Lower your pressure point - Blood Matters

YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE naturally fluctuates throughout the day, generally rising in the morning, peaking at midday, and decreasing during the night. But other factors--a bad commute, a job that has you fantasizing about the benefits of monastery life, problems in the home--can cause spikes, according to Sheldon Sheps, M.D., editor of the book Mayo Clinic on High Blood Pressure and former chair of the hypertension division at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. And over time, these spikes may cause consistently high blood pressure, says Sheps. (It's estimated that more than 50 million American adults suffer from high blood pressure, which ups the risk of heart and kidney disease and stroke.)

SOLUTIONS

What can you do, aside from seeing a marriage counselor or changing jobs, to stifle those blood-boiling spikes? Sheps recommends "interrupting" your day--instead of going out for lunch or working through it, bring in a light lunch and then take a walk. Also, 10 or 15 minutes of meditation "turns off that internal motor," he says.

More preventative measures to combat high blood pressure, courtesy of Sheps:

* Maintain an active lifestyle.

* Keep your weight within the normal range for your height.

* Do a half hour of aerobic exercise at least three days a week.

* Eat a diet low in total fat, saturated fat, sodium and cholesterol, and high in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Also, reduce your consumption of red meats, sweets and sugary drinks.

* Swear off all forms of tobacco.

* If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (up to two drinks a day for a medium- to large-sized man).

For more information, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov or www.mayoclinic.com (click on "Condition Centers" and then "High Blood Pressure").

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group