Heart Failure Cause Liver & Kidney Failure at the Same Time?
Heart failure can cause liver failure AND kidney failure, but what are the odds that the liver and kidneys decide to fail at the exact same time?
Is it more likely that heart failure injures the liver first, and then the liver injury causes a reduction in blood flow to both kidneys, thereby making both of them fail? (more…)
Can Ascites Cause Acute Decompensated Heart Failure?
Are you wondering if excess abdominal fluid, called ascites, can cause an already weak heart to be strained, leading to ADHF?
And if so, would this be due to a mechanical type of pressure or just what, exactly? (more…)
Why Can ADHF Occur at Any Time in Chronic Heart Failure?
A fully functioning patient with CHF who’s medically stable, although with chronic renal insufficiency, could have acute decompensated heart failure at any time.
There are people with chronic heart failure who go dancing, bike riding, even hiking.
It’s scary to think that at any time, with seemingly no triggers, they can acutely decompensate. (more…)
5 Percent Ejection Fraction without Acute Renal Failure?
“For unknown reasons, some patients are able to tolerate very low ejection fraction without failure of other organs” including the kidneys, says Dr. Mark Pool, MD, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon based in TX who’s been in private practice since 2011. (more…)
Can the Liver Suddenly Fail Acutely from Heart Failure?
There are several mechanisms by which you can suffer acute liver failure as a result of your chronic heart failure.
The kidneys get virtually all of the attention in medical literature when it comes to organ damage secondary to heart failure. (more…)
Does Fluid Buildup Always Occur with Acute Heart Failure?
Can ejection fraction suddenly get a lot worse (acute heart failure) without filling the lungs with fluid or causing peripheral edema?
When people are hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), is this commonly because of respiratory distress from fluid buildup in the lungs? Yes. (more…)
How to Eliminate the Spinach Taste in a Spinach Smoothie
I accidentally discovered a way to greatly blunt the spinach taste in a spinach smoothie despite loads of spinach in the blend!
Recipes for spinach smoothies often call for small amounts of this green superfood because it’s quite unpalatable in liquid form for many people.
But there IS a way to cram a LOT of spinach into a smoothie.
In fact, here’s a way to create a large smoothie that’s virtually ALL spinach — without hardly tasting any of it. No kidding!
And why make a spinach-full smoothie if you don’t want to taste the spinach?
Because this vegetable is a superfood: full of health-giving nutrients.
How to Practically Neutralize the Spinach Taste Despite a Ton of Spinach in Your Smoothie
Use a NutriBullet or NutriNinja processor. This recipe will not work with “juicers” or juice extractors.
Place an apple slice or small amount of any other non-leafy produce at the bottom, as depicted in the image above.
This will prevent spinach leaves from sticking to the bottom (which becomes the top when you flip it over to process).
Cram as much spinach as possible up to the black limit line of the container.
You can breach this rule a little, as I’ve done here, as I’ve done in the image above.
Don’t just drop in the leaves. Cram and stuff them down with your fingertips so that the volume is compact.
Cram as much as possible up to or a little past the black line. Then add a small palm-full of raw almonds.
Add water to a little past the black line or marker. Then turn on the NutriBullet or NutriNinja.
Let it grind away for at least 60 seconds. The machine will NOT overheat or malfunction.
You want to be sure to completely pulverize the almonds and leaves. The result will be a rich green color.
I like to pour the contents into a very large glass, like the huge stein shaped glass below.
There will be a LOT to drink, due to the required water content.
If you don’t add enough water, the drink will be thick like a shake. If you prefer this, then fine.
But I like to get green smoothie ingestion over as fast as possible, and the only way to accomplish this is to have a thinner drink so that I can easily guzzle a lot in a long breath.
Add one and a half tablespoons of the following to the drink (which can be purchased in ground form):
- GROUND chia seeds
- GROUND flaxseeds
- The seeds do not have to be processed by the NutriBullet or NutriNinja. They will easily mix into the processed product.
Ground chia seeds (above)
Ground flaxseeds
Stir vigorously with an object that reaches the bottom of the glass, such as a butter knife. If it seems too thick (not easily “guzzable”).
Then add water and stir in. It’s never too late to add more water to thin out the beverage.
Now I’m not exaggerating when I say this, but you will hardly — and I mean barely, if at ALL — taste the spinach.
So what, then, will you actually taste? First of all, the taste will be highly tolerable. It will totally lack that unpalatable, awful taste of earth and mud that some people describe as the taste of liquified spinach.
Depending on what other produce you put at the bottom (to prevent the leaves from sticking), it will be a bland, weak taste, almost like nothing.
If you use grapes instead of an apple, you’ll taste the grapes, not the spinach, and the drink will have more flavor, but it will still be weak.
With an apple slice, it will almost be neutral, actually. It will not taste like cardboard or paper.
Trust me, you will easily tolerate it. You will not have to plug your nose as you drink this spinach smoothie, nor will you dread your next sip or guzzle.
Strangely, it will not taste nutty or seedy. You may detect a vague taste of almonds.
But what happens is that the almonds and seeds cancel out the taste of the spinach, and the spinach cancels out the taste of the almonds and seeds. It’s really strange, but it works.
You can now drink large amounts of spinach without ever gagging on the taste ever again!
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
How to Walk Faster if You’re Elderly
Elderly people are notorious for walking very slowly, but this doesn’t mean it has to be so.
Slow walking does NOT have to be a non-preventable effect of old age. Furthermore, the ability to RUN need not disappear in senior age. (more…)
What Kind of Hard Candy Is Okay for Diabetics?
There’s all sorts of yummy hard candy out there, and being diabetic doesn’t mean you can never enjoy this kind of sweet food ever again.
With all the types of hard candy sold at candy stores, grocers and online, is there a particular kind that’s best for a person with diabetes? (more…)
What Can Cause Blood Sugar to Spike Overnight?
Sudden spikes in blood sugar overnight are something that diabetics don’t want to ever experience.
Something like this happening – blood sugar soaring while you’re sound asleep and totally unaware – is a frightening thought. (more…)
