The Factors That Affect Your Blood Pressure And How To Manage Them
Among the many factors that cause high blood pressure, eating more salt is a very important factor. The daily salt intake of Chinese residents is generally more than 10 grams. On average, the northern area eats more salt than the southern area, which is also the reason for the high incidence of hypertension and serious complications in my country. The World Health Organization recommends that the daily salt intake per person should not exceed 5 grams.
Hypertension treatment and diet
What is high blood pressure?
Your blood pressure (BP) is measured in two stages. Your BP is first measured in an office setting, and then again in a home setting. The office BP is always taken first, and is considered to be an accurate representation of your BP at the same time. The home BP is taken when you want to feel more relaxed and are less stressed. It is not an accurate representation of your average BP level. It is more affected by your personality and the environment in which you take it.
In my country, people who suffer from high blood pressure and need medication usually go to our national hospital for treatment. There is a branch of the national hospital in my town that is especially equipped for the treatment of hypertension.
Factors that affect your blood pressure
There are various factors that influence blood pressure.
Medication
Having hypertension means that your blood pressure is not controlled. There are many reasons for this. Some of these reasons are mental, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. However, many medications used for hypertension also include toxic side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, depression, and weight gain. For this reason, the most effective treatment involves lifestyle changes.
Lifestyle changes
At least 1 of the following steps can help you control your blood pressure.
Stop smoking. Tobacco increases your risk of high blood pressure.
Reduce alcohol consumption. Too much alcohol can have a negative effect on your cardiovascular system.
Stop exercising too hard.
The treatment of hypertension
The following are basic recommendations that may be followed for the management of high blood pressure:
• Hypertension must be avoided, as it is caused by many factors such as increased salt intake.
• Reduce dietary salt intake to 10 grams per day. This recommendation is for children and pregnant and lactating women.
• Take a sodium-restricted diet as needed.
• Keep exercise sessions moderate and moderately long to decrease hypertension.
• Practice lifestyle modifications such as control of blood pressure, salt intake, and cholesterol level.
• Chew sugar-free gum after meals to decrease the amount of salt consumed and reduce the salt induced increase in blood pressure.
• Avoid alcohol consumption as much as possible, as it can aggravate hypertension.
How to lower your salt intake
1. Skip salt, and that's it.
For people suffering from hypertension, this is the first and most effective step to get rid of high blood pressure. They are unable to increase their sodium intake because of a painful ulceration in their stomachs or because they can no longer retain sodium, thus accumulating too much of it in their body.
There are many other ways that you can reduce your salt intake: You can switch to low-salt or no-salt food, or you can try to reduce the intake by cutting down the fat, but remember that to get rid of hypertension, you have to reduce your sodium intake, not to increase it.
Tips for reducing the salt intake at home
Reduce the salt intake in your daily meals. You should try to avoid all types of processed and prepared foods, except the occasional consumption of meat.
Cooking yourself does not use extra salt. Use fresh and dry ingredients, such as fish and vegetables, and reduce the amount of salt added to the food.
Use low-salt, well-cooked meat such as chicken, pork and beef.
Eat less fast food and choose fresh foods instead.
Eat freshly cooked or dried seafood.
Take vegetables for breakfast.
Cooked food is healthy. Do not eat salty food at meals. Buy food.
Diagnosing high-calorie meals. This is not at the same time.
Lifestyle changes to prevent high-calorie meals, nor drink salty meals, nor drink soft drinks.
Minimize the use of salt in restaurants.
Beware of extra salt in cooking.
Tips for reducing the salt intake outside the home
Many people know that eating large quantities of salt can cause hypertension. To lower your salt intake, you can either reduce the amount of salt that you eat or look for low-salt foods that you can consume on a regular basis.
1. Reduce the use of salt when cooking at home. Use either white or brown salt, depending on the type of dish, and then use less salt. Also, try not to add salt to the food while they are cooking. This way, you won’t eat as much.
2. Limit the amount of processed foods and snacks that you eat. These foods usually have added salt, sugar and other ingredients that make them unhealthy. If you must eat these foods, buy the least amount possible and eat only a small portion.
3. Limit the amount of canned food that you consume.
A suggestion diet plan for adults with high blood pressure
• Cut down your sodium intake to less than 10 gms per day
• Get more salt intake from vegetables
• Eat more fruits and vegetables instead of meat
The more vegetables you eat, the less salt you should consume. In addition, the calcium and vitamin D in your diet can help prevent hypertension. One study showed that 1,000 mg of calcium per day reduced the occurrence of hypertension in women by 18 percent.
Eating the right diet has many benefits, including:
1. The benefits of eating vegetables are two fold, one that is their effects on your body, especially your cardiovascular system, and the other that is that your regular intake of vegetables can lower your blood sugar levels.
2. Foods that are high in fiber will also reduce the amount of salt that you are consuming.
A suggestion diet plan for children with high blood pressure
– cut down on the salt intake to 3g per person per day and avoid eating processed food.
– increase the intake of fresh fruit and vegetables to at least 2 servings per day and avoid processed foods.
– reduce the intake of sugar, processed meat and red meat.
– watch your alcohol intake and reduce to one glass of wine per day, or 0.5-1 shot of spirit.
If high blood pressure is left untreated, other complications may develop, such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease, blindness, fatigue, and other cardiovascular disorders.
Here are the Chinese diet recommendations for people with high blood pressure.
Avoid alcohol, processed and saturated fat. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Limit the consumption of fried and preserved foods and cooking oil.
onclusion
While high salt intake is an important cause of hypertension, it cannot be reduced completely. The problem is usually much more serious than simply eating more than the recommended amount of salt. The high levels of salt in the blood vessels are the result of an overall unhealthy lifestyle. Eating too much unhealthy food and the lack of exercise are the causes.
When the fat is removed from the body and the starch eaten is replaced with vegetables, no-added sugar foods, and non-processed foods, a healthy and balanced diet can be achieved. I think this diet contains a great amount of vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and legumes, and low amounts of meat and dairy products.
Choosing fruits over soda
Consumption of soda drinks has a big influence on the blood pressure.