Are you eating your fruits and vegetables?
According to a recent telephone survey we are eating even fewer fruits and vegetables than we were 10 years ago.
Why worry so much about fruit/vegetable intake?
High Blood Pressure and Flexibility – What do they have to do with each other?
Flexibility refers to the ability of your joints to move through a full range of motion. How flexible you are in a particular joint is connected to the muscle length that attaches to that joint and how far that muscle will stretch. Having flexibility in your muscles allows for greater movement around joints. The shorter and less flexible the muscle, the tighter the joint.
What Does Flexibility Have to Do with High Blood Pressure?
Steps to Lower Blood Pressure
A few steps you can take right now to promote a lower blood pressure include:
- Quit smoking
- Lose and/or maintain a healthy weight
- Decrease salt intake to less than 2400 mg sodium per day
- Restrict alcohol to less than 1 drink/day for women and 2 drinks or less per day for men
- Exercise 30 or more minutes daily
- Following a heart healthy diet, such as the DASH diet to lower blood pressure
Be sure to sign up for the free e-course 7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure and http://www.lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
https://www.lisanelsonrd.com
6 Habits to Lower High Blood Pressure
The second Nurses Health Study has identified six dietary habits that reduce high blood pressure in women by almost 80%.
The Nurses Health Study includes 83,882 adult women between the ages of 27 to 44 years-old. Researchers analyzed data to determine if there was a connection between a healthy lifestyle and high blood pressure prevention.
Here are the six diet and lifestyle factors researchers identified to decrease high blood pressure risk in women.
2 Foods to Lower High Blood Pressure
Here are two foods containing nutrients that will promote a lower blood pressure:
1. Garlic
Garlic is a source of allicin, which has been shown to lower blood pressure. Around 10,000 mg of allicin (~4 garlic cloves) is needed daily for a blood pressure lowering effect. Studies show the average reduction in systolic blood pressure to be 5-8 mm Hg. Important to note – not all forms of garlic are equal! Cultivated garlic, aged garlic, wild cultivated garlic, fresh garlic, and long-acting garlic preparations have variable effects.
3 Foods to Lower Blood Pressure
Here are 3 foods containing nutrients that promote a lower blood pressure:
1. Sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are a rick source of potassium. Adequate potassium intake is essential to balance sodium and promote a lower blood pressure. The recommended ratio of potassium to sodium is 5:1. Increasing potassium intake can result in a blood pressure reduction of ~5 mm Hg systolic and ~2.5 mm Hg diastolic.
