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If you suffer from high blood pressure, these lifestyle changes could make a big difference
Limiting the amount of salt in your diet can reduce high blood pressure
The good news? Healthy lifestyle changes can help prevent or treat high blood pressure.
Recent stats suggest that one out of every three adult Canadians has high blood pressure. About 40 per cent of all high blood pressure is thought to be inherited, and in the majority of other cases, the cause is “idiopathic” or not known.
Fortunately, for many, making healthy lifestyle changes can help prevent or treat high blood pressure. The news abounds with natural remedies, including the latest report that drinking a daily cup of beetroot juice can help lower blood pressure. Although there is some suggestion that the juice’s nitrate content may be responsible for this effect, it warrants more research.
For those with mild to moderate hypertension, results from incorporating these changes can be comparable to those achieved by taking blood pressure medications. While the blood pressure reductions may not seem like much, it makes a big difference.
It’s estimated that just a three mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure could lead to an 8% reduction in stroke deaths and five per cent reduction in deaths from coronary heart disease. In my practice, some folks who have adopted a few of these lifestyle measures have been able to avoid taking prescription anti-hypertensive medications and others were able to discontinue drugs when their blood pressures normalized.
If your blood pressure isn’t dangerously high, it’s worth making these lifestyle changes before considering medications; you only have your health to gain.
Originally published in TV Week. For daily updates, subscribe to the free TV Week e-newsletter, or purchase a subscription to the weekly magazine.