Currently, about 75 million Americans have high blood pressure—that’s about 1 out of 3 adults!
And it’s not just the total number that’s a concern here because the overall percentage of people suffering from it is growing too. About 26 percent of Americans said they had high blood pressure back in 2005, then over 28 percent reported high blood pressure in 2009 – an increase of nearly 10 percent in just 4 years.
What is going on?
The begging question here is: Why are increasing numbers of people suffering from high blood pressure?
Well, you don’t need to look too far because the answer lies in our diets and lifestyle habits:
- We are increasingly relying on processed and fast foods which lack essential nutrients and are loaded with salt and chemicals;
- We drink soda by the truckload;
- 80 percent of us don’t get the recommended amount of exercise (a meager 2 ½ hours a week);
- And we rely on medications to fix everything for us and make us feel better!
So it’s no wonder we’re overweight, sickly, and have blood banging up too hard against our arteries.
Listen up!
If you have high blood pressure, or even if your blood pressure is normal and you want to keep it that way, you need to make sure your diet and lifestyle habits support not only normal blood pressure but optimal health overall!
The good news is, it’s not hard to do!
Just making a few small but impactful changes can make all the difference in the world for you.
This means not only lower blood pressure but weight loss, fewer aches and pains, better sleep and more energy too!
Here’s what you need to do:
Avoid packaged foods, fast food, and refined carbs
Avoiding packaged foods, fast food and refined carbs (like bread, pasta, and sweets) helps you naturally eliminate two of the biggest culprits behind high blood pressure—salt and sugar.
Although you’re probably not surprised about salt raising your blood pressure, you may wonder about sugar. There are 3 ways that sugar raises your blood pressure:
1- Sugar leads to obesity, which is a high blood pressure risk factor.
2- Sugar can promote sodium retention, which can cause hypertension.
3- Sugar is a very inflammatory substance, and can cause arterial inflammation and elevated insulin, which can ultimately drive up your blood pressure.
Concentrate on real foods, especially lots of fresh vegetables, meats, fish and poultry. This will also help ensure that you get more potassium—which is just as important as reducing salt for blood pressure.
Get enough Omega-3 essential fatty acids
Omega-3 essential fatty acids have been proven to lower blood pressure, and increasing numbers of doctors are advising their patients to up their Omega-3 intake.
One of the best ways to engage this natural anti-inflammatory and help lower blood pressure is to take a pharmaceutical-grade fish oil supplement like VitalMega-3.
VitalMega-3 provides a whopping 1,200 mg of inflammation-taming Omega-3 essential fatty acids in every 2-capsule dose, including the EPA and DHA fats that are crucial to brain and heart health.
Squeeze in some exercise
Regular exercise has been shown in countless studies to help lower blood pressure.
Now, you don’t need to get fancy or join a gym! You can walk in your neighborhood or on a treadmill, join a class, or use DVDs in your home.
That’s how I started in martial arts, by the way. I did Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo in my living room for 4 years. I eventually developed a love for karate and started formal training. Now 14 years later I’m a 4th-degree black belt and still actively train!
Just be sure get your doctor’s OK first—I’m sure he or she will be thrilled.
Get enough vitamin D
Low levels of vitamin D are associated with high blood pressure and it’s easy to see why. Vitamin D has inflammation-fighting properties, and since inflammation is a driving force behind high blood pressure, without vitamin D’s protection, you may be more prone to arterial inflammation and increases in blood pressure.
You can help make sure you have enough vitamin D by getting brief unprotected sun exposure (20 minutes) each day and supplementing with a top-quality formula like Optimum DK Formula with FruiteX-B.
Optimum DK Formula provides a therapeutic 5,000 IU dose of vitamin D3, plus its partner vitamins K1 and K2 and the mineral boron.
All of these nutrients work together synergistically to support strong cardiovascular health, as well as immune and bone health too!
Reduce stress
Stress and hypertension go hand in hand, so do whatever you need to do to reduce stress in your life.
Regular exercise is a natural stress reducer as well as a great way to lower blood pressure, so that’s another good reason to dust off those sneakers.
Now start on your way to better blood pressure and improved overall health!
To your health,
Sherry Brescia
