcium intakes (less than 400mg/d) maintained bone density in the femoral neck and radius and decreased the loss from the spine.

Although most young children meet the dietary requirements for calcium, the intake of calcium declines precipitously with age.

A calcium deficit during the growing years and in adulthood contributes to gradual bone loss – 0steoporosis, which can totally cripple a person in later life, affecting more than 25 million people in the United States.
Calcium maintaining of bone density and strength 

Selenium

Selenium
Selenium was identified as an essential human nutrient in 1979 when Chinese nutrition researchers discovered that people with low body stores of selenium were at increased risk of Keshan disease, a discover of the heart muscle with symptoms that include rapid heartbeat, enlarged heart, and (in severe cases) heart failure a consequence most common among young children and women of childbearing age.

How does selenium protect your heart? One possibility is that it works as an oxidant in tandem with vitamin E.

A second possibility raised b US Department of Agriculture studies with laboratory rats, is that it prevents viruses from attacking heart muscle.

There was one study that the result of a four year involving 1,312 patients previously treated for skin cancer strongly suggested that daily does of selenium in amounts 3.8 times the recommended daily allowance may reduce the incidence of cancers of the lung, prostate, colon and rectum.

Although fruits and vegetables grown in selenium rich soils are themselves rich in this mineral the best sources of selenium are seafood, meat and organ meats (live, kidney, eggs and dairy products.
Selenium

Boron

Boron
Boron is needed in trace amounts for healthy bones and muscle growth because it assists in the production of natural steroids compounds within the body. It is also necessary for the metabolism of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.

Boron enhances brain function, promotes alertness and plays a role in how the body utilizes energy from fats and sugars. Most people are not deficient in boron. However, elderly people usually benefits from taking a supplement of 2 to 3 milligrams daily because they greater problems with calcium absorption. Boron deficiency accentuates vitamin D deficiency.

Boron helps to prevent post menopausal osteoporosis and build muscle. New research indicates that taking supplemental boron can shrink prostate tumor size, lower blood levels of prostate specific antigen and may help prevent prostate cancer. Studies have shown that in areas of the world where the level of boron in the soil is low there are the greater numbers of people suffering from arthritis.

Boron is found naturally in apples, carrots, grapes, dark green leafy vegetables, raw nuts, pears and whole grains.
Boron