High Blood Pressure Help?

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SunshineFlGirl
SunshineFlGirl Posts: 200 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am a 10 year vegetarian. I eat pretty healthy. I have actually lost 13 pounds since eliminated junk food (chips and dips). My sodium intake is almost always below 2000. I get at least 25 grams of fiber on most days. I don't drink caffeine. I recently eliminated it. However, despite all these positive changes, my blood pressure is still high - so high in fact that my diastolic sometimes runs over 110.

What am I missing here?
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Replies

  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    What does your doctor say?

    Also, high stress levels can contribute to HBP; that could be what you are missing. It is probably safe to recommend some daily meditation for a start. Hard to hurt yourself while meditating.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    I think there is a substantial genetic component:

    http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2009/nhlbi-10.htm

    Also, some plants can cause an increase in hypertension, though it would be hard to identify without going through your entire diet, and you probably aren't consuming native plants much unless you are self-administering herbal remedies...
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    My blood pressure was high for years (I'm only 32!) until I added jogging into my mix last year.

    Are you on hormonal birth control? That can be another culprit. I switched to a non-hormonal IUD after being on the pill for about a decade, thinking it may be a contributor. My doctor said that you can be fine on it for years before a change shows up in your blood pressure.

    Stress and anxiety can affect your bp, as well. Do you have a bp cuff so that you can check your pressure at home? I find that I often get anxious at the doctor's office and get a higher reading there than I would at home. At my doctor's advice, I started checking at home too. You can pick one up for around $15 at any drug store.

    Good luck! I hope one of these tweaks might help. It's scary to see that high number, I know. Keep up the good work!
  • RhodRhod
    RhodRhod Posts: 109
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    Mine was high until I started doing cardio and cut out most processed foods on a regular basis. But sometimes it can be stress and even genes.
  • pinksparklefairy
    pinksparklefairy Posts: 97 Member
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    I have had high blood pressure since I was 30 ... take this seriously and keep pressuring your doctor about it! I have seen a few doctors over the years and most ignored it as they assumed I was having a stressful day and was far to young to have hypertension.

    As recommended, buy a blood pressure monitor and take some readings at home - when you wake up and throughout the day. If the average is above 80/120, make an appointment to discuss medication with your doctor.

    Hopefully it's not genetic and you can get it down by doing plenty of aerobic exercise, losing weight and cutting down on sodium and alcohol. Try taking garlic tablets and drinking red bush tea, meditation or yoga to relax.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    I am a 10 year vegetarian. I eat pretty healthy. I have actually lost 13 pounds since eliminated junk food (chips and dips). My sodium intake is almost always below 2000. I get at least 25 grams of fiber on most days. I don't drink caffeine. I recently eliminated it. However, despite all these positive changes, my blood pressure is still high - so high in fact that my diastolic sometimes runs over 110.

    What am I missing here?

    I have hypertension and it's largely genetic...it is the only thing I haven't been able to reverse with my diet. It's serious business...it killed my grandfather at the ripe young age of 72 because he never addressed it. He was strong as a horse...walked at least 3 miles daily...did the whole one armed push up thing that old, strong guys do and had a healthy diet...never drank, never smoked...didn't matter.
  • lizziebeth1028
    lizziebeth1028 Posts: 3,602 Member
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    I am a 10 year vegetarian. I eat pretty healthy. I have actually lost 13 pounds since eliminated junk food (chips and dips). My sodium intake is almost always below 2000. I get at least 25 grams of fiber on most days. I don't drink caffeine. I recently eliminated it. However, despite all these positive changes, my blood pressure is still high - so high in fact that my diastolic sometimes runs over 110.

    What am I missing here?


    What you are missing here - is a Doctor's opinion! Please see your Doctor. As much as we would like to believe that all our medical ailments can be cured through dietary changes....that's not always the case. You may need medication. See your doctor!
  • centarix
    centarix Posts: 123 Member
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    If its stress-related, incorporate some cardio into your daily routine. Cardio can help lower blood pressure significantly. And you feel great afterwards :) Good luck to you!
  • SunshineFlGirl
    SunshineFlGirl Posts: 200 Member
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    I do have an arm-cuff at home. It's an Omron - and I have been tracking about a month now after repeated trips to the doctor showed it always high. I don't really have a lot of stress. I work from home as a blogger and am in a wonderful marriage. I do plan on seeing my doctor, but wanted to see if anyone else had problems with it.

    I suppose it it could be genetic. It doesn't run in my mother's side of the family, but I don't know anything about my father's side of the family - except there is a link to Alzheimer's.

    I don't exercise as much as I should, I know. As far as herbal remedies go, I take suntheanine by NOW foods - which, BTW, does seem to lower my blood pressure when I take it.
  • eep223
    eep223 Posts: 624 Member
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    If that's the case, I say try adding a little cardio. I was still working on couch-to-5k (so just walking/jogging) when I began seeing results with a lower bp. Can't hurt to give it a shot!
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
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    I don't exercise as much as I should

    There's your problem.

    Exercise.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
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    Blood pressure is not always caused by diet. I am also vegetarian, I didn't used to be, but my blood pressure remained unchanged despite cutting out junk food, watching sodium, caffeine, eating healthy greens, cutting down on bad fats, and increasing exercise. My doctor said it is "essential" hypertension and it may never go away. I take 2 pills a day to keep it under control. It's not a bad thing to have to take pills, but once you've exhausted everything natural to try and lower it, then you have two options, take pills, or let the hypertension wreck havoc on your organs which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. My bp is 165/110 without meds.

    I exercise 5 days a week at least and I do cardio most of those days at moderate to high intensity.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
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    Well, they call it "cardiovascular exercise" for a reason--it improves the fitness of your blood vessels and heart. So perhaps some very mild activity to start, like walking, and then building up to more active cardio would be the thing to do?

    But as always, if you have a serious health problem, ask a doctor--don't listen to strangers on the internet.
  • sunnyhlw77
    sunnyhlw77 Posts: 204 Member
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    I have high blood pressure, I've done the diets, cut back as much sodium as I could, I'm even on meds and have been working out, I still have high normal blood pressure. Mines genetic though, my father had HBP at 30, my aunt's is so severe no amounts of meds can get it down and she walks 5 miles a day and is fit as a fiddle. Some people are just predisposed to having it. Now don't quit exercising or eating healthy or giving up though.
  • ddky
    ddky Posts: 381 Member
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    My husband recently started a supplement called co q 10. It is supposed to help with blood pressure, but it has not been long enough to tell if it is going to help. But it's something you might check on.
  • olDave
    olDave Posts: 557 Member
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    What is your resting pulse rate?
  • SunshineFlGirl
    SunshineFlGirl Posts: 200 Member
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    olDave - My pulse rate varies from 60 to 80 bpm. My blood pressure meter keeps up with it. It will vary that much within a few hours without me ever moving.

    Thanks everyone.
  • jadams1650
    jadams1650 Posts: 139 Member
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    Do not undertake a new exercise regimen until you go to the doctor. Diastolic pressure at 110 is somewhat alarming. Exercise can raise blood pressure during the activity and that could raise your diastolic pressure to unsafe levels. See your doctor, get on a bp medication (if only temporarily) and consult with him/her before beginning exercise. You really need to control this...they don't call it the silent killer for nothing.
  • nsblue
    nsblue Posts: 331 Member
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    walk...exercise. within a couple of months of walking and changing my diet i totally went off bp meds.
  • FitnessPalWorks
    FitnessPalWorks Posts: 1,128 Member
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    My blood pressure did an immediate turn-around when I cut out everything that had gluten in it. Granted some of those items included pretzels (with salt) and things of that nature but I think cutting processed foods in general (including vegetables from the frozen food section, and "diet" frozen dinners) has helped tremendously.

    There is a big genetic component as someone mentioned above, so you just may have a predisposition to it... regardless do not let it go unchecked or be afraid to take meds to keep it under control. You don't want your BP to be high consistently...

    Good luck!

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