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When it comes to lowering blood pressure and preventing heart disease our diet plays an essential role. The foods that we eat can actually raise or lower blood pressure naturally. So it is important to be informed of the foods we should seriously cut back on or even eliminate completely, and also which foods we should be eating a lot more of.

Foods high in saturated fat such as red meats, some sauces and dairy products need to be cut down to a minimum. Red meat should be consumed no more than once or twice a month and dairy products should be the low fat or non-fat options.

Some margarines and other processed foods contain hydrogenated (chemically altered) fats and should be avoided at all costs. These are extremely bad to our health, especially our heart health. Hydrogented fats have actually been band in N.Y city!

Too much sodium(salt) in the diet is the most well known cause of high blood pressure. This is another reason to cut back on salty red meats and of course to limit the amount of added sodium to meals. Black pepper and a variety of other herbs and spices can provide variation in taste and are great substitutes for sodium.

Red grape juice is an ‘A list celebrity’ when it comes to heart health and lowering blood pressure. The skin of red grapes contain a powerful antioxidant called resveratrol that has recently been proven to be a key factor in the heart health benefits of red grapes and its juices and wines. Resveratrol has been found to greatly increase the elasticity of our arteries and therefore lower blood pressure. Homemade red grape fruit juice recipes are a great way to get lots of resveratrol into our diet. Commercial juices are lower in resveratrol due to processing methods.

Garlic is another food that is very effective at lowering blood pressure. Although it is good to use plenty of it in your cooking, high dose supplements are the most effective way of reaping garlic’s heart health benefits. Garlic helps to keep the blood thin by inhibiting blood platelet aggregation and also stimulates nitric oxide production in the body. Nitric oxide promotes relaxation in blood vessels which in turn lowers blood pressure.

Eating foods high in omega-3 fatty acids is very beneficial for overall heart health. Oily fish, cod liver oil and dark green leafy vegetables are great sources of omega-3 fatty acids and great foods that lower blood pressure, prevent the development of arteriosclerosis and lower cholesterol levels.

Spinach is a great source of two nutrients that are needed to help lower blood pressure – folate and magnesium. These nutrients help regulate several functions that keep the blood vessels working properly. Another important nutrient is potassium. Potassium is needed to keep the heart muscle pumping with regularity. A daily banana will help provide most of your daily needs of potassium.

The big controversy rises when it comes to drinking alcohol and hypertension. On one side the new research suggest that drinking in moderation increases blood flow and stimulates Good Blood Pressure; on the other hand, alcohol can increase blood pressure and severely damage one’s health. [youtube:eUgIxuqLBiU;HBP [link:lowers if you drink?];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUgIxuqLBiU&feature=related]

While many people with hypertension are unaware about the condition, it is a primary indication for possible future strokes, heart attacks and premature deaths. Not to scare you, that is the main reason why every time you visit the doctor he or she checks for your blood pressure. Bottom line, hypertension is called the silent killer.

So how does alcohol fits in with Good Blood Pressure?

The body goes into a shock mode, where all of the internal organs and defense mechanism are fighting with a threat known as ethanol. Your liver takes a lot of effort to clean the blood out, your kidneys work hard to release that poison and your heart beats irregularly because of the system overload. This is all happening while your body processing foods and fights with pollution and other environmental influences.

Hypertension is a silent disease that affects elasticity or diameter of the blood vessels. Every time the heart contracts the pressure increases, and every time the heart rest the pressure in blood vessels goes to resting stage. When people drink alcohol in lower dosages the alcohol acts as a mild sedative drug. It is that feeling of being at ease when your muscles are more relaxed and the blood flows more freely in the body that makes blood pressure lower and stimulates Good Blood Pressure.

Now you decided to take a drink. You body feels tired, but still has capacity to fight. Well, you decide that you need to completely get wasted and shut your body down. In this case you and your best friend – “alcohol” overpowers the body and its defensive mechanism. You win! Your body is completely out of service!

One should take serious consideration to what alcohol can do to his or her body! Maintaining Good Blood Pressure means maintaining balanced life.

Possible Solutions

Many heavy drinkers also have severe hypertension and other health problems. It is best to see your doctor, talk to your family member or a friend to if you think you have alcohol addiction. Hypertension may be a side product of severe drinking. Bottom line you will need help to get through this and keeping up with good blood pressure is the least of the concerns. Otherwise, drinking in moderation should not hurt if it is done not often. [I:http://best-article-directory.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/ThomasSinclair9.jpg]

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Many doctors recommend that patients who have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, regularly monitor their blood pressure at home. A good quality blood pressure machine will make it simple and effective to keep a regular record of your health.

To get the best results from using a blood pressure machine, take your blood pressure at regular times and record the measurements. Then show your record to your family doctor so he or she can see how well you’re managing your blood pressure through diet and exercise, or whether you need to go on medication or have the dosage of your medication adjusted.

The two kinds of blood pressure machines made for home use are known as a digital monitor and an aneroid monitor.

An aneroid monitor is similar to the kind of blood pressure machine used in your doctor’s office. A cuff with a dial gauge is wrapped around your upper arm and inflated by squeezing a bulb attached to the cuff by a short hose. Unlike your doctor’s equipment, however, an aneroid gauge for home use has a stethoscope built into the cuff, so you don’t need to buy a separate stethoscope. Aneroid monitors cost less than digital monitors and are easy to carry around. However, this type of blood pressure machine can be easily damaged, which makes it less accurate. Also, it can be difficult to put on if it doesn’t have a special metal ring. People with arthritis in their hands may find the bulb difficult to squeeze, while people with hearing impairments may find it hard to hear the heart sounds through the built-in stethoscope.

Many people prefer digital monitors as a blood pressure machine because the readings are easier to see on the small screen attached to the cuff. This type of monitor can have an cuff that inflates automatically, or it can have a manual cuff like the aneroid monitor. Unfortunately, the accuracy of digital monitors can be thrown off if you move while taking your blood pressure. They also can be misled by an irregular heartbeat. What’s more, some of the most popular types of digital monitors, the finger/wrist monitors, are much more sensitive to body temperature and the position in which the limb is held while the reading is taken. This makes the finger/wrist types the less accurate, and sometimes the most expensive, of blood pressure machines.

When choosing a blood pressure machine, be sure to get the right size cuff for the size of your arm. Your readings will be wrong if your cuff is the wrong size. You should get a monitor with numbers that are easy for you to read. Shop around until you find a blood pressure machine with the right features at the right cost so you can be an active partner in your health care.

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