I was a salt addict before moving to a plant based diet. I used to salt everything, even before tasting it. I ate the typical American diet filled with salt, oil and sugar, and it caused my blood pressure to go up. It also contributed to pre-diabetes.
I remember when I first gave up extra salt, it took a few weeks for the taste buds to adjust. The process was made easier as I introduced several spices to my diet.
I get it, change is hard. Sometimes, it may look too daunting of a task to completely change a diet. But, once you go whole food plant based, you begin to realize it’s not a diet but a lifestyle change.
I have a few friends and family members who say they would rather not change and stick with the side effects of the meds. This is completely the opposite of the way I feel. I would rather not have to rely on a pill to keep me going, knowing that the pill is not curing the problem but only masking the symptoms.
142/90. For some reason, that blood pressure reading stood out. There were others that were high around that time, over nine years ago, but this is the one that confirmed to my doctor that I was pre-hypertensive. I was a walking time bomb, also being most likely pre-diabetic. It was only a matter of time that I would have full blown hypertension and diabetes if I didn’t make some changes.
As many of you know, my doctor initially wanted me on blood pressure pills. I was fortunate to have a doctor that worked with me as I did not want to go on medication. He agreed to let me lose the weight and hope that the blood pressure would go down as the weight went down. It worked, as 6 months later, my blood pressure was normal and I never took a single pill.
Today, I had an appointment with a podiatrist. It was a routine visit but they had to update the medical charts at the office. The medical assistant asked all the routine medical questions and I of course said no to all of them! You know the questions... do you have diabetes, asthma, etc. Then she proceeded to check my blood pressure. I told her ahead of time that I usually have a higher blood pressure when in a doctor's office.
She happily told me 120/70. Really? Even with anxiety, my blood pressure still was great! It made me think of how far I have come in six years. When I was heavy, my blood pressure was like 140/100. I was told I would need to take medication. To hear that my blood pressure is healthy made me so happy to be plant based.
