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I'm a 26 year old male i am over weight. for the last year been i have been having palpitations and feeling weak recently had a blood pressure check it's 152/00 which I'm told is hypertension and it's scared me is that level bad?? Any answers ? I would be very grateful
0 likes, 20 replies
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billi59528
Posted
sorry guys
rocky31676 billi59528
Posted
Is it consistently this high... 152/100 ?
If so you may need medications, but you can try to control it with diet and exercise.
Below is copied from this site, if you search "diet in hypertension" here in patient.info
If possible, aim to do some physical activity on five or more days of the week, for at least 30 minutes. For example, brisk walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, etc. Regular physical activity can lower blood pressure in addition to giving other health benefits. If you previously did little physical activity and you change to doing regular physical activity five times a week, it can reduce your systolic blood pressure. You should seek medical advice before undertaking exercise if you have high blood pressure.
Eat a healthy diet
Briefly, this means:
AT LEAST five portions, or ideally 7-9 portions, of a variety of fruit and vegetables per day.
A THIRD OF MOST MEALS should be starch-based foods (such as cereals, wholegrain bread, potatoes, rice, pasta), plus fruit and vegetables.
NOT MUCH fatty food such as fatty meats, cheeses, full-cream milk, fried food, butter, etc. Use low-fat, mono-unsaturated or polyunsaturated spreads.
INCLUDE 2-3 portions of fish per week. At least one of these should be 'oily' such as herring, mackerel, sardines, kippers, pilchards, salmon, or fresh (not tinned) tuna.
If you eat meat it is best to EAT LEAN MEAT, or eat poultry such as chicken.
If you do fry, choose a VEGETABLE OIL such as rapeseed or olive oil.
LIMIT SALT in your diet (see below).
USE WHOLEGRAIN versions of starchy foods (such as rice and pasta).
A healthy diet provides benefits in different ways. For example, it can lower cholesterol, help control your weight, and provide plenty of vitamins, fibre and other nutrients which help to prevent certain diseases. Some aspects of a healthy diet also directly affect blood pressure. For example, if you have a poor diet and change to a diet which is low-fat, low-salt and high in fruit and vegetables, it can significantly lower systolic blood pressure.
Have a low salt intake
The amount of salt that we eat can have an effect on our blood pressure. Government guidelines recommend that we should have no more than 5-6 grams of salt per day. (Most people currently have more than this.) Tips on how to reduce salt include:
Use herbs and spices rather than salt to flavour food.
Limit the amount of salt used in cooking. Do not add salt to food at the table.
Choose foods labelled 'no added salt'.
Avoid processed foods as much as possible.
Restrict your number of caffeine drinks
Caffeine is thought to have a modest effect on blood pressure. It is advised that you restrict your coffee consumption (and other caffeine-rich drinks) to fewer than five cups per day.
Drink alcohol in moderation
Too much alcohol can be harmful and can lead to an increase in blood pressure. You should not drink more than the recommended amount. Currently the maximum recommended amount for men and women is no more than 14 units of alcohol per week. Units should be spread out through the week and there should be at least two alcohol-free days a week. Pregnant women should not drink at all. One unit is in about half a pint of normal-strength beer, or two thirds of a small glass of wine, or one small pub measure of spirits.
Cutting back on heavy drinking improves health in various ways. It can also have a direct effect on blood pressure. For example, if you are drinking heavily, cutting back to the recommended limits can lower a high systolic blood pressure.
billi59528 rocky31676
Posted
Thank you very much for that
appreciate it!Just for peace of mind on a scale is it really high of or sort of just over ?? Cheers again
g.90572 billi59528
Posted
rocky31676 billi59528
Posted
Is it diet and lifestyle related or is it caused by an underlying health problem;
any suggestions given by your GP ?
billi59528 rocky31676
Posted
Thanks again I'm currently awaiting blood tests and stool sample results . I have had some heavy party's last year maybe drunk a bit to much! does blood pressure ever just go back to normal?
Cheers
rocky31676 billi59528
Posted
jane243 rocky31676
Posted
Sorry Rocky i completely disagree with many of the diet points here. I know this is copied from a reputable web site but the information imo is quite wrong. It is at least ten years out of date.
To be eating 1/3 of most meals as starch based is too much carbohydrate. Starch turns to sugar which just makes you fat.
Brown rice,white rice - what is the difference? They are all the same.
Eat healthy natural fats. Olive oil, butter - not margarine of any sort.They are all processed fat and bad for you.
And what is wrong with cholesterol? We need it for every single cell in our bodies. The whole thing about cholesterol has become a religion and based on dodgy data.
Sorry to be boring but honestly until the NHS stops feeding us with all this out of date tripe I wouldn't trust their 'advice'.
rocky31676 jane243
Posted
33% carbohydrates is not much. And the good starch includes fruits and vegetables not the bad starch like white bread and sugary drinks.
Olive oil and oily fish is good unsaturated fat for the body with lean meat. They have quite a bit of cholesterol too.
Plus exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes/ day.
I dont think this is bad advice.
jane243 rocky31676
Posted
Sorry I totally disagree, the nhs Eatwell plate shows fruit and veg [1/3] as just that - fruit and veg. Another 1/3 is carbohydrate, potatoes, rice, bread etc and the remaining 1/3 is half dairy and half protein. Given that these guidelines are also recommended for diabetics and you can see it is a looming disaster. That is all out of date.
Four years ago I was told I had hypertension and marginally high cholesterol and also was in danger of being a diabetic if I didn't take control. I'm 74 btw and female. A patronising nurse handed me a booklet from the nhs saying not to eat more than 3 eggs a week not to eat butter, drink skimmed milk and low fat yogurt, in fact all the good things in life were now banned. As for that fancy margarine brand that is apparently meant to lower cholesterol - it is still margarine and bad for you. AND we do need cholesterol. That is another issue but we have all been led up the garden path.
I explored all the info on google, not all of it reliable but most of it was and it soon became evident that there was an alternative way: ignore the bad advice and eat far fewer carbs [that includes fruit too].
Over 3 months I lost over 2 stone in weight and got the diabetes onto a back burner, for now anyway. I eat at least 2 eggs daily, ditching cereal for breakfast in favour of them and ditched all the skimmed milk and margarine spreads in favour of butter. The main benefit apart from the weight loss was that I no longer have sugar 'crashes' mid afternoon anymore. Without too much effort the weight has remained stable.
rocky31676 jane243
Posted
Thats great you were able to control your diabetes by increasing protein and removing cereal / bread from your diet.
What you could have also done was instead of cereal ..take oatmeal, and instead of while bread take whole grain bread, that way you maintain the fiber in your diet.
I am not sure how much fiber you are getting in your diet. But the fruits and vegetables are also essential for maintaing the required fiber.
You right about getting fat content, and butter is required in your diet. If the nhs don't recommend fat, then I would fault them too.
billi59528 rocky31676
Posted
rocky31676 billi59528
Posted
of course it will go back to normal or near normal
billi59528 rocky31676
Posted
Thanks for the input guys it's been causing anxiety because of my age is quite worrying but good to know I can turn it around
rocky31676 billi59528
Posted
jane243 rocky31676
Posted
I'm fine and quite happy with my weight, eating and HbA1c numbers now. Porridge just doesn't fill me up for long enough whereas 2 boiled eggs and a slice of toast and butter do, plus grapefruit. It could so easily have gone the other way had I not done the research but even if I'm 74 I certainly feel 20 years less and feel far, far better without much carbohydrate. I walk 3/4 hr with a dog every day and always cook from scratch.
It's the way the NHS, British heart foundation et al stick to their old advice without looking at the evidence. We have an obesity and T2 epidemic and it's costing the NHS far too much and they still bang on about the dodgy eatwell plate.
If you look at the diabetic websites/forums you might see better where I'm coming from.
rocky31676 jane243
Posted
What about the fiber in your diet,
How do you fulfill the fiber needs of your body?
jane243 rocky31676
Posted
I didn't actually have diabetes but the nhs health check nurses check everything and it was when I managed to get my med notes online that I realised the HbA1c number was almost at prediabetic level and because of the hypertension nobody had bothered to mention the diabetes risk. At that point there is a chance to deal with it, so I did. It is checked annually at one of the 6 month hypertension checks and is fine.
I get plenty of fibre from fruit and/or vegetables at every meal. I do eat some bread but very little and same applies to potatoes. No pasta or rice as we don't like them. Not much meat but fish of all kinds at least 3 or 4 times a week. I used to eat lots of dairy especially low fat yogurts until I discovered how much sugar is added to low fat things just to make them edible!, and always conflakes or similar for breakfast but really don't miss them. I'd like to say "No added sugar" because that is key but admit to struggling with that. Certainly no junk.
Really I just eat a normal healthy diet, low in carbs but not in fat. I just think the official advice on healthy eating is outdated and wrong.
rocky31676 jane243
Posted
Cheers.
jane243 rocky31676
Posted