High Blood Pressure Diet – Top Tips
Blood Pressure Diet What is hypertension and why is a Blood Pressure diet so important? It is something many of us never think about, but it keeps you alive and it is important to stay in a healthy range! In this blog, we cover all you need to know and how to improve it. Blood pressure is when your heart pumps blood through your arteries, putting pressure on the artery wall. This naturally goes up and down with your normal daily activities. A normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg What do blood pressure numbers mean? Blood pressure is recorded with two numbers: The first number is called systolic blood pressure. This is the pressure in your arteries when your heart beats. The second number is called diastolic blood pressure. This measures the pressure in your arteries when your heart rests between beats. If you have never had this checked yourself you may have seen a Dr on TV using a cuff and stethoscope on patients to listen to their arm! This is checking blood pressure. An electronic blood pressure monitor is the up-to-date way of checking your home blood pressure: What is High Blood Pressure? High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is when your blood pressure is higher than normal. The higher your blood pressure means you are at greater risk of heart disease heart attack heart failure stroke Not what you want to be hearing. High blood pressure also increases your risk of developing the following health problems Kidney disease Vision problems, retinal changes Sexual dysfunction, such as erectile dysfunction Circulatory problems, including peripheral artery disease (leg pain when walking) Atrial Fibrillation – Abnormal heart rhythms Vascular dementia Aortic Aneurysm – vessel swelling in the abdomen So how common is High Blood pressure? Nearly 1/2 the population in America have high blood pressure and in the UK it is not far behind with 1 in 3 adults (around 16 million) having high blood pressure (a reading of 140/90 or higher). This rises to at least 1 in 2 over-65s. Unfortunately, most people will never know they have high blood pressure as it is known as the silent killer. If you do have the following symptoms: Headaches, anxiety, nosebleeds, and palpitations do get them checked out as these can be signs of high blood pressure. Why do we get High Blood pressure? The top risk factors for high blood pressure include: Being overweight/obese – The more you weigh the more blood flow is required to the tissues to supply nutrients and oxygen. Blood vessels increase and so does the pressure inside your arteries. Too much salt (sodium) in your diet – your body retains fluid when there is too much sodium in your diet. This causes the arteries in your body to narrow. Both increase blood pressure. Too little potassium in your diet -Potassium is important to help balance the sodium in your cells. Potassium causes the smooth muscle cells in your arteries to relax, which lowers blood pressure. Not being physically active – Exercise lowers blood pressure by increasing blood flow through all the arteries of the body. This leads to the release of natural hormones and cytokines relaxing blood vessels. Lack of physical activity also increases the risk of being overweight which as we know now is a risk factor in itself. What lifestyle change lowers blood pressure the most? Weight loss for high blood pressure Weight loss is one of the most effective lifestyle changes for controlling blood pressure. If you’re overweight or have obesity, losing even a small amount of weight can help reduce blood pressure. Blood Pressure diet – Nutrient-rich foods Many people embark on trying to lose weight for multiple reasons, many due to health, and they hit a brick wall after a few weeks or months. Following macros, friends’ recommendations, or very kcal-restricted diets. They start with the best of intentions, but if they are not focused on the long game the diet becomes boring, and tasteless and can lead to far more problems than they started with. I have written about this in other blogs and also have several videos on my YouTube channel about weight loss, macros and intuitive eating. The focus for blood pressure is getting key nutrients in each day potassium, calcium and magnesium are just a few. These nutrients help control blood pressure. While building these in, reducing sodium, saturated fat and added sugars is critical. Salt/Sodium and High Blood Pressure Salt/sodium intake is directly correlated to high blood pressure and is found in so many processed foods – both sweet and savoury. Adults should eat no more than 6g of salt a day (2.4g sodium) – that’s around 1 teaspoon in all the foods and fluids you consume. Children aged: 1 to 3 years should eat no more than 2g salt a day (0.8g sodium) Bacon, sausages, ham, meat pies, sausage rolls, pizza, crisps, bread….. are all high-salt processed foods. One slice of pan-fried pork bacon alone has 194 milligrams of sodium! Thankfully there are no special foods required to reduce your blood pressure, just focus on eating a wide range of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Including low-fat dairy products, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and unrefined oils. 121 Dietitian programmes are created especially for you to ensure you get all of the correct nutrients and still make it tasty and enjoyable lifelong. How did we design our Blood Pressure Diet? DASH The DASH eating plan was designed from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension clinical study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1997. This study found that populations who consume diets rich in vegetables and fruits have a lower blood pressure than those whose diets are low in vegetables. In addition to fruits and vegetables, dietary fibre, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and protein were all essential. All these important nutrients are the cornerstone of our 121 specially designed programmes! Drinking less alcohol Having more than two drinks per day
Christmas Diet Dilemmas
The Christmas Diet Dilemmas. Many of us will gain unwanted extra weight this Christmas. Whether it is due to decreased exercise, attending more social occasions or an increased craving for comfort foods during the long, cold nights, weight gain is not inevitable. Here at 121 Dietitian we would like to share with you some tips for the festive season and hopefully save you making “must lose weight” resolutions as we enter the New Year. Christmas diet – Why do we gain weight during the festive period? Christmas is a time of celebration which can span from the 2 -3 weeks prior to the big day with Christmas parties followed by New Year celebrations and then continue into January with finishing the leftovers. This amounts to nearly a month of celebrating and for some of us who might normally resist temptation telling ourselves ‘it’s alright it’s a special occasion.’ These special occasions can easily mount up. Even something you consider to be a little treat can have a larger effect than you would realise. If you consume over 200 – 300 kcal ( mince pie or some buffet sausages, large glass of wine) or more each day over the course of 1 month you can expect to gain 4-8lb minimum if you are not actively exercising over and above your normal activity or having days where you keep control. Weight gain over the festive period is easy but it is not inevitable. You can be very clever with your food/kcal intake and still have fun. The right state of mind is often the major hurdle to compliance. A pre-party tip People live busy lives and are on the go the whole time. However take a little extra time to have a pre party planning stage for what you are going to wear, how you will travel and what you will eat during the day, and then at the party. This will see you through with a big smile and smaller bum, tum or hips!! Some good advice If going to a buffet eat well during the day. High fibre regular meals are good. Have a snack before you go out e.g. banana and wholemeal toast if in a rush, or some lean meat /fish and pasta/potato and vegetables. At the buffet try and fill most of your plate with raw vegetable sticks and fruit. What not to do instead of what not to eat! Avoidance is never the best long term plan. Usually it makes you want something more! It is better to teach ourselves to moderate rather than avoid. Often avoided foods will creep back into the diet and if you can’t control this then a yo-yo weight gain can occur. When out celebrating here are some don’ts. Don’t go hungry. Don’t stand near the food table as you will be tempted. Don’t get too tipsy early as this will reduce your willpower and the results could be bad! Watch the dips, go for the salad options, then you can add a few of the other items like goujons and crisps, enough variety to see you through. The worst high fat offenders are the sausage roll, vol au vents and depending on the quality deep fried chicken in breadcrumbs can be processed and fatty. Christmas diet – Being clever can save you calories! Your choice at the buffet table can mean you can make a difference of a clever 350 kcal intake for the night (not including alcohol) instead of 1200 kcal, almost a full extra days intake of junk and saturated fat. One last more sobering thought: Think ahead: how you are going to feel come January with a substantial food and drinks bill, clothes that are too tight and potential blood pressure, cholesterol, health problems. Do these treats seem so appealing? Enjoy, but have pride in resisting some temptation too! Happy Healthy Christmas, we look forward to hearing your success stories…. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018.
