How to lower your blood pressure without pills
A recent study says that the
right diet -combined with a healthy lifestyle -can drastically reduce
your chances of developing high blood pressure
More than four among 10
middle-aged people have high blood pressure. The condition puts stress
on the heart and blood vessels and is a silent killer, responsible for
60% of strokes and 40% of heart attacks. But a recent study found that
the right diet and lifestyle could cut our chances of developing high
blood pressure by up to two-thirds. Worryingly , an estimated third of
people with high blood pressure have no idea they have it. There may be
no symptoms until disaster strikes. Most doctors agree that you
have high blood pressure if your level is consistently at or above
140mmHg90mmHg (which you will hear referred to as just 140 over 90).
“A blood pressure of 135 over 85 may be `normal', but someone with this reading is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, as opposed to someone with a reading of 115 over 75,“ says Gareth Beevers of Blood Pressure UK. If your level is very high, you may need medication.But it's also great to know you can do plenty of things to help keep it down without pills. Read on...
GET MOVING
Exercise strengthens the heart -we pump more blood with less effort, thereby decreasing the force on our arteries. It also helps with shedding the pounds --which in itself helps slash blood pressure.You should aim for 30 minutes of activity daily. It should leave you warm and slightly out of breath -brisk walking, for example. If you can manage something more strenuous, that's great. But even easily achievable activities -walking to work instead of driving, for example -can reduce blood pressure, researchers at Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare found.
You should take care while lifting heavy weights in the gym if your blood pressure is dangerously high, because this can cause it to temporarily increase to an even greater level.
BE SALT SAVVY
“The evidence that links salt to blood pressure is as strong as that linking cigarette smoking to cancer and heart disease,“ says Graham MacGregor, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Central London. Simply put, salt draws in fluid, raising the volume and pressure of blood in your arteries.
Most of the salt we consume is not what we add to food, but what is already there in foods such as bread, sauces, breakfast cereals and ready-meals.
A useful guide when you're checking labels is that more than 1.5g salt per 100g is a lot, but less than 0.3mg per 100g is a little.
GO FOR FRUITS AND VEGGIES
All fruits and vegetables are high in blood pressure-lowering substances, such as potassium, magnesium and fibre. You will benefit from eating more of them, whatever your starting point.
Five-a-day is great (aim for handful-sized portions), but in the US, the dietary guidelines for stopping hypertension recommend even more -eight portions split equally between fruit and vegetables.
CURB THE BOOZE
“Drinking too much will raise blood pressure over time,“ says Gareth Beever.Heavy drinking may affect the function of the muscles within the blood vessels, causing them to con strict. Keeping to the recommended limits of no more that 2-3 units a day (for example, a 175ml glass of wine), with preferably an alcohol-free day or two each week, is what's needed to help keep your rate at a healthy level.
GO FOR WHOLEGRAIN
Swapping a refined grain cereal for a wholegrain oat one helped people reduce their blood pressure readings and allowed some to reduce or quit their medication, says a study. Go for wholemeal bread and porridge, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholewheat pasta.
GO FOR PURPLE
“Purple-red fruits and vegetables -blackcurrants, raspberries, aubergines, blood oranges, blueberries and beetroot -seem to have blood pressure benefits,“ says dietician Dr Sarah Schenker.It may be because the anthocyanins they contain increase the output of nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow.Beetroot contains dietary nitrates, which have an even more potent effect on blood vessels.
“A blood pressure of 135 over 85 may be `normal', but someone with this reading is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, as opposed to someone with a reading of 115 over 75,“ says Gareth Beevers of Blood Pressure UK. If your level is very high, you may need medication.But it's also great to know you can do plenty of things to help keep it down without pills. Read on...
GET MOVING
Exercise strengthens the heart -we pump more blood with less effort, thereby decreasing the force on our arteries. It also helps with shedding the pounds --which in itself helps slash blood pressure.You should aim for 30 minutes of activity daily. It should leave you warm and slightly out of breath -brisk walking, for example. If you can manage something more strenuous, that's great. But even easily achievable activities -walking to work instead of driving, for example -can reduce blood pressure, researchers at Finland's National Institute for Health and Welfare found.
You should take care while lifting heavy weights in the gym if your blood pressure is dangerously high, because this can cause it to temporarily increase to an even greater level.
BE SALT SAVVY
“The evidence that links salt to blood pressure is as strong as that linking cigarette smoking to cancer and heart disease,“ says Graham MacGregor, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Central London. Simply put, salt draws in fluid, raising the volume and pressure of blood in your arteries.
Most of the salt we consume is not what we add to food, but what is already there in foods such as bread, sauces, breakfast cereals and ready-meals.
A useful guide when you're checking labels is that more than 1.5g salt per 100g is a lot, but less than 0.3mg per 100g is a little.
GO FOR FRUITS AND VEGGIES
All fruits and vegetables are high in blood pressure-lowering substances, such as potassium, magnesium and fibre. You will benefit from eating more of them, whatever your starting point.
Five-a-day is great (aim for handful-sized portions), but in the US, the dietary guidelines for stopping hypertension recommend even more -eight portions split equally between fruit and vegetables.
CURB THE BOOZE
“Drinking too much will raise blood pressure over time,“ says Gareth Beever.Heavy drinking may affect the function of the muscles within the blood vessels, causing them to con strict. Keeping to the recommended limits of no more that 2-3 units a day (for example, a 175ml glass of wine), with preferably an alcohol-free day or two each week, is what's needed to help keep your rate at a healthy level.
GO FOR WHOLEGRAIN
Swapping a refined grain cereal for a wholegrain oat one helped people reduce their blood pressure readings and allowed some to reduce or quit their medication, says a study. Go for wholemeal bread and porridge, wholegrain breakfast cereals, brown rice and wholewheat pasta.
GO FOR PURPLE
“Purple-red fruits and vegetables -blackcurrants, raspberries, aubergines, blood oranges, blueberries and beetroot -seem to have blood pressure benefits,“ says dietician Dr Sarah Schenker.It may be because the anthocyanins they contain increase the output of nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and improves blood flow.Beetroot contains dietary nitrates, which have an even more potent effect on blood vessels.
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