Greetings to All!

The THCA Annual meeting was held Thursday 1/25/18 at Eco Centro.  Election of new Board members was a large part of the meeting….See the Ballot and Results below. Fellowship followed at TYCOON FLATS with Neighbors visiting and enjoying the FLATS fare. Thanks to Richard and Malcomb the owners for Happy Hour prices for the Group!

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El Mardi Gras

The 2nd annual El Mardi Gras will be held on February 11th, from 1:00-6:00 PM, at the corner of St. Mary’s and Mistletoe.  The money raised from this event goes back into the Tobin Hill community.  We are looking for volunteers to help the day of the event with set up, trash collection during the event, and clean up.  A volunteer sign up will go out soon.  Thanks so much for considering helping out during this fun and purposeful event.  We look forward to seeing you there!

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Go Nuts If You’re Looking To Prevent Heart Disease

~ Institute for Functional Health
www.iffhealth.com

The phrase “decreasing your risk for stroke or heart attack” usually has some not too pleasant implications that go with it. Hopefully you’re not at the stage that requires taking blood pressure or cholesterol-lowering medication to keep them from becoming excessive. If not, then that means you can focus on the prevention approach, which is usually easier and less unpleasant. Maybe as easy as adding a handful of nuts to your daily diet?

According to a new study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, that may be all it takes to start you on the path. Researchers looked at the diets of more than 210,00 adults that were tracked for 32 years and discovered that the people who regularly ate walnuts, peanuts, cashews and other nuts had a lower risk of heart disease!

Most nuts typically contain higher amounts of healthy fats, beneficial fiber and nutrients that can help lower cardiovascular disease risk. They are also a healthier snack option rather than partaking of chips, crackers or pretzels if you’re looking for some crunch (with a nutritional and health punch!). Just be careful not to overindulge, as nuts are more calorie dense and the total can add up quickly if you’re not mindful of your portions.

Now, there may have been other healthy lifestyle habits that the study subjects were incorporating as part of their lifestyle, but all that was looked at was the relationship between risk and nut consumption. What the researchers found with the study group, compared to people who didn’t consume nuts, was:

• Eating walnuts one or more times a week gave about a 20% lower risk of heart disease
• Consuming peanuts two or more times per week showed about 14% lower risk
• Eating any tree nuts (almonds, cashews, etc.) in general decreased risk by 15-23%
• A lower stroke risk was seen in people who ate peanuts and walnuts.

Not a bad bit of benefit from adding a tasty snack! And if you’re incorporating healthy foods along with regular exercise, and giving your body plenty of water and rest to boot, you’ve got a good foundation to help keep future health problems in the “less likely” category. While there are never any guarantees with our health, it doesn’t hurt to try and stack the odds in our favor for a long, healthy life.

On a side note, certain people may need to be careful with peanuts. They remain in the top 10 for food allergies, with reactions that can range from severe breathing issues to promoting low grade inflammation in the body if an intolerance was developed due to leaky gut syndrome. Our patients learn how to properly test for sensitivity once the body has been cleared out and reset with a good cleanse and dietary modifications. As always, you need to know which foods are good for your body and keep the reactive ones out as much as possible.

So for now, think about adding some nuts to your diet and give your heart health a boost! You may even find you’ve discovered a healthier option to replace some unnecessary junk food choices that may have been doing just the opposite!

Greetings to All!

The Holiday Party was great fun for everyone who attended.  Homemade Tamales by Flora were a delicious hit accompanied by various sides brought in by the neighbors.  A special thanks to Jacob and Amanda for hosting the gathering in their beautifully decorated Historic home.

This year the Christmas Sweater contest was very competitive and well thought out by all the participants.  The judges for this year’s competition were District One Councilmen Roberto Trevino and last year’s Sweater competition Winner Cyrus Askin.

THE REEN was the entertainment for the evening.  “THE REEN” A one man Acoustic Guitar player played many top forty numbers along with Holiday Favorites.

It was really a special evening to have so many neighbors (approximately 55) to gather and ring in the Holidays Tobin Hill Style.

MEMBERSHIP by Marty

_{As Tobin Hill Community Association’s Membership Officer, it is my job is to help grow THCA’s membership. Since its’ we have seen our community organization grow and prosper. We have tried to represent all of Tobin Hill, both residents and business in a proactive and fair way. Our growth (both in members and financially) has been impressive. In fact, our 2017 membership roster included 49 new members. For our growth to continue, we need you continued support by renewing your membership for 2018.}

As we continue to grow, the more time it takes to reach out to each member and obtain their renewal. This is where YOU can help. I would consider it a personal favor if you would renew your Residential Membership NOW. Doing this will help reduce our follow-up efforts in January. Please _{go to the TOBINHILL.org for Membership forms.}

Elevated Blood Pressure A Risk For Dementia?

~ The Institute for Functional Health

When it comes to high blood pressure, too many patients fall into the trap of thinking that their medication will make everything ok. While it may help keep their numbers in check for a time, if lifestyle factors aren’t addressed, the number of pills may increase to 2, 3 or even a 4^th (we’ve seen it happen!) and still stay uncontrolled. The concern is that elevated blood pressure can lead to other risk factors beyond just cardiovascular stress, as a new study has suggested. It also implies that the time in life it develops may also influence certain risk factors.

Looking at women who developed high blood pressure in their forties, they were shown to be at much higher risk of dementia later in life. While there have been prior studies linking elevated blood pressure with dementia, there hasn’t been as much evidence relating it with those having issues with it before their 50’s. For this study that was published in October in the journal Neurology, researchers looked at records of more than 5,600 patients and tracked them over a 15-year period to see who developed dementia and if there was a correlation with hypertension.

What they found was that women who developed high blood pressure in their 40’s did show an increased risk of dementia, which could run as high as 73%! (This was even after accounting for other factors like smoking, diabetes and excess weight.)

Keep in mind that the brain is a very metabolically active organ (or at least it SHOULD be…) and requires a large amount of oxygen and nutrients in order to function properly. Because of that, it has a very proliferative blood supply system associated with it. If circulatory issues arise that begin to compromise that supply to the brain, it could have the potential to affect overall health and function of our most important organ! Therefore, longer-term issues with blood pressure could cause prolonged stress to the brain and be a prominent factor with issues such as developing dementia.

All that being said, it makes sense to keep your blood pressure under control as much as possible. This can sometimes be a challenging process, as so many factors predispose you to having elevated levels. Stress is always a major player, and emotions from anger to anxiety to frustration can all drive the numbers upward, especially if these are experienced regularly. Be it traffic or work environments or relationships, it always seems there is something to “push your buttons”, but learning how to keep the emotions in check can do the same for your blood pressure.

What we focus on heavily through our office is managing the chemical and physical stresses that can affect blood pressure. From a dietary standpoint, limiting pro-inflammatory foods (sugars, processed foods, etc.) and foods that are reactive to the body (allergies, sensitivities) will help keep it in a calmer state. Blood sugar balance, sodium intake and the amount of cholesterol and lipids circulating in the system will also affect blood pressure status, and can be easily controlled with better dietary management.

Pain is a major stressor to the body, and along with persistent inflammation, can cause regular elevations in blood pressure. Addressing the root causes of those nagging muscle and joint pains or overall body aches can easily give your body less reasons to be in red alert mode. Not only is pain physically uncomfortable, but it typically adds mental stress as well, which can give the blood pressure battle a double whammy.

So, if you’re female, in your 40’s, and already dealing with blood pressure issues, it may be time to make an overhaul in one or more aspects of your life. We have many ways to help keep a better state of balance in the body, and in addition, get you feeling better in the process. And it just may save your memory as well!