Chronic illnesses like high cholesterol and high blood pressure are lifestyle-related diseases. This means that the lifestyle that you live contributes to the development of these conditions. Modern medicine has developed medications that help you live with these conditions, but engaging in healthy lifestyle habits through diet and exercise is a way to treat, manage and prevent these types of diseases.
Treatment
Both high blood pressure and high cholesterol are treated with medications under the supervision of a health-care provider. Diet modification and exercise are also used to promote a healthy body weight, which can decrease the risk of developing both of these conditions. Dietary choices can impact your condition if you avoid the foods that contribute to both high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Avoid foods that are high in saturated or trans fat. Both of these types of fat cause an increase in your body's cholesterol and an increase in weight, which makes your heart work harder and can lead to high blood pressure. Instead of these fats, eat healthy unsaturated fats from vegetables, nuts, seeds and fish like salmon and tuna. These foods provide healthy dietary fats that can decrease your risk for heart disease.
High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a condition where the pressure in your arteries is too high and results in your heart working harder than it should. If your high blood pressure is not controlled, it can lead to serious problems such as kidney damage, heart attack and stroke. High blood pressure can be caused by eating a poor diet that contains too much sodium, fat or processed foods.
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a substance that your body makes naturally, but it is also created in excess by your body when you eat saturated and trans fat. An improper diet with an abundance of meat and animal products can lead to high levels of cholesterol in your blood and can ultimately lead to other forms of heart disease. You are more likely to have high cholesterol if you are overweight, so eating a healthy diet and engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day can help you decrease your risk for developing high cholesterol.
Considerations
Both high blood pressure and high cholesterol do not have symptoms associated with them. So to see if you readings are abnormal, you need to check your blood pressure and cholesterol levels regularly. Talk with your health-care provider about your blood pressure and cholesterol to determine if your levels are too high. The American Heart Association has created seven lifestyle habits that can be used to prevent or manage high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The seven steps include avoiding smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a heart healthy diet, exercising and monitoring and controlling blood pressure, cholesterol and your blood sugar.
