Assalam Aleikum,
I have just turned 21 but according to the doctor I experience hyper tension. This has made me quite worried cause I am a young guy with a career to make in a very demanding field accounting with lots of pressure involved. What practical things can I do to help reduce my anxiety, tension and stress?
Also i have noticed my waist is a little larger now, could its reduction help me with coping with stress? wats then the best way of cutting waist?
Sorry for so many questions,
Shukran.
Answer
Salamu Allikom
You do not have to be sorry your questions are welcome any time.
First of all you have to find out what is the cause of your hypertension.
Second to cut down on your stress you should know that stressing yourself would increase your hypertension.
So don't think of it. Instead, think how to manage it.
Exercise is the first, second and third thing you can do to help yourself. Start with 15 minutes a day. This can be increased to 60 minutes within 6 weeks.
Walking is a very good type of exercise. Cutting down on your caloric intake by decreasing fatty meals such as fried food and baked goods is the way to decrease your waist size - which is one of the main risk factors for heart diseases.
Name
Saleem Zaidi
- Pakistan
Profession
Question
My 4 year old child is hyperactive and attention deficient. I want to feed him Omega-3 fish oil. Is it good?
Answer
It is Ok to give him Omega-3 fish oil although I would rather feed him fish three times a week instead.
However, I would recommend that you check for iron deficiency anemias before naming your child as hyperactive. Sometimes anemia gives the same manifestations as hyperactivity.
You can also give him some tea or coffee before school time to keep him alert because the main issue in this disease is that the child cannot wake up himself so they keep moving round and round to keep awake. Caffeine would help wake them up so they wouldn't need to keep moving around.
Name
Tallulah Bankhead
-
Profession
Question
My osteopath is concerned about my blood pressure which hovers around 175 over 95 consistently. She wants me to memorize and repeatedly recite aloud this children's rhyme: "PEANUTS, POPCORN, ONION SOUP, IF WE EAT ANY OF THESE, WE WILL GET VERY SICK, POOP POOP DEE BOOP!!!" I find this very childish and instead want to take medications like all of my friends here in the nursing home. What can I do to avoid hurting the feelings of my doctor if I think she is nuts?
Answer
I would recommend you start doing some exercise on regular basis in open air, to enjoy your life, and cut down on stress.
Eat a low salt diet and increase bananas, apples and apricot to help your blood pressure to go down.
Decrease your fat intake by eating grilled food more than fried foods.
As for the peanuts, popcorn and onion soup, you can eat unsalted peanuts, unsalted fat-free popcorn or you may use potassium chloride (misdash salt) and drink homemade onion soup - no salt added (or using misdash salt). And again, remember to do daily exercise.
You may also add some sweetness to your life by adding 2 - 3 cups of hibiscus a day.
This will bring down your blood pressure and I believe this will satisfy both you and your doctor.
Name
Rasha
-
Profession
Question
Asalam Alykum Doctor,
what is yourtips for a healthy diet? reducing the quantity of food or selctiong some types?
Answer
Healthy diet means you eat everything in moderation, eat fruits and vegetables in excess - or more than the others, and cut down on your fat intake. This can be done by eating grilled foods rather than fried foods, fresh foods more than canned foods, and no-salt-added foods instead of regular foods.
And also have the number 5 as your lucky number. That means eating more than 5 pieces of vegetables, 5 pieces of fruits and less than 5 teaspoonfuls of oil a day.
And I would also recommend walking 5 minutes for every waking hour in your daily schedule.
Name
Kaledovic
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Hi there.
I hope this isn't too far off topic, but who exactly is a hyper-tensive person?
Answer
On the contrary, it's up to the point.
A hypertensive person is a person who has a blood pressure equal to or more than 140 for three consecutive blood pressure measures.
Name
Ibrahimov
- Russian Federation
Profession
Question
heloo
how often should a hypher tension person eat?
sanx.
Answer
As long as you are not eating more calories than you are supposed to, you can schedule eating any way that you enjoy.
The average calories intake for a male is around 3000 calories a day and you can include fruits and vegetables more often.
You can also snack on a piece of fruit or vegetables along with a cup of hibiscus.
Name
Y-
-
Profession
Question
Who are hypertensive people? and what effect does this have on them?
Answer
For the first part of your question please look back in the previous questions.
For the second part of your question, hypertension increases the burden on the heart to push the blood against high resistance.
This might lead to increasing the size of the heart without a parallel increase in the size of the blood vessels that feed the heart.
This can lead to chest pain and decrease of blood supply to the brain and other vital organs of the body.
Cutting down on the blood supply to the vital organs might affect their function.
Name
Marwa
-
Profession
Software engineer
Question
Al Salam Alikum
I'm a 32 years old woman with low blood pressure and I always get very dizzy which is very danger especially when I'm driving. Is there a way to control that with a healthy diet?
Thanks in advance for you advice
Marwa - New York
Answer
If you feel dizzy first of all check that if your blood sugar and blood pressure are down. You need to determine which one is causing you the dizziness.
If you find that your blood sugar is going below 90 mmHg then try to snack more frequently on a piece of fruit.
If your low blood pressure is the cause of this dizziness try to increase your fluid intake to 8 - 10 cups a day. And you may also eat some pickles or increase your salt intake.
You can also drink hibiscus since it acts as a blood pressure regulator - that means that if the blood pressure is low it will increase it and if the blood pressure is high it will decrease it.
You can also drink ginseng once a day in the morning. This will make you feel more energetic throughout the day.
Name
Hatem
- United States
Profession
Sr. software product manager
Question
Aslam alikum - I'm 37 with what I believe is low blood pressure. If I'm in a crowded place or subway, I get noxious and in most cases I pass out for few minutes unless I sit or get in an open space. Is that a shortage of a specific nutrient?
Answer
Wi allikum el-salam
I believe you are suffering from some sort of dehydration since you are not taking enough fluids.
If you are an athlete, then this could be the reason for your low blood pressure. You should drink extra fluids and try to increase your salt intake.
Snacking on canned fruits along with their syrup would increase your fluids, sugar, and sodium. This will in turn increase your blood volume.
Before going into a crowded place you can have a sports drink or mineral water that has some sodium. This would be a good way to manage the problem you face.
One capsule of Ginko baloba early in the morning is also a good choice for you since it would increase the blood supply to the brain.
Name
Super
- Jamaica
Profession
Engineer
Question
yo, i wanna know :
what to do i some times feel symptoms that i don't know if they are related to hyper tension or not.like getting irritated quickly.
yo Wazzuuuuuuuuuup
Answer
You should visit your family practitioner to check for your blood pressure to exclude it first.
If you are not hypertensive then irritability has several reasons.
One of the most common reasons is dehydration or hypoglycemia. These are the most dangerous and we should try to exclude them first by visiting a doctor.
As an advice, try to increase your fluid intake when you feel irritated. You can also try to go for a walk in an open place to decrease your stress.
And if you feel you have some stressful conditions in your life then it is not a bad idea to go visit your psychologist.
Name
Saleem
- India
Profession
Question
I have been diagnosed as hypertensive but I really believe that food is tasteless now and it just loses the fun in eating!
I tried hypertension salt and it was no good.
In my country we eat alot of spices and I miss them alot!
Is there a way I can eat the spices I want and keep my blood pressure down?
Answer
Spices in themselves are not the issue in hypertension. It is the sodium present in salts, in any preservatives, baking soda, baking powder, and canned food. It is also present in any spices that have the word 'salt' in them such as garlic salt, onion salt, celery salt etc.
The good news is that garlic powder, onion powder, celery powder and "etc powder" will be ok to eat if you are hypertensive.
You can use all of the following to spice up your food and enjoy it:
Parsley
Dell
Cilantro
Coriander
Hibiscus
Curry powder
Curcuma
Marjoram
Fine basil
Rosemary
Cumin
Black, red, cyan pepper are all ok.
Lemon and vinegar might be used to make the food taste salty and tasty.
Another way to kick your sodium out is to take more potassium which is present in cucumbers, apricots, bananas and apples.
You should also drink around 8 - 10 cups of water a day to wash out the sodium.
Finally, you need to exercise on a regular basis. At least try to get 45 minutes of exercise 3 times a week.
Name
Maha
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Thank you for answering our question doctor.
When I was growing up we never had to worry much about what we eat. Nowadays I feel that there is danger in everything that is being sold to cause hypertension.
Am I being paranoid or have things really changed to make the food being sold more dangerous?
Answer
It is easy to make your food healthy or to follow a healthy eating plan by trying to eat fresh foods and vegetables. Try to go for organic foods.
Stay away from processed food.
Also when you choose your drinks go for 100% fresh juices - no preservatives and no salts added.
You can also scrub fruits and vegetables with soap and water using a rough sponge to remove dirt on the outside.
Take your vitamins from fresh fruits instead of using supplements and try to go out in green places to take enough oxygen and clean out your lungs.
If you are too scared you can keel fruits and vegetables. This will remove the pesticides sticking on the outside of the fruits but it will also lose some of the nutrients in them.
Name
Markie
- United States
Profession
Question
Doctor is eating out dangerous for a person with high blood pressure?
I mean eating in restaurants or take away foods.
Answer
It depends really. If you are following a healthy eating plan by eating oven-baked, boiled, broiled, or grilled food instead of fried food this is the first step you can take.
Second thing you can do is, when you go to a restaurant, select canola oil instead of butter, no salt added during cooking (ask for your salt aside) and always ask for fresh salads.
You may use vinegrade dressing instead of other fatty ones. Go for baked potatoes instead of fried ones (french fries). Go for baked potato with margin instead of butter.
For desert, try to go for fat-free ice cream, a cup of fruit salad, and jello with fruits instead of cakes or frosted baked deserts.
When you go to fast food restaurants ask for juice instead of soda.
Name
Hamida
- Andorra
Profession
housewife
Question
Asalamu Aleiycum,
I have been experiencing chest pain for the last 2 years, especially when I am eating or walking fast
i went to my doctor who told me that ever think is fine. I don't know what to do
Answer
Go see another doctor to make sure you are ok. If he gives you the same answer then you might need to go and see a psychologist or attend a stress management program.
Name
Zakaria Belbees
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Hello Doctor:
I just wanted to check to what extent does the food affect a hypertensive patient?
I mean would a small piece of high salt cheese affect his pressure?
Answer
If you are sodium sensitive then yes.
If you want, you may combine it with a cup of water and some high potassium fruits such as one banana and one cucumber.
Name
Mooze
- Turkey
Profession
Question
Hey, I just wanted to check if there is a direct relationship between obesity and hypertension?
thanx
Answer
Yes there is a very strong relationship between them. Cutting down on your caloric intake and fat intake will help you lose weight and cut down on your blood pressure.
Name
ola
- Egypt
Profession
Question
Is it right that some drinks like tea and coffee cause increase in the blood pressure?and if yes why?and to what extent is it dangerous for hypertensive people?
Answer
There is no direct relationship between them especially if you drink it in moderation such as one cup of coffee a day and 3 - 4 cups of non-boiled tea.
This is only as long as it does not cause you irregular heartbeats since they may have some personal variations. Some people feel irritated when they drink these drinks and others don't.
Actually, drinking team is good for washing the kidnies, especially green tea - 9 cups of red tea per day gives the same anti-cancerous effect as 7 cups of green tea (tea is an herb).
