Creative Eldering: A Fresh Look At Hypertension Prevention
If you are 50 years old and do not have hypertension this is the perfect time to begin your proactive plan to prevent it from ever developing. If you do have hypertension and are involved in some type of treatment, take a moment to reevaluate that approach and look at a few other ideas that you could add into your program.
Like many other health conditions, hypertension is very much inflammation driven.
Eating the standard American diet full of processed foods, processed meats with a nitrate and nitrite preservatives, and an abundance of sweets each are factors that could lead to hypertension. Coffee, sodas, and refined sugar also contribute to this condition because they are inflammatory agents and may rob your body of needed nutrients. Your dietary choices should replenish rather than negate necessary nutrients. Simply adding a few ounces of beet juice into your diet can open up your blood vessels a bit and this has been shown to lower a person’s blood pressure. You can buy high quality organic beet juice concentrate often in powdered or crystalline form and simply stir it up in water, for a nutritious and delicious blood pressure lowering beverage.
Being sedentary allows skeletal muscles that would normally assist the blood circulation to atrophy. Adding purposeful movement and exercise into your daily activities can absolutely help you to avoid developing hypertension.
Walking, hiking, swimming, playing tennis or golf will help your body regulate high blood pressure better than being sedentary will. Yoga and tai chi are actually proven to help a person feel relaxed, balanced and centered. These states of mind (and body) facilitate lower blood pressure readings.
How you perceive the world and your circumstance has a great deal to do with the level of your blood pressure. When you are feeling pushed, hurried, frustrated or frantic it is much more difficult to maintain your state of equanimity and balanced blood pressure. If you are irritable or angry your body responds with releasing more stress hormones into your system which then cause your blood pressure to rise.
Find a way to add moments of relaxation, rest, reflection or even a brief nap into your day. Allow yourself time to process your emotions, do acknowledge and experience your emotions, even anger and rage. Remember to work these feelings through and seek support or guidance whenever needed. Step back and analyze how people and events “push your buttons” and do your best to plan a way to revamp or curb your reactions.
Some people habitually respond to others with condemnation or lack of understanding that then boomerangs into an escalation of emotion (for everyone involved) in a simple conversation about differences of opinion. At this point, the blood pressure of each involved person is probably higher than it was a few minutes before the conflict began.
Remember to take some deep breaths to center yourself and give yourself a moment to remember what is really important in your life. If you work towards being more centered, flexible with other people and their viewpoints, and progressively more relaxed in your daily life, you will be building the path to inner peace and to achieving a lower blood pressure.
Take time to review and to express your heartfelt gratitude for your many blessings and good experiences in your life. When you understand that these factors are more important to your life and your health then who was “right” in a petty argument, you will be establishing inner peace for yourself. Begin a gratitude journal and document the people and events that make you feel grateful. Let yourself become uninhibited about expressing your gratitude directly to people who deserve it. You may make their day as you lower your own blood pressure.
Article written by Susan L. Levy, D. C.
Author of “Your Body Can Talk, 2nd Edition” and “Your Aging Body Can Talk”
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