There are many health related issues that need to be attended too, but fewer are more important and also more easily remedied than high blood pressure. A multifaceted approach is always best. No one thing can fix the problem. That being said, one important factor in reducing high blood pressure is weight loss.
This is not something that happens overnight, but you can start today by making improvements to your diet. Seek out quality information and qualified professionals that can help you. Below are a few simple nutrition, behavior and supplemental areas to pay attention to to help reduce blood pressure are as follows:
- Lack of sleep is a major contributor to high blood pressure. Make it a priority to sleep more by getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night. Practice proper sleep hygiene by putting away phones and other electronics that affect your body?s circadian rhythm and ability to produce melatonin.
- Potassium is important in relaxing the blood vessels. You should be consuming around 4700 mg of potassium per day. Good dietary sources are spinach, potatoes, salmon, coconut water and dairy. Potassium provides important cardiovascular benefits for athletes and helps prevent cramping. Always make sure to eat your vegetables with some proteins and fats. The protein stimulates gastric acid and lowers the stomach PH so the minerals are better absorbed and the fats are necessary to shuttle those minerals into cells.
- Magnesium relaxes the blood vessels and transports potassium and calcium. Spinach is a great source of this as well, along with almonds, and dairy, such as yogurt.
- Calcium helps contract and relax blood vessels as needed. Dairy is the most absorbable form of calcium. If things such as milk or greek yogurt don?t digest well for you, then try aged hard cheese like Tillamook cheddar. It is also important to get adequate vitamin D-3 as it improves calcium absorption by as much as twenty fold.
- Vitamin K-2 helps decalcify arteries and prevent calcium deposition in soft tissues. Vitamin K-2 is found in egg yolks and grass fed dairy, such as butter and cheese. Most egg allergies are caused by avidin in the whites, so if the whole egg doesn?t agree with you, try just the yolks.
- Hypothyroidism Low thyroid is a major problem in causing high blood pressure. In a recent study, a twenty point systolic blood pressure rise was seen from hypothyroidism.
To promote proper thyroid function, make sure to consume foods containing iodine. Good ways to get iodine in your diet are by drinking pure cranberry juice, or by simply sprinkling a little iodized salt on your meals throughout the day.
Daily fruit consumption is important as fructose helps optimize liver function where 80% of thyroid is converted.
Consuming certain polyunsaturated fats can increase inflammation and slow thyroid function. Farmers feed animals soy and processed vegetable oils to slow their thyroid and increase estrogen in order to fatten their animals, so it?s important to avoid these processed oils.
If you have high blood pressure it is important to begin today to address the problem. Implement these simple steps and take control of your health. We?d love to hear about your results from doing these things. Feel free to contact us with further questions or to set up a free nutritional consultation.
by
Derek Reasch – NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist, 7 Point Nutrition Coach
7 Point Nutrition
Info@7PointNutrition.com
7 Point Nutrition does not diagnose, treat or claim to prevent any diseases or medical conditions. Always consult a physician for any medical conditions or health concerns you have and before starting any diet or exercise program.
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