Fatty tissue in arteries

Weight and hypertension go hand in hand. The more you weigh, the more likely you are to have high blood pressure, and the more vascular resistance your heart will have to work against.

An estimated 43 million Americans have hypertension, and more than double that figure are dangerously close to developing it.  Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in America.

Males over the age of 45 and females over 55 are at a greater risk of developing hypertension. Too much alcohol or salt, and too little activity or ability to handle stress worsen the risk.  By changing any of these factors you can give your heart a hand and lose weight while you are at it: just 5% weight loss can lower your blood pressure enough to lower your dependence on medication.

A great way to lower sodium and lose weight is to avoid eating highly processed food. Instead, just once a week, try cooking fresh clean food at home, in quantity (the link is to Pinterest, where there is more).

Eating fresh clean food is the best way to control your weight and make yourself healthier. Check out my healthy recipes for delicious meals that are healthy, easy and filling.

Along with eating healthier, start a simple exercise regime. By devoting just a few minutes out of each day to a simple workout, anyone can be on their way to lower blood pressure and a healthier weight. Here is a great workout tool that I recommend to help you lower your weight and avoid hypertension–it is my favorite elliptical trainer, on Amazon.

If you are not at your ideal weight, losing between 2-4 pounds a week is a great goal for your body, and most importantly your heart.

Starvation diets, fasting diets and extreme diets, put unnecessary stress on your organs and ultimately do not keep the weight off. That is why it is so important to create a healthy eating plan for every day of your life and supplement that with a simple exercise, sleep and stress control program.  For men, that’s Refuel.