5 things you should know

There are many things we avoid knowing because they make us uncomfortable. But based on my experience, I believe that you should know at least 5 things about your health.

We have talked about most of them before including your weight, waist circumference, body composition your blood pressure and your fitness age (more on this later).

Funny, but many people don’t want to know.

Not knowing doesn’t make it better. How can you know what to change or if those changes are working if you don’t know where you start from.

How many times I have heard people tell me they will take their measurements once they have lost weight, started exercising, changed their diet only to remark later,

“I wish I knew how much I have changed.”

One thing that changes rapidly with diet, activity, or stress is blood pressure and it is important to know what is “normal” for you.

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure has two measurements, systolic and diastolic. Systolic is the upper number. It is the pressure of your blood on your artery walls when your heart is beating.  Diastolic, the lower number, indicates the pressure in your arteries when they relax between heartbeats.

Blood pressure indicates artery stiffness. A flexible artery is like a new garden hose, easy to use and move around. A stiff artery is like a garden hose that has been left in the sun all year. It is unlikely to roll up smoothly and more likely to crack and break.

Blood pressure can have a genetic component, but it does change with circumstances and is one of the most important aspects of cardiovascular health.

Blood pressure affects your brain

New research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology proves how important controlling blood pressure is for preventing dementia later in life, a condition that has no cure. Vascular disease and neurodegenerative disease often occur together later in life and there is a close relationship between hypertension, high cholesterol and obesity with cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. The highest risk factors are seen in people with high blood pressure.

What is normal?

Blood pressure changes with your weight, stress, exercise. Getting it checked at the doctor’s office can be good or it could be higher than normal. If you suffer from “white coat syndrome” your blood pressure can be higher when under the stress of having a doctor check it.

Regularly checking your blood pressure is a good idea and for guidance on measuring your blood pressure check out the Heart and Stroke Foundations guidelines, but for most people a reading of 120/80 is considered low risk.

What if it is too high?

If your blood pressure is regularly high that can be a sign that you need to make some changes.

If it is low that is also good to know too.

Or maybe you are like me and it is only high when your doctor takes it. I have a home blood pressure cuff and when I take my blood pressure at home without the stress of sitting at the doctor’s office, a place I am only going to be in unpleasant circumstances, it is low.

Low blood pressure means that you are more likely to feel dizzy if you stand up too fast, high blood pressure is an indication that you need to make some changes.

Some doctors still mistake the symptoms of high blood for menopause. A study released in January by the European Society of Cardiology states that women’s symptoms were being labelled as stress or menopause, while men were diagnosed with hypertension. Untreated blood pressure can result in atrial fibrillation, stroke and heart failure.

What can I change?

First, if you have high blood pressure you are not alone. 20% of Canadian adults have high blood pressure and the chances of developing high blood pressure in a lifetime are 90%.

Secondly, it is easy to have high blood pressure and not know it. While high blood pressure can be situational and temporary, if your blood pressure remains high this can be a significant health risk and should be managed.

High blood pressure or hypertension is most often caused by lifestyle factors. As little as 20 years ago the incidence of high blood pressure among Canadian adults was only 12%.

What changed?

I am sure you can guess.

More processed foods and with that more salt in our diets directly increases the risk of hypertension. Salt along with more stress, more sedentary behaviour, less exercise, fewer fruits and vegetables.

All the usual suspects.

One of the easiest ways to reduce your blood pressure is to limit salt intake. For most people, the daily salt allowance is 2300 mg that is only one teaspoon. Salt is especially prevalent in processed foods. Cheese is one of the worst offenders, bread is another one, processed foods including premade meals, canned foods, pizza, tortillas, salad dressing. Limiting these foods is one of the best ways to reduce your salt intake.

Exercise

We know that cardiovascular exercise is good for our blood pressure and until recently we thought that people with high blood pressure should not lift weights. What people with high blood pressure should not do is be sedentary or hold their breath while they lift weights.

Lose weight

Losing as little as 10 pounds can lower or prevent high blood pressure.

Eat your veggies

Especially greens, like swiss chard and beet greens, which are high in nitrates that help blood vessels relax. Swiss chard is also packed with potassium and magnesium which are important for regulating blood pressure.

Manage your stress

Chronic stress increases our blood pressure. Some stressors we can change and some we can’t. Learning the difference and how to manage the ones we can’t change makes a difference. Managing stress is much the same as staying healthy. Eat whole unprocessed foods, exercise regularly, get enough sleep and practise relaxation techniques can all help in the long term.

Put it all together

Knowing your weight, waist circumference, body composition, blood pressure and fitness age will help you stay fit and healthy. It may be uncomfortable to “know the number” but once you do it is easier to make changes that matter for the long run.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla