- Avoid junk food
Believe it or not, junk food isn’t a kid-only staple. Mature women also love sweets, cakes, potato chips, and soda. Unless they are dieting, many women feel that it is okay to eat whatever they want because they are older. They have reached a point in their lives where they feel they have earned the right to eat whatever they want. However, once we are postmenopausal, the importance of a healthy diet and weight maintenance increases. Generally speaking, women gain weight after menopause. This weight gain often leads to hypertension. While eliminating your favorite sweets entirely can be difficult, reserving cakes and pastries as an occasional treat is best for you if you want to control your blood pressure.
- Choose price over nutrition
Many times when we are in the market, we look for the least expensive items without considering their nutritional value. While this strategy may be suitable for our wallet, it wreaks havoc on our overall health. Always try to buy the best quality you can afford. Try to buy organic food, if possible and whole. If you’re worried about your budget, check out stores like Walmart that are now trying to offer healthier organic options at reasonable prices.
Also try to avoid fast food options. Soup has always been considered an inexpensive healthy food option. However, most canned soups and even soups made in the Deli section of the grocery store can contain a ton of sodium, some with over 1000mg! Look for low-sodium options, or better yet, make a homemade soup with whole ingredients. That way, you can control what’s in it, including the amount of sodium.
- Buy something without first reading the label.
When buying products other than fresh food, always check the quantity of ingredients. The simpler the ingredients, the better. Also look at the type of ingredients. For example, if you have a jar of tomato sauce and the first two ingredients are tomatoes and sugar, a better option might be a sauce with tomatoes and olive oil as the first two ingredients and leave the sugar entirely.
- Avoid sugary drinks.
While it’s not surprising that too much fructose in your diet can lead to obesity and, in turn, high blood pressure, what you might not know is that too much sugar can directly cause hypertension. A study published in the December 2019 Journal of the American Heart Association found that there was a correlation between sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda and an increase in blood pressure. Interestingly, the study also found that sugar from natural sources like fruit, however, might not have a detrimental effect on blood pressure. So instead of reaching for that orange soda, reach for an orange to smother your sugar fix.
