The challenge has ended, but you’re welcome to explore my blood pressure related posts.
Happy Heart Month!
I’ve been thinking about what I can do to make a difference this Heart Month, and blood pressure keeps floating to the top of my list.
1 in 5 adults in Canada live with high blood pressure (hypertension), with 1 in 3 of them having uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to Hypertension Canada. That’s 2.5 million people with unnecessarily elevated risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney problems, and more.
It doesn’t have to be that way! We have plenty of tools in our toolbox to address this problem, from eating practices to medication.
Are you one of them? Or would you like to reduce your reliance on medications?
Or are you in the “moderate risk” zone, 121/80 to 139/89 mmHg, as it’s called by Hypertension Canada? The American Heart Association now classifies this level as “elevated” or “high blood pressure” (depending on the exact reading). It’s also been called “high normal” and “pre-hypertension”. Regardless of the term used, it merits attention.
(If you have diabetes, your blood pressure is considered high if it’s above 130/80 mmHg.)
The Challenge
If so, starting on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, I want to give you something for your heart: A 10-day challenge to explore the food and lifestyle approaches that have been proven to help lower blood pressure.
- A week before the challenge starts, I’ll send you a set of recipes and a suggested grocery list. They’re just to give you ideas. There won’t be a prescriptive meal plan. You decide what you’d like to eat.
- Each day I’ll send an email with one simple step you can try.
- We’ll support each other in a private Facebook group. You can share what’s working and what’s not. I’ll answer questions and we’ll help each other problem-solve.
Our focus will be on blood pressure, not weight loss. (Here’s why.) And we’ll aim to have fun and enjoy the food along the way!
Ten days might not be enough to get your blood pressure to a normal level, but it is enough for you to realize that you can do this. This is one heart disease risk factor you can address.