How to prevent high blood pressure and intra-abdominal fat

October 9, 2015

High blood pressure and intra-abdnominal fat are two common health problems in North America. Here some popular questions and expert answers to help you avoid these complications with healthy living.

How to prevent high blood pressure and intra-abdominal fat

What is blood pressure?

Blood pressure is the force of blood against the walls of your arteries.

  • If your arteries are healthy, they expand and contract easily with every heartbeat, keeping pressure low. But if blood vessels grow stiff, they don't expand as easily and blood pressure rises, just as a wide, lazy river becomes a raging torrent when channelled into a narrow canyon.
  • Stiff blood vessels are both a cause and an effect of high blood pressure.
  • A reading of between 130/85 and 139/89 mmHg calls regular monitoring; high blood pressure begins at 140/90 mmHg.

What causes high blood pressure?

  • Family history, advancing age, diabetes, being male and being African American all increase risk.
  • So do smoking, being overweight, stress, lack of exercise, eating foods high in salt and saturated fat, and skimping on produce and dairy products.
  • Many of these risk factors contribute to high blood pressure in part by reducing production of nitric oxide, a chemical that makes blood vessels flexible.

Why is it dangerous?

  • High blood pressure makes artery walls thicker, narrower, stiffer and weaker, which means less blood, oxygen and nutrients get to your organs.
  • And blood clots are more likely to get stuck in narrowed arteries, which can trigger a heart attack, a stroke or peripheral vascular disease.
  • Blood vessel damage can also raise your risk of dementia, kidney failure, vision problems and even blindness.

Some prevention strategies you should try

  • Stop smoking, if you haven't already.
  • Skip high-sodium processed foods and avoid the salt shaker.
  • Eat more fruit, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.
  • Exercise to lower pressure and lose weight and reduce dangerous intra-abdominal fat.

Do you have intra-abdominal fat?

Intra-abdominal fat is packed deep in the abdomen, in and around your internal organs.

  • Women with waists over 89 centimetres (35 inches) and men with waists over 102 centimetres (40 inches) are likely to have it.
  • For people of Asian descent, risk rises with measurements over 80 centimetres (31.5 inches) for women and 95 centimetres (37.5 inches) for men.
  • A large waist is dangerous even if your body weight is within the "healthy" range for your height.
  • To measure your waist, wrap a tape measure snugly around your midsection at about belly-button height.

What causes intra-abdominal fat?

  • Too many hamburgers, too much TV and too much of all those other activities that keep you sitting down, like working and driving — in other words, a diet high in calories and a life devoid of exercise.
  • Chronic stress plays a role, too, especially for women, since the stress hormone cortisol directs your body to store more fat in your abdomen.

Is it dangerous to have intra-abdominal fat?

Yes. Unlike the relatively harmless fat on your buttocks, hips, thighs, and even just below your skin at your waist, intra-abdominal fat churns out substances that raise your risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, colon cancer, and even memory problems.

  • These include inflammatory compounds that make blood stickier as well as free fatty acids that prompt your liver to produce more blood sugar and LDL "bad" cholesterol.

Some healthy prevention strategies

  • Eat more fruit, vegetables and whole grains, and less saturated fat.
  • Exercise most days of the week for at least 30 minutes.
  • Find time to relax every day.
  • Correct snoring caused by obstructive sleep apnea.

Keep these tips for healthy living in mind and remember to contact your doctor before making any major dietary changes.

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