Prevention of high blood pressure should be encouraged in families with a history of hypertension and in individuals that has a tendency to develop a high blood pressure. Remember prevention they often say is better than a cure or treatment after the onset of the disease. Prevention of high blood pressure could be achieved through two basic means. These include lifestyle control and type of food eaten. It is very important that a healthy eating pattern should be followed.
- Lifestyle
To prevent a high blood pressure, the following lifestyle and activities should be encouraged in individuals that has a predisposition to a high blood pressure.
- Physical activities
To avoid a high blood pressure, the affected individual should not be sedentry. Individuals should be physically active. Excercises such as jogging, swimmming,walking and other forms of active physical activities should be encouraged.
"Alcohol intake should be avoided or limited to the barest minimum.
"Smokers have a high tendency to develop a high blood pressure. Smoking should be totally avoided.
FOODS OR DIET THAT HELPS TO PREVENT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
The following foodstuffs should be taken regularly to prevent the incidence of hypertension. These include :
" Fruits - Oranges, grapes, pawpaw and other forms of fruits.
"Vegetables
"Low fat dairy products
"Whole grains
"Fish and fish oils
"Chocolate drinks and black coffee
Recent research has shown that regular intake of the food or products listed above could help tremendously in preventing the incidence of hypertension. Saturared fats should be avoided altogether. These fats are common in meat and meat products such as fatty meat, dairy product such as butter, cheese and ice-cream. Eggs are especially a source of cholesterol which could be harmful to the heart.
The use of soft liquid margarine, olive oil and vegetable oil should be encouraged. However one should be mindful of the fact that all fats have a large amount of calories. Hence the use of fats should be limited to avoid weight gain.
