High blood pressure or hypertension is an unusual condition which has almost no symptoms. Since, the medical condition has no warning symptoms; high blood pressure is also called the silent killer. The only way to find it is one should get their blood pressure checked regularly. Now a days many people suffer from high blood pressure. Blood pressure is measured in ‘millimetres of mercury’ (mm Hg). If high blood pressure is not managed on time, it can create a havoc on your health and lead to several heart diseases like stroke or heart attack. Apart from medications, modifying your lifestyle can also help lower your risk for hypertension. Let us quickly have a look at some lifestyle changes which can help manage hypertension well.
Lifestyle modification that can help manage high blood pressure
- Manage your weight
Blood pressure often increases when weight increases. Therefore, managing your weight is extremely important if you have high blood pressure. Regular physical exercise and a healthy diet is the key to maintain a healthy weight. Not only hypertension, but a healthy body weight can also help you get rid of several other diseases.
- Lower the intake of salt
Excessive salt in your diet is a major risk factor of high blood pressure. Thus, lowering your sodium intake is important as sodium increases blood pressure by causing the body to retain excess fluid. This puts burden on your heart and puts more pressure on your blood vessels. Instead of salt, you could use some other healthy alternatives like pepper, lemon or lemon zest, vinegar, mint or chilies.
- Limit the intake of alcohol
Even drinking too much alcohol can lead to an increase in blood pressure. Limiting the intake of alcohol can reduce high blood pressure. This will be a significant lifestyle change for people suffering from high blood pressure.
- Healthy diet
A healthy diet is an effective way to lower blood pressure. Your diet should include fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and whole grains. Junk and processed food should be avoided at all costs. You should also include the three vital nutrients to manage high blood pressure. These nutrients are potassium, magnesium and calcium.
- Regular physical activity
In addition to helping you lose weight, engaging in regular physical activity can also help lower blood pressure. In fact, making the lifestyle change to exercise moderately, like walking briskly, for at least 30 minutes or cycling or may be playing any sport. Some other exercises could be swimming, running or yoga.
