Pressure — Page 36

What If You Could Extend Your Life With a High Blood Pressure Diet?

February 17, 2010 by admin

High blood pressure is a health issue that causes innumerable fatalities in the United States each year. Further, if it doesn’t kill you, it can still lead to major problems, including heart attack and stroke. And sodium is an ingredient of a high blood pressure diet as it is one of the major high blood pressure causes. Consequently, this article will help you learn about the role of sodium in the development of high blood pressure.

Read the Ingredients

Unfortunately, given its prevalence, a good amount of the sodium you digest comes from processed foods. A good habit to develop, before buying such food, is to read the ingredients label. Unfortunately, those labels, with their multisyllabic words, seem like they aren’t written in English. You feel as if you need a chemistry degree to understand them. Well, to help, remember that foods that contain ingredients with the word “sodium” in them can be bad news. For example, take disodium phosphate and monosodium glutamate (MSG). The word “sodium” is visible. Miminize your use of such ingredients and foods.

Also, the US FDA , to aid people’s dietary choices, developed sodium guidelines. For example, “low sodium” equates to 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. Or, as another example, 5 milligrams or less of sodium per serving is “salt free” food. Google FDA sodium for the entire guide. If necessary, bring it with you to the grocery store to allow for quick and easy interpretation when you shop.

Further, highly processed foods often contain high levels of sodium, making them contributory to a high blood pressure diet. I can only imagine the thoughts going through your head now. You’re busy and have no time to cook. You rely on frozen dinners and canned goods to quickly whip something up for you and your family. Unfortunately, a good amount of these foods are laced with sodium.

The Infamous Salt Shaker – One of the More Prominent High Blood Pressure Causes

Finally, like most people, you probably grab for the salt shaker at the center of your dining room table to add some quick flavor to your sometimes bland food. And, to compound the matter, you may be adding salt to processed food that already contains high levels of sodium. So resist the “salt shaker” temptation. Perhaps you might even empty your salt shaker. Further, use natural herbs to add flavor to your food. Consider onions or thyme, for example. This may be hard to do, but it’s in your body’s best interest.

As you can see, sodium not only presents a high blood pressure health issue, but also is hard to avoid given our busy lives. If you look at your food labels, especially those of processed foods, you’ll start to see sodium everywhere. So remember to avoid ingredients with the word “sodium” in them as sodium can play a huge role in a high blood pressure diet. Also, use the Food and Drug Administration guidelines to monitor your sodium use. And put down that salt shaker!

Take these small, proactive steps and you are on your way to eliminating some high blood pressure causes and earning better health.

You could save your life. Know your blood pressure numbers. Go to http://helpmybloodpressure.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-blood-pressure-numbers

February 16, 2010 by admin

If you are looking for a natural way of helping to control high blood pressure then a great place to start is by modifying your diet. A diet designed to reduce blood pressure should include plenty of fresh, fruits and vegetables as they contain essential minerals, nutrients and fiber, which can all help in a treatment plan to reduce high blood pressure. So what kinds of high blood pressure fruits and vegetables should a person be choosing to eat?

Generally a person should be eating fruits and vegetables which contain high amounts of fiber in them. This will help suppress the appetite and help the digestive process.

Fruits and vegetables to include in a diet to reduce high blood pressure include the following:

Asparagus
Carrots
Broccoli
Peas
Corn
Strawberries
Oranges
Apples
Pears
Bananas
Lentils
Chickpeas

But, most vegetables and fruits can be added into the diet, and they should replace the foods that need to be restricted from a high blood pressure diet, including processed foods, foods that contain high levels of sodium and food that are high in saturated fats.

The great thing about substituting these particular foods for those that are high in fat is not only do they make you feel fuller quicker, but they also provide you with good sources of nutrients and minerals, which are vital to keep your body healthy and boost the immune system.

Continue reading to discover how to sign up for our free newsletter and find out how to naturally relieve high blood pressure today.

Also by eating more fruit and vegetables there is normally a natural reduction in the volume of calories consumed, and in many cases just by cutting back on the number of calories, thereby reducing weight, there is knock on reduction in the high blood pressure.

As well as increasing the amount of fiber you have in your diet you should also increase the amount of potassium as well. Fruit that is rich in potassium are bananas.

Why not place a few in a liquidizer with some freshly squeezed orange juice and some raspberries and you will have a really great tasting drink that is also helping to lower blood pressure, as it contains high amounts of fiber, potassium and all other beneficial nutrients.

To ensure that there is a sufficient mix of nutrients and variety in the diet, try and include three different colored vegetables on the plate for every meal. So for example you could have some grated carrot along with some lettuce and a couple of cherry tomato.

Also, if you do need to cook your vegetables or fruit it is best if they are steamed. This way they will not lose so many of their essential properties, which are vital to maintaining a healthy body.

A number of studies have been carried out show changing your diet can have the same beneficial impact on high blood pressure as taking medication. This does not mean that the medication prescribed by the doctor should not be taken – Of course it should. But it means that if a good diet is followed then the blood pressure can be regulated much faster, and the effects can last for longer.

A high blood pressure, fruits and vegetables diet, with the inclusion of lean low fat meats, can mean that not only is the blood pressure reduced, but also those that are overweight usually find they lose weight as well. Discuss any changes in diet before you make them with your doctor.

Sign up for Paul Johnson’s free Blood Pressure Reduction newsletter – Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you discover more about high blood pressure symptoms.