High Blood Pressure Weight Loss Diet Nutrition Tips Guide

High Blood Pressure Can Be Reduced With Better Nutrition

By Tracy Kerr-Walshe

You’ve been to the doctor dozens of times and sat through the inflatable arm cuff test for high blood pressure. The nurse rattles off some numbers, but what do they mean? The magic "good news" number is 115/75, but not all of us are so blessed.

As we age, our artery walls are bound to be a little narrower and the heart may have to work slightly harder. We work long hours, we get stressed out and we may not have enough time to eat properly or exercise as much.

We may be drinkers and smokers, or we may have put on a few pounds over the years. Regardless of how our lifestyle has changed, we can always turn things around before it’s too late!

Dietary Approaches To Stop Hypertension

Over at the Harvard School of Medicine, researchers have developed a dietary program known as "DASH," an acronym for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The DASH diet includes: 8 grain servings, 5 vegetable servings, 2-3 low fat dairy servings, 1-2 servings of meat, poultry or fish and 5 servings per week of nuts, seeds or beans. Saturated fats and sugars should be limited and serving sizes generally run ½ cup cooked, 1 cup raw or 2 tbsp nuts and seeds.

Exercise is crucial! Within just two weeks, the diet already began having an effect on Dr. Gabe Mirkin’s patients, with 70% returning to normal blood pressure levels. He says that increasing minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium had a strong impact, as did limiting fat and sodium. The diet triggers a diuretic effect, much like certain medications that work to "flush the system."

For some people, the thought of monitoring their diet may seem like an overwhelming obsession. How do you know if you’re doing the right thing to lower high blood pressure or making the right choices to maintain heart health?

Go Online Or Visit A Dietitian

Generally, most people need a little help getting started. Some people may try a free website like sparkspeople.com, where you can review your options and enter everything you eat each day and receive a report tallying up your fat, calories, protein and nutrients, in relation to your weight loss or heart health goals. Or others may spend a little money on a dietician who can offer guided meal plans tailored individually to their needs.

Many books have been written on the subject as well. After looking around a little, you’ll find something that is enjoyable, you feel comfortable with and that works. Once you get into a routine, you won’t even think about it anymore. Suddenly, your cardiovascular health will improve and your life will seem so much more manageable.

One Hour Brisk Walk

If you have high blood pressure and you’re at a high risk for having a stroke, then be aware that small exercise is probably better for you. A 2000 study found that men who took a one-hour brisk walk five days/week cut their stroke risk in half.

Intense workouts should be avoided for high risk individuals, particularly those who may have had congestive heart failure or some sort of medical emergency in the past. These activities include: shoveling snow, heavy lifting, heavy gardening, jogging, tennis and even speed walking.

Roughly 40% of young men who die suddenly during a workout have previously experienced, and ignored, symptoms of poor heart health like chest pains, irregular heart beats and undue shortness of breath.

Please Note: All information given on this site is for general information purposes and is not to replace any medical opinion or medical diagnosis given by a qualified medical doctor, a dietitian/nutritional expert or any other medical expert, as individual circumstances may vary. Please see your medical doctor, before any action is taken to alleviate symptoms.

This article was about High Blood Pressure.

About the Author:
Tracy Kerr-Walshe is an author of articles on health, diet, weight loss and nutrition including Whole Foods, Organic Foods, Healthy Snacks, Effective Weight Loss, Full Body Detox, Juice Fasting.
Keep a lookout for more of her articles coming soon.

Did You Know?

What is good cholesterol?

Good cholesterol is called HDL which is high-density lipoproteins. Doctor's believe that the high levels of HDL can actually protect your heart whereas low levels of HDL can increase your risk of heart disease.

It is thought that HDL can carry cholesterol away from your arteries and back to the liver where it is passed from the body.