Self Improvement
Lifestyle Changes That Help You Control Blood Pressure
It is a commonly known fact that a healthy lifestyle is an essential
part of a healthy life. Same is true if you want to maintain a normal
blood pressure.
Even if you are highly dependent on those pills
and medicines to treat your blood pressure disorder, your lifestyle
pattern in large will determine the success of the medications. And if
you succeed in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you might not even find
the need of any medication soon. A controlled blood pressure will help
you live longer and prevent other health related problems like heart and
kidney failure. Some of the lifestyle changes that are necessary to
maintain a healthy blood pressure levels are:
Lose That Extra
Weight
Increasing weight is a very common factor leading to high
blood pressure. More weight amounts to higher blood pressure. Besides
this, losing weight increases the effectiveness of the hypertension
medications. And weight can only be maintained if you have a proper
dietary habit and a regular exercising regime.
Exercise Regularly
For a controlled blood pressure, physical activity should be made a part of
your overall strategy. Exercising helps you to fight your
pre-hypertension and prevents it from taking the shape of full-fledged
hypertension.
Eat Healthy
The old saying “You are what you
eat” is an apt one. Till long it had remained a myth with the people
that eating habits do not have any role in the maintenance of your blood
pressure, but with new studies coming up they have been proved wrong. It
has been shown that you can reduce your blood pressure if your diet is
rich in fruits, grains, dairy products with low fats and vegetables.
Reducing
Sodium Intake
Sodium has an active role to play in your blood
pressure. More Sodium in the body means, more amount of blood pressure.
So from now on the next time you munch on your favorite processed food,
just be a little more careful. But if you are unable to do that,
increasing the potassium amount in your diet can counter the effect of
sodium on blood pressure.
Limit The Alcohol Consumption
Alcohol
has both the good and bad effects on your health. The good is that it
prevents the possibility of a heart attack and clogging of arteries. The
bad is that excessive alcohol consumption reduces these good effects on
the body, thus raising the blood pressure levels. Apart from this,
excessive alcohol intake also reduces the effectiveness of the blood
pressure lowering medications on the body.
Avoid Tobacco Products
Tobacco
poses the biggest threat to your blood pressure. And if you are a
constant smoker then there is a possibility that even medication won't
solve your blood pressure problems. Apart from this there are certain
chemicals present in tobacco that have adverse effects on the arteries,
damaging them and causing fluid retention in the body.
Control
Your Caffeine Intake
Till now the role that caffeine plays in blood
pressure is debatable. Caffeinated beverages increase the blood flow in
the arteries. But it is also said that if you consume such products on a
regular basis then the effect of caffeine on the blood pressure
diminishes. Therefore the effect of caffeine still remains ambiguous.