Nigeria Health & Lifstyle

How You Can Help Manage Your Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure (BP) is a treatable condition but it can cause serious damage to your organs if left untreated.

If you have been recently diagnosed with high BP, you might be taking medication to bring the numbers down, lifestyle changes such as those listed below will help the effectiveness of your medications, and sometimes reduce the dose you require to control your Blood Pressure. Lifestyle changes are useful adjuncts to medications, and for those with a normal blood pressure, will help maintain a normal blood pressure over time. It is not advisable for you to stop your prescribed medications for lifestyle changes without the consent of your physician.

Shed the weight: Losing weight can help lower BP because BP tends to increase as weight increases. One way to achieve this is by watching what you eat and increasing your physical activity to help burn off more calories. You need a negative calorie balance, that is, burn more than you take in, to lose weight

Physical Activity and Exercise: Forty five minutes of moderate exercise such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and so forth, three to four times a week will help improve your blood pressure and weight control.



Sleep Well: Good night sleep is important for maintaining good health. A good night sleep relaxes the body and lowers your stress levels. An additional 15 to 20 minutes nap during the day can be very refreshing. A minimum of six hours of sleep a night is recommended.

Avoid too much salt: High salt intake increases the likelihood of developing high blood pressure in predisposed individuals. It is important to keep your salt intake low. This is achieved by avoiding adding salt to food on the table. Fast foods and canned foods such as corned beef, sardine, and many food seasonings like Maggi, also contain lots of salt and should be consumed sparingly.

Limit alcohol consumption: Moderation of alcohol intake is helpful to keep blood pressure and body weight under control. Excessive alcohol intake is injurious to health. Excess alcohol refers to more than one drink a day for women and more than two for men. Note that “A drink” is one can of beer, or one glass of wine or equivalent.