Wiser Brain

If you are overweight, then make the necessary effort to lose weight. Don't be deceived just by looking at yourself, "I don't look fat." I know some collegues who don't seem overweight but when we had our yearly medical check-up, we later found out that they are. Compute for your Body Mass Index (BMI) and check whether you have a normal weight.


Always go for a balanced diet. If you need to decrease your food intake, then do it. But make sure that you'll still get the nutrients and minerals that your body needs. Starving yourself just to lose weight is dangerous to your health.

Limit your sodium intake. Remember that as the negative polarity attracts the positive polarity, the situation goes the same for the sodium and water. Sodium attracts water. So if there is a lot of salt or sodium taken and then you drank a lot of water, the heart will have additional workload and would have to exert more effort in order to pump. Though the heart compensates in order to cope up with the workload, consider this not a good sign because you'll just end up exhausting your heart early which may lead up to a lot of complications in the future.

Avoid eating fatty foods. Instead of that yummy fried porkchop oozing with cholesterol, why not eat white meat such as fish and chicken (without the skin of course)? You can grill, broil or steam them. It's way healthier and better.

Have an active lifestyle. Exercise daily at least 30 minutes a day. It can drastically improve not only your health but also your life.

Lastly, always have your blood pressure checked. Those who have of history of hypertension in their family should be more careful for heredity also plays an important part. Always keep in mind that prevention is better than cure.

The three of us (my mother, sister and I) would always remind my father to lose more weight and to lessen his food intake. Though he did shed some pounds, he is still overweight. And it really bothers me a lot. My father has always been very confident and proud that at his age of 50, he is not taking any maintenance drugs unlike others who are hypertensive at such a young age. (That's one of the things I dislike about him)

But recently, he has been diagnosed with hypertension and has been prescribed with Amlodipine. He's bombarded with my "I-told-you-so" looks.

Now, what can you do if you are hypertensive?

For me, it begins with LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION.

Make healthy living a habit...
...and stick to it.