Blood Pressure, Eating Habits & Sodium
Since we have been talking about risk factors & behavior changes this week, I thought I would start with an extremely common one: BLOOD PRESSURE.
Statistics:
“Half of all Americans have high blood pressure” -NHLBI (1)
“Approximately 1 in 3, more than 100 million, American adults have high blood pressure. But only half of those people have their condition under control” - FDA (2)
According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (2):
Hypertension (high blood pressure)- develops when blood flows through your arteries at higher-than-normal pressures. Your blood pressure is made up of two numbers: systolic and diastolic (systolic/diastolic)
Systolic pressure is the pressure when the ventricles pump blood out of the heart.
Diastolic pressure is the pressure between heartbeats when the heart is filling with blood.
Normal pressure is 120/80 or lower
Stage 1 High is 130/80
Stage 2 High blood pressure is 140/90 or higher
“If you get a blood pressure reading of 180/110 or higher more than once, seek medical treatment right away" - USFDA (2)
You can improve your blood pressure by making healthy changes in your eating and exercise habits. I’m going to get into the benefits and effect of exercise later this month. This week, let's start looking at what we can do with our nutrition.
One fantastic resource is the DASH diet, which stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,” and, just like it sounds, it provides an eating plan that helps create a heart-healthy eating style for life. Feel free to explore here and talk to your registered dietician, doctor, or medical professional.(3)
Other modifications include reducing or limiting:
Sodium intake
Saturated & Trans Fats
Sweets & Sugars
Fiber & Carbs
Protein
In order to avoid information overload, I am going to look at lowering your sodium intake for today and we will explore the other changes this week.
Sodium Intake
“The American Heart Association recommends getting less than 2,500 milligrams (mg) of sodium each day, unless you have high blood pressure or if you are at risk (if you have diabetes or kidney disease, or are African American). Then, the recommendation is that you eat 1,500 milligrams of salt a day; that is less than a teaspoon from all your meals and snacks.” (4)
Tips from Web MD(4)):
Avoid adding salt to your meals & when eating out, ask your server if they could hold extra added salt to your dish
Buy low sodium foods (look for food that have 5% or less of the Daily Value)
Completely avoid foods that have 20% or more of the Daily Value
Check your seasonings and choose ones that are salt free
Limit processed and canned foods- they are generally higher in sodium & preservatives
Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store- this is where you will generally find your fresher foods
Action:
A great start would be to start checking labels and increase your awareness of how much sodium is in particular foods.
Even if you do not currently have struggles with blood pressure, becoming more aware and eventually making smart decisions is great preventatively, and odds are someone across the table or visiting you IS struggling- whether they know it or not!
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