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You can prevent hypertension by making simple alterations in your life style. These simple alterations are:
1) Reduce your salt intake- Avoid eating food containing high levels of salts e.g. cheese, pickles etc. Raw salt is worse than cooked salts so avoid sprinkling raw salt over your food. Avoid eating foods like salads etc which have raw salt sprinkled over them.

2) Go fruity- Eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables daily. Try substituting your intake of cakes, biscuits, and crispies with fruits. Fruits and vegetables are a rich source of vitamins, antioxidants and fibers. Fruits and vegetables also contain very little amount of fat or carbohydrates.
3) Adopt an active like style- doing daily moderate exercises whether it is in form of daily half an hour walk or jogging or skipping a rope or swimming it can really make a difference. Don't get involved in strenuous exercises at once in order to reduce your blood pressure. Heavy strenuous exercises can be bad for you.
4) Cut down on alcohol- try to limit your alcohol intake to less than 2 units per day. Drinking a little amount of alcohol actually helps in raising the level of good cholesterol (HDL) as compared to the bad cholesterol (LDL). This helps in protection from developing fatty plaques on the walls of blood vessels which can cause their narrowing leading to development of high blood pressure.
5) Cut down on fats- try to cut down your fat intake as much as possible. Try eating boiled or steamed food rather than fried food. Roasting the meat without using oil is also a good option. Unsaturated fats (like sunflower oil) are much better than the saturated oil (butter and vegetable oil). Omega-3 fatty acids are known to be good for heart. Fish is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish meat should be consumed more as compared to red meat.
6) Start to lose any excess weight: Maintain your BMI (body mass index) between 19-25
7) Stop smoking: smoking is a major risk factor for development of arthrosclerosis which can cause hypertension and heart attacks.
8) Stress management or relaxation therapy: try to avoid a stressful life style. Try to take life more easily. Indulge your self in relaxation therapies and meditation. Try to catch at least 8 hours of sleep everyday. Yoga also helps in stress management and relaxation of mind and body. Half an hour of yoga exercises done daily for a few months will significantly bring down your blood pressure. To find more about yoga go to the site www.divyayoga.com.

Learn more about this author, Dorothy Wilde.
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