Practice is king - again

Practice is king - again

Practice is king

Like most mature adults, I take medication for high blood pressure. Which I find very irritating. So I've been looking for ways to lower my blood pressure enough that I don't need the chemical medications I'm taking.

As always, research beckoned, where I found so many offers that I almost got lost in the research instead of what I really wanted to do.

1. I hate to admit it, but the first thing that came out of it was losing weight while paying special attention to your waist measurements (under 40 inches for men, 35 inches for women) I, I'll pass some of them on to you.

The following is from the Mayo Clinic staff

"Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Excess weight can also cause difficulty breathing during sleep (sleep apnea), which further increases your blood pressure.

Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle changes for controlling blood pressure. Losing just 10 pounds can help lower your blood pressure.

In addition to losing weight, you should also generally keep an eye on your waistline. Carrying too much weight around your waist puts you at a higher risk of high blood pressure. “

2. Then exercise: – Just 30 minutes most days of the week (I try to manage 5) can have a huge impact, lowering your blood pressure by up to 4 to 9 ml of mercury (mm Hg). I'm so ready for this! Best options – walking, jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing or even strength training.

I think most of us can manage a walk or two, and if it's not an option for me, I work on some floor exercises at home. I use a few bottles of water for weights and sit on the edge of the sofa for leg training.

3. Keep yourself healthy. It is recommended that you are a smart shopper. Read food labels when shopping and stick to your healthy eating plan when eating too. It's not always easy, but the benefits are enormous.

Try to eat less processed foods. Only a small amount of sodium occurs naturally in foods. Most sodium is added during processing. Checking the labels will show how much sodium (salt) and sugar of various types are added during processing. So much of these are added to extend the shelf life of a product, which doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.

These days I started freezing my own vegetables, which I found so much less complicated and difficult than I thought. Now I have a freezer full of frozen vegetables that have no sugar in them, salt which I admittedly added to the water. But I only blanched the vegetables and used the same water for all of them which doesn't add a strong flavor to the water. This reduces my salt consumption to a minimum.

I then checked out some foods etc that can help in lowering blood pressure. Now I've never looked into flavored teas other than Green and Earl Grey, but in the area of ​​research I came across the following.

Hibiscus tea contains phytochemicals that play a role in lowering blood pressure. Soy contains isoflavones, which may also help lower systolic blood pressure (the one mentioned above). They also help produce nitric oxide enzymes, which help relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.

4. Quit smoking

5. Work on reducing your stress.

6. Every cell in the body has a receptor for vitamin D, so work to absorb or ingest vitamin D. This can be found primarily in the sun's rays. It should be noted that if you live more than 35% from the equator, this may result in very little being absorbed since the sun's rays are weaker. Although exposing your arms and legs to the sun for 5-45 minutes between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. is usually enough to meet daily needs for most skin types.

It is found, among other things, in fatty fish, fish liver oil and egg yolk. Every cell in our body has a receptor for vitamin D. Its deficiency is also linked to type 1 diabetes, MS, high blood pressure and thyroid problems.

Thanks to Authority Nutrition at Healthline.

Overweight people may also need higher amounts of the vitamin.

Don’t forget alcohol –

Generally, more than one drink per day for women and men older than 65, or more than two per day for men 65 and younger. One drink is equal to 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of 80 proof alcohol.

Drinking more than moderate amounts of alcohol can actually increase blood pressure by several points. It may also reduce the effectiveness of blood pressure medications.

Unfortunately (for me) caffeine is also bad for blood pressure. But then it was actually pretty good to have reduced my intake, so I can't complain.

In general, overall –

Blood pressure must be below 120/80

To avoid high cholesterol – Keep the numbers less than

100 mg for LDL (bad) cholesterol.

60 mg + for HDL (good) cholesterol.

If you are overweight or want to avoid being overweight, make sure to keep waist measurements under 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women.

Exercise regularly

Eat less than 7% of calories in saturated fat.

Eat less than 200 mg of dietary cholesterol.

So if we want to avoid or reverse our addiction to chemicals, if we follow a diet plan that can actually help, it's really a no-brainer, right?

One final note: Statins are partly responsible for causing recipients to become fatigued and suffer from memory loss. Another reason to avoid taking such medications, I think.

This research is an amazing way to find and, if possible, avoid the common situations that many of us encounter in adulthood. For some, this doesn't just mean being over 55.

Inspired by Hilary Green