Spare Tire Risks

ou may know that carrying extra weight around your middle can increase your risk for heart disease and diabetes, but now there's another disease that it may trigger: hypertension.

Researchers followed adult men and women for ten years to track their waist size and blood pressure over that period. Those with large waistlines or those that were generally obese started out with a higher risk of hypertension than their slim counterparts, but those who gained weight around their middles also had higher blood pressure by the end of the study. Having a large waist size or an increasing waist size is a predictor of high blood pressure. A waist size of 35 inches or more for women and 40 inches or more for men is considered to be the measure of abdominal obesity, which is strongly associated with hypertension, high cholesterol, type II diabetes and heart disease. Untreated high blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, heart failure, and atherosclerosis.

Prevention is the best and easiest route to take. If you are apple shaped, as most men and some women are, you need to be very vigilant about your waist size and any weight gain. Try not to let your waist size creep even close to the obesity line, since being overweight is not healthy either. Healthy eating, regular exercise and plenty of sleep can help you control your weight and prevent weight gain and hypertension.

Storing Nuts and Dried Fruit

How you store nuts and dried fruits will determine how long they will last before they spoil. A cool, dry and dark place is important for extending their freshness. After opening their packages, transfer the dried fruits or nuts to airtight glass containers or plastic zipper bags. Shelled nuts can be stored in this manner for up to 4 months in the refrigerator, and up to 6 months in the freezer. As a general rule, nuts in their shell will keep about twice as long as shelled nuts. Always smell your nuts before you eat them; if they smell rancid, like paint thinner, or taste bitter or oily, throw them away. Eating rancid nuts (and rancid oils for that matter) is unhealthy. Storing dried fruit in glass containers allows you to monitor moisture build-up on the fruit, which is important to avoid since moisture will cause rapid spoilage. Dried fruit should be stored between 45° and 50° Fahrenheit in a dark, dry place, such as a cabinet or a pantry. Store trail mix in the refrigerator as you would store nuts.