How can we protect ourselves against high blood pressure?

We can't change your genes but we can change our life style, and that alone could be enough to keep our blood pressure down. Even if it's normal, we should take steps to keep it that way. Blood pressure tends to rise with age, especially in combination with unhealty eating habits.
Here are 7 simple, but very effective keys to a healtier lifestyle and a good blood pressure:

1) Know your levels

If you' have absolutely no idea what your blood pressure is, don't wait for your doctor to suggest a check - ask for one yourself, and do it asap!

2) Become more active

Research shows that exercise can delay, reduce or prevent the development high blood pressure. As well as lowering blood pressure, exercise will help to strengthen your heart, reduce levels of harmful LDL cholesterol and help boost beneficial HDL cholesterol.

3) Eat less salt

Research shows that too much salt causes a rise in blood pressure; the more salt you eat, the higher the rise. A US study found that cutting salt by a third reduced blood pressure in people with both high and normal blood pressure. Most of us eat twice as much salt as we need - 10-12g daily, when we should be aiming for 5-6g or less. So replace salt in cooking with herbs and spices for flavour and avoid processed food, which accounts for 75% of the salt in our diet. Other high-salt food included bread, some breakfast cereals, processed meat such as sausages and bacon, soups, ready-prepared meals and takeaways. Check labels for the sodium or salt content, or for other sodium molecules like monosodium content, divide the salt content by two and a half; low sodium is 0,3g per 100g or under.

4) Maintain a healthy weight

Being overweight makes your circulatory system and your heart work harder and raises blood pressure. Research shows that if you're overweight, losing just 10lbs can help reduce blood pressure and make medication more effective.

5) Eat seven to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day

The Blood Pressure Association says we should eat more than the standard five portions a day of fruit and vegetables as, besides helping to protect arteries against a build-up of fatty deposits, they're a rich source of potassium (particularly dried fruit, avocados, bananas and melons), which helps lower blood pressure.

6) Become aware of your drinking habits - drink sensibly

It's not yet clear how alcohol affects blood pressure, but we do know that drinking large amounts causes it to rise. Women should have no more than two or three units daily, avoid binge drinking and spread their alcohol consumption through the week.

7) Manage your stress

The link between stress and high blood pressure is still unclear - stress certainly causes a transient increase in blood pressure, but the question of whether chronic stress contributes to hypertension remains controversial. However, research by Canadian scientists has shown that stress management counseling helped to reduce blood pressure in both men and women with hypertension.

For more info, see the main article: Pressing matter: High Blood pressure!

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 | Posted in: Miscellaneous | Posted by: Georgette Henson

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