How's Your Body Under Pressure? Blood Pressure...



High blood pressure is a serious and widespread problem for people around the world, including my husband for a short time. However we changed his diet and changes his life. It is often recommended that among lifestyle changes, diet can play a hefty role in attaining a healthier, higher quality of life. An advantage of using diet to modify blood pressure, is that foods typically do not have the side effects such as those common with the use of medication. For example the DASH diet is often recommended and uses calcium, magnesium and potassium rich foods to combat high blood pressure. However we know that most people aren't going to change their diet and stick with it if they don't change their mindset, and if they don't change their cravings.

I love recommended you increase your beta-glucans. You're like, WHAT in the world is that? Well most of us healthy folks used to get this in our oatmeal. But people are afraid of oats now, and I agree in the instance of non gluten-free oats. However we need these complex carbohydrates that encourage a slower digestive process for the body. In fact there are so many research studies right now on beta-glucans that are so encouraging for our health. One reason I added my low glycemic plant based shake into my diet was for the mushrooms. These mushrooms are good sources of beta-glucans. My two shakes a day contain juice powder from Agaricus bisoporus – commonly known as the Portobello mushroom (when mature) or the button or crimini mushroom (when smaller) – the most widely consumed mushroom in the world. So not only do you get Vitamin D from your happy little mushrooms, but you get that healthy complex food to help your digestion.

Bananas are well known for their high potassium content. They can be used in a variety of ways to suit your needs and tastes. You can cut it up, blend it into a smoothie, or simply peel it and eat it. Potassium is absorbed by the body much more efficiently through ingestion of foods than through supplements, so try adding banana to healthy desserts and snacks. I can't eat bananas because of my latex allergy. I love to grab a sweet potato, or winter squash. But for the Paleo Vegeo follower an avocado is probably the BEST potassium rich food you can grab and go with because it also has those heart healthy monounsatured fats!

So let's talk about fats since health through food is about balance. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids which are seriously important for heart and arterial health. Western diets typically contain heavy doses of omega-6 fatty acids which destabilize the delicate balance between the two types. These are found in fish, or you can simply take a supplement. I take a healthy vegan omega because where do you think the fish get the omega-3's from? That's right, algae is the omega source. I use an algae oil as well in my turmeric ginger coconut milk.



Of course my favorite daily staple is my matcha green tea! Green tea has become famous for it’s amazing health benefits around the world. It contains a wide array of antioxidants and polyphenols. The polyphenols in green tea have been found to increase blood flow and improve blood pressure. Studies have proven that drinking just a few cups a day can widen arteries by almost 40 percent, and tea drinkers have been found to have a lower risk of heart disease, so you might want to try a cup of green tea today!

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