High blood pressure is a serious condition that affects million of Americans. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can have serious long term effects if it goes untreated. Heart disease and stroke are just some of the complications that develop as a result of uncontrolled hypertension.
Managing hypertension involves lifestyle changes. It is important to embrace diet and exercise plans to help live a healthy life following a hypertension diagnosis. One of the recommended healthy eating plans for patients with hypertension is known as DASH: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
The DASH eating plan encourages a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, and reduced saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol intake. Foods rich in fiber, potassium, magnesium, and calcium are recommended under the DASH eating plan to aid in the lowering of blood pressure.
One of the major dietary contributors to hypertension is sodium, otherwise known as salt. Decreasing sodium intake is a key component of the DASH plan. The National High Blood Pressure Education Program suggests that the maximum allowable sodium intake is 2,300 mg per day. Yet, newer recommendations from the Institute of Medicine suggest a sodium intake of only 1,500 mg per day is crucial to decreasing blood pressure.
It is time to take action to improve our health and wellbeing. Managing hypertension via a nutritious diet and exercise program is a long-term commitment. However, it is not necessary to try and change our eating habits overnight.
Slowly ease into the DASH eating program. Gradual increases in fruit and vegetable intake while decreasing our intake of unhealthy foods will increase the likelihood that we will stick to the DASH plan.
For more information regarding the DASH healthy eating plan, please visit the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's website or ask your local K-Mart Pharmacist.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/prevent/h_eating/h_eating.htm
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