2023-12-22 10:13:39
Having good blood pressure is one of the indicators of general health. However, sometimes it is difficult to control it with the Christmas excesses. To take care of our tension during these times, nutritionist and pharmacist Paula Martín offers us a series of tips and recommendations.
Blood pressure is one of the keys to knowing how our general health is. As at Christmas our self-care routines are altered due to the multiple social events we have, it is important to remember the importance of taking care of our health on these dates.
The truth is that the majority of Spaniards have a great awareness of the importance of maintaining good tension parameters. In fact, 50% of those surveyed in Pic Solution’s VI Barometer claim to include reviewing this indicator in their self-care routines.
Likewise, since the pandemic, 33% of Spaniards who took the survey claim to have increased the frequency of measuring their tension.
Adequate tension helps us maintain good cardiovascular health. EFE/Chema Moya Adequate tension helps us maintain good cardiovascular health. EFE/Chema Moya Adequate tension helps us maintain good cardiovascular health. EFE/Chema Moya
How do we know if our tension is controlled?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), The healthiest blood pressure values are those that are below 120 mmHg systolic pressure and 80 mmHg diastolic pressure. Below 140/90 are considered normal values for the adult population.
Above these values we would speak of hypertension, with the cardiovascular risks that this entails. Therefore, maintaining values at healthy levels is essential for good health.
The pharmacist and nutritionist Paula Martín (@farmanutribypaula) in collaboration with Pic Solution, offers us a series of tips to take care of our tension on these dates, in addition to reminding us of the importance of this indicator, especially at Christmas.
Five key tips:
Don’t skip any meals. The nutrition expert warns that it is very common at Christmas to skip meals because “we have overdone it” or think that we are going to do it. “With these practices we will only be able to come to food hungry and overindulge. Therefore, it is advisable to maintain our eating routine during the holidays and not skip any of the 5 meals of the day,” says Paula Martín.
Maintain your physical activity routine. Christmas is one of the times when we are most sedentary. However, not only should we not abandon our physical exercise routine, but we should even increase its practice to balance all the excesses. It is advisable to walk, run, swim or ride a bicycle for at least thirty minutes a day about three days a week.
Increases water consumption. It is normally recommended to drink two and a half liters of water a day, although not everyone consumes it. “Drinking liquids is always positive, if we do not reach the recommended water consumption we can always help ourselves with infusions, broths and fruits rich in water such as pineapple or papaya,” says the pharmacist and nutritionist.
Watch your consumption of salt and unhealthy foods. Avoiding excessive consumption of salt is one of the habits that will bring us the greatest health benefits, “we must avoid excessive consumption of salt, replacing it in meals, for example, with oregano or parsley. Even so, salt is not the only ingredient that we should avoid, we must also eliminate sugar and sugary drinks, all sauces (such as mustard, ketchup, hot sauces…), licorice (for those who suffer from hypertension, excess licorice can cause sodium retention and potassium loss, aggravating the pathology), alcoholic beverages, industrial fats, caffeine, red meat…”, explains the nutritionist.
Properly control our blood pressure. We must maintain a self-care routine and control our blood pressure especially during this Christmas season. We must avoid consuming too much salt to keep tension at bay. EFE/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
How to properly measure tension?
We often think we know how to measure voltage correctly, but we can make mistakes. So that this does not happen to us, the specialist tells us how we should do it. Furthermore, she remembers that it is not only essential to know how to use the blood pressure monitor, but we must also know the ideal time to carry out the procedure.
Mornings are the best time of day to take our blood pressure. It is recommended to do it before breakfast and, if taking medication, before it as well. Nor should we have consumed alcoholic or caffeinated beverages in the previous moments.
We must be sitting and resting. If we have done physical exercise, even if it is mild, such as quickly climbing the stairs, we should rest for about five minutes before taking the blood pressure. Furthermore, whenever we measure tension we must be seated.
We will always measure the tension in the left arm. The arm must be supported on a table at heart level. We should not talk or cross our legs while our blood pressure is measured.
Proper adjustment of the blood pressure monitor. It should not be too tight or too loose.
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