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Tackling hypertension
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. About one in seven Australian adults have it. High blood pressure causes the third greatest cause of disease in Australia over 5% of the total burden of disease and injury (death rate), second only to tobacco smoking and physical inactivity. With the evidence clear that hypertension is a serious health issue, let's now uncover ways in which we can reduce our blood pressure risk.
Reducing your blood pressure risk:
The only way to know what your blood pressure is to have it checked every two years, or more often if your general practitioner advises you to. Some factors, such as age, gender and family history, are impossible to change. However, you can control high blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke if you:
Reduce salt intake
Reducing salt intake can assist in controlling your blood pressure. Approximately 15% of the salt we eat comes from salt added to cooking or at the table. That's easy to reduce, by adding flavour with herbs and spices. The remainder of our salt intake comes from processed foods, including processed meats, canned foods, sauces, crisps and similar snack foods. When shopping look for products that are labelled low salt or sodium or those that contain less than 120mg of sodium per 100g.
Lose weight
Reducing excess weight is a priority in managing hypertension and can lower blood pressure in most patients by an average of 2 mm Hg systolic per kilogram of weight lost. Weight reduction by as little as 5kg reduces blood pressure in most individuals who are more than 10% over ideal weight. Management goals for individuals with high blood pressure are, waist circumference (males < 94 cm; females < 80 cm) and Body Mass Index (BMI) < 25 mg/m2.
Give up smoking
Come on everyone, surely we don't need to explain the reason why tobacco is bad for your blood pressure and overall health!
Limit alcohol consumption
Limit alcohol intake to not more than 1 standard drink per day for women and 2 for men to control blood pressure.
Exercise regularly
Regular aerobic exercise can lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure by an average of approximately 4 and 2.5 mm Hg respectively.
Use stress management techniques.
Exercise helps to reduce stress
Make time for yourself and do something you like doing
Listen to your favourite music
Reducing sodium:
You can influence your blood pressure levels significantly by taking care of your diet and following some of the simple tips below.
Eat plenty of fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, milk and yoghurt
Limit processed foods
Avoid adding salt during cooking
Do not add salt to your meal at the table
Add flavour to your food using other ingredients, such as:
o Garlic
o Pepper
o Spices
o Herbs
o Chilli
o Lemon juice
o Vinegar
o Ginger
NB avoid salted herbs and spices, such as steak seasoning and lemon pepper
Limit the use of high salt foods such as:
o Margarine and butter
o Cheese
o Salted nuts (instead eat unroasted unsalted nuts)
o Salted snack foods pretzels, chips, rice crackers
o Deli meats ham, corned beef etc
o Take away foods
o Vegemite
o Peanut butter (use Sanitarium Natural Peanut Butter, as it has no added salt or sugar)
o Commercial stock
o Soy sauce
o Commercial sauces
Top Ten Tips:
If you have hypertension or high blood pressure then it's important you make every effort to immediately alter your lifestyle to reduce your blood pressure and move them into safer levels.
Our top ten tips are;
1. Lose weight if you are not in the healthy weight range
2. Stop smoking if you are a cigarette smoker
3. Limit alcohol consumption to one (women) or two (men) drinks a day
4. Exercise moderately every day
5. Reduce salt intake
6. Reduce your fat intake
7. Reduce your consumption of processed foods
8. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables
9. Avoid stressful situations where possible
10. Sleep at least 7-8 hours a night