Do you suffer from high blood pressure?
High blood pressure can cause serious health problems like heart attack, stroke or heart failure. People suffering from high blood pressure require regular medication. Making some small changes to your lifestyle may also help. Enjoy healthy eating patterns that is low in salt to control high blood pressure.
1. Avoid processed food like processed meats, commercial sauces, soups, packet seasoning, stock cubes/powder, fish canned in brine.
2. Packaged food with sodium less than 12gms per 100gms.
3. Avoid salted nuts, chips and high salt take away food.
4. Prefer ‘low salt’ and ‘reduced salt’ bread and cereal.
5. Buy commercial ‘no added salt’ sauces.
Reduce or avoid using salt in cooking
1. Instead add flavour to food – vinegar, lime/lemon juice, tamarind, plum or pineapple juice.
2. Spice it up – turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, cumin, chilli, ground pepper.
3. Add fresh herbs – onion, garlic, chives, spring onion and horseradish.
Maintain healthy body weight
Heart Foundation recommends people to include atleast 30 minutes of physical activity on all or most days of the week. Brisk walking, swimming, cycling and lawn moving are good types of activity as they cause slight increase in breathing and heart rate, which helps improve your heart.
If you can’t or don’t have time to do 30 minute physical activity in one go then three short periods of 10 minutes a day will still benefit your heart.
Limit alcohol intake
Alcohol can raise blood pressure, blood fat and body weight thus increasing risk of heart diseases and stroke.
If you suffer from high blood pressure or on medication, you are advised to limit alcohol intake to no more than 2 drinks per day (men) or 1 drink per day (women).