Hello everyone. This is a guest post from Holland & Barrett
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As much as we’d love it to be, daily life is far from a Disney film. Carpets can’t fly, mice can’t sing and toys don’t spring to life when no one’s watching. It’s sad but it’s true. That’s why we have to find our own means and ways of handling day to day stresses. An issue in particular which many would like a genie to make disappear is high blood pressure. In addition to all the other trials and tribulations of life, those with this condition are also more susceptible to serious heart problems. Understandably, this is a concern which shouldn’t go unnoticed, so to provide you with a helping hand, here are some of our tips to getting to grips with high blood pressure.
Diet
If you’re one of the 16 million people reported to have this condition in the UK, then your diet is an area you need to focus on if you’re aiming to reduce your blood pressure. Aside from the medication provided to by your GP, you also need to try and control your food and drink intake. An aspect of this is the amount of salt you consume. Salt causes water retention, which in turn has the effect of increasing your blood pressure. Not good. So try to cut down! There are also water balance tablets which are designed to maintain a healthy body fluid balance.
Lifestyle
As well as sticking to a well balanced diet, full of fruit and veg (not alcohol and coffee!), another good way to keep your body in check and your blood pressure down is by adjusting your lifestyle. Although there are several potential reasons for having high blood pressure, such as age and genetics, a predominant cause tends to be lifestyle choices. If you intend on taking your condition seriously, then you NEED to make your health a priority. It’s time to abandon those cigarettes, get to the gym and remove yourself from stressful situations. Easier said than done, right? Well, it doesn’t have to happen overnight.
If you do smoke, then at least try to lessen the amount of cigs you have per day, as there’s a definite link between how much you smoke and the likelihood of you getting heart disease. Exercise is also a fundamental element to incorporate into your lifestyle. Not only does it help to reduce water retention, getting active also releases happy hormones into your body, therefore reducing stress (another cause of high blood pressure). So go for a run, try a yoga class or even just take the dog for a walk more often, as factors such as these can really impact your blood pressure.