I'm already taking daily meds but still borderline on the numbers. Don't really want to increase on the meds if not necessary, because of side effects I've previously experienced.
I don't need to lose weight. My doc advises to maintain my current weight.
I already know to cut back on salt, and I try to do that.
Anything else? Thank you.
Patricia
Don't completely eliminate salt. And if you consume junk food, processed foods, sugar and grains, stop now.
I eat only whole healthy foods, fish, meat eggs and vegetables. I do eat a little fruit but only berries, because they aren't overloaded with fructose (sugar) like most fruits. Drink bone broth (low sodium if you prefer).
I eat cheese in moderation.
If you're going to use an oil to cook with, never use Canola, Wesson, Crisco or any of the other refined fats out there. Olive oil (with no other ingredients in it), Avocado oil, butter, and coconut oil is great.
And that DASH diet is a big mess. My doctor suggested it and i laughed and laughed.
?
Unless you have a medical condition that specifically restricts your salt intake, do NOT cut back on the salt - doing so contributes to high blood pressure.
The "cut back on salt" myth is pushed by the medical profession because it ignores the function of water in the body (or they just don't understand it). And they totally ignore the laws of physics.
Most of the credit for this goes back to medical school where they spend 600 teaching-hours of learning how pharmaceuticals affect the body while only around 6 teaching-hours are spent on nutrition.
They don't know the cause of diseases, but they have no problem medicating them. Medications (except antibiotics) do nothing more than managing the problem. And as long as the problem is managed, it's profitable.
Here's the run-down on salt: we do, in fact, get too much salt in processed foods - this is undisputed. But what the medical profession leaves out of the equation is the body's ability to regulate itself.
There are no areas in the body to store nutrients for future use so it has to use whatever it needs as it becomes available and discard the rest. The "excess salt" that we get from processed food is eliminated through the urine, the pores in the skin and wherever water is lost.
Another factor that gets ignored is that the average adult loses around 2 quarts of water every day through normal body functions as respiration, waste disposal, evaporation, and of course, through kidney function.
Thus, there is both significant water and salt loss - as part of the body's regulating functions. This water has to be replaced. The salt does also, but it's more readily available in food, so most of what's lost is replaced already.
There are times, however, when too much salt builds up. But this is not the cause of high blood pressure - if this were the case, everyone with edema (water retention) would also have high blood pressure.
When salt builds up, it's because the body needs it. And as the medical profession acknowledges in their high blood pressure theory, salt retains water.
The only reason the body would need to retain water is if the person wasn't replacing the water that they should. So the idea that "too much water in the vessels" (as suggested by the medical theory) is totally illogical. If the body retains salt because there isn't enough water, then there couldn't possibly be too much water in the vessels.
Blood is 94% water. When you get dehydrated, it loses around 8% of its water volume, which increases the viscosity. The vessels also constrict in response. This increases the workload on the heart which, in turn, raises the blood pressure.
Based on the laws of physics, if you eliminate the cause of a health problem, there is no reason for the problem to exist. Thus, if salt is the cause of high blood pressure and you eliminated the salt (or reduce your intake as suggested by doctors), the problem should correct itself - there would be no need for medications.
The fact that medications are prescribed anyway suggests that salt isn't the cause.
Dehydration triggers the need for extra salt, and it increases the blood viscosity - both are separate issues that share a common cause. Salt becomes "the smoking gun" and it gets demonized.
And because water regulates every function in the body, other health problems are also linked with dehydration.
The medical profession thinks of water as an inert substance with no medicinal value. This is evident in their advice to "drink fluids". "Fluids" and water are not the same and they don't function the same. The body was designed to function properly on water, not water substitutes.
Anonymous
"I already know to cut back on salt, and I try to do that."
Instead of "trying", actually do it.