Five ways to prevent high blood pressure

Control daily sodium intake within 5g, maintain BMI in the range of 18.5-23.9, accumulate more than 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, avoid long-term excessive drinking, and conduct blood pressure screenings at least twice a year.

Last month, I met Uncle Zhang’s family at a community free clinic. The three members of the family were diagnosed with borderline high blood pressure. After asking about their diet for a long time, they found out that every meal must be served with home-pickled dried radish, and two spoons of soy sauce should be added to every stir-fried green vegetable. Calculated, the salt they eat every day is less than 10g, which is more than double the standard. There is actually a lot of controversy about salt control. Some people say that long-term low sodium will cause fatigue and sodium deficiency? In fact, this standard is set for most ordinary people who sit for long periods of time and consume little physical energy. If you are a construction worker or courier who works outdoors for a long time and sweats a lot, you can relax it appropriately to 6-8g. You don’t need to get stuck on the 5g line, which is prone to problems.

Many people say that my blood pressure is high because my food is not salty. Last week, a little girl born in 1995 came for consultation. She is 160cm tall and weighs 140kg. She usually likes to drink milk tea and eat fried chicken. She doesn’t eat much salt. She weighs 20kg more. Her blood pressure was measured at 138/89, which is the threshold of pre-hypertension. I should also mention here that "being slightly fatter is healthier" is a hotly debated topic on the Internet. It depends on where your "fatness" lies. If you are a strong person with high muscle mass who works out regularly, then that’s no problem. ； If you have abdominal obesity with a big belly and thin limbs, even if your BMI is within the normal range, if the waist circumference exceeds 90cm for men and 85cm for women, the risk of hypertension is more than 30% higher than that of ordinary people. Don't use "being slightly fat and healthy" as an excuse to eat haese.

Don't think that everything will be fine if you keep your mouth shut. I know Lao Chen, who eats very lightly and has a normal weight. After retirement, he loves to play chess at home. He sits for four or five hours without moving. His blood pressure was found to be 145/90 during a physical examination last year. He panicked. Later, he walked with the community walking team for 40 minutes every day. After three months, he checked again and it returned to 120/70 without taking any medicine. There are also different opinions on exercise intensity. Some people think that it is effective only if you run a marathon or lift irons. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. Moderate-intensity exercise is enough. To put it bluntly, it means that you can speak normally but cannot sing loudly during exercise. Brisk walking, Tai Chi, and square dancing are all considered. If you don't have any exercise background at all, don't run as fast as you do, as this will easily put a burden on your blood vessels. Start by walking for 20 minutes after meals every day, and slowly increase the amount.

Another point that everyone has a big misunderstanding about is drinking. Many people still believe that "drinking a small amount of red wine softens blood vessels." I have to refute the rumor again: the latest research published by "The Lancet" last year has made it clear that there is no safe amount of alcohol at all. Even drinking only a small cup a day will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Of course, if you really can't quit, you have to control the amount. Men should not drink more than 25g of alcohol per day, and women should not drink more than 15g. This is about one tael of liquor. It is definitely best if you don't drink.

Many people think this last method is useless, but it is the most crucial: measuring blood pressure regularly. I met too many people in the community. I usually didn't feel anything. When my blood pressure was 160, I didn't take it seriously. I thought, "I'm not dizzy, so I must be fine." In fact, 70% of early-stage hypertension has no obvious symptoms at all. By the time you feel headache and dizziness, the blood vessels have been damaged for several years. Of course, the frequency of monitoring does not need to be exaggerated. For ordinary people with no family history, testing twice a year is enough. ； If you have a direct relative at home with high blood pressure, or you are overweight and like to drink alcohol, it is best to get tested once every six months. For people over 40 years old, testing once every three months is not enough. You don’t have to queue up at the hospital. Buy a qualified upper-arm electronic blood pressure monitor. Get up in the morning on an empty stomach, sit and rest for 5 minutes before taking the test. The value will be very accurate.

Finally, let me talk about my own experience: To prevent high blood pressure, you really don’t need to buy those “hypertension teas” and “hypertension patches” that cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Just do the above little things well, and they will be more effective than any health care products. In the past three years, I have seen too many people with borderline high blood pressure. After adjusting their living habits for half a year, all the indicators returned to the normal range. I have also seen people who did not listen to the advice, eating bacon and white wine every day, and finally took antihypertensive drugs in their thirties and forties. Health is something that has always been hidden in your daily habits. It’s not worth waiting until something goes wrong to worry about it.