Tag: Cholesterol Levels

Diet and Food Affect Your Blood Pressure

Are you aware that what you eat can affect your blood pressure? Watching your diet can be very beneficial to keeping your blood pressure normal. Even if you have never had a problem with high blood pressure, taking necessary precautions can be beneficial.

You could try a Vegetarian diet. In this diet you will get many of the following:

Calcium
Magnesium
Vitamin A & C
Potassium
Complex Carbohydrates
Polyunsaturated Fat
Fiber

All of these can have a great influence on your blood pressure.

Sugar can increase your blood pressure, especially the common table sugar sucrose. Try to limit your intake of this. A diet high in fiber has been proven effective in lowering blood pressure. Along with lowering your blood pressure this diet will also help you reduce your cholesterol levels and even promote weight loss.

Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables is very important as well. Any diet that includes consuming fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy foods and is low in total fat, cholesterol and saturated fat has proven to be effective in lowering blood pressure.

Many people use more salt than they are aware of. Maybe because some of us are just used to automatically salting our food unaware if it was salted when being cooked. (If eating out) Reducing your salt intake will also help lower your blood pressure.

A diet high in potassium and low in sodium reduces your blood pressure rise by reducing the effect of adrenaline. If you reduce your sodium intake you must also increase your potassium intake.

There are some vegetables and spices that help control your blood pressure. Many of these are very common vegetables and spices so you may be helping your blood pressure and not even know it.

Onions’ essential oil is very beneficial. If you have two to three tablespoons of this essential onion oil a day, it could help reduce your systolic levels. Tomatoes are also a beneficiary to controlling blood pressure. They are high in GABA, a compound that helps lower your blood pressure.

Broccoli contains several blood pressure reducing ingredients. Carrots also have many compounds that do the same. Introducing these vegetables to your diet will do wonders for your blood pressure. Even if you don’t suffer from high blood pressure, it’s best to keep it at a safe level and take the extra precautions to get there.

Garlic and celery are also great to add to your diet. Garlic is good for the heart which you’ve probably been told before. Eating just one clove of garlic a day has been proven to be beneficial.

Whatever diet you choose or whatever foods you try to limit, remember you are doing it for your health. Many people learn to enjoy healthier foods as they get older. If you have any questions or concerns about your blood pressure get with your doctor. They will be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have. Taking care of your health is very important and will make you feel much better.

Weight Gain And Cholesterol

It’s really not a secret that there is a connection between weight gain and cholesterol levels. If you are overweight one of the best things you can do for your body is lose your excess body weight.

Weight gain and cholesterol is a common problem for many people as they age. When we age we often have slower metabolisms and just don’t get as much exercise.

Those factors can lead to an increase in the amount of excess body fat you put on.

Of course, sometimes having trouble with your cholesterol levels is a result of hereditary factors, but more often than not it is a result of lifestyle choices.

If we eat too many foods that are bad for us: high in fat and calories and generally lacking in any nutritional value, for example, we will most likely gain weight as well as increase the levels of bad cholesterol.

According to the American Heart Association, you should try to keep your overall cholesterol levels below 199mg/dl. Your bad cholesterol levels, LDL, should be less than 99mg/dl.

The higher your LDL levels the more fat you have in your bloodstream. This fat can clog your arteries and lead to many serious health related issues such as heart attack and stroke.

Of course, you do have many ways you can help control your cholesterol levels and you don’t have to (in many cases, ultimately you need to ask your doctor) rely solely on medication.

Eating right is your first line of defense. For many people, just eating a healthier diet will be enough to prevent developing any cholesterol problems in the first place.

Lean protein, vegetables, more fruits and lots of water can go a long way to ensure that your cholesterol levels are kept where they should be.

You can start small too. Just stop eating so much of the bad stuff. If you really love your burgers why not just cut back on the amount you have in a week?

Or, why not try a leaner ground beef or possibly even a turkey burger. It’s up to you but you can see that there are many simple things you can do to eat better and not eating as much bad stuff.

Another simple fix is to eat less sugar. For many people this can be accomplished just by cutting way back on some of the beverages they drink.

I had a friend who lost 10 lbs. in one month and the only thing she did was stop drinking pop. Most beverages are loaded with sugar and some of the worst offenders are energy drinks.

Getting less sugar in your diet can be a simple way for you to loss excess body fat and lose weight.

Weight gain and cholesterol do go hand in hand but you can lose weight with some simple changes to your diet and exercise program. Don’t give up and make sure you talk to your doctor before you start, but you really can have a positive impact on your cholesterol levels.