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.
High blood pressure is a serious condition that requires treatment. Here are answers to four frequently asked questions you need to know.
What is high blood pressure?
Blood pressure equals the force pushing against your artery walls when your heart beats and when it rests. The systolic pressure is the force against artery walls when your heart beats (contracts), while the diastolic pressure is the pressure against your artery walls when the heart relaxes (between beats).
High blood pressure is a reading equal to or greater than 140/90 mm Hg. A reading between 120-139/80-89 mm Hg falls within the pre-hypertension category. A blood pressure below 120/80 mm Hg is considered normal. High blood pressure is typically diagnosed after more than one elevated blood pressure reading.
Why is high blood pressure dangerous?
All right, this is the final series of questions and answers from my interview with Dr. Mark Houston in February 2010.
Lisa Nelson RD: Does grape seed really help lower blood pressure?
Dr. Houston: Yes, systolic blood pressure is reduced about 8 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure 5 mm Hg. It is in the formulas mentioned above.
Lisa Nelson RD: What causes of an enlarged heart and are there ways to reverse an enlarged heart?
The poor quality of the typical American diet has lead to rampant nutritional deficiencies related to hypertension, heart disease, atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, renal disease, diabetes, and obesity.
High blood pressure is due to a combination of genetics and your environment/lifestyle. Nutrients, including macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, fat) and micronutrients (vitamins, minerals) play a central role when it comes to maintaining a healthy blood pressure as well as minimizing organ damage linked to high blood pressure. Balancing the nutrients in your diet for optimal nutrition dramatically impacts the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure. To effectively treat high blood pressure it is recommended you have a functional intracellular assessments.
What is a Functional Intracellular Assessment?
Lifting weights can cause a temporary, but dramatic, rise in blood pressure. Research has recorded systolic readings climbing well above 300 mm Hg during heavy lifting, even in people whose blood pressure is typically a healthy 120/80 or lower.
Long term high blood pressure is linked to arterial endothelial dysfunction. The endothelium is the inner lining of your artery walls. Endothelial dysfunction can result in the hardening of artery walls. Researchers have been monitoring the effects of short duration rises in blood pressure, such as what occurs during strength training, to determine the effect on endothelial function. It has been determined that acute rises in blood pressure impair endothelial function in untrained individuals, and that regular resistance training helps protect against vascular dysfunction.
Continue readingThe long running Health Professional Follow-Up Study has released new findings. The study found men who eat a high level of whole grains to be 19% less likely to develop high blood pressure compared to those eating the lowest levels of whole grains. The individuals with lower risks of developing high blood pressure consumed 52 grams of whole grains daily versus only 3 grams in the lower whole grain group.
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