Living with Diabetes: How to Control Your Blood Pressure Naturally



Photography courtesy William Brooksher



How to Control Your Blood Pressure Naturally

Stop Smoking, Manage Stress and (ahem) Lose Weight-- Smoking, stress and obesity are three major risk factors for developing hypertension. If you smoke, stop. It wreaks havoc on your body--especially your cardiovascular system.

Lose weight--Okay, so I hate this one too. Truth is, maintaining a lower weight really does lower blood pressure---and improves insulin sensitivity and blood sugar control. Just a 10% reduction in weight can help you better control blood pressure and blood sugars.

Participate in regular physical activity--walking, bicycling, strength training, tai chi, water aerobics, yoga or Pilate's. Do something to move daily and keep the blood flowing smoothly.

Exercise is a great stress releaser. Even a slow, short walk in which you focus on slowly inhaling and exhaling can calm your nerves. Yoga and Tai Chi are also good physical activities for reducing stress.

Eat plenty of vegetables and some fruit-- Enjoy asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, green leafy vegetables, squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, melons. For better blood sugar control, limit the amount of fruit you eat,and always eat it with protein to aid blood sugar control.

Eat arginine-rich foods--including nuts and seeds, fish, poultry, grains, wheat germ, red meat and dairy products. Arginine has been shown to play a role in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

Lower sodium intake to 1500 mg per day. What does that mean for every day eating? If you look on your salt container you'll see 1/4 teaspoon of salt has 590mg sodium, so we're talking 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon of salt per day.

Keep it simple--To reduce your sodium intake cut back on the amount of packaged and snack food you eat first. Try eating sliced apple with unsalted nuts for a snack. The reduced sodium, apple pectin, and arginine in the nuts all contribute to lower blood pressure.

Supplements--Consider supplementing with calcium, magnesium, CoQ10, flaxseed oil, and arginine.


About Susan J Meyerott, MS

International speaker and award-winning author, Susan Meyerott provides dynamic interactive workshops for people ready to better manage their work, life and health. Her programs have won national recognition and have been used in homes and organizations throughout the United States, England and Canada.

For more than 30 years, Susan has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. As a speaker and writer, Susan blends her unique background in health promotion, accelerated learning, and communication with a very personal, practical, and humorous style. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

Living with Diabetes--Control Blood Pressure to Avoid Heart Disease and Stroke



Photography courtesy William Brooksher



'Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.'       
Mark Twain

Got Diabetes? Got Good News!

Are you are one of the 100 million in the US who's been diagnosed with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes? Me too.

Turns out, if you're motivated to enjoy a healthy life, there's great news:

Type 2 diabetes is a treatable lifestyle condition, and you can influence the course of your health by controlling your blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.


But if I Watch my Blood Sugar isn't that Enough?

 No. Many people with diabetes believe controlling their blood sugar is enough to control the disease. While keeping your daily blood sugars at optimum levels--not too high and not too low--is an important part of controlling the disease, it is equally important to control blood pressure and cholesterol. In this article, I focus on the importance of managing your blood pressure.

Heart Attack and Stroke are the Killers

Here's the thing--if you have, or are at risk of developing, type 2 diabetes, you are at risk of developing complications, such as blindness, limb amputations, and kidney disease, but cardiovascular-related issues, such as stroke and heart disease are the killers.

For those of us with type 2 diabetes, heart attacks and strokes are our biggest concern. Over 75% of adults in the US with type 2 diabetes die from cardiovascular disease compared with 33% in the general population. But we can change these statistics by changing our behavior and taking charge of our risk factors.

If you control the risk factors--high blood sugar, high blood fats and  hypertension-- you can avoid the complications of diabetes.

Want to Reduce your Risk of a Heart Attack or Stroke by 50%? Think Blood Pressure Control

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) we can reduce our risk of heart attack or stroke by 50% thorough controlling our blood pressure. The National Stroke Association considers hypertension the most important controllable risk factor for stroke, with hypertension raising the risk of stroke by seven times for everyone-- not just people with diabetes.  

The CDC reports for people with type 2 diabetes:

• If you reduce your diastolic blood pressure (the lower number) from 90 mmHg to 80 mmHg you cut your risk in half for experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
• For every 10 mmHg drop in your systolic blood pressure (the higher number), you reduce your risk for any complication related to diabetes by 12%.

 What is an Optimal Target Blood Pressure?

The question is always 'how low should I go to get the most benefits?' And if low is good, is lower better? These days health professionals consider optimal levels---not too high and not too low. Lower isn't always better, and in some cases lower blood pressure can be worse.

For people with type 2 diabetes with hypertension, the optimal target to achieve the most benefits is 130/80 mmHg. Study after study on how low to go on blood pressure to achieve the most benefits has come to the conclusion that this is low enough for most people. Check with your physician if this is a good target for you.

4 Steps to Take Charge of Your Blood Pressure

1. Get a digital monitor to use at home. Monitor and record your pressure daily.  Include date, time and blood pressure readings. Measure in the morning, afternoon and evening after sitting quietly for 3-5 minutes. Knowing your numbers empowers you. It's easy to track your pressure with a digital monitor, and recording it daily will keep you conscious of this vitally important factor that can keep you healthy.

2. If your readings start rising, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss treatment options.Take your log with you to share during regular checkups.

3.  Stay focused on what you can do to maintain your blood pressure at or below 130/80 mmHg (or the level set with your doctor for you). Don't just rely on medications--take action to train your body. In addition to working with your doctor, consider enlisting the help of a diabetes educator or physical trainer to guide you.

4. Orient your goals to first focus on what blood pressure control you can achieve naturally, and use blood pressure lowering drugs to supplement what you achieve through your own efforts.Your doctor can prescribe blood pressure medicine if necessary.

Choose to be Aware and to Care

The key is to be aware of your resting blood pressure level and choose to do whatever it takes to keep it at or below 130/80 mmHg. You don't have to be perfect, but you do need to care enough about yourself to pay attention and take steps today to assure good health tomorrow.

 'And what, Socrates, is the food of the soul? Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul.'

Plato

About Susan J Meyerott, MS

International speaker and award-winning author, Susan Meyerott provides dynamic interactive workshops for people ready to better manage their work, life and health. Her programs have won national recognition and have been used in homes and organizations throughout the United States, England and Canada.

For more than 30 years, Susan has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. As a speaker and writer, Susan blends her unique background in health promotion, accelerated learning, and communication with a very personal, practical, and humorous style. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

Three Great Foods for People with Type 2 Diabetes




William R Brooksher Photography

 My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order.  Dolly Parton

If it doesn't Taste Good, Why eat it?

 I love good food, and while I love to be healthy, I don't love 'healthy-tasting' food. I want healthy food to taste good and I want it to satisfy my preferences for texture and flavor.

When I was first diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes ten years ago, I considered what the best plan was for keeping my blood sugars controlled while still incorporating my favorite foods into that plan. Over time I've learned to also include other 'good for me' foods by making them taste good.

Just because you have Type 2 Diabetes you don't need to endure healthy-tasting food and give up yummy food. I wouldn't go so far as to say 'you can have your cake and eat it too' --especially if you want to control your blood sugars and keep your heart healthy. There are plenty of great tasting foods that can help you control your blood sugar and contribute to better health.

Type 2 Diabetes Diet Basics

If you have Type 2 Diabetes, a good diet for you is no different than a healthy diet for everyone else--one that includes eating healthy carbohydrates, healthy fats, fiber-rich foods and heart-healthy fish, often referred to as the Mediterranean diet.

To train your body to prefer less sugary foods, keep hunger at bay, and maintain your blood sugar levels at or close to 70-130 mg/dl you need to eat a balance of foods that fall into those four healthy food categories, evenly spread over the day, with three meals and two snacks.

The great news is some foods span several of these categories, and are good sources of fiber, protein and good fat, or good sources of heart-healthy fish and good fat. This makes them especially great foods for people with Type 2 Diabetes.

Nuts, Avocados and Wild Salmon--Three Great Foods for People with Type 2 Diabetes

When it comes to taste, versatility and health benefits for people with Type 2 Diabetes, you can't beat nuts, avocados and wild salmon.

Nuts--Nature's Perfect Snack

Nuts are the highly satisfying, crunchy, easy-to-carry and take-with-you-anywhere perfect snack. 

A quarter cup of almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts or hazelnuts will satisfy your hunger and control your blood sugar. They're not only high in fiber and excellent sources of protein and heart-healthy unsaturated fat--they're good sources of antioxidants as well.  This highly nutritious combination works together to help control blood sugar levels and decrease your risk of heart disease.

Nuts, best eaten raw or dry roasted, can be eaten alone, or used to add crunch and substance to such things as salads, fish, oats and yogurt, or oatmeal and blueberries.

Did you know you can use ground almonds or hazelnuts as flour? Where highly processed white flour wreaks havoc on your blood sugars, nut flours offer a high protein alternative. Try using almond or hazelnut flour for part of the flour in a recipe. You can buy hazelnut and almond flour ready to use or grind your own.

Holy Guacamole---Who Doesn't Like Avocados?

Avocados are such tasty additions to omelets, sandwiches and salads, as well as making a great guacamole dipping snack to complement those crunchy eat-all-you-want veggies.

Along with nuts, seeds, olives and olive oil-- avocados are the food sources to use as your main source of good fat. Healthy fats--like avocados-- contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, and can help lower your cholesterol levels, and also facilitate the absorption of your fat-soluble vitamins. Avocados provide satiety and taste satisfaction.

Salmon? Wild!

You know what's really wild? --I chose salmon as one of my top three great foods for people with Type 2 Diabetes. Honestly, salmon is one of those foods I had to learn to include in my diet--at least twice a week.

Sure, Salmon is one of the heart-healthy fish, high in Omega 3 fatty acids that promote heart health by lowering your blood fats. But I didn't like the fishy smell. I had to work to figure out how to step over the barrier.

But figure it out I did. Once I learned to cook the fish the same day I brought it home, I no longer had the aversion to the fishy smell. Fresh fish doesn't smell fishy. Second, this is where doing a little recipe research works wonders. I started studying cookbooks and recipes on-line to find ways to fix salmon that made my mouth water.

How does 'Artichoke, walnut, avocado, salmon salad' or 'Salmon Pesto' sound to you? Or how about 'Spinach Salad with Pan-Seared Salmon, Oranges, Red Onion, and Avocado'; or 'Glazed Salmon with California Avocado Slaw'? It sounds good to me--certainly worth an experiment.

Experiment with Healthy Foods

We taste with our eyes and mind. Enjoy exploring recipes that use good-for-you foods that appeal to your eyes and excite your mind. Find ways to enjoy the foods that balance your blood sugar and contributes to your heart health.
Note: I prefer wild salmon to farmed salmon. Farmed salmon, naturally grey in color, has added color to make it salmon-colored.


About Susan J Meyerott, MS

International speaker and award-winning author, Susan Meyerott provides dynamic interactive workshops for people ready to better manage their work, life and health. Her programs have won national recognition and have been used in homes and organizations throughout the United States, England and Canada.

For more than 30 years, Susan has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. As a speaker and writer, Susan blends her unique background in health promotion, accelerated learning, and communication with a very personal, practical, and humorous style. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

Living with Diabetes--Maintaining Control of Your Blood Sugar through Exercise

Has your doctor ever told you your blood sugars are a little high-- or you have Type 2 Diabetes?

It's not the end of the world to discover you're diabetic--in fact it can be the beginning of living well and enjoying your life.

Sure, learning you have Type 2 Diabetes (or pre-diabetes) can be shocking. But think of it as your body's gift to you—it's your wake-up call letting you know it's time to actively step into your life to get more out of it.

Exercise to Feel Good and Balance Your Blood Sugar

New guidelines jointly put out by the American Diabetes Association and American College of Sports Medicine provide a simple framework  to help you participate in exercise that feels good and helps you  keep your blood sugars balanced.

When it comes to blood sugar, the more control you maintain over it, the better your long term health will be. This means keeping your blood sugar as close to 70-130 mg/dl for adults.  

Being physically active can play a crucial role in not only controlling your blood sugar and managing your Type 2 Diabetes, but it can also positively affect your cholesterol, blood pressure, circulation and heart health.

Most of the benefits you derive from exercise for better blood sugar control are due to immediate and long-term improvements in the action of insulin--the hormone in your body that helps you move sugar in the blood into your cells where it's used or stored. When your body improves the action of insulin, it does a better job of controlling your blood sugar.

How Much Exercise?

The new exercise guidelines recommend people with Type 2 Diabetes participate in exercise 3-7 days per week, with at least 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise, with no more than 2 consecutive days between bouts of aerobic activity.

Brisk walking is considered a moderate aerobic exercise—and for most people with diabetes, it is the easiest activity to begin and continue. If you can walk, do it. Walking uses muscles down to your toes and helps you improve circulation to your feet.

Stationary bicycling, elliptical training and swimming are good alternatives to walking. If you are unable to walk due to circulation or foot problems, check with your doctor or personal trainer for more guidance.

Put the Guidelines into Action—Choose Your Game Plan-- 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Days per Week

Here's how 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours of walking per week breaks down into minutes per day based on the number of days you choose:

50 minutes 3 days/week

38 minutes 4 days/week

30 minutes 5 days/week

25 minutes 6 days/ week

20 minutes 7 days/week

Remember—to get the maximum benefits, allow no more than 2 days between your days of walking.

Put Your Shoes on and Enjoy a Walk

Think you're destined to end up with the worst effects of diabetes? Think again. If you heed the wake-up call and take steps to improve your life and health you will greatly increase the odds in your favor of living a long, healthy life.

Don't worry if you're going fast enough when you walk. Keep it simple and keep your focus on getting out consistently, at least 3 days a week. Enjoy yourself.

About Susan J Meyerott, MS

International speaker and award-winning author, Susan Meyerott provides dynamic interactive workshops for people ready to better manage their work, life and health. Her programs have won national recognition and have been used in homes and organizations throughout the United States, England and Canada.

For more than 30 years, Susan has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. As a speaker and writer, Susan blends her unique background in health promotion, accelerated learning, and communication with a very personal, practical, and humorous style. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.