High Blood Pressure and Food, the Lifestyle choice.

By this I mean that you very much have a choice to make and which road to go down.Is it just go on as you are with no changes whatsoever with no alteration whatsoever in your food intake and just trust to the power of medication?

Or is that you want to make a positive choice and have a positive stance on what you do about your High Blood Pressure?

Me? I found it easier to take the latter road. Do something positive and be proactive..

To be brutally honest it was not the easiest road to take, it would have been a  so much easier just to continue the way I was going and just take the medicine every morning on time and trust to my doctor but (and we cover this at a later stage) all medicine has side effects and for my part I was getting fed up of night cramps, sweats and associate grief so it was very much a case of:

“OK, I am here for the long haul, better get your butt in gear and do something about it”

The above having been said, I am not trying to stress that I am some sort of lifestyle guru surviving on a regular meal of three bean sprouts and some tofu (can’t stand the stuff myself) just start off in the early days with a common sense approach to eating and work your way up from there.

As they say in all walks of life. “Success is a synch by the inch; by the yard it’s hard” so in the early stages take it one day at a time and if you “fall off the wagon” from time to time – don’t beat yourself up over it.

Just dust yourself down and get back on the program again and next time try and stay on for longer.

Believe me it does get easier and you’ll feel all the better for it. High Blood Pressure and Food, the Lifestyle choice

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Yes I suffer from High Blood Pressure, but the terrific news is that it’s under control.

I was diagnosed with dangerously high Blood Pressure in 2001 with a reading of 216 over 160 – yes that high.

To put it into perspective, ideal levels should be in the region of 120 over 80 but now my levels regularly come in at around the 120-40 over 75-85 levels.

How did I achieve this? Exercise and medication.

Medication in the early stages as the condition had to be brought under control….and fast and latterly exercise.

To be honest, it’s a number of things that will keep this under control but onwards ever forward.

So what is the purpose of this site?

Well really it’s to spread the message that a diagnosis of High Blood Pressure is not the “Death Sentence” it once was and that you can do something proactive about it.

Yes we are promoting certain items on this site. It’s how we pay for the site and they are things that I believe in.

What does the future have in store for me and what actions will I take?

Exercise, rest and relaxation and if I maintain these then I will be able to cut back on the medication right down to the bare minimum which is where I want to be.

Why the bare minimum?

Well to be honest, my initial diagnosis was so extreme that it would be totally foolhardy of me to drop the medication now it’s under control. Call it an insurance policy if you will but it doesn’t mean that I don’t fully subscribe to the methods, techniques and practices that I refer to in this site, I do and it’s because of them that I’ve been able to drop my readings down to the average levels and keep them there.

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Maintain a healthy blood pressure is very important to maintain a health and enhanced overall well-being. Blood pressure is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. That is typical for blood pressure to fluctuate during the day, but if stays high, so high blood pressure experienced. The medical term for high blood pressure is hypertension. Medical experts agree that the normal blood pressure between 110 70 and 125 80. When one is high blood pressure can damage blood vessels, heart and kidneys. These conditions can lead to heart attacks, strokes and other serious problems. Hypertension is often called a “silent killer” because it does not cause symptoms, while causing the said injuries.

About 90-95 percent of the causes of hypertension is unknown. But several factors can lead to hypertension such as obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, family background of high blood pressure, eating too much salt, and getting older. Your blood pressure may also increase if he or she lives a sedentary lifestyle and not eating enough potassium and calcium. Atherosclerosis (arteriosclerosis) or thickening of the arterial wall, and excessive contraction of small arteries may also cause hypertension.

High blood pressure is not usually cause symptoms that is why this condition can go undetected for many years. This can result in progressive damage to important organs like heart, kidneys, liver, and blood vessels. In addition to these conditions, high blood pressure can cause the tiny capillaries in the eyes to bleed. However, symptoms of high blood pressure is noticeable in some people. These symptoms can include headache, blurred vision, nausea and chronic fatigue.

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This is a well known fact that heart diseases and excess body weight are related. Obesity, heavy alcohol consumption and lack of activity are the main factors causing high blood pressure. Too much body fat leads to an increased risk of health problems through clogging of the arteries with cholesterol. That is why the successful treatment of high blood pressure starts with a diet specifically aimed at reducing high blood pressure.

If you already have high blood pressure, you can not permanently return to low. Instead, your high blood pressure by means of a prescribed medication and amending your diet. Research has shown that high blood pressure diet can effectively prevent blood pressure rises above normal.

Today, most of our meals still contain more fat than the government recommends, and most of the machines and fast-food options do not meet nutritional standards set by the U.S. Government. With fast-food snacks available at every corner, it is often difficult to switch to a healthy diet.

Blood pressure diets are designed to reduce the sodium, potassium increase and decrease calories. This way you will maintain a reasonable weight. This diet consists of foods that are delicious and low fat as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lowfat dairy products and lean protein.

Here are some simple tips to help you follow your high blood pressure diet guidelines:

1 Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Eating in the morning will increase your energy and will help you avoid snacks before lunch. A quick breakfast can be as simple as a bowl of cereal, a slice of whole wheat toast, cereal bar or fresh fruit.

2 When following your high blood pressure diet, your daily food intake include foods from five food groups:

Protein: Eat meats that are lower in fat, such as chicken, turkey, tuna, or low-fat meats. Make salads with low fat meat or vegetables and light salad dressing.

Grains: Always try to eat a whole wheat version of your favorite bread, be it a loaf of bread, a bagel or a roll.

Vegetables: Eat tomatoes, peppers, baby carrots and other colorful vegetables as many as you want. The brighter the vegetable, the more antioxidants vitamin A it contains.

Fruits: Fruits should be eaten fresh. Fruit has fiber and healthy calories, and you want to eat less during the day. Juice has fructose which fills with energy. Why juice should be part of a healthy breakfast with a cereal.

Dairy: Try low-fat or fat-free milk, non-fat chocolate milk and low fat cheese. Principle any type of cottage cheese or yogurt goes well with fruit.

If you want to avoid facing complicated and often life-threatening consequences of high blood pressure, you may want to make sure you and your family eat healthy meals that do not pack on the pounds and excess cholesterol.

Stresses healthy food choices can help you enjoy your meals without too much fat, sugar and calories. Healthy food choices can be a carry-over from healthy menu and meal planning at home while managing your high blood pressure with diet.

Switching to a diet without excessive fat and salt, and keeping in shape will help you loose weight and can help prevent or at least delay heart-related problems. Along with monitoring and medication, high blood pressure diet can help control your blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke, kidney failure and heart attack.

See your doctor before making any dietary or lifestyle changes.

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