You can prevent Hypertension

Can hypertension be prevented?  This is the million dollar question, and of course, everyone that suffers from it has asked themselves this at some point in their lives.  And why?  Because once you receive that diagnosis, everyone hears the doctor say that having high blood pressure is a hereditary and genetic condition.

And this is true.  Environmental factors are essential and determinant for unleashing and even stopping it.  That’s why it is so important to change your life habits and styles, so as to prevent it.

Recommendations to prevent hypertension

If you have a family history of hypertension, you should follow these recommendations: first establish the healthiest diet possible, whereby salads and fruits are the majority of your foods.  Secondly, avoid being overweight.  This means doing some sort of exercise or sport.  This recommendation is based on not being sedentary.

In the same way, it is absolutely vital that you avoid stress or tensions.  This is difficult, of course, because the majority of people live life at a fairly hectic pace; at work, at home, studying, and the endless worries.  However, you need to find some way to relax and get away from daily tensions.  There are several alternatives, relaxed breathing, reading a book, singing, listening to music, practicing yoga, dancing.  Find something that is most fitting for your personality.

Measure your blood pressure

If you are someone at risk of hypertension, it would be a good idea to measure your blood pressure, even just once a week.  This changes if you are hypertensive, which in this case it would be recommendable to measure daily.  More than an obligation, it is each person’s responsibility to properly manage this illness, which could lead to more serious complications.

Avoid salt

As mentioned at the beginning, high blood pressure is strongly related to dietary habits, and if you were to correct these, you could control it.  One way is to avoid salt consumption.  Try not to ingest salt.  If you can’t completely eliminate it, the just greatly reduce it.

Whenever there’s an excess of salt in the body, it retains liquids and this increases blood pressure.  The less sodium or salt in your diet, the easier it is to eliminate fluids via urine.  This helps prevent high blood pressure.

Salt replacement

You can replace salt with aromatic herbs.  In this case, basil, thyme, cumin, bay leaf, oregano, parsley, and spices like pepper, chili, or saffron are very recommendable.  You are even encouraged to use apple cider vinegar or wine and olive oil.  It might not compare to the flavor of salt, but for health, it is better to try and get used to it

No fats

When speaking of eating healthy, we mean eliminating saturated fats and thereby freeing the body of cholesterol.  Together with hypertension, this could be a very dangerous combination, which is even a trigger for stroke.  Without wanting to cause any alarm, this is a reality.

Lean towards lean meats: chicken, turkey (skinless), rabbit, veal, crab, etc.   It’s best to steam, grill or boil them, but do not fry them.  Additionally, avoid canned and packaged meats.

Don’t smoke

Smoking does not contribute to good health at all.  It damages lungs and raises the risk of contracting some sort of cancer in the respiratory tract and areas like the mouth and throat.  It also increases blood pressure, while smoking can also cause damage to arteries.

The best foods for preventing Hypertension

Take note.  The recommended foods for preventing hypertension are legumes, fiber, vegetables, fruits, and fresh fish.

Remember that…

If you don’t take care of yourself and you do not pay mind to recommendation by your doctors, specialists, family and those that love you, the consequences could be very harmful.

Among those are:

Heart disease

Stroke

Ocular damage

Aneurysms

Angina of the chest

Lung and kidney damage.

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 12/15/2014

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