Now that you have lost weight and reduced your daily intake of salt Rob Woodgate’s (Rob is the co-founder of the hypnotension programme) third tip to avoid high blood pressure is to drink alcohol in moderation.
Alcohol has a strong effect on blood pressure, and studies show that the risk of death is higher in men who drink 22 or more units a week and in women who drink 15 or more units per week.
Binge drinking, which is defined as 8 units a day for men and 6 units a day for women, causes dangerous spikes in BP too, so alcohol consumption is safer when drinks are spread over the week.
Like weight loss, studies have that found blood pressure reduces by around 1 mmHg for each unit-per-day decrease in alcohol consumption overall.
If you are overweight, alcohol may be a significant contributory factor; so by reducing your alcohol intake you should also benefit from weight loss too!
Many people use alcohol and/or comfort eating as a coping mechanism for dealing with stress and other emotions so it may not be easy to make these changes without having alternative strategies in place for dealing with stress. If that is the case for you please contact us; we may be able to help.
In my next blog I will explain why STRESS can be a killer!
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