BlueSkies Newsletter - September 2008
Welcome to the September edition of the BlueSkies newsletter.
We hope that you find the articles informative and useful.
September 8-14th is the Blood Pressure Association's 'Know Your Numbers' week, so our feature articles this month include:
Also, find out why running's good for the environment, why flaxseed is good for you, how to do a new resistance band exercise and find out where to buy a blood pressure monitor.
If you have any comments or there is a particular topic you would like us to cover in the future, please contact us by e-mail.
Systolic or Diastolic?
Blood pressure (BP) is the force exerted on the artery walls by the blood as it circulates around the body. Your BP, at any point in time, will depend upon your activity level, hydration status, temperature, emotional state, posture, health and medication. BP is constantly changing, even at rest, because it rises as the heart contracts and falls as the heart relaxes.
Blood pressure is expressed in millimetres of mercury (mmHg) and is recorded as two values:
- The first number is Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and this is the pressure recorded when the heart contracts propelling blood around the body. Normal SBP in adults varies between 110 and 140mmHg.
- The second number is Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and this is recorded when your heart relaxes allowing the blood to return to the heart to be redistributed. Normal DBP in adults varies between 60 and 90 mmHg.
BP is always recorded as SBP/DBP e.g. 132/85mmHg and the optimal BP for healthy adults is 120/80mmHg or lower.
So which number's more important?
This has, historically, been a well-debated question. Where, previously, DBP was considered to be more important, general consensus currently states that SBP is a better predictor of heart disease than DBP.
SBP also interacts with other major risk factors for heart disease including cholesterol and diabetes to amplify the risk of cardiovascular events. In other words, if you have high SBP and high cholesterol, you are at more risk than if you have either of these conditions alone.
It is common for SBP to be elevated whilst DBP is within the normal range - this is known as "isolated systolic hypertension" (hypertension is another word for high BP). In fact, this is the most common form of high BP especially in those aged over 60. However, treating this condition will reduce the incidence of stroke, heart attack, heart failure and kidney failure. If your SBP is above 140mmHg, you should visit your GP.
Does DBP matter?
DBP is an important part of your BP reading despite the fact that it's not as good a predictor of heart disease as SBP. BP is still generally categorised using both the SBP and DBP and we still need to be aware of DBP because, if this is high whilst the SBP is 'normal', an individual could still be at elevated risk.
In fact, for patients under 50, approximately 40% of people with high BP actually have "isolated diastolic hypertension" and this is true of approximately 30% of people aged 40-50. If your DBP is above 90mmHG, you should visit your GP.
N.B. You should visit your GP if you are at all concerned about your blood pressure regardless of the readings especially if your SBP is above 140mmHG and/or your DBP is above 90mmHg.
Product Of The Month - Blood Pressure Monitors
Many people still don’t know what their blood pressure is despite the risks associated with it! If this is you, why not invest a small amount of money and buy a blood pressure monitor that will accurately assess your blood pressure in your own home? Additionally, if you’ve had your blood pressure taken recently, home testing is one of the best ways to keep a check on it in the future! Upper-arm monitors start from as little as £19.99 and are worth their weight in gold, click here to find out more!
Activity Of The Month - Running....for the environment!
Running, jogging and walking are some of the best ways to keep yourself fit but these activities can become tedious. However, if you've got a reason for doing it, the boredom factor is normally overcome. What better reason than to get yourself fit whilst saving the planet?!
If this sounds like something to get you moving, why not join the Rainforest Foundation UK on Sunday 2nd November for its 8th annual 10km Rainforest Run in London's Finsbury Park? Not only can you get fit, maybe lose a bit of weight and feel healthier but you can also help to reduce the earth's carbon emission by making some footprints that won't do any damage!
If you want to get your kids involved too, there is a children's 1km fun run with face painting and a bouncy castle. For more information click on the banner below or visit www.rainforestfoundationuk.org
Get Active To Reduce Your Blood Pressure
Keeping yourself fit and active can help to keep your blood pressure (BP) at a healthy level. Additionally, if you have already been diagnosed with high BP, increasing the amount of physical activity that you do may help to reduce your BP. However, you should speak to your GP or nurse before increasing your levels of physical activity.
Isn't it dangerous to increase activity levels?
Many hypertensives who avoid activity do so as they believe that it is dangerous because it will further increase their BP. Although activity does increase BP for a short period of time, it should return to normal very soon afterwards.
It is widely accepted that most people with high BP are safely able to increase their physical activity levels. However, as already said, you should consult your GP or nurse if you have high BP and you are considering an increase in your activity level or any new activity.
What type, how often, how hard?
To benefit your BP, 'cardiovascular' exercise is best. This type of exercise will train your heart and circulatory system and it encompasses all activities that involve regular, repetitive movements of large muscle groups e.g. walking, cycling, swimming and dancing. Try to find an activity that you enjoy as it will be easier to keep this up.
For people with high BP, not all types of activity are as beneficial as others. As a general rule, you should avoid exercise that involves:
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short periods of high intensity activity e.g. squash
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lying down
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lifting your hands above your head
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using heavy weights
Although using heavy weights is not recommended for people with high BP, you can still carry out resistance training using lighter weights or body weight but remember not to do exercises that require you to lie down or lift your hands above your head. Also, do not hold your breath or 'strain' to lift the weights.
When it comes to the 'ins and outs' of activity, you can follow the guidelines for healthy adults and try to:
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be active for 30 minutes
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at least 5+ times per week
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at a moderate intensity
Moderate intensity activity makes you feel warm and makes your heart beat a little faster but you should still be able to hold a conversation at this intensity. If you imagine a scale of 1 to 10, you should be working between 4 & 6.
Don't have time for this?
Remember that any time investment in physical activity is an investment in your health both now and in the future.
The good news is that the 30 minutes per day doesn't have to be carried out all in one go so, if you really can't fit it in, you could try 2 blocks of 15 minutes instead - how about a brisk walk at lunchtime and another one when you get home before dinner?
If you simply can't manage 30 minutes duration to start with, build up slowly. Start with 5 or 10 minutes and gradually increase the time as you get fitter and build your endurance.
What about chair-based exercise?
Some people with high BP also have other conditions which may limit their ability to take part in physical activity such as osteoporosis, athritis or joint problems. For these people, chair-based exercise programmes can be extremely beneficial. There is an increasing number of chair-based exercise classes springing up around the country. However, not everybody can get to their local leisure centre when the classes are on so it pays to find a programme that you can carry out at home which requires minimal equipment. For more information on BlueSkies Seated Workouts, click here.
Food Of The Month - Flaxseed
We all know that we should be eating oily fish to keep our hearts healthy because they are high in Omega-3 but what if you're vegetarian? Well, one of the best sources of Omega-3 for vegetarians is Flaxseeds otherwise known as Linseed. These seeds are readily available or you can buy them in oil form - both of these can be used in cooking to increase your Omega-3 intake. If you want to take Flaxseed Oil as a supplement instead of fish oils, simply take it neat if you can swallow it or buy it in capsule form - there are gelatin free capsules available for vegetarians.
Can Salt Be Healthy?
You will probably be aware that excess salt in the diet is bad for your blood pressure (BP) but are all salts as bad as each other? And, is there anything you can do if you just can't give up that savoury taste? Well, the good news is that yes there is!
First of all, let's look at why salt is so bad for our blood pressure. Salt's chemical name is sodium chloride and it's the sodium that causes the problems. Sodium causes water retention in the body and this excess water places greater pressure on your blood vessels resulting in raised BP.
How much is too much?
The Food Standards Agency recommends that we eat no more than 6g salt/day. However, it's hard to estimate how much salt we are eating as it is present in most foods and we can't always rely on food labels. Manufacturers will often list the amount of sodium that is in a product rather than the amount of salt - 1g sodium does not equal 1g salt. In fact, 1g sodium equals approximately 2.5g salt. So, you should be aiming to eat less than 2.5g sodium per day.
What about 'healthy' salts?
Well, what we consider to be healthy may not actually be so. It is a common misconception that products such as Sea Salt or Rock Salt are better than normal table salt but, as far as your BP is concerned, there is not difference whatsoever.
However, there are products available which contain less sodium which will be better for you than normal salt e.g. Lo-Salt. Lower sodium salts should have less impact on your BP. It's important to remember that these products are rarely sodium-free though, so it's worth checking the labels to see how much sodium they contain. The only real way to not add sodium to your food is to not add salt at all.
How do I reduce the sodium content of my diet?
To reduce your sodium intake, the biggest step you can take is to throw out the salt cellar - don't add salt to your food and don't use it when cooking, not even in the water that you boil your veg in. However, you may want to cut down gradually so that you get used to the taste of the food without salt.
Next, try checking the labels of the foods that you eat regularly and see whether low-sodium versions of these are available. For example, products such as baked beans, spaghetti hoops, ketchups and sauces are all likely to be high in sodium but low-sodium versions are normally placed next to them in the supermarkets.
Processed food is normally high in sodium as it is used to add taste and to help preserve the product. The best way to lower your sodium intake is to make your meals from fresh using as few pre-prepared ingredients as possible. Some of the worst offenders are pasta sauces and ready meals. When cooking, however, remember that 'flavoursome' additions such as stock cubes & soy sauce are very high in sodium - try to use herbs ad spices for flavour instead.
Exercise Of The Month - Resistance Band Chest Press
This exercise sculpts the chest, shoulders and back of the upper arms. To perform this exercise:
- Loop the resistance band securely around the back of a chair
- Grasp the band in each hand and sit with your head up, eyes looking forward & shoulders relaxed
- Bend your elbows to 90 degrees and raise your arms to chest height as shown in the first picture below - this is your start position
- Keeping your arms at chest height, slowly push your hands forwards until your elbows are almost straight - this is your end position as shown in the second picture below
- Pause in the end position before repeating
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