The most common cause of all the health problems is our negligence towards our diet. An improper diet triggers the health problems. A diet plan plays an important role in keeping you healthy. When it comes to blood pressure, an appropriate diet plan can surely help you bring it to a normal level. Here is a blood pressure diet plan charted out for you, so that you can benefit from it.

Nutrients that help in Reducing High Blood Pressure

Omega-3 Fats

· The alpha-linolenic acid present in Omega-3 fats helps in promoting a healthy blood circulation. Omega-3 fatty acids do not allow the blood platelets to form any sort of clumps in the blood that causes heart attack. Foods rich in Omega-3 fats:-

· Salmon

· Trout

· Tuna fish and Salmon

Garlic

Garlic is an amazing medicine for those suffering from hypertension as it significantly reduces the blood pressure. It has blood purifying and blood thinning properties that make garlic on of the most important diet for everyone who wants to reduce their blood pressure.

Soluble Fiber

One of the key ingredients of a blood pressure diet plan is soluble fibers. This should be included in your diet if you are planning to reduce your blood pressure. Soluble fiber has the ability to lower the blood cholesterol and blood pressure. Foods containing soluble fiber are:

● Oats

● Barley and Rice bran

● Beans and peas

● Citrus fruits

Potassium

Potassium is one of the most important ingredients for your blood pressure diet plan. Consumption of potassium significantly reduces the level of blood pressure. If you really wish to lower your blood pressure increase the consumption of potassium rich foods that includes.

● Avocados

● Pomegranates

● Beets

● Potatoes and Tomatoes

● Quinoa

Magnesium

Magnesium helps in lowering and controlling the blood pressure by broadening the blood vessels, that allows the blood to run faster and freely. The best sources of magnesium are:

● Spinach

● Chocolate

● Avocados

● Pumpkin seeds

● Seeds of sunflowers

● Oysters

● Brazil nuts

● Amaranth

● Barley

● Almonds

● Quinoa

Vitamin C

Vitamin C also helps in widening the blood vessels thereby making it more flexible. Vitamin C also boosts the immune system and nurtures the skin too. Therefore it needs to be included in your diet plan. Rich sources of Vitamin C are as follows:-

● Cabbage

● Tangerines

● Red peppers

● Oranges

● Strawberries

● Kiwi fruits

● Potatoes

Your diet and problem of hypertension will greatly benefit, if you include all the above mentioned nutrients in your daily intake of foods.

1. Be A Sponge – Absorb like a sponge everything that you can about living healthier. We can never know enough in any area of our lives, especially an area that we want to make some growth in. Read, listen, watch and surround yourself around healthy empowering people, places and things.
2. Delete Negative Self Talk – You know, all those disempowering thoughts that you have on a regular basis. Thoughts that tell you, “it’s too hard, I don’t have time, I don’ know how, I’m too tired”, etc. Stop allowing this little voice in your head to keep you from living the life you want. This little voice will settle for mediocrity, will you?
3. Visit A Nursing Home – If it’s motivation that you are looking for then I would suggest visiting a nursing home to see the results of unhealthy living habits. Facing early aging of the mind and body is reality if you choose to make unhealthy habits who you are.
4. Get Prepared At Night – Prepare yourself a couple of healthy meals and snacks in the evening for the next day. Pack them in an insulated cooler bag so that it’s easy to grab on your way out the door on your way to work or school. Lack of preparation in our daily routines in many case is the cause of our bad eating habits.
5. Get A Mentor – Just as we need a mentor in our personal and business lives, we should also consider having a mentor for our overall health. Someone who can guide, motivate us and hold us accountable. Think this is not important? How are you making out on your own? More importantly, how important is your health to you?
6. Water Your Heart – Recent studies have shown that not drinking enough water on a daily basis is as harmful to the heart as smoking. Drinking the proper amount of water on a daily basis significantly reduces the risk of heart disease. What we’ve learned is that water is just as important as diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.
7. Sleep Deprived? – If you are sleep deprived, it’s best to add an hour or two each night rather than trying to catch up all in one night. If you’ve ever done this you may notice that you are even more lethargic after sleeping for 12 hours than getting 5 or 6 hours the night before. This is just another example of humans looking for a quick fix to another problem.
8. Chocolate Anyone? – Dark chocolate is VERY high in antioxidants. To ensure that you are receiving maximum benefits of eating dark chocolates make sure that you are buying chocolates that are low in sugar, contain at least 60% real cocoa, have organic ingredients and are free of dairy products. Yep, that means no snickers bar for you!
9. Low Fat Isn’t Always The Answer – Research at the USDA shows that low fat isn’t always the best solution, especially for women. The women in this study were short changing themselves of vitamin A, E, Calcium, Folic Acid, Iron and Zinc. Women and men should follow a well rounded and nutrient rich diet. Learn about what kind of fats you should be eating instead of being concerned specifically about lowering fat. Education is key.
10. Get Outside – Research has shown that being outdoors reduces stress and promotes an overall sense of well being. This being the perfect time of year to start getting outside, find some exercise and activities to do outside as well. Mountain biking is my personal favorite, but there are many ways to exercise outdoors. Long walks after dinner in the evening are also very helpful for promoting healthy digestion and keeping the metabolism moving after a meal. Hiking, walking, biking, jogging, etc…. you pick, there are plenty!

Our environment plays a crucial role in every area of our lives. It’s important to remember this when it comes to your health as well. If you are in an unhealthy environment, you are more likely to participate in unhealthy things. Just as kids tend to act badly when they around other “bad” kids, the same rules would apply to you if you are in an unhealthy environment. Of course there are some exceptions to these rules, but why risk it.

In most cases we need to create all new habits or a new culture in our lives. It takes 21 days to build a habit and with that in mind you really need pay close attention to whats around you during that time. In my opinion, it’s comparable to someone trying to overcome any other kind of addiction such as alcohol or drugs. If you are recovering from some kind of an addiction, then it’s highly recommended by professionals to stay away from others who are participating in these activities.

Is your environment setting you up for failure or success?

Here are a few tips to help in creating your culture:

1. Surround yourself around other Healthy People.
2. Read positive and encouraging books.
3. Read books about living healthy.
4. Get a personal trainer
5. Talk to other people that are walking the walk.
6. Sign up for some Health related newsletters. ( and read them )
7. Just say NO to fast food. Just because your friends or family are going to a fast food joint, doesn’t mean you have to go. Stay away from it.
8. Get a Health Coach. A good coach can make a HUGE difference. Personal Trainers are good, but I’m talking about a coach to help you in the other areas of your life outside the gym.
9. Visualize who you want to be.
10. Keep a Health Journal. Record all the great things that you are doing for yourself. Celebrate (not with food or alcohol ) your successes!
11. Cut off all communications from NON supportive people.

These are just some examples of how to create a culture for Ultimate Health! When you have a supportive culture, it’s much easier to keep a positive attitude towards achieving greater health.

Here are your Top Ten Health Tips for the month of May! Enjoy!

1. Be Positive. More and more research continues to show the benefits of keeping a positive mental outlook in life. Positive thinking has been found to help boost the immune system and helps fight off diseases and infections.
2. Forgive yourself and others around you for any wrong doings. Holding resentments only increases stress levels. Let’s face it, holding a grudge doesn’t benefit anyone. Make it a goal to forgive someone today that you’ve been holding a grudge against.
3. Cross Fitness is extremely beneficial in helping achieve your fitness goals. For example: Designing a workout routine that involves yoga, weight training, agility training, core training and cardio. Not only does your body tend to respond better to training like this, it keeps it interesting and fun.
4. Spring Cleaning Time? Many studies have show that clutter and disorganization leads to high levels of stress, specifically it increases the cortisol levels which impairs you ability to think, concentration and also effects your memory.
5. Lean Mean Fat Burning Machine. Want to be one? Then strength training is a must. Muscle is your number one fat burning machine. If you are serious about burning fat, then a strength training program is a must. Nobody is saying that you need to look like a body builder and you won’t because that takes more work than you can even imagine, but strength training is the foundation of a good fat burning program.
6. Volunteer. There is something really incredible about helping others. In a study of men over the age of 55, those who did volunteer work were 44% less likely to die than those who did not. Doesn’t surprise me. I am an advocate of the law of karma and this would be a good argument that karma is true. Not to mention the positive feelings and mental benefits can only be good for your overall health.
7. Health or Wealth? “So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health” A great quote from A.J. Reb Materi. Do you value your health more? Do you put your health first? A wealthy dead man is of no benefit to anyone.
8. Food Only at meal time. As a force of habit we feel like we need to have something to drink with dinner whether it’s water, juice or some type of alcohol. This doesn’t really do anything for us. In fact, fluids will dilute your natural digestive enzymes which will make it harder for your body to digest it’s food. Poor digestion puts added stress on your entire body. It’s best to drink fluids about 30 minutes before you meals or 30 minutes after meals.
9. Sugar, The Culprit Again! Once again we have learned that refined sugar is to blame for something else. The British medical journal states that refined sugar increases acidity substantially about normal levels which leads to heartburn and even stomach ulcers. Splenda anyone?
10. More Than Just A Fancy Garnish. Parsley that is. Since I can remember, this is something that has always been put on our dinner plates, never eaten and then just thrown away. What a waste! Parsley actually works great as a cleanser for the body. It helps in reducing gallstones, kidney stones, and maintaining healthy blood vessels.

Here are my Top Ten Health Tips for the month of April. I hope these help you. Watch, Apply and enjoy the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle.

1. To keep your mind extra sharp, you should vary your daily routines and always attempt to learn new things frequently!
2. Having good posture will strengthen your abdominals and your lower back. When you are waling or sitting focus on your posture and keep your abs tighten as much as you can. This is an abdominal workout in it’s self.
3. Listen to soft music when eating. A study at John Hopkins University discovered that listening to soft music while you eat helps you eat less and chew slower.
4. Develop a plan when exercising. Outline your goals and determine what it tools you are going to need, set deadlines, make a list of steps, take immediate action and implement daily strategies to help make your plan your reality.
5. If you feel hungry, you might actually be thirsty. Try drinking a big glass of water, then wait 20 minutes and if you are still hungry then have a healthy snack like fruit or baby carrots.
6. Try Interval Training for fat loss. I am a HUGE fan of this and I also discovered a study that was done recently at the University of New South Wales in Sydney which discovered that women who spent 20 minutes mixing sprints and jogging lost more than 3 times the fat off their legs and butt in 15 weeks than those who jogged steadily for 40 minutes. I believe that men will receive very similar benefits as well. The study just happened to be on women. I have used this training method for many years with my clients and myself with GREAT results!
7. Determine how much water your body needs. A simple calculation to determine the amount of water your body requires is to divide your weight in pounds by half. This is the approximate amount of water needed in ounces daily.
8. Encourage yourself to eat more fruits and vegetables. Simply place them on the counter in plain view perhaps in a basket. Hide all your junk food in cabinets where you can’t see it or just simply don’t buy it.
9. To improve Digestion, drink your fluids at room temperature. Constantly drinking hot and cold beverages slows down the digestion process significantly. I keep my bottled water in the cabinet, not in the fridge.
10. Break a sweat for more energy. If you are feeling tired after work try doing some vigorous exercising and breaking a sweat instead of watching tv, eating or surfing the web. It will re energize you for the evening and you will actually get more done.

Your Success Is My Success!

Let me know how we’re doing. Are you finding my monthly health tips helpful in your daily life? Please leave a comment here and or participate in the poll below. Thanks for stopping by!