Five Tips to Lower Your Blood Pressure
Having high blood pressure can lead to very serious consequences including heart attack, stroke and kidney failure and even death. High blood pressure affects thousands of Americans every year and unfortunately many don’t even know they have it until it’s too late. Therefore, it is important to get checkups regularly with your doctor and make minor changes in your lifestyle now in order to ensure a higher quality of life down the road. Below are the top five tips on how to lower your blood pressure now.
1. Reduce the salt in your daily diet: Salt is hard to avoid since it is in almost every food! But by reducing your salt intake you are helping your health. You can reduce salt in minor but influential ways. You can start by not picking up the salt shaker on the table as soon as you sit down for your meal. Also try to avoid TV dinners, canned soups and bacon. Look for low-sodium labels on food products. Being more conscience of the foods you are buying will make this step easier.
2. Increase your intake of fiber, potassium and magnesium: Make sure to eat at least 4 – 6 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Don’t add any salt to the veggies and try to snack on nuts and seeds instead of candy bars or cookies. Potatoes and bananas are also a good source of potassium.
3. Maintain a healthy body weight: Severely overweight individuals have a greater chance of having high blood pressure. Exercise regularly and eat smaller portions to lose weight and get to an ideal weight. Talk to your physician about other healthy and safe weight loss solutions and they can help find the best match for your needs.
4. Reduce caffeine intake: It can be difficult to say no to a nice, warm cup of Joe in the morning, but reducing your caffeine intake can greatly help you lower your blood pressure. Try to limit yourself to no more than three cups a day and switch to decaf instead of regular.
5. Stop smoking: Kicking a smoking habit can be one of the hardest things an addict can do but it can help save their life in the long run. If you are having a tough time giving up cigarettes try alternatives like Nicorette gum or the patch. You can also talk to your doctor about alternative methods to stop smoking completely.
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