Hypertension's Enemies: Diet and Exercise
Twenty five percent of Americans have hypertension and do not realize it, because high blood pressure produces no symptoms. Your blood pressure is created by your heart beating more than 100,000 times per day, each time pumping blood throughout your entire system. The fewer obstacles it encounters along the way, the lower the blood pressure and the less chance of developing hypertension.
Definition of Hypertension
The terms high blood pressure and hypertension are used interchangeably by most people. If your blood pressure is over 130/80 then you have high blood pressure or hypertension .High blood pressure is a big risk factor for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes, and dementia. The biggest danger associated with high blood pressure is that it causes no symptoms.
History of Hypertension
A bad diet and lack of exercise, even back during the Egyptian empire, could develop into hypertension and kill you at a young age. Dissection of the Egyptian mummies by world renowned archeologists proved, sure enough, that hypertension was a major health problem way back then. As we have grown into a society of fast food couch potatoes, the instances of hypertension related to diet has grown to chronic stages.
Treatment
If there is one inexpensive anti-hypertension diet it consists of a low salt, low fat diet, and plenty of exercise. Once your doctor has identified that you have hypertension, you should jointly set a realistic blood pressure goal. Then purchase a home blood pressure monitor and chart your blood pressure on a hourly, daily, and weekly basis. You might be surprised at what you discover.
Planning and sticking with a long term healthy diet to combat hypertension is critical to living a long life. This should include trying to avoid alcohol and cigarettes.
You should develop some type of daily exercise plan that includes weight training and cardio workouts on alternate days. As your heart rate rises while you are exercising, just think of all the bad stuff that is being cleared out of you veins and vessels.
Attitude
The first item on your anti-hypertension diet just might be maintaining a positive outlook on life no matter how bleak things might look right now. "A hundred smiles a day should keep hypertension away," or "the glass is never empty, always full." Experts agree we are just starting to fully appreciate the power of positive thinking in solving physical problems.
By making a few lifestyle changes in your diet and exercise routine, you can control your hypertension.
