Hi All,
I’m Krista’s Hubby. I’m looking for some ideas on how to lower Blood Pressure. I was lucky enough to have inherited genetic hypertension. **roll eyes** With a lot of help from Krista, starting Jan 1 of this year I am dedicated to changing my outlook to become a happy and positive person, after all, life is too short so live every day to its fullest, right?. I also have to admit…. I am Krista’s hubby and I am a salt-a-holic! LOL. I guess that admitting you have a problem is the first step in being better. :)
Krista has helped me notice that my medication, what I was eating, and my portion sizes were not doing me any favours as far as my blood pressure was concerned and how I was feeling. So, saying that with a lot work and support from Krista I have gotten off my blood pressure medication and to my surprise dropped 18lbs and some inches! Let’s just say that the blood pressure medication does help level your blood pressure; however there are so many really awful side effects. I am not sure which is worse the high blood pressure or the side effects of the medication I was on. If I can help it at all I am going to try to NEVER EVER go back on that medication!!
I would like to know if anyone would have ideas on how to reduce blood pressure, or natural foods etc that can help to lower my blood pressure even more? If you do have ideas or ways to lower stress / blood pressure I would love to hear about it.
I would like to say thank you so much to my beautiful wife for all her patience, help, and support!!
Love you Babe!
Hubby
Hi Krista's hubby. I'm so glad that Krista helped you on lowering blood pressure and lose weight. Blood pressure is something that many adult (>40 yrs) get and usually can't be cured, but controlled. I'm a huge believer of how food can work as medicine and side-effects free. These are food that really help on lowering blood pressure, you can find them in any asian store:
ReplyDelete- dry shiitake
- seaweed, any kind
- fresh mushrooms
- daikon, turnip
- black fungus
if Krista need cooking instructions/ideas, let me know. :)
Hi Krista's Hub!
ReplyDeleteIt's so nice to see you on here! I actually don't have advice for you since low bp runs in our family. I'm sure a diet full of fruits and veggies can only help! I wish you the best.
Hi Krista's Hubby,
ReplyDeleteI used to have high blood pressure and was even on medication for a little while.
First of all, I also used to love salt! Over time, I was able to retrain my taste buds and now eat very, very little salt and avoid most processed foods. To get off the salt, I made changes slowly. Greatly reducing processed foods also greatly reduced my salt intake. And then I started to add less and less salt to my food. In place of salt, I started experimenting with different herbs and spices. I love adding basil and cilantro to pretty much any dish and really don't miss the salt. My hubby just recently commented how I really made a huge change when it comes to salt (he never really liked salt).
I also know that my coffee intake affects my blood pressure. I have been working on drinking less for a long time. Whenever I increase my intake, my blood pressure goes up a bit. I'm now down to one cup first thing in the morning, and my blood pressure is better than ever (113/65 today).
I also eat a banana a day, which is supposed to help with blood pressure, but there are many other beneficial fruits and veggies as well.
I think the biggest effect, however, was the changes I made to handling stress. I worked really hard at not "stressing out" so much and becoming calmer. I take as many yoga classes as I can, go for hikes, and just try to "slow down" more.
Great job on all the healthy changes you've made! And you have an awesome wife for helping you to become as healthy as possible! :)
Wow! So great that you are being so proactive about your health! The first step, which you clearly know is to decrease your salt intake. Try to aim for around 1500mg/day. Secondly, most people are also not aware that sugar, similar to salt can also impact your blood pressure, so I would recommmend avoiding all added sugars and white flour. This will help prevent a whole host of other problems as well! And yes, like others said, you need to up your potassium. Beans, sweet potatoes, avocado, kiwi, spinach are some of the foods with high potassium, but really ALL fruits and veggies are good. Lastly, most people focus on just sodium and potassium when really, there is something called mineral synergy which involves calcium and magnesium along with sodium and potassium. Calcium and magnesium should be in our diet in a ratio of 2:1 (Cal:Mag), however, due to the mass consumption of dairy, people are often at ratios as high as 20:1. You could take a cal:mag supplement daily, or simply increase the amount of magnesium in your diet which you are likely lacking. Magnesium rich foods= any nuts and seeds (esp. almonds and pumpkin seeds), spinach and kale. You can also take "pure magnesium in the form of magnesium glycinate (200mg). Magnesium helps to relax while calcium helps to constrict. Upping your mag will not only help with your blood pressure, but also relieve any constipation, eye twitches, hiccups, anxiety and many more things! Finally, I would take a high quality fish oil supplement which will help you maintain healthy cholesterol levels (crucial if you have high BP) and if you do have any plaque build up on your blood vessel walls, the fish oil will help to stabilize them so they are less likely to rupture under the strain of your high BP leading to a heart attack or stroke.
ReplyDeleteYou are AWESOME for making all these changes and being so proactive! Keep up the healthy living!!!! :)
Just thought I would also add, I just saw a study which utilized the practice of tai-chi to lower BP. 85% of ppl saw a decrease in their BP. Something you could try! Also, meditation has been shown to lower BP. :) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteHi there! Good for you for wanting to take control of your health. I know what you mean about medications whose side effects are worse than the condition they are trying to help treat. Many companies make Light in Sodium products that taste fantastic; for example, Amy's Kitchen (organic frozen foods and delicious soups). I would also recommend deep breathing ("me" time for yourself, a few minutes a day). Another great tip I've heard time and again from experts is to use other things to impart flavor to foods, especially lemon juice (emulates that tongue-watering thing that salt does), as well as a whole range of spices that are yummy, calorie-free, salt-free and happen to have their own anti-inflammatory (good for high BP) effects! Turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, curry spices, chili powder, even cinnamon -- experiment! Good luck and please report back on your progress. :]
ReplyDelete