Tips for Managing Hypertension in Our Senior Years

There are some tips of Diets & lifestyle tips to control Hypertension. Hypertension (HT) is the elevation of blood pressure in a sustained manner. And what is blood pressure? It is the pressure that the heart needs to exert on the arteries so that they distribute the blood between the different organs of our body. The maximum (systolic) pressure is obtained each time the heart contracts and the minimum (diastolic), each time it relaxes and is usually expressed with two numbers, for example, 130/80 mm Hg, which indicate the maximum pressure and minimum respectively.

What are the normal voltage values?

Blood pressure is considered normal when it is below 120/80 mm Hg and is considered HBP when it is above 140/90. On the other hand, values of tension ranging from 130-139 / 80-89 mm Hg are considered prehypertension, which make us more susceptible to suffering from hypertension. In other cases, only one of the two values is above normal values. Which also should be taken into account as it is equally harmful?

Therefore, whether you are in the prehypertension phase or in hypertension, you should watch your diet and your weight to prevent values from increasing or remaining, which could be dangerous for your health.

Causes and types of hypertension

Type’s hypertension the blood pressure of our body can be affected by several factors. The most important are:

1. The amount of fluid (blood) that circulates through our blood vessels. And that can be increased by the amount of sodium in the blood, the different hormones of the body or the state of our kidneys
2. The diameter of our arteries, which narrows with age since the blood vessels become stiffer.
3. Therefore, it can be simplified by saying that, the greater the amount of fluid or the smaller diameter of the arteries, the higher the blood pressure. Even if you are usually more at risk of getting HBP
4. You have obesity.

Diet for hypertension

1. Picking up everything we have said before, next I will ask you what foods we should avoid or moderate and what foods we should or should consume.
2. Meats, fish:
3. Avoid the consumption of fatty meats, sausages, and cured meats, cold cuts with salt, organ meats or pâtés.
4. Avoid canned and smoked meats and fish.
5. You can consume lean meats like chicken, turkey or rabbit.
6. Dairy products:
7. Avoid cured or semi-hard cheeses, light slices or cheese spread or portions.
8. Consume preferably skimmed or semi-skimmed dairy
9. Vegetables, vegetables and fruits:
10. Consume these products daily.
11. Avoid canned vegetables or pickles like olives, pickles or chives.
12. Cereals, tubers and legumes: 
13. Avoid the pastries and snacks like potato chips.
14. Also avoid canned legumes.
15. Moderates the consumption of bread with salt. If you usually consume enough bread it is more advisable to take this same product but without salt.

Nuts:

Although nuts are good for cardiovascular health you should avoid those that are salty and remember that they are a food with a high caloric density, that is, they provide us with many calories, so they should be taken in moderation (20gr-30gr).

Drinks:

1. Avoid sparkling water or carbonated drinks
2. Moderates the consumption of coffee or tea.
3. Drink mainly water.