Weight Loss Diet to Effectively Reduce High Blood Pressure

In order to control high blood pressure, you have to control your weight. This is based on statistics that almost 30 percent of people with high blood pressure can be cured by losing weight.

An additional fat will need blood capillaries measuring a length of about 5 miles longer, hence, requiring a greater force of blood pressure to effect proper blood circulation.

If overweight, the common cause of high blood pressure is the excess insulin produced by the pancreas. More insulin production will only mean that it will signal the kidneys to heighten the blood pressure.

Young people who are overweight will expect to have a shorter life expectancy because of risks to stroke, cancer, and heart disease. This can even be aggravated by drinking alcoholic beverages and smoking, thus, worsening the conditions of high blood pressure.

Losing weight is one natural way to prevent several diseases such as hypertension. Here then are some pointers to consider in losing weight effectively and healthily:

1. Exercise - This will burn more calories thereby eliminating that extra pound. To give an example, if you will burn 300 calories a day, one pound will be lost every 12 days. If you double the burned calories by making it 600 per day, one pound will be reduced every week.

2. Diet - Dieting in order to lose weight requires a proven method to become effective. Some guidelines are as follows:

• Maintain a daily food diary of what was eaten during the day including the blood pressure reading.

• Eat plenty of low-calorie foods to minimize the cravings to eat more. Unlimited consumption includes fruits, salads, vegetables, grains, and cereals.

• Refrain from eating red meat. Better, eat skinned poultry and fish either broiled or barbecued.

• Consume single serving of plain baked potato, rice, pasta in plain tomato sauce and no butter or salt popcorn.

• Try to stay away from alcoholic beverages.

• As a guide, purchase a book that clearly defines the content of potassium, sodium, and calories.

• Use a guide in the number of weights gained or lost, like a fat bag. Put in the cloth bag a pound for every pound of weight lost and vice versa. Display this in conspicuous place and start a new bag after losing every 10 pounds.

• Intake around 3,000 mg of potassium daily.

3. Weight loss pills and herbs - This will artificially boost the metabolic rates via other stimulants and diet pills. Examples are amphetamines or "uppers" and ephedra herb.

Losing weight using pills and herbs is only temporary. The best way to lose weight is to manage the intake of calories and exercise.