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A Word About Fats

Fats - especially saturated fat - affect the health of your heart and blood vessels. There are various types of fat. Saturated fat is often found in foods from animals. This includes fatty meats, the skin of poultry, and whole-milk dairy products, such as butter, cheese, cream, and ice cream. It also is in coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils. These oils are found mostly in processed foods, such as baked goods, snack foods, and crackers. If you use saturated fat, keep the amount small. Instead of saturated fat, try soft or liquid margarine and such oils as canola, safflower, and olive. However, all kinds of fats have the same amount of calories and need to be limited to help you lose weight.

Reduce Salt and Sodium in Your Diet

A key to healthy eating is choosing foods lower in salt and sodium. Most Americans consume more salt than they need. The current recommendation is to consume less than 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams[mg] ) of sodium a day. That equals 6 grams (about 1 teaspoon) of table salt a day. The 6 grams include ALL salt and sodium consumed, including that used in cooking and at the table. For someone with high blood pressure, the doctor may advise eating less salt and sodium, as recent research has shown that people consuming diets of 1,500 mg of sodium had even better blood pressure lowering benefits. These lower-sodium diets also can keep blood pressure from rising and help blood pressure medicines work better.

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Maintaining a Healthy Weight

Being overweight increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. In fact, blood pressure rises as body weight increases. Losing even 10 pounds can lower blood pressure - and it has the greatest effect for those who are overweight and already have hypertension.

Being overweight is also a risk factor for heart disease. It increases your chance for developing high blood cholesterol and diabetes - two more major risk factors for heart disease.

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Physical Activity

Being physically active is one of the most important steps you can take to prevent or control high blood pressure. It also helps reduce your risk of heart disease. It doesn't take a lot of effort to become physically active.

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Limit Alcohol Intake

Drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure. It also can harm the liver, brain, and heart. Alcoholic drinks also contain calories, which matter if you are trying to lose weight. If you drink alcoholic beverages, have only a moderate amount - one drink a day for women; two drinks a day for men.

What counts as a drink?

• 12 ounces of beer (regular or light, 150 calories), or
• 5 ounces of wine (100 calories), or
• 1 ounces of 80-proof whiskey (100 calories).

Check out this quiz on drinking alcohol

Quitting Smoking

Smoking injures blood vessel walls and speeds up the process of hardening of the arteries. This applies even to filtered cigarettes. So even though it does not cause high blood pressure, smoking is bad for anyone, especially those with high blood pressure. If you smoke, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start. Once you quit, your risk of having a heart attack is reduced after the first year. So you have a lot to gain by quitting.

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Other Factors Affecting Blood Pressure

Check out this information about other factors effecting blood pressure.

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