Hypertension isn’t exactly
what you had in mind when you were thinking about passing down genetic traits
to your children, but it rears its ugly head in the best of families. My husband came home from his last physical
exam with a bottle of blood pressure medication and a home blood pressure
monitoring device. I must admit that it
freaked me out just a little.
I am not a huge fan of taking medicine and
hope to ward it off as long as possible.
I am pre-hypertensive myself and have taken to reading everything that I
can get my hands on in hopes of stumbling on some magic formula. I have taken the usual measures when it comes
to keeping my weight under control and I exercise religiously, because I do
have a family history of high blood pressure.
It has been difficult enough resigning myself to the aches and pains
associated with getting older, but this blood pressure thing makes me feel as
if my body is starting to let me down. Pre-hypertensive means that I am running
above normal. It means that I am not
quite there but am very likely to develop hypertension in the future. Lifestyle changes are always the first
recommendation, but as I am already trying to be good I am wondering what to do
next.
Hypertension is a risk
factor for heart attack, stroke and heart failure. I never find words that suggest organ failure
very reassuring. I find myself looking
at articles in books and magazines in hopes of gleaning some words of wisdom. This months Heart Healthy Living (Winter
2009) has an article by Tony Leys on seven changes that might help you delay
that dreaded diagnosis.
- Be a salt sleuth. The average American consumes twice the
recommended amount of sodium that they need. I don’t salt most foods but I do use too
many processed easy to fix meals. I
know that this could be a culprit for me.
I have since taken to buying more things that are labeled low or no
added sodium. Limiting a diet to
1.500 to 2,300 mg of sodium a day might sound easy enough but could be
quite a challenge.
- Eat less Meat.
This doesn’t sound too hard as I am not a big meat eater, but the
recommendation re: fish twice a week is a little harder. I don’t like fish unless it is coated in
crushed macadamia nuts or something like that (not prepared at home). The tip included in the article suggested
that only a quarter of the space on your plate should be covered with your
protein source.
- Drink Milk.
Ah, this one I like. Low-fat
milk and other low-fat dairy products can lower your blood pressure.
- Skip that second drink: More than one drink a day can worsen
hypertension. The tip was to make
your wine into a spritzer by adding club soda or sparkling water.
- Get your heart rate up. You knew exercise was going to be listed
here didn’t you? Regular aerobic
exercise is one of the most effective ways to lower blood pressure.
- Eat whole grain.
Soluble fiber is said to reduce the absorption of cholesterol.
I am thinking the hardest
part of this program will be learning how to cook again. I should give up my prepared foods and figure
out how to keep the sodium count under control.
The only thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to rely on medicines
to fix my medical problems if any other way is possible.
I would love to hear from
other people who are coping with this problem.
I am especially interested in hearing from people who don’t particularly
like to cook and who have come up with some creative ways to be good without
spending hours in the kitchen.
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