Alcohol and High Blood Pressure
By saying no to alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, you will:
-Improve your work performance.
-Improve your sex life.
-Increase your life expectancy.
-Lower your blood pressure.
Alcohol raises blood pressure, and blood pressure falls back to normal once the drinking stops. Besides raising blood pressure, alcohol abuse raises the risk of brain attacks and other health complications, such as heart disease, depression, degeneration of the brain, and an increased risk of cancer.
Tobacco and High Blood Pressure
Smoking is widely known to irritate the lungs, thereby compromising your lung’s functional abilities. However, what is less known is that smoking also has an adverse effect on your blood pressure. The nicotine in tobacco elevates blood pressure by constricting your blood vessels. Because of this, the more you smoke, the higher your chances of having high blood pressure. If you are a smoker and have high blood pressure, quitting smoking will undoubtedly lower your blood pressure. Once you quit smoking, your heart and lungs will usually start to function more normally again within 12 hours, thereby reducing your blood pressure
Caffeine and High Blood Pressure
Although the case against caffeine is nowhere as strong as that against alcohol or tobacco, caffeine also has shown to increase blood pressure temporarily. Moderate coffee drinking will not usually cause any long-term damage. A habit of overdrinking on heavily caffeinated coffee, on the other hand, can cause persistent high blood pressure. Studies have found a blood pressure increase of 5 mm Hg in some people who drink 4 – 5 of high-caffeinated cups of coffee a day. Besides spikes in blood pressure, excessive consumption of caffeine (over 300 mg of caffeine on a daily basis over an extended period of time) can have potential medical consequences, including heartburn, insomnia, increased risk of heart disease, birth complications, and osteoporosis (thinning of the bones).
Cutting Down on Salt
When trying to reduce your blood pressure, salt is your worst enemy. Studies have found that, in most cases, eating less salt leads to lower blood pressure and fewer instances of health complications associated to the heart or brain. Therefore, generally speaking, the lower your salt intake, the lower your blood pressure. This is because excess sodium holds excess fluid in the body, creating an added burden on your heart, thereby increasing blood pressure. Because of this, controlling your salt intake is of utmost importance in lowering your blood pressure and thereby reducing your risk of developing health complications. NOTE: It is important to remember that sodium is our friend and our enemy in many ways. Sodium is crucial for our body as it maintains the acid and base balance necessary for our bodily functions to operate effectively.
Exercise & Lose weight to lower High Blood Pressure
Maintaining a normal and healthy weight is crucial in controlling blood pressure. Studies monitoring the effects of weight loss on blood pressure have shown that for every 5 kg of excess weight lost, systolic blood pressure decreases by 2 – 10 points. Your heart is a muscle and like all the other muscles in your body, it must be exercised to become stronger and more efficient. Of course, besides lowering blood pressure, there are also many other health benefits that flow from regular physical activity i.e Boosts your sex drive, controls your weight, Improves mental health and mood, Improves your memory e.t.c
Manage your stress
Stressful situations and intense stress has actually shown to cause a spike in our blood pressure. Although stress is not a confirmed contributor or risk factor for high blood pressure, stress certainly affects our bodies and overall health. When we experience stress, our body releases stress hormones into our blood system. These stress hormones cause our heart to beat faster, constricting blood vessels and temporarily raising our blood pressure. Over time, repeated instances of short-term stress could increase our risk of developing high blood pressure.
The following are some ways in which you can reduce and control your relationship with stress:
1.Exercise regularly: Exercise releases endorphins and regular exercise can reduce your stress levels
2.Know what pleases you and nurture this: Whether this is going on a long relaxing walk, reading a book or nurturing encouraging relationships.
3.Practice gratitude: Changing your outlook by focusing on the positive will transform the way you look at life’s fallbacks.
4.Relax and take time to care for yourself: Be conscientious to take time every day to focus on yourself and the present moment.
5.Saying no: It is important to pinpoint your priorities and to understand your own limitations.
6.Sometimes you cannot control what happens to you, but you can control how you feel about it: Understand what is out of your control and learn to accept that there are things that you cannot change. The only thing you can control is your emotions, not to be affected by what has happened but to focus on yourself.
7.Time management: Allow yourself enough time to get things done.
8.Understand what causes your stress: Whether this is a relationship with a friend or rush-time traffic. If you can avoid these stress triggers, make sure that you do.
Avoid Drugs and Supplements That Can Raise Blood Pressure
Just as there are drugs that have a blood-pressure-lowering effects, there are also drugs that can contribute to high blood pressure.
Pain Medications
NSAIDs, both prescription and over-the-counter versions, can elevate blood pressure by making your body retain fluid, thereby decreasing the function of your kidneys.
Common used NSAIDs that raise blood pressure include: Ibuprofen (e.g. Advil) and Naproxen (Anaprox, Aleve). Other pain medications which can cause blood pressure to rise include: Indomethacin (e.g. Indocin) and Piroxicam (Feldene).
Antidepressants
Antidepressants contain chemicals that can cause a spike in your blood pressure. Antidepressants that have blood-pressure-raising effects include: Fluoxetine (e.g. Prozac and Sarafem), Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, Tricyclic antidepressants, Venlafaxine (Effexor XR).
If you are taking antidepressants, it is advised to have your blood pressure checked regularly. If you have high blood pressure and are taking antidepressants, it is strongly advised for you to talk to your doctor and talk about alternative prescriptions.
Birth control
Birth control pills may increase your blood pressure. If you are currently taking birth control pills or are pregnant and used to take birth control pills over a long time, you should have your blood pressure checked regularly.
Immunosuppressants
Immunosuppressants can affect your kidney and some can also cause your blood pressure to rise. Examples of immunosuppressants that can raise your blood pressure include: Cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune) and Tacrolimus (Prograf).
If you are taking any immunosuppressants, it is recommended to have your blood pressure measured regularly and consult with your doctor should you have high blood pressure.
Herbal supplements
It is always advised to check with your doctor before taking any herbal supplements. This is particularly if you have high blood pressure – be aware that some supplements can raise your blood pressure or interfere with your blood pressure medication. Herbal supplements that can affect or your blood pressure include the following: Arnica, Bitter Orange, Ephedra, Ginkgo, Ginseng, Guarana, Licorice
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