By TobiasTaking control of your health is something that definitely doesn’t happen overnight. The first thing that you have to think about is whether or not you’re even ready to take the steps necessary to achieve a higher standard of health. This is something that a lot of people actually don’t really think about enough, and it’s absolutely critical. You don’t want to come to the point in your life where you really just go along with what conventional wisdom says you should do. You should branch out a bit more and find out what really works for your body and what doesn’t work for your body. You might have to make some lifestyle changes. You might need to dig down inside yourself and really figure out what’s going to be important to you. Is this something that can take some work? Sure it is — you will need to just make sure that you focus as much as possible on the road ahead, not the road that you left. It’s easy to beat yourself up and wish that you had achieved a higher standard of health beforehand, but now is not the time to walk down that road.
You have to start somewhere, so let’s ask the question — have you had your blood pressure checked? Believe it or not, blood pressure plays a vital role in measuring our overall health. If you have high blood pressure, then your body might be in a bad state and you just don’t know it. We’re not saying that you have to check your blood pressure around the clock, but your blood pressure is a good indicator of how healthy you really are.
A good blood pressure is composed of two components — the systolic reading and the diastolic reading. The systolic number is on top and is always read first, followed by the diastolic number on the bottom. The systolic number measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart muscle actually contracts, whereas the diastolic measurement is the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats.
You want to aim for a reading of no more than 120 over 80 — that’s going to be the gold standard. If you’re under this measurement then you should congratulate yourself. However, if you’re over this measurement, then you will want to start thinking about what you can do to ward off heart disease.
Protecting your heart with healthy fats like olive oil and coconut oil is a great idea. If you have a family history of heart disease, your doctor might recommend that you actually monitor your blood pressure at home. Having your blood pressure checked at least once a year by a doctor is recommended if you already know that it’s well within the range. If you have a history of heart problems or a family background of them, you might want to actually start taking action as soon as possible — you really don’t want to take chances with your health if you can help it, right?
Overall, now is definitely the time to step up and at least get screened regularly for high blood pressure — it truly could save your life!