Tips to manage hypertension

We all know that a healthy lifestyle is crucial to keep your heart fit. You can do a lot to manage hypertension. Devising a health plan and learning more will improve your health and save your life. Get going on these tips to manage hypertension.

1. Quit smoking: No ifs and buts! This is the best thing you can do for your heart. Smoking is of the main reasons of hypertension and coronary heart diseases. Smoking is also known to reduce oxygen levels and cause the arteries to harden thus causing insufficient blood flow. Difficult as it seems, you can seek help from our online consultation service to quit smoking effectively.

2. Manage your weight: Being obese/overweight can increase your risk of heart disease. Practise a healthy, balanced diet low in fat and sugar, with more portions of fruit and vegetables, combined with regular physical activity. Avoid packaged and processed foods to avoid the hidden sugars in them that contribute to weight gain.

3. Eat more fibre: Eat plenty of fibre to help lower your risk of heart disease – aim for at least 30g a day. Eat fibre from different sources, such as wholemeal bread, bran, oats and wholegrain cereals, potatoes with their skins on, and plenty of fruit and veg.

4. Cut down on saturated fat: Excessive consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat can significantly raise the level of cholesterol in your blood. This increases your risk of heart disease. Choose leaner cuts of meat and lower-fat dairy products like 1% fat milk over full-fat versions or whole milk.

5. Cut down on salt intake: To maintain healthy blood pressure, avoid using salt at the table and try adding less during cooking. Once you train your taste buds, you will get used to the taste of food without much salt. Watch out for high salt content in ready-made foods. Most of the salt we eat is already in the foods we buy.

6. Seek medical help: Our online consultation service can help you manage hypertension with prescription drugs thus preventing future complications. A combination of healthy lifestyle and prescription drugs can help you lead a long, healthy life.