I teach many different types of workouts and knowing someone’s medical condition is important to me, especially if they have high blood pressure (HBP), as there are certain moves I would never allow someone to do with HBP in my fitness classes. So, when one of my members emailed me to ask me if 140/90 was high that alarmed me terribly. According to her, a nurse took her blood pressure and told her to see her doctor. Nothing more, nothing less, I told her to make an appointment right away to check the numbers again. As a professional I know that 140/90 is considered HBP and needs medical attention right away. According to the Amecian society of hypertension 35 million women have HBP yet only 1/3 of them know it. She would be a classic example of that. Here are some things that you can do along with the doctor’s advice to begin to control HBP: 1. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day…just another reason to get moving. 2. Increase potassium intake. This helps to speed up sodium excretion. High Blood Pressure is mostly caused in sodium overload. 3. Meditate. Research shows that relaxation can lower blood pressure by breathing slow and deep. I practice this type of breathing as much as possible. 4. Eat dark chocolate that has Flavanols; antioxidants found in the cocoa of dark chocolate. This also helps in lowering the risk of heart disease. The cocoa needs to be more than 60%. 5. Eat low fat dairy. Studies show that not only can low fat dairy products lower HBP but they can actually prevent it in the first place. You need at least 2 or more servings a day. It is really important that you know not only your blood pressure but also get a blood test to check cholesterol numbers, for without good health there is really nothing else that matters. Debra

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