7 Steps to High Blood Pressure Control
Say good-bye to confusion!
Receive praise from your MD!
Be around to see your grandkids!
7 steps over 7 weeks
Step 1: Know where you are, so you can get where you want to be!
Know your risk for high blood pressure and understand your numbers.
Risk factors you cannot control:
Increasing age
Gender
Family History
Race
If you have one or more risk factors you cannot change, it's that much more important to focus on the ones you can.
Risk factors you can change:
Tobacco use
Physical inactivity
Excess Weight
Diabetes
Stress
Alcohol
Sodium intake
Potassium intake
Medication
The numbers you need to know:
- Systolic blood pressure
- Diastolic blood pressure
Step 2: Heart healthy living becomes reality, not some pipe dream!
Factor 1 – Tobacco Use
There's a significant rise in blood pressure with every cigarette you smoke. If you stop smoking you'll most likely see cardiovascular benefits within one year.
Factor 2 – Alcohol
More than two drinks daily for men and one drink daily for women can elevate blood pressure. One drink equals 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1 ½ ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits.
Factor 3 – Physical Activity
Be regularly active! Inactivity usually results in a higher heart rate. A higher heart rate means the heart must pump harder, exerting more force on artery walls. Also, a sedentary lifestyle leads to excess weight.
To reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure, you need to increase physical activity to at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days each week.
Factor 5 – Stress Management
Be aware of what triggers your stress and what you do to cope. Do you turn to cigarettes, alcohol, and food?
Step 3: Balance fats to work with you, not against.
To be heart healthy, you need to decrease your saturated fat and trans fat intake. Replacing saturated and trans fats with unsaturated fats will raise HDL (good) and lower total cholesterol. Total fat intake should equal 30% or less of total daily calories.
Saturated Fat
Saturated fat increases blood cholesterol levels and should be limited to less than 7% of your total daily calories.
Sources – meat, milk, cheese, ice cream, butter, lard, shortening, hydrogenated vegetable fat, palm oil, and coconut oil.
Unsaturated Fats
There are different types of unsaturated fats – monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. If eaten in moderation, unsaturated fats promote heart health.
Monounsaturated fats
Sources -- canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, sesame oil, avocadoes, peanut butter, nuts, and seeds.
Polyunsaturated fats
Sources -- soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, salmon, mackerel, herring, trout, nuts, and seeds.
Trans Fatty Acids
Consuming trans fats increases your heart disease risk. Daily trans fat intake should be less than 1% of your total calorie intake. Read food labels to reduce trans fat intake.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Omega 3 fatty acids are involved in the regulation of heart rate, blood pressure, and blood clotting.
Sources
- Oils - canola oil, soybean oil, flaxseed oil (good source of ALA)
- Seeds and nuts - flaxseeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds
- Vegetables - avocados, some dark leafy green vegetables (kale, spinach, mustard greens, collards)
- Fish (good source of EPA and DHA) - salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, albacore tuna, lake trout, herring
Step 4: Shake the salt habit once and for all.
Sodium is a mineral and it's vital for health. Sodium maintains fluid balance, which is why it plays a key role in blood pressure control. To be heart healthy, sodium intake should be reduced to less than 2300 mg (1 teaspoon table salt = 2300 mg sodium) daily.
Reduce your sodium intake by –
- Using less salt at the table.
- Reading food labels.
- Selecting healthy choices when dining out.
Step 5: Don't skimp on the roughage, rake it in and watch your numbers drop.
A high fiber diet is necessary for heart health. You need 25-35 grams of dietary fiber daily. There are two fiber categories – soluble and insoluble.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber moves waste through the intestines and maintains intestinal acid balance.
Sources
- Fruit and root vegetable skins
- Vegetables (green beans, celery, cauliflower, zucchini, beets, turnips, potato skins, and dark green leafy vegetables)
- Wheat and whole-wheat products
- Wheat oat
- Corn bran
- Seeds and nuts
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber is the type of fiber responsible for lowering total cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
Sources
- Oat and oat bran
- Legumes (dried beans and peas)
- Nuts
- Barley, rye
- Flaxseed
- Fruits (i.e. oranges, apples, prunes, plums, berries)
- Vegetables (i.e. carrots, broccoli, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions)
- Psyllium husk
Step 6: Balance minerals to meet your individual needs.
Potassium
High potassium intake protects against high blood pressure and will improve control of high blood pressure. If potassium intake is too low, blood pressure will rise.
Potassium helps maintain normal heart and nerve function. If you're using diuretics (i.e. water pills) to lower blood pressure, the excess urination can cause loss of potassium.
Shoot for 3500 mg of potassium everyday.
Magnesium
Poor magnesium levels are common for individuals with cardiovascular disease, usually due to poor diet and magnesium loss caused by diuretics or diabetes. Low dietary magnesium is a risk factor for high blood pressure.
Adult women need 280 mg of magnesium and men 350 mg.
Calcium
Increased low fat dairy intake will reduce your risk of developing high blood pressure and if prevention is a thing of the past, low fat dairy will help control high blood pressure. High fat dairy (whole or 2% milk) does not help fight against high blood pressure.
Another plus for increasing low fat dairy intake is weight loss. If you consume at least 3 servings of low fat dairy everyday, it'll promote a shrinking waistline.
Step 7: Create your own fool proof plan to lower high blood pressure!
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet is used to reduce high blood pressure. A diet reduced in total and saturated fat and rich in fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods significantly lowers high blood pressure. If followed the DASH diet will lower blood pressure, which can help prevent and control high blood pressure.
By following the DASH Diet you may see blood pressure improvement in as little as 14 days!
How I Help You Control High Blood Pressure
It's one thing to know what needs to be done, it's a whole different ballgame when it comes to actually doing it. The valuable tips above are just the tip of the iceburg!
With step-by-step guidance, you double your chance for success.
Select your plan below to control high blood pressure and live the healthy life you want!
The core program includes weekly coaching with Lisa Nelson, RD, LN.
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If for any reason you're not satisfied with Control High Blood Pressure 2.0, contact eNutritionServices for a full refund within:
Core Program - 6 months from date of program completion;
Manual and Workbook - 6 months from date of purchase.
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