Have You Gauged Your Blood Pressure?
Are headaches, dizziness, nausea or chest pain becoming your pet peeves? Stop blaming work pressure and quickly check your blood pressure! Your blood may be baying for you.
Blood pressure (BP) disorder is generally of two types.
Primary BP, also known as primary/essential hypertension, is hereditary. About 89 per cent of BP patients fall under this category.
Secondary BP, also known as secondary hypertension, originates from multiple causes.
- Kidney, endocrine and thyroid disorders.
- Oral contraceptives.
- Certain drugs like stimulants, diet pills and some pills used for cold and allergy symptoms do also raise BP.
- Pregnancy and obesity. If you are 30 per cent or more over your ideal body weight then you are a prime candidate for blood pressure.
- Sodium (salt) sensitivity.
- And of course the oldest reason…physical inactivity. A sedentary lifestyle causes obesity and results in high BP.
The Signs of Blood Pressure
The symptoms range from unexplained and severe headaches, nausea, changes in vision, light-headedness or dizziness, chest pain or shortness of breath on exertion.
But you can control your blood pressure…
Blood pressure can be controlled by a variety of actions steps mostly focusing on diet and exercise. These are just some of the main ones -
Choose foods low in calories and fat.
Cut down on butter, margarine, fatty/red meats, poultry skin, whole milk, cheese, fried foods, ice-cream, cakes, pastries and snacks.
Choose baked, broiled or poached chicken, fish, and lean cuts of meat.
Opt for skimmed milk, low-sodium cheese, fresh/frozen/fruit or vegetables (without butter, cream, cheese sauces), plain rice and pasta.
Walk for at least 35 minutes every day. If you can, do jog for 10 minutes and practice yoga.
Consuming ½–2 tsp of herbs like dandelion, Rauwolfia (Indian snake root) and hawthorn with water, on empty stomach, two or three times a day helps control BP. These herbs are not recommended for kids though.
Here are some specific food-related remedies…
Drink at least 10–12 glasses of water daily. Increase it to 14 glasses in summer. Kids should drink 6–7 glasses generally, increasing it to 9 in summer.
Have lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Include a salad in every meal. Sprouts absorb extra salt from your system.
Green leafy vegetables contain lots of sodium. Leech them before cooking to wash away most of the salt.
Instead of common salt, go for readily available low-sodium salts. Do not consume more than 2 tsp of salt in a day.
Obese persons should cut down on sugar intake to, use maple syrup instead. BP patients should not consume more than 4 tsp in a day.
Avoid canned food, vegetables and soups.
Stay away from fried food, pickles, processed food and baking soda.
Physical medicine therapies using water are very beneficial for BP alleviation. These include hot baths (to promote sweating), constitutional hydrotherapy and foot baths (alternating between hot and cold water).
One of the oldest stress management techniques is to treat yourself periodically to a gentle, full body massage.
One of the best advices I have ever heard to combat this silent stalker had its roots in a quote,
‘One way to get high blood pressure is to go mountain climbing over molehills.’
Remember, blood pressure is a subtle but serious ailment. If you have blood pressure, get it down and keep it down!
Categorised as: General Health Tips