6 Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Hypertension.
Hypertension is the resistance in blood circulation in the heart due to narrowing of arteries. The reason for narrowing of the arteries due to high cholesterol, genetics, obesity, increased or decreased thyroid levels, kidney disease, or diabetes. To conclude, it can be said that an unhealthy lifestyle contributes to hypertension and related disorders.
With conscious efforts in dietary habits, cooking methods, and exercise routines can easily prevent the occurrence of lifestyle disorders like hypertension.
Healthy lifestyle choices are crucial to maintaining a healthy blood pressure.
Here are a few tips for preventing hypertension. Maintaining heart health and keeping a check on cholesterol and sugar levels determines the likelihood of diabetes.
- Make use of healthier oils like olive, canola, or peanut. Almost all street food and mass manufactured foods make use of saturated fats which is extremely harmful for the heart. Always read the labels before buying and look for terms like “palm oil” or “palmolein oil”, if they are listed as the ingredients, stop buying those products.
- Replace red meat with chicken, fish, or eggs. Red meat is saturated fat too, and directly contributes to heart blockages.
- Do whatever you like but burn some calories every day, or at least 4 days a week. Weight training, HIIT, and strength training at least twice a week significantly reduces the chances of having a high blood pressure.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Even if you think you are overweight, just focus on maintaining a healthy diet and workout routine.
- Manage stress. Practice relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation. Stress is the leading cause of cardiovascular diseases and heart failure. It is a crucial factor in determining the prevalence of hypertension.
- Decrease sodium intake. Reduce salt in the diet and choose low sodium, rock salt, or Himalayan pink salt instead of regular salt.
Hypertension develops over time, due to regular negligence of a good diet and lifestyle. It can be prevented even without too much of restrictions in diet. Choosing whole grains and nuts over refined carbs, honey or jaggery over white sugar and brown rice over white rice make a significant difference in the overall intake of sugar and trans-fat.
