The pursuit of better health never stops. It’s an ongoing daily process.
I have high blood pressure. It was 164 over 88 on Oct. 25. You would think that losing 80 pounds and completely changing my relationship with food and exercising would have solved that little problem. I eat so much healthier these days – very little processed foods, no salt sprinkled on anything, exercising daily, fruits and vegetables, salads, grilled chicken, baked fish, egg whites, etc. While one would think that would have done the trick, it apparently did not.
As I told my doctor when she mentioned it, the only problem I have with taking medication is they are notorious for causing weight gain and weight gain causes blood pressure to go up. She just looked at me but didn’t deny it. It’s a vicious cycle and one I want to avoid.
I’ve put this in a column before and I’m about to again. We’ve become a pill-popping society. I’m against that, if there is a natural way of fixing the problem. Sometimes there isn’t a natural way but sometimes there is. It’s evident by the increasingly poor health of Americans that the way things are being done now – pop a pill for it and eat whatever we want – isn’t working.
Could you envision someone’s face if the doctor wrote “eat healthier” on a prescription pad? It would be a refreshing change for a doctor to do that before prescribing medication. However, I think we both know that’s never going to happen and why.
I did take the prescription offered to me because I know the dangers associated with uncontrolled high blood pressure. However, I woke up the next morning with a determination to lower my blood pressure on my own through educating myself about my body’s reaction to certain foods.
Someone warned me that if losing that much weight didn’t do it, then there would be a good chance I would have to take medication to lower it for the rest of my life. Negativity or realism? Regardless of which, I said "Well, I’m going to try anyway."
I started scrutinizing everything I’m currently ingesting and how each affects blood pressure – cutting back on some and eliminating others. Then, I started checking in on foods I can eat. Did you know there are foods that lower blood pressure naturally? There’s a whole diet based around it. Well, I added some of those to my current daily eating in place of what I had to eliminate or cut back on.
On Friday morning, about 10 days after the process began, my blood pressure was 135 over 77. I would say I’m well on my way to kissing those blood pressure pills goodbye. It will require that I keep a daily check on my blood pressure and continue with my changes, but I’m fine with that. I actually feel awesome so medication will be a last resort.
Standard reporter Lisa Hobbs can be reached at 473-2191.