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Researchers from the Erasmus Medical Center, in the Netherlands, tracked 6,000 people for an average of 15 years.

They found those who suffered repeated periods of low blood pressure on standing were more likely to develop dementia in the years that followed.

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-37618624

First, let’s explore what potassium does in the body. This mineral is often referred to as an “electrolyte.” Electrolytes are electrically charged particles, called ions, which our cells use to maintain voltage across our cell membranes and carry electrical impulses, such as nerve impulses, to other cells. (Bet you didn’t think you had all this electrical activity in your body, did you?) Some of the main electrolytes in our bodies, besides potassium, are sodium, chloride, calcium, and magnesium. Your kidneys help regulate the amount of electrolytes in the body.

Potassium’s job is to help nerve conduction, help regulate your heartbeat, and help your muscles contract.

It also works to maintain proper fluid balance between your cells and body fluids. The body is a fine-tuned machine in that, as long as it’s healthy and functioning properly, things will work as they should.

This means that, as long as your kidneys are working up to par, they’ll regulate the amount of potassium that your body needs.

However, people with diabetes who have kidney disease need to be especially careful of their potassium intake, as levels can get too high in the body when the kidneys don’t work as they should. Too much potassium is just as dangerous as too little.

Your physician can measure the amount of potassium in your blood with a simple blood test. A normal, or “safe” level of potassium is between 3.7 and 5.2 milliequivalents per liter (mEq/L). Levels below or above this range are a cause for concern.

Low potassium levels (hypokalemia) may be due to something as relatively simple as dehydration from excessive sweating, vomiting, or diarrhea, or to something more serious such as an adrenal gland problem, cystic fibrosis, or severe burns, for example. Low levels can also result from taking diuretics or from malnutrition.

High potassium levels (hyperkalemia) often result from kidney damage. Kidney damage is usually due to poorly controlled diabetes, and is considered a major complication of diabetes (it’s often referred to as diabetic kidney disease, or diabetic nephropathy). High potassium can also occur if someone has had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious metabolic condition more commonly seen in people with Type 1 diabetes.

Heart attack, injuries, infections, overuse of potassium supplements, and use of ACE inhibitor drugs may also lead to high potassium levels.

Too much potassium, by the way, can lead to weakness, paralysis, irregular heartbeat, or even a heart attack.

If you have diabetic kidney disease and your potassium levels are high (above 5.2), your health-care provider will likely recommend you cut down on how much potassium you get in your diet. Foods high in potassium include bananas, cantaloupe, potatoes, tomatoes, and legumes, for example. It’s not that you can no longer eat these foods, but you’ll need to watch your portions of them and not eat them too often. In addition, you shouldn’t use salt substitutes or take potassium supplements unless otherwise advised by your health-care provider. Meeting with a dietitian is extremely helpful, as he or she can help you develop a low-potassium meal plan and provide you with helpful tips to make things easier. If your potassium level is very high (over 6.0), your physician may recommend a medicine, such as sodium polystyrene sulfonate (brand names Kayexalate and Kionex), which helps remove potassium from the body. Diuretics can also help lower potassium levels.

Talk to your health-care provider if you have any concerns about your blood potassium level or the health of your kidneys in general. Do the best you can to keep your HbA1c level below 7%, and be sure to get your microalbumin level (a test for urine protein that detects kidney damage) checked every year. Diabetic kidney problems can be prevented or slowed if caught early on.

• Women without hypertension who consumed the most potassium (nearly 3,200 mg/day) had a 21 percent reduced risk of stroke
• Women who consumed the most potassium were 12 percent less likely to suffer from a stroke, and 12 percent less likely to die during the study period, than those who consumed the least
• Only 2 percent of US adults get the recommended daily amount of 4,700 milligrams (mg) of potassium
• Consuming enough potassium-rich food is important because this nutrient helps offset the hypertensive effects of sodium
• An imbalance in your sodium-potassium ratio can lead to high blood pressure and may also contribute to a number of other diseases, including heart disease and stroke

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/09/22/potassium-lowers-stroke-risk.aspx

Day–Night Changes in Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonist Modulator/Potassium Channel Interacting Protein Activity Contribute to Circadian Gene Expression in Pineal Gland

Wolfgang A. Link,* Fran Ledo,* Begon˜a Torres,* Malgorzata Palczewska, Torsten M. Madsen, Magali Savignac, Juan P. Albar, Britt Mellstro¨m, and Jose R. Naranjo Departamento Biologı´a Molecular y Celular, Centro Nacional de Biotecnologı´a, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas, 28049 Madrid, Spain

The molecular mechanisms controlling the oscillatory synthesis of melatonin in rat pineal gland involve the rhythmic expression of several genes including arylalkylamineN-acetyltransferase (AA-NAT), inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), and Fos-related antigen-2 ( fra-2).

Here we show that the calcium sensors downstream regulatory element antagonist modulator/potassium channel interacting protein (DREAM/KChIP)-3 and KChIP-1, -2 and -4 bind to downstream regulatory element (DRE) sites located in the regulatory regions of these genes and repress basal and induced transcription fromICER, fra-2 orAA-NAT promoters.

Importantly, we demonstrate that the endogenous binding activity to DRE sites shows day–night oscillations in rat pineal gland and retina but not in the cerebellum. The peak of DRE binding activity occurs during the day period of the circadian cycle, coinciding with the lowest levels of fra-2, ICER, and AA-NAT transcripts.

We show that a rapid clearance of DRE binding activity during the entry in the night period is related to changes at the posttranscriptional level of DREAM/KChIP.

The circadian pattern of DREAM/KChIP activity is maintained under constant darkness, indicating that an endogenous clock controls DREAM/KChIP function.

Our data suggest involvement of the family of DREAM repressors in the regulation of rhythmically expressed genes engaged in circadian rhythms.

Key words:calcium; repressor DREAM; cAMP; proteolysis; pineal gland; circadian rhythms

Connie’s notes:

Evening Supplements: melatonin, calcium and magnesium, Omega 3, Vitamin D and E, potassium

Other health modalities: Exercise, sleep, massage, music, nature walks, stress-free, whole foods

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https://clubalthea.com/2016/10/14/your-complete-dna-sequence-will-help-shape-the-future-of-medicine/

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The definition of foreign aid is pretty broad. The largest portion of the money goes to health: a third of the U.S. foreign aid budget in 2014, or more than $5.3 billion. The next two biggest portions go toward economic development and humanitarian assistance. Small sums of aid support democratic elections in other countries. A tiny portion goes to protect forests in countries where logging is destroying natural habitats. Some aid funds programs that train local law enforcement to combat drug trafficking. (But no foreign aid goes directly toward another country’s military.)

The vast majority of spending on health goes to HIV/AIDS projects. In 2014, the U.S. spent $3.1 billion on HIV/AIDS — about a fifth of the foreign aid budget. The next two big health categories were “Maternal and Child Health,” at about $530 million, and malaria, at about $470 million. Of all the global health expenditures, a category labeled “Pandemic Influenza and Other Emerging Threats” receives the least funding, about $66 million in 2014. Funding for the U.S. Ebola response counts as emergency assistance and is not included in the budget.

The U.S. spent $2.7 billion — about a sixth of foreign aid money — on economic development in 2014. Economic development mostly includes infrastructure projects, like building roads, expanding electricity and improving phone and Internet access.

Another sixth goes to humanitarian assistance. The majority is earmarked for “Protection, Assistance, and Solutions” — a vague title that refers to caring for refugees who’ve fled from conflicts. The money feeds and houses the refugees and sometimes covers shelter and migration costs. A tiny amount from this category goes toward disaster readiness.

There’s more to foreign aid than the foreign aid budget. First, there’s money for Overseas Contingency Operations, or, more simply, finishing up projects that the U.S. already started. For example, in 2013, the U.S. spent $2.1 billion on foreign aid in Afghanistan, even though only $700 million was allocated in the federal budget. Then there’s emergency assistance, like the aforementioned Ebola. Finally, the private sector often chips in to help build infrastructure, and its contributions are separate from foreign aid. For example, USAID partnered with Coca-Cola to build juicing facilities in Haiti so that locals could turn their mangoes into a marketable product.

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/02/10/383875581/guess-how-much-of-uncle-sams-money-goes-to-foreign-aid-guess-again

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