High Blood pressure Anyone?

Well, I scored a 136/70 on my BP quiz today, Much better than the 170/100 from before. That is after only 4 days of meds too.

There has been good food for thought (no pun intended) in this thread. I'm another on lisinopril for HBP. In the dentist chair for oral surgery and they clocked me at 190/105. The other numbers are just about as bad but I'm bringing them down slow but coming down.

The only issue I have had with Lisinopril is when I exert myself for extended periods of time (like putting up fence) my blood pressure can drop as low as 65/40. I've been on it long enough to feel it happening and stop sooner but it's a scary feeling.

How much processed foods and sugar do you eat?

We don't even have sugar in our house and if it comes out of a package we don't eat it. The BP meds holds my BP at around 130/75 (or lower) and what weight I need to dump is going fairly steadily. I had severe reactions from a half dozen cholesterol meds and am getting ready to start on a niacin based med this week to see what that does.

The last time I asked one of my friends about how much sugar they eat, their response was "We don't buy sugar".

So the next time I was over their house, I went to the kitchen. Opened the frig, set the Ketchup on the table = sugar, set the mustard on the table = sugar, bbq sauce = sugar, spaghetti sauce = sugar, ranch salad dressing = sugar, Italian salad dressing = sugar, (every dressing had sugar), shrimp sauce = sugar, orange juice = sugar (we got into it over the orange juice), jelly = big sugar............. and on it went.

And that was just the start. Over to the pantry >>> Two different kinds of bread = both sugar, crackers = sugar, cereal = big sugar, steak seasoning salt = sugar (why is there sugar in a seasoning product?) , peanut butter = sugar.

He couldn't believe what I was showing him. About 80% of everything he had listed sugar on the ingredients label.

Since then, like me, he's steadily losing weight and while he mentions how big of an adjustment its been, he also says he loves the fact that he can eat bacon and eggs and steak for breakfast! (although I tell him the bacon isn't probably the best choice, he's on the right track).

Almost every time I get into a conversation with someone about sugar, they picture that 5lb paper sack of it and use that as their measuring stick. What most people don't realize is that what you pull from that 5lb bag is but a very small fraction of the sugar entering your diet.

Gotta read those labels. Sugar has 54 different names but its mostly the fructose you have to avoid. Glucose and lactose (milk) and others aren't so bad.

I have to bake some bread this weekend so I can have what I grew up on.
A Nice Thick Slice of homemade bread, then put about 1/4 inch of Dark Brown SUGAR on that slice, and finish with pouring heavy Cream over it.
Yummy In The Tummy~ And Ohhhhhh So Gooood.
And right now for lunch I am having Norwegian Lefse with lots of butter with a nice amount of SUGAR sprinkled on it, and rolled up and that is also so good and what I have had for years also when I was growing up.
Doesn't this look oh so good?

__________________
Oh my, dishes yet to wash and dry

See My Pictures at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/arabianknight/

looks like a heart attack.

Don't get hung up on sugars. Starch is just chains of sugar molecules.

Nope just good eats~!
In fact the first one tatted so good I am going to have another one. This way I get my potatoes, love it. LOL
I bet their are very few even on here that can say they pealed potatoes for their Great Grandmother to bake lefse on her wood burning stove.
Well I can, and In fact I knew ALL of my Great Grandparent, not many can say that either.

__________________
Oh my, dishes yet to wash and dry

See My Pictures at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/arabianknight/

read up on "blue zones" real interesting stuff on the long lived.
Diet does show a bit of a difference but no one thing. Mostly moderation.

For some real history on food passed down through time read herodotus 3:22 even then grass eaters were weak and short lived.

AK - lefse is sooo good! I love it too, with butter and a bit of sugar. Never got to help my grandma make it, but every couple of years I order some from Countryside in Blair, WI.

__________________
Chixarecute...and tasty, too!

The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.

Yes that is what I guy. Most all the stores in my area carry it.
But when I lived in AZ. for 10 years I Had to Make it myself. Which I did. Made Krum-kaka, and Sandbakkels, along with Lefse.
I am very lucky that I lived with my Grandparents for many years and learned how to bake all those. LOL
And also the old New Years drink. Tom and Jerry's I make my own batter for the Rum, and Brandy drink topping. LOL

__________________
Oh my, dishes yet to wash and dry

See My Pictures at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/arabianknight/

My man has high BP and was facing losing his DOT card. I started buying spring water (city water and softened water has added salt), stored adding salt to food I cook (instead I flavor with spices and herbs), increased our vegetable intake and decreased meat intake, almost completely eliminated processed foods and he quit drinking soda. All is well and he now has his 2 year card.

Maybe it's the way you say things or maybe, just maybe you are wrong.

Sugar is not the evil monster you make it out to be. All things in moderation. Portion size is the biggest problem in my opinion. I am a type II diabetic. I watch what I eat very carefully & my sugar has been kept under control. However, I still eat the occasional cookie or piece of cake with no harm done. I have also been steadily losing weight. I for one am not going to deprive myself of all good things. Eating something once in awhile is not going to do much harm. It's only if you eat a lot of it.

I am also on blood pressure meds. Went in for an appointment yesterday & the machine had me as 160/90. The doctor checked it about 15 minutes later & it was 132/84. A rather large difference which makes me question the accuracy of the machines.

__________________
I can't believe I deleted it!

It could be the way I say things. But I'm definitely not wrong about what I say.
People who get offended easily because someone is being honest and factual with them are part of the problem, not the solution. We need to go from point A to point B, and if we need to tip toe around people who are ultra-sensitive, we'll never get to point B. And that does play a part in what ails this country. The emotional snowballs should not be coddled as it is detrimental to their own well being as well as ours.

I agree! The FDA, USDA, EPA, DEQ, OSHA and several other agencies all have limits on everything. The amount of led, arsenic, nickle, etc all have limits that are very small. Sugar should have a daily limit too. That said, take a gander at the nutritional label on any food package. You'll see daily percentages from Iron, calcium, sodium, cholesterol, protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fat, etc etc...... but no daily limit percentage for sugar! (things that make you go "Hmmmmmm")
"Sniff Sniff Sniff", do you smell that? Its big food industry money influencing congress to keep that daily limit off the package. Why? Because they know that the more sugar you eat, the more you eat period!!! And the more you eat, the more money they make.

I disagree. Can I do that without insulting you? If not, then I totally agree!!! Hugs and Kisses and Smiles all around!

When you totally eliminate sugar from your diet, your brain will start to become more Leptin sensitive and your body will stabilize insulin production and reaction.
Sugar (fructose) causes leptin insensitivity and since leptin is what tells your brain you're full and to stop eating, you lose that signaling which causes over-eating and large portion intake.

I do not restrict the volume of food I eat. I eat as much as I want, whenever I want. As it turns out, its not really that much as when I used to ingest sugar.

I do agree. And, I still ingest about 3 grams of sugar a day with my morning coffee. The trick is to also ingest a truck load of soluble fiber with it! That's why fruits which contain a lot of fructose are not so bad. The fructose poison is accompanied by the fiber antidote.

Me too! I've been on blood pressure meds for 7 years and I'm about to come off of them!! YEHAAAW !! My blood pressure is down to around 110 over 68 and fell a full 25 points within two weeks of cutting sugar.

Its not the method of reading BP that is bad, its the under trained medical technician or the one who is in a hurry.
Additionally, if one is in poor shape and gets up and walks 50 feet, their BP will rise significantly for five or ten minutes before falling again. If someone is in really bad shape (500 lbs!), their pressure can do that just standing up.

Here is a general way to tell your cardio health. Find your maximum safe heart rate for your age. (there's a simple formula). Raise your heart rate to 70% of that number and keep in there for 10 minutes or so. Stop moving and wait exactly 60 seconds. Record the difference.

Your heart beat rate should fall a minimum of 20 beats within the first minute. Under 14 and you're at an immediate risk for an event. Over 25 and you're doing good! Generally speaking. Those numbers can vary a bit from person to person but they are close.

Hope that helps. I do not require sugar or sweets to be happy in life. I do not view them as "good things in life". Cocaine and heroin will make you feel better than sugar, I don't do those either.

Well good for you. But everyones Body Is different.~! Sugar once again is NOT a evil nasty thing to eat it is Your Opinion quoted other Opinions and That IS IT~!
Moderation along with Exercise.
And the great majority of todays folks do no do that.
Back in the day people Worked from Sun up to Sun down and did many things of heavy labor working out and off the calories that Sugar Might being on.
Sugar got a bad rap years ago when so many believed that Sugar cause diabetes, today we know better it does not.
And just like so many things that once were bad from eating butter to even charcoaling your meat caused problems, today we know better they do not.
And this sugar kick that some think so so bad is yet another one of those that will go bye bye after time when people will now better that sugar is not that evil nasty that Some Think it is.

__________________
Oh my, dishes yet to wash and dry

See My Pictures at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/arabianknight/

OH BROTHER! That right there says a lot about you You don't want to even think you might be wrong.

I do not for one second think cutting all sugar out of a diet will fix all your problems. I also have done my research & also have seen people that do. Their health is no better than anyone else. Yes, sitting down & eating 20 cookies might just be bad. Eating 2, not so much.

I also agree with Arabian Knight. Years ago people would work all day long & burn off what they were eating. Today a lot of people have a job sitting behind a desk & do not get much movement. I remember when eggs were bad for you. I remember when they said butter was bad for you. Now the latest is that milk is not good for you.

Moderation people, moderation.

__________________
I can't believe I deleted it!

Processed sugar is not good for you. The abundance in the American diet is really bad for you. We sure love it and the size of our citizens proves it.

Some people with high activity lives do get away with it. It is however not a good goal to have it every day. Getting your sugars from unprocessed fruits and vegetables should be the goal. Lots of deserts can be made with no added sugar, it is just a lot more work and our tastebuds are not use to it.

THE SWEET TRUTH: 10 MYTHS ABOUT SUGAR

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite...6#.VIG5zRN1_yo

__________________
Oh my, dishes yet to wash and dry

See My Pictures at
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0903/arabianknight/

My personal theory is that heart problems are caused by stress of worrying about what you eat.

__________________
Oak Harbor, Ohio

http://thelaubachermarriagechronicle.blogspot.com/