Blood pressure explained in 5 minutes

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I came across this TED-Ed video last night and thought it would be informative to share on the blog. It nicely explains blood pressure and atherosclerosis in an easy to understand 5-minute video.

Why is it important?
Blood pressure can be affected many ways, such as stress, genetics, lifestyles and nutrition. High blood pressure, at or above 140/90 mmHg, is often associated with other conditions like heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, stroke and kidney diseases, that are detrimental to our health. Maintaining a healthy blood pressure can lower the risk of developing these chronic diseases in the long run.

A healthy blood pressure is around 120/80 mmHg or less. While medications can help lower high blood pressure, dietary and lifestyle modifications can help in synergy to maintain a healthy, or even lower, your blood pressure.

Since salt was brought up in the video, what is its recommendation for optimal blood pressure?

Limit your sodium (and salt) intake. I'm sure you have heard this a million times and you are probably sick of hearing it (Sorry...). If you have taken away your salt shaker from the table, why is it still a problem?

Let me be upfront and specific with the sodium recommendation:

An average adult should limit sodium to 2300mg per day (that's about 1 teaspoon of salt)

How likely are you to add 1 teaspoon of table salt to your plate? I hope you don't because that is very salty tasting... So your salt shaker is not always the culprit...

Sodium is hidden in a lot of our food as a flavoring agent and/or as preservatives! Take a look at food labels and most pre-packaged foods almost always contain sodium.

But please don't bring a calculator each time you shop for grocery to add up all the sodium.

Instead, take a look at the percentage % daily value.

• 5% or less is a little   (you want this for sodium)
• 15% or more is a lot  (you don't want this for sodium)

You can also look at the ingredient list, look for words with "sodium"

• monosodium glutamate
• disodium phosphate
• sodium benzoate
• baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)

Some food manufacturers have product lines that are more sodium conscious. Look for blue label, heart label, reduced label, light label...... (on a serious note, fat content may be higher in these labels to compensate for the change in taste with less sodium) So.... what can you do?

Pick processed and pre-packaged foods less often. Season foods with herbs and spices.

I know it is hard. I know it takes time to cook. I know you are not a great cook (neither am I). But try your best. A small step is still a step forward.


I will update with more posts with dietary management of blood pressure. Stay tuned! ;)