Natural cereals are great for breakfast. It is when we get to those already processed and sugarfied cereals that are too high in everything that we should stay away from them; not to mention the cost of these cereals today.

Fruits and vegetables should be eaten with atleast 2 servings of each a day. Fresh of course; is the best but if not then frozen without the sauces will do just fine. Eating healthy will not only bring your blood pressure down, but will also provide your body with the vitamins and nutrients that it needs daily. Fruits are good anytime; especially if they are fresh. If you are on a food budget use a little jello or yogurt to make them go a little further.

Breads are the heart of any meal. After all, it was the first item requested in the Lord’s Prayer. But it can also put the weight on and allow the sugars and slats to affect our weight, blood pressure and our sugar intake. Eat low sodium high fiber breads and limit your bread intake to no more than three slices a day.

All of us know what a food label is. But do we read these labels I think not. If we did we wouldn’t have the high blood pressures problems we have today.

Reading food labels is very important to your high blood pressure. You should pay very close attention to the sodium count. Buy low sodium foods.

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Blood pressure becomes elevated because of many things Smoking, drinking, stress and heredity just to name a few. But it also becomes elevated when we eat to much salt or when our potassium levels are out of whack.

Potassium and sodium are two main electrolytes in our body. (When we get a blood test for cholesterol the electrolytes are also measured. Electrolytes represent minerals in our body such as magnesium, calcium, zinc, sodium, potassium and chloride. Then main focus in on the sodium and potassium chloride. These are the ones that can be the most needed but also the most dangerous.  These electrolytes are found in the liquid that surrounds our cells. Potassium and sodium being the most profound, our body needs an average rate of 3to 1; three times more potassium that sodium.

If you have hypertension, you only need 1000 of milligrams of sodium a day. It would be best for you if your intake was even less. Watch the labels of the food you buy and eat. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables whenever possible and use herbs to season your food instead of salt. Drink plenty of water and watch the blood pressure reading decline. If you just follow these simple steps your blood pressure may drop as must as ten points. You do and will get use the taste of food without salt.

Now you have found out that you eat to much salt, how can you prevent this? Change your diet, they way you cook, and what you cook. It is really that simple.

You don’t have to go to diet foods; they contain a lot of sodium also. Just cook with fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. Stay away from fried foods altogether. Cook all meats by baking, boiling or broiling them. This keeps away excess fats.

Drink lots of water or juice. Stop the daily sodas as they also contain a lot of sodium and get some exercise. If you just take a walk daily you will see a difference.

Try these tips for just a month. Not only will your blood pressure drop, you will feel better too.

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Most people die from illness resulting from high blood pressure than anywhere in the world. Why well I believe Dr James Scala said it best and I quote” We live in a sea of sugar with island made of fats, topped with trees of salt.” Our diet has gotten out of hand. Our young people seem to do alright with this type of diet but our older generations suffer from high blood pressure; about 75% of people over the age of 65 to be exact. We are supposed to eat a natural diet, not one that is consumed of sugars, fats and salt. When we consume more than we are suppose to have tne nature has to tell our bodies how to deal with it. Unfortunately it causes illnesses that result in death. High blood pressure will kill us in one form or the other. It may cause heart or kidney failure. It can bring on bouts of cancer or harden of the arteries. But if we don’t take care of the only body we will ever have, then it will eventually just play out on us.

We all need to exercise, eat right and take of ourselves. We don’t want to reach that retirement age only to be ill. We want to be able to retire and enjoy that free time. So change your lifestyle now. Don’t smoke, don’t drink and eat a healthy diet. Get plenty of exercise and take vitamins everyday.

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If you have high blood pressure and eat a lot of premade meals or your eat out a lot chances are you are eating too much sodium.

You can keep track of your sodium intake by listing what you eat everyday and how much sodium is listed on the label. If you fix for example a can of green beans it will list the sodium content for the serving. If you eat more that one serving add these together and get a total. If you are eating more than 1000 mg of sodium a day; then you have a high sodium diet. Do this for a week.

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A normal adult blood pressure is 120/80. 120 being the top number know as the systolic and 80 being the bottom number called diastolic; although, this is not normal for everyone. The rule of thumb for a normal blood pressure is the top number should be 100 plus your age. The bottom number should be your top number minus 40. So if the numbers are a little higher or lower than the average 120/80, then this is probably normal for you.

Blood pressure is a combination of the actual amount of pumped blood, the rate of pumping and the resistance it meets.

There are two types of high blood pressure. The first one is “secondary.” When blood pressure rises above normal because of an illness. The other one is hypertension. When your blood pressure goes up and stays above the average.

High blood pressure usually doesn’t have any symptoms. It takes sometimes years for hypertension to peak and stay at a high number. In most cases, your body is used to the high blood pressure and you have no symptoms. This is why it is so important to monitor your blood pressure at home.

Should your blood pressure rise to high and not go back to normal your could feel headaches, dizziness, ringing in the ears, nosebleeds, blurred vision, fainting spells, redness or flushed face and depression for no apparent reason.

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Did you know that there are over .5 million people over the age of 35. Out of those people 1 out of every 4 has high blood pressure. Out of those people 2 of those people don’t even know they have high blood pressure. What we don’t know could very well kill us.

High blood pressure alone doesn’t do the trick. It is what high blood pressure causes that may bring on early death. Harden of the arteries, heart disease, kidney disease, loss of eyesight and stroke is greatly related to high blood pressure.

The sad part is that these problems can be prevented by diet, exercise and lifestyle. Sure the doctor can and will prescribe medications but the side affects like depression, loss of sexual capacity and other debilitating side affects.

People with high blood pressure pay more for life insurance if they can get it. Heart failure is the loss of the hearts ability to pump sufficient blood and oxygen. As it worsens, heart failure is detected and only 50% of those people live longer than five years.

The factors that can cause high blood pressure are obesity, high-salt diets, excess fats of the wrong kinds; all contribute to other problems such as cancer, heart disease osteoporosis as well as others.

If you are 35 or older have your blood pressure checked.

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You can eat out on any diet. So just mind your peas and q’s and watch what you eat. I have added the dos and the don’ts that can help you when ordering your food.

Don’t eat bread or rolls none

Don’t eat cheese or cheese sauces. Do not order anything with cheese on it.

Don’t order sauces or gravy on any of your food.

Don’t order anything fried or breaded.

Don’t eat rice as it is always salted

Don’t eat soup.

Do eat fish, chicken or meat that is broiled.

Do eat skinless chicken without any condiments.

Do eat steamed or boiled vegetables.

Do eat avocado for an appetizer.

Do eat vinegar and oil on your salad.

Do eat fresh fruit or fruit for dessert.

Drinks you can order are water with lemon or lime. Wine spritzers are allowed, but only one glass. Ice tea, fruit juice, one beer or one glass of wine, and of course you are allowed the old stand by. The favorite soda, if drank in moderation.

It is ok to ask that your French fries be cooked with no salt or anything else for that matter. Ask for a salad without cheese.  You may also ask to have your fish or your mushrooms sautéed without the salt. In fact more and more people are becoming more aware of the sodium contents and what it is doing to their bodies and requesting more dishes with less salt.

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High blood pressure is a result from to much sodium in our bodies. This is caused from the sodium content in our diets. Now this can derive from salting the foods while we are cooking and the set down to eat it. This can be from the salt added to prefixed foods such as TV dinners, premade Mac-n- cheese, canned meats, vegetables, fruits, and soups. Sodium is inserted in these to make the shelf life longer. However; it is not good for us.

Did you know that if you were to cook oats, wheat or barley according to the directs your salt intake for just that one item would be 252 mg of sodium. These items can be cooked without the salt and also help reduce your cholesterol.

Children’s cold cereals contain up to 290 mg of sodium. If you were to feed these kids oats or shredded wheat they would only get 6 mg of sodium.

Fresh fruits carry 1mg of sodium, while canned fruits in syrup have 15 mg of sodium in them.

Fresh vegetables have about 30mg of sodium while canned or frozen in sauces have about 300 mg of sodium.

So you can see that we are eating a lot of salt. One reason I think that we have fell into this type of diet is convenience. Nobody seems to cook anymore, and for 65% of us it will kill us.

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In most cases, once the blood pressure medications are started, they are to be taken indefinitely. It means that since, this medication as prescribed by the doctor is a barrier between a stroke and/or heart attack and the blood pressure patient himself, the medication can not be stopped unless and until the doctor recommends. There are many classes of blood pressure medications available that reduce blood pressure. While you want to stop taking blood pressure medications, you must discuss with the doctor the reasons as to why you want to discontinue the medications. The doctor will inquire about the side effects of the medications. In respect to physical examination and this discussion, the doctor may make a decision to change the medicine. If you feel that you want to completely discontinue with these medications and start with some alternative treatment then too, you must inform the doctor about this. Yes, you can even control your blood pressure without blood pressure medications. But in that case you will be required to make certain positive changes in your lifestyle. Doing moderate exercise daily, practicing yoga, cutting down on salt and leaving smoking habit. Can make this thing possible, it is important to note that leaving blood pressure medications abruptly can cause problems. Thus, only after evaluation and analysis of the possible conditions and effects, a decision must be taken.

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Blood pressure is generated when the heart pumps. It is worth noting that blood pressure does not remain same through out the day. It changes as per the activity time, rest period, and before and after meals. Some people are not aware that even body temperature, body posture and emotional and mental condition can elevate or bring down the blood pressure. The doctor uses the blood pressure instrument or the sphygmomanometer to measure the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Interpretation of blood pressure involves both the components that are the systolic as well as the diastolic blood pressure. The reading of 120/80 is the normal blood pressure found in healthy people. It means that 120 is the top most or systolic blood pressure. And 80 is the lower part or the diastolic blood pressure. If the blood pressure reading is above this in case of systolic as well as diastolic reading, the person needs medical attention. The best thing will be to buy an electronic blood pressure reading device and take the readings at different times. This will make you aware about the differences in reading post meals, during the rest period and after the exercise session. In case where the readings are above or below the recommended levels, you must talk to the doctor about things that you can do to bring the blood pressure back to the normal.

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