If you suffer from hypertension, high blood pressure and you are overweight the good news is if you lose the extra kilos you can reduce your blood pressure.
What Is High Blood Pressure?
In brief high blood pressure (know medically as hypertension) happens when the blood vessels are under too much pressure. The pressure itself does not usually cause symptoms. Overtime hypertension’s constant pressure can damage the arteries, heart and kidney. Hypertension is one of the biggest risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
- Heart attack. (myocardial infarction)
- Stroke (a clot, bleed or transient ischemic attack in the brain)
- Coronary arterial disease (blocked arteries).
Can Losing Weight Really Help My Heart?
“Yes,” say the researchers, A meta-analysis in 2016 found over 2,000 participants reported a weight lost 4 kilos, resulting in a reduction in blood pressure on average of 4.5 points (systolic blood pressure fell by 4.5 mmHg). ref. The studies also demonstrated that if you put the weight back on the blood pressure will go back up.
A Mistake You’ll Only Make Once
High blood pressure is a serious concern. I am not advocating you to drop your blood pressure medication for a diet. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death globally. Most people have their first heart attack as their initial symptom. More than 50% of people that have a first heart attack do not survive.
If you have high blood pressure, you need to be under the care of your doctor.
Diet Is Part Of The Plan!
Do not rely on your diet alone to control your blood pressure. However, it would be wise to incorporate into your lifestyle as part of the plan “a diet” that has some evidence for reducing blood pressure. For example:
- Mediterranean Diet (has the most research for cardiovascular health benefits)
- Ketogenic
- Low Carb Diet
- Vegetarian Diet
- Vegan Diet
Be Realistic
Set realistic goals and select Smart Strategies for Weight Loss. A good rule of thumb is to lose around 5-10% of your overall weight over 3-6 months. That about 1/2 to 1 kilo (1-2 pounds) per week. The benefits for losing the weight may reduce your risk of :
- Heart attack.
- Stroke.
- Blocked arteries.
Personalised Q & A
If there are any aspects of your diet or symptoms, you would like to discuss or clarify, please feel free to contact me through this web site or if it is of a more private nature contact me through my direct email.
Ultimately, my goal is to provide you with the knowledge to make an informed decision on what diet best supports your health needs.
In wisdom and good health
Brendon.
Phone: +61 409 278 320
