Lower Blood Pressure

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jenuhfur
jenuhfur Posts: 47
in Health and Weight Loss
I was diagnosed with high blood pressure months ago. It went down a bit after I went off birth control. But I can tell it's back up again because my headaches are back.

Will just diet changes and activity change it? Or is there other things I can do naturally to quickly lower it?

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  • stringsNlinks
    stringsNlinks Posts: 293 Member
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    I've always heard that even if you are overweight, losing 10 lbs and exercising will drastically change your BP....best to you,
  • DrBorkBork
    DrBorkBork Posts: 4,099 Member
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    Reduce your sodium as much as possible, eat healthy, and exercise & your blood pressure should come right down :)
  • stringsNlinks
    stringsNlinks Posts: 293 Member
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    Reduce your sodium as much as possible, eat healthy, and exercise & your blood pressure should come right down :)

    And yes, reduce the sodium. I actually just learned earlier this year about sodium. I am fortunate enough to have great blood pressure so I thought I didn't need to worry about the sodium "monster". I was straightened out by the cardiologist I work with....well ok, actually the nurses. haha. The heart can potentially be damaged with high sodium intake even when BP is good. Needless to say, I cut back the sodium, and dropped my first 10 pounds very quickly....had to work hard for the next 15 lbs of loss LOL
  • Beebee78
    Beebee78 Posts: 703
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    Definitely reduce your sodium intake and try and lose a few pounds - this will help you no end xxx
  • candycana
    candycana Posts: 92 Member
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    My BP is still way too high and I'm on two BP medications. Woke up with another headache this morning, BP was 149/92. But recently it's been as high as 163/96. I don't see my doctor again till March 31.

    Last November I spent a night in the hospital due to high blood pressure (something like 180 over 100) and chest pains. That's when the second blood pressure med was added. I've had a stress test. The ticker's fine, although high blood pressure and early 50's heart attacks are in the family history. (My dad and grandfather.) I believe stress plays a large part in the BP issues and the last two weeks have been particularly rough. I had to have my 12yo miniature schnauzer put to sleep last week and the week before my 18yo cat had an eye injured. We now know her 'good' eye wasn't...it appears she can't see at all now. So I know stress is not helping the BP.

    BUT...I'm trying to walk at least 2 miles a day 5 days a week. I've lost 15 lbs since being in the hospital. I'd hoped that would have helped with the blood pressure issues. How long should it take for me to start seeing results? I read the earlier posts in this thread and am going to start tracking the sodium in my diary. I'd thought sweets were a problem. Now I'm wondering if the sweets hide salt that I'm not aware I'm eating. I don't add salt to anything but potatoes, and don't often eat them. So I must be getting the sodium from somewhere. Any other thoughts besides tracking my sodium?
  • jenX1174
    jenX1174 Posts: 154
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    Sodium is in everything. I don't add salt to my food, but was astonished when I started tracking on MFP to see how much I actually consumed! Most of it in processed foods. I plugged in my chili recipe and couldn't believe a batch (about 10 servings) contained a total of over 12,000 mg of sodium! That was over 1000 mg per serving.
    I looked at the ingredients, and found most of it in the canned beans and tomatoes. I decided I would just take the extra step and boil my own beans, and I found canned diced tomatoes with no added salt (and no HFCS either -- most contain this!). Doing this helped cut 6000 mg from the recipe, and cut it down to a little over 300 per serving.

    The best way to cut sodium is to avoid as much processed food as you can -- mostly canned and prepackaged items. Yes, sweets contain high amounts of sodium too, because it 'enhances' the sweetness. This is called layering, and the food companies are well aware of this --- it makes you want more! If you must have something sweet, it's better to make your own. If you must buy processed, read the labels and find the one w/the lowest sodium content. Food does taste a little more bland when you first start cutting back, but you'll get used to it. It's how it's supposed to taste. Unfortunately, many of us have just gotten so used to super-sweet, super-salty (ultra-palatable) foods.


    By BP was creeping into the "prehypertensive" range of 130/90, and I've gotten some readings in the 144/88 range -- pretty scary for me. In 5 weeks, I've dropped 11 pounds and saw my doctor last week. My BP was 110/70. :smile:



    edited for typos :)
  • candycana
    candycana Posts: 92 Member
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    Okay....so, mostly I'm doing better now that I know to watch the sodium intake. I know that if I eat out, I'm probably going to get way too much sodium and I'll have to drink a lot more water. I'm still trying to figure it all out.

    If you look at my diary, you'll see that I often take a turkey sandwich for lunch. It's easy to eat and work, plus I can make it the night before. But I eat 1000 gm of sodium from it! I know it's because it's processed. If you buy from the deli, will the sodium be just as high? (My hubby does the shopping.) I really don't want to have to cook my own turkey every week, you know? Maybe I"ll just have to start taking something else for lunch. I used to eat salad, but it just takes too long to eat. As a teacher I only get 30 minutes for lunch, and since we have no planning period this year, I'm usually working as I eat. Any thoughts?

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