Benefits of Blood Pressure Tablets on your Health - Lifestyle Modification
Lifestyle Modification
Clinging to a healthy lifestyle is definitely helpful; the utility is that it reduces the medication requirements.
- Cutting down the daily salt consumption to 6 gms. You may check the food labels to know the salt content. Understand that 6 gms of NaCl (salt) means 2.4 gms of sodium. Dietary sodium reduction is a must. Processed foods contribute most of the dietary sodium.
- Adequate amount of fresh fruits and vegetables: These contain high potassium content.
- Low-fat dairy products.
- Quit smoking. Each time you smoke a cigarette your blood pressure increases transiently by 10 to 15 mm Hg.
- Caffeine in coffee need not be eliminated.
- Heavy drinking is to be avoided. The effect of moderate drinking is still debated.
- Stress management is an adjunct.
To conclude, let me stress once again on the very fact that antihypertensive drugs are the key players in the management of hypertension. Their benefits in reducing the incidence of heart disease and other complications have been clinically proven. A healthy life style is an add-on to the therapy for a hypertensive patient and never a standalone solution.