4 Natural Ways To Control High Blood Pressure (hypertension)
You are in luck. Most blood pressure can be controlled through changes in eating, adding moderate exercise, losing weight and doing stress management techniques. There are side effects, however, that you should be aware of when you make these changes - you will look better, have more energy, be more relaxed, lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good cholesterol, reduce or eliminate insulin if you are a diabetic and for a great many people, begin to enjoy life again! These are the kinds of side effects we should all have!
In this article we will look at the beginning steps to changing eating habits to lower blood pressure.
As soon as the doctor tells you about your hypertension, you need to ask if you can try to control the elevated pressure the natural way instead of being put on medication. He or she may give you an opportunity to lower your own blood pressure before putting you on drugs. If you are dangerously high, you may need to be on medication for a short period of time and during that time work on the natural ways to lower your pressure and get off the medication. At this particular time, you and your physician should be working as a team.
IMPORTANT: Be aware that when you do change your lifestyle, and you are on any type of medication, you MUST notify your physician since you could overdose on your medications as you become more physically healthy. Just call the office and let the nurse or physician know that you are eating healthy, exercising and losing weight. If you are doing stress management techniques you really need to make sure you mention this since stress management techniques can quickly help lower and control your blood pressure.
So, what do I do now?
1. Change your eating habits, but before you do determine how you handle changes in your life. Are you the type of person who needs to throw out everything in your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and start out 100%? Or, are you the type of person who needs to take it a bit slower like taking a favorite recipe, making changes in the ingredients and then move on - one step at a time. This is a psychological component of eating healthy - you don't want to feel overwhelmed by all the changes, you want to feel excited at the possibilities.
2. Read the labels on what you buy at the store. It may be a "pain" when you first start out, but after awhile you can find what you are looking for in a few seconds. To make it easier, look for cans that say low sodium, reduced sodium or no salt added on the label itself then look at the back label and check out the calories and fat content. Find a salt substitute that you enjoy and use that to add flavor to your salt-free food.
3. Try fat free (skim) milk. A great many people wrongly believe that skim milk is just regular milk with a lot of water added. Not true. The FAT is taken out and more calcium and Vitamin D are added in which makes this a great deal as far your health is concerned. If you need to, begin with 1% lowfat milk and work your way down to the skim milk. Once you get used to the skim milk, you won't be able to tolerate milk with the fat since the fat will coat the inside of your mouth - yuk!
4. If you buy "lowfat" or "fat free" cheeses on a regular basis, then having the real thing when eating at someone's home will not be a problem if it is an occasional occurrence.
NOTE: There is no reason to make a production when dining with family or friends at their home by announcing to everyone including the person who cooked the meal "I'm dieting, I can't eat that" - in fact, it's rude! Eat what you can eat and leave the rest alone. Now, if someone comments on your weight losss, and they will, then you can say you have high blood presssure and are lowering it naturally without drugs. This will open the door to educating people, in a good way, about blood pressure, its dangers, and the natural way to control it.
5. Eat fruits and vegetables without butter or sauce. There are an incredible number of products on the market geared specifically to adding flavor to your veggies without the fat, calories and sodium. Keep trying until you find a few you really like, then make sure you keep them on-hand.
6. Use more rice, cereals, beans, pasta, whole grains (e.g., couscous, barley, bulgar, etc.) in your meals.
7. Use skinless chicken and turkey. When buying meats, look for "lean" cuts of meat and fish.
These are just a few tips on how to "begin" the change to eating healthy. As you become more comfortable with the changes begin looking for more recipes and other ways to cut back on the fat, sodium and calories.
Therese has been writing articles online for the past several years. Not only does this author specialize in health and wellness information, you can also check out her latest website at Tankless Water Heater Cost which provides information on electric tankless water heaters for homeowners.
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