Treat High Blood Pressure with Lifestyle Modifications
September 22, 2008According to the National Institute of Health website (9/16/2008) about 1 in 3 American adults have high blood pressure making it one of the most common health conditions in the country. High blood pressure is considered a silent disease because it usually has no symptoms.
Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing on the walls of the arteries as it moves through the body. When it remain high it can lead to heart disease , heart failure, stroke and kidney disease and other medical problems. As a result, when blood pressure is high, it is important to lower it back to normal levels. There is a large array of medications available to lower blood pressure. In addition to prescription medications, there are several lifestyle modifications which can use to help control high blood pressure.
Many lifestyle modifications have been studied and shown to significantly reduce blood pressure. It is important enough to incorporate into treatment that the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC) includes lifestyle modifications into its treatment guidelines and states “Adoption of healthy lifestyles by all persons is critical for the prevention of high BP and is an indispensable part of the management of those with hypertension”. Unfortunately many people are not educated about the benefits of lifestyle modifications or are reluctant to adopt these changes.
Dietary Modifications
Diet has been shown to both decrease your risk for developing high blood pressure and help to lower a blood pressure that is too high. Dietary changes can reduce blood pressure by as much as 8 to 14 points (systolic blood pressure – the higher of the two numbers). The modifications with the best support is the (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) DASH plan. This plan includes lots of fruits and vegetables and is low in saturated fats. The plan also includes whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts and is low in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, red meats, sweets and sugared beverages. When adopting this sort of diet, it may be easier to adopt the changes slowly. There is a book you can use to help you adopt the diet.
Use Less Salt (Decrease Your Intake of Sodium)
The typical American diet consists of approximately 3,300 mg of sodium per day. A moderate reduction to 2,400 mg of sodium as recommended by JNC can decrease blood pressure by up to 2 to 8 points (systolic). Having a goal of 1,500 mg of sodium can result in even more reductions but this goal may be more difficult to maintain. To obtain this reduction in sodium alternative seasonings need to be used. Do not immediately reach for the salt substitutes as these may interact with some blood pressure medications (check with your doctor or pharmacist). Some good alternative seasonings are basil, cinnamon, cloves, dill, ginger, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme. Also, to reduce sodium intake, read food labels. Many products are very high in sodium and there are often alternatives with much lower sodium content. Foods generally high in sodium include canned vegetables and soups, frozen dinners, lunch meats and many ready to each foods. Learn how to decrease salt in your diet here
Physical Activity
Getting an adequate amount of physical activity is critical for maintaining good health. This is also true in regard to high blood pressure. In fact, following the JNC guidelines of 30 minutes a day of moderate activity most days of the week may result on lowering of blood pressure by up to 4 to 9 points (systolic). The recommendations also state the activity can be broken up into shorter periods of at least 10 minutes each and spread out during the day.
Weight Management
This lifestyle modification can produce the largest results in reducing blood pressure. There is a direct increase in blood pressure as body weight increases. A person who is overweight and has high blood pressure will see the biggest benefit from weight loss. In fact the JNC states even weight loss as little as 10 pound can improve blood pressure. Developing a weight loss plan is beyond the scope of this posting but it is essential to achieve blood pressure control.
Alcohol in Moderation
Moderate alcohol consumption is considered one drink per day, or less, for women and two per day, or less, for men. More than this amount of alcohol can increase blood pressure in addition to many other negative health effects. If you do not consume alcohol, it is not recommended to start due to reported health benefits. If you do consume alcohol, do not exceed to the guidelines for moderate consumption.
The above lifestyle modifications can make a dramatic difference in blood pressure control and overall health in general. Combining several or all of the above items can have an increased effect over any one of them alone. In fact, there is evidence to suggest lifestyle modification can be as effective at controlling blood pressure as a single drug. Also, lifestyle modifications can delay the development of high blood pressure and can improve the effectiveness of blood pressure medications when drug therapy is required.
Here is a great free Guide to Lowering Blood Pressure with more detailed information.
Check out this free Interactive Menu Planner.
The information provided here is not intended to deter you from taking you medicine. It is provided to help encourage changes in diet and activity levels to improve overall health and maintain a health blood pressure.
