Get the pressure down before it’s too late!

Our heart is a primary organ and its major function is pumping blood to your body to give it the energy and oxygen it needs. As the blood moves, it pushes against the sides of the arteries. The intensity of this pushing is your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is too high, it puts extra strain on your vessels and your heart and this may lead to heart attacks. High Blood Pressure is also called hypertension.

You can rectify hypertension but making the following changes in your lifestyle:

⦁ Manage your weight- Borderline obese people are victims of a lot of diseases including high blood pressure. Maintain optimum body weight and frame (Waist line and chest width).

⦁ Be active: Shun the lazy schedule and go about your daily activities actively and zealously. Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

⦁ Workout schedule: Sit with your doctor and work on a customized exercise regime according to the extent of your hypertension, work schedule, free time and current weight and endurance level. You should avoid Weight lifting, Squash, Skydiving, Sprinting and Scuba diving.

⦁ Healthy diet: Eating healthy is the key to lowering your blood pressure. Keep a log of your diet and monitor your blood pressure with it. Include more potassium in your diet to cut sodium. Potassium is found in most fruits and vegetable.

⦁ Reduce Sodium intake: The majority of all people with high blood pressure are salt sensitive, which means that anything more than the minimal bodily need for salt is too much for them and increases their blood pressure.

⦁ Manage your alcohol intake: Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, can potentially lower your blood pressure by 2 to 4 mm Hg. But that positive effect is lost if you drink too much. Don't be a heavy drinker.

⦁ Avoid tobacco: Smoking or chewing tobacco leads to many heart diseases in addition to being a source of hypertension. The nicotine in tobacco products can raise your blood pressure by 10 mm Hg or more for up to an hour after you smoke.

⦁ Regulate caffeine intake: The role of caffeine is still debatable because there is a temporary spike in blood pressure but there is still some concern about its long term effects. For best response, jot down your caffeine intake and check your blood pressure and keep a record and watch how your body reacts.

⦁ Eliminate worry from your life: Stress can cause sudden bursts in your blood pressure. Avoid stress from your life and think about what causes the stress and anxiety and eliminate that cause. Stay stress free for controlled high blood pressure.

⦁ Herbs to include in your diet: Add Basil, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Garlic, Hawthorn and Celery Seed in your diet. These herbs help maintain optimum high blood pressure with herbal cure.