Hypertension: What You Need to Know

“If you have high blood pressure, you may not even know about it. That's why high blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’. There are rarely any signs or symptoms and millions of people with hypertension don’t even know they have it.” Kepha Nyanumba - Consultant Nutritionist

You can’t see high blood pressure, also called hypertension. And most of the time, you can’t feel it. But if you’re among the 1.13 billion people who have hypertension, it’s important to understand its effects on your health and take action to bring your numbers down to healthier levels. Blood pressure is a measure of the force that your blood applies to the walls of your arteries as it flows through them. When arteries are well dilated and in good health, blood flows with ease hence the heart is not overworked. However, if the arteries are stiff or too narrow, blood pressure increases and the heart becomes overburdened. It's normal for your blood pressure to temporarily increase when you exert yourself, or when you feel anxious or stressed. But if your blood pressure is consistently higher than the healthy level when at rest, it is called hypertension.

Blood pressure is an essential part of the way your body works. Your blood carries oxygen and nutrients around your body and is pumped by your heart. Your blood is under pressure as a result of the pumping action of your heart and the size and flexibility of your arteries, which carry your blood. According to the World Health Organization, high blood pressure affects more than one in three adults worldwide. If you have very high blood pressure, or your blood pressure rises quickly, you may have headaches, problems with your vision etc. Making lifestyle adjustments brings blood pressure down and in other cases, you may need a combination of lifestyle changes and medication to control your blood pressure.

Facts About Hypertension

•  If you have high blood pressure, you may not even know about it. That's why high blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’. There are rarely any signs or symptoms and millions of people with hypertension don’t even know they have it.
• If you have high blood pressure, you have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, such as chest pain caused by reduced blood flow, stroke, heart attack, heart failure and irregular heartbeat.
• A sedentary lifestyle increases your risk of high blood pressure. Regular exercise helps your heart muscle become more efficient and keep your blood pressure under control.
• Too much alcohol can increase your risk of high blood pressure. Other lifestyle factors that increase your risk include being overweight.
• High blood pressure can damage the walls of your arteries, causing coronary artery disease and stroke. It can also damage the heart muscle, leading to heart failure.
• The majority of people with high blood pressure have primary hypertension. This means there is no single cause, but various lifestyle factors contribute, including: smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol intake, unhealthy diet and lack of exercise.
• Some people have a known underlying cause of hypertension including: kidney disease, endocrine disease (hormone disorders) or a narrowing of part of the aorta or arteries leading to the kidneys. The is called secondary hypertension

Supporting Your Body's Detoxification System

Detoxification is the body’s natural process of elimination of toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. You can support your body's ability to detoxify through positive lifestyle choices such as enhanced nutrition, limiting toxic exposures, increased physical activity and stress reduction. In general, you need adequate intake and assimilation of all essential nutrients: mineral, vitamins, amino and fatty acids. While body's detox system does not directly depend on each single one, they are needed for good overall health. Any serious deficiency or imbalance in these nutrients will disrupt body processes, including the body's detox system. 

In particular, there are some nutrients that your detox system directly depends on. A healthy, wholesome diet goes long way in providing you with both, essential and non-essential nutrients, including those specifically needed by your detox system. Don't forget that water is an active detox agent. Make sure it is plentiful in your body, at all times.

It is of utmost importance, that the liver function and the kidney function be supported at the same time during which detoxification is happening. Supporting the function of these two vital organs can mean the difference between a failed or successful detoxification.

 Your emotional state also plays a large part in your body detoxification. What can we do to recharge the soul? A simple method is to take a weekend vacation. The purpose of the vacation is to clear the mind and remove anything troubling for the soul. It is therefore important to your well-being. Remember, they are all part of a system. What the mind perceives, the body conceives. This is the same as "you are what you eat". Not only do you have to watch what you eat, but you should also watch what you say, your subconscious mind can either be your biggest asset or your most formidable liability.

How metabolism Influences Obesity

Do you know people who complain about having a slow metabolism and how they barely eat anything yet still gain weight? Have you met people who complain about someone they know who can eat whatever he or she wants including large portions of junk food due to a fast metabolism and apparently never gain weight. This scenario raises a very good question on the role of metabolism in weight gain or weight loss. Metabolism or metabolic rate is defined as the series of chemical reactions in a living organism that create and break down energy necessary for life. More simply, it's the rate at which your body expends energy or burns calories. One way to think about metabolism is to view your body as a car engine that is always running. When you're sitting still or sleeping, you're engine is idling like a car at a stop light. A certain amount of energy is being burned just to keep the engine running. As humans our fuel source is the calories found in foods we eat and beverages we drink.

How fast your body's "engine" runs on average, over time, determines how many calories you burn. If your metabolism is fast, you will burn more calories at rest and during activity. A high metabolism means you'll need to take in more calories to maintain your weight. That's one reason why some people can eat more than others without gaining weight. A person with a slow metabolism will burn fewer calories at rest and during activity and therefore has to eat less to avoid becoming overweight.

 

Effective Weight Loss Strategy!

If you could choose between diet and exercise, diet would have far more influence on your weight than exercise, but of course you should do both. Most people don’t understand this fact. They believe that if they are exercising appropriately then they really don't have to be careful with their food choices. This is simply false. When you consume healthy foods, your body digests and metabolizes the food to create energy. Simply metabolizing proteins and other nutrients found in healthy food burn calories. Junk food however, is the opposite. It tends to be high in fat and carbohydrates, as compared to healthy food which tends to contain more nutrients. This slows down your metabolic rate increasing the risk of obesity. The optimal way to lose weight is to follow a lower calorie diet based on the healthy eating pattern and incorporate daily physical activity into your lifestyle. It is important to make small changes in your diet and lifestyle rather than losing 5kgs in one week through a "crash" diet or "fad" diet. Always seek professional advice from a nutritionist to get a personalized diet plan. Successful weight loss involves a permanent lifestyle change; otherwise, you will easily regain the weight that you lost.