High Blood Pressure

The Big Hitters

If you have been to this site before then you will know that many people suffer from high blood pressure even if they don’t know it. You will also know that a lifestyle change may be all it needs to lower and control blood pressure.

So what are the big hitters in relation to our lifestyles that can contribute in our blood pressure creeping up to dangerous levels. There are a few that can have a big effect on our BP.

Probably the biggest and well known is Salt. Salt is present, sometimes in large quantities in the food we buy. Such things as bread, butter and other everyday essentials, also most processed food Contain Salt, some having our daily allowance of salt in the one meal. In fact processed foods are said to be where our highest consumption of daily salt comes from and more attention should be taken on the reading of food labels when we buy such foods.

The easiest way to start to lower our salt intake is to stop adding it to our food at the table. But this doesn’t mean that we will get our daily intake below the recommended daily amount of 6 grams. Being aware that salt is present in processed foods is a good thing and the reading of labels before purchase could avoid even more salt.

My big hitter is smoking, this has been linked to high blood pressure and stopping will help reduce our BP. Smoking is said to raise blood pressure during the smoking of the cigarette and for a small period after and then it will lower again, so it will not necessarily cause high blood pressure but is linked to various heart diseases and does narrow the blood vessels. So if you suffer from hypertension then smoking is not going to help your cause.

I did have high blood pressure and did smoke, I have lowered and am controlling my BP through some lifestyle changes and regular exercise, but do still smoke. That said I have cut down considerably and now roll my own cigarettes which do not contain the same amount of tobacco as pre-rolled cigarettes, cutting down my smoking even more. I would suggest if you can give up, then do so as Smoking Is Not Great for anyone’s health.

A Little Tipple is a good thing for our health or so I believe. Alcohol consumption can be a blood pressure raiser especially when large amounts are consumed. Just as salt there is recommended limits on daily alcohol consumption which can easily be passed. Apart from blood pressure there are many other diseases related to excessive alcohol consumption. I still consume alcohol, but do keep my limits down, which has been another lifestyle change I have made to lower my blood pressure.

These are three things that will come up if you visit your Doctor and have high blood pressure, your Doctor will enquire about the amounts of these you consume during a week.