{"id":2375,"date":"2017-05-02T09:38:42","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T09:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eatrightpa.org\/?p=2375"},"modified":"2021-10-30T03:40:12","modified_gmt":"2021-10-30T03:40:12","slug":"lifestyle-support-healthy-blood-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/2017\/05\/02\/lifestyle-support-healthy-blood-pressure\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Your Lifestyle Support Healthy Blood Pressure?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rustnutrition.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rosanne Rust\u00a0MS, RDN,LDN<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-2303 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/dev.eatrightpa.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/DASHfood.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"456\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One in three adult Americans have high blood pressure, and May is High Blood Pressure Education Month.<\/p>\n<p>High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is a leading risk factor for stroke and is often referred to as the \u201csilent killer\u201d since you may feel no apparent symptoms. Yet high blood pressure will cause damage to the blood vessels, brain and heart over time. Blood pressure consists of a top number (systolic) and a bottom number (diastolic). Normal systolic pressure is around 120, and normal diastolic pressure is less than 80 (this is expressed as \u201c120 over 80\u201d or 120\/80).<\/p>\n<p>Some people may be diagnosed with high blood pressure without having any other risk factors for heart disease, but it\u2019s still beneficial to make as many positive lifestyle changes as you can. One way to do this is to try the DASH Diet. This isn\u2019t a \u201cdiet\u201d that you go on or go off. You need to view it as a lifestyle &#8211; a dietary plan that you can reasonably sustain for a lifetime (you\u2019ll also want to maintain an exercise routine with your doctor\u2019s approval).<\/p>\n<p>Eating for better health is not a one-month or one-season deal \u2013 it\u2019s a lifetime deal.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Maintain a healthy weight. Lose weight if overweight<\/li>\n<li>Exercise at least 4-5 days a week, for 30 minutes or more<\/li>\n<li>Add more activity to your daily life (take the stairs, do yard work, walk more, move more)<\/li>\n<li>Use a journal to track eating and exercise habits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Follow the DASH Diet:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fill half your plate fruits and vegetables<\/li>\n<li>Include 2-3 servings of low fat dairy daily<\/li>\n<li>Limit salt, and reduce processed foods high in sodium (1500-2300 milligrams a day is recommended) \u2013 Read labels<\/li>\n<li>Drink more water and limit sugary beverages \u2013 sugar doesn\u2019t cause high blood pressure, but since sugary drinks contain no nutrients, limit them.<\/li>\n<li>Add healthy fats to your diet (olive oil, olives, nuts, seeds) in small amounts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take control of your blood pressure this month: Talk to your doctor about your heart health and blood pressure. Follow up for regular appointments as directed, and ask for a referral to a registered dietitian for education about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/DASH-Diet-Dummies-Sarah-Samaan\/dp\/1118880846\/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8\">the DASH Diet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Rosanne is owner of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rustnutrition.com\">Rust Nutrition Services<\/a>. She began freelance writing in 1994, created her virtual nutrition practice in 2000, now bringing 30 years of experience to what she does. As a nutrition communications consultant, Rosanne translates nutrition data into well-reasoned dietary advice so people can enjoy eating for good health. Visit her <a href=\"http:\/\/chewthefacts.com\/books\/\">blog<\/a> for more information about her books, including DASH Diet For Dummies\u00ae.<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Rosanne Rust\u00a0MS, RDN,LDN One in three adult Americans have high blood pressure, and May is High Blood Pressure Education Month. High blood pressure (also called hypertension) is a leading risk factor for stroke and is often referred to as the \u201csilent killer\u201d since you may feel no apparent symptoms. Yet high blood pressure will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2","category-may"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10758,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2375\/revisions\/10758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eatrightpa.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}