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
Reduce the risk of prostate cancer with dietary changes
Reduce the risk of prostate cancer. In recent years, more and more research has been devoted to the link between diet and prostate cancer and reducing its likelihood with dietary changes. Every year in the UK, 35,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, resulting in one fatality every hour. What we do currently know about the condition is that men are more likely to get it if they are over the age of 60, have a family history of prostate cancer or are of African decent. Furthermore, Asian men are less likely than Western men to develop this cancer form but those who have migrated to Western countries are found to develop the same risk as those who have been there their entire lives. What this suggests is that there are in fact some fixed factors which increase the risk of prostate cancer, so much so that the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) is continuing research into the link between lifestyle factors and prostate cancer. However, until these finding have concluded and been published, based on the current consensus science, the following tips can play a role in protection against most types of cancer, including prostate cancer. Here, we take a look at the diet and lifestyle changes you can make in order to reduce the risk of prostate cancer Maintain a healthy weight through the principle of keeping active and eating a healthy, balanced diet. Moderately exercising for just 30 minutes a day is recommended. If your busy lifestyle doesn’t permit this, try shorter sessions throughout the day. Aim for a healthy BMI of between 18.5 and 25. Not sure what your BMI currently is? Check out this handy calculator on our website here. When it comes to your diet, one which is varied and balanced containing the right proportions from the five food groups is essential. Use the above plate as a guide on your daily food intake. As a good indicator, at each mealtime, fill half your plate with fruit and vegetables, a quarter with protein and a quarter with starchy carbohydrates. Up your water intake to the recommended 6 – 8 glasses of fluid per day, one of which can be a small serving of fruit juice. Limit sugar-laden drinks to special occasions only. Ensure your diet is rich in whole grain food options, aiming for the recommended 3 portions of 16g wholegrain products per day. As a guide, one portion = x2 heaped tbsp brown rice, or x1 medium slice wholemeal bread or x3 tbsp wholegrain rice, or 1/2 a wholemeal pita bread. Ensure your daily intake of fruit and veg is high, striving for 7 portions per day. This is the equivalent of 1 medium apple, 3 dates, half a grapefruit, 2 small tangerines, 1/3 aubergine, 3 heaped tbsp carrots or 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree or a handful of mangetout. Limit your trans fat intake, keeping within the recommended guidance for 70g of fat and keep processed saturated fat low. Small tips to help with this include, for example, trimming fat from meat, cooking with healthier fats such as olive oil and upping your intake of nuts, seeds and avocados as healthier fat options. Reduce your sugar intake but keep below the recommended 30g per day with simple steps such as cutting down on sugary treats including cakes, biscuits and snack foods, limit your intake of fruit juice and fizzy soda, replacing with water or low sugar squash varieties and halve the amount of sugar consumed in tea, coffee, cereal, cooking and baking where possible. These simple steps will go a long way in preserving your future health and you’ll be surprised at how quickly your palate gets used to it. Be aware of hidden salt and keep to 6g per day. Swap the addition of salt while cooking for herbs and spices. These are a fab alternative and there are so many tasty choices out there, so get experimental and creative when cooking. Ditch the processed meals which are high in salt, instead aiming to cook simple meals from raw ingredients. It’s amazing how quickly a healthy and tasty meal can be prepared. Check out, for example, our Incredible Hulk Cannelloni recipe here. Finally to r educe the risk of prostate cancer, get up to speed on food labelling systems in order to choose foods that are low in fats (<3p per 100g fat, <1.5 saturated fat per 100g), sugar (<5g per 100g) and salt (<0.3g per 100g). For more information on prostate problems. 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 reduce the risk of prostate cancer 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 and 1st January 2023.
Salt – Sea salt & rock salt -healthier options?
What is salt? Have you ever considered certain salt e.g Sea Salt or Rock Salt, may be better for you than others? At 121 dietitian we have been asked this very question. So you can see why we came to our conclusion we have provided some background info first. What is salt made from? Salt is made up of two minerals (sodium & chlorine). Sodium naturally occurs in many plant and animal foods but for most of us it is the salt in our diets which is our main source of sodium. 1g of sodium is the equivalent to 2.55g of salt. If you see sodium on a food table the easiest way to decide how much salt the food contains is to multiply the sodium by 2.5. Sodium x 2.5 = Salt in grams Why do we use salt? Salt is used in cooking to add flavour to foods, boost the flavour of other ingredients and to act as a preservative. Most of the salt we eat comes from pre-prepared foods (75%) rather than the salt we add at the table. Sea salt, rock salt or table salt is there a difference & which is better? Sea salt, rock salt and table salt all contain around 100% sodium chloride which means that too much of any of them will have a negative effect on your health. However rock salt & sea salt are often marketed as being a healthier or tastier option than table salt. Both are considerably more expensive than table salt. Sea salt is produced by the evaporation of sea water. It is argued that sea salt contains more minerals than table salt so is better for your health. However, just because it may contain extra minerals does not mean it is good for you. It would better to get these minerals from a balanced diet containing lots of fruit and vegetables than to consider sea salt as a healthy food. Rock salt is also known as halite. It is different to sea salt because it is already found in a solid form and then mined. Table salt (refined salt) can also be produced from solid salt which is found underground and then refined to remove any impurities. When the salt is being refined minerals such as calcium and potassium are often considered as impurities and so are removed in the refining process. Since 75% of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy and no salt is a “healthy” option, we here @ 121 Dietitian suggest the cheapest and best decision you can make is to not add any extra salt at all. Instead try experimenting with other flavours such as herbs, spices, garlic, chillies, lemon & ginger. Which foods contain high levels of salt? We mentioned that 75% of the salt we consume is already in the foods we buy. Foods which often have a high salt level include bacon, cheeses, ready-made stocks, soy sauce, tomato ketchup, mustard, ham and ready-made sauces. Try to limit how often you use these products and where possible choose the reduced salt options. You can also use nutrition labels to compare salt content when no reduced salt options are available. What are the health effects of salt? In the body sodium is actually essential, it is required to maintain fluid balance and for nerve signalling. Despite this, as a nation we needn’t worry about deficiency. It is recommended that adults have no more than 6g salt per day. But the average intake shown in the last national diet & nutrition survey was 8.6g per day (with many people consuming more than this). Really all we need to maintain our health is only around 1g of salt (a pinch). Getting too much salt can be bad for our health. High intakes of salt are linked to increased blood pressure, which in turn can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Salt has also been linked to other conditions including osteoporosis, stomach cancer, kidney disease, kidney stones and obesity. It may also exacerbate the symptoms of asthma, Alzheimer’s and Diabetes. How much salt is too much? Recommended maximum salt intakes Age Maximum Salt Intake 0-6 months Less than 1g / day 6-12 months 1g / day 1-3 years 2g / day 4-6 years 3g / day 7-10 years 5g / day 11 years and above 6g / day If you found this article interesting you can find more information on the Action Salt website www.actionsalt.org.uk or chat to us @ 121 Dietitian: info@121dietitian.com Make sure you have the correct nutritious foods to get you off to a great start. Check out the 121Dietitian Shop Please visit my YouTube Channel. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Instagram Facebook Youtube X-twitter Linkedin
