Around one in three adults in the UK has high blood pressure or hypertension, a condition that is responsible for more than half of all strokes and heart attacks. High blood pressure is also a risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and vascular dementia. As it rarely has any symptoms it is often known as the “silent killer”. The only way to know you have it is to test for it.
Normal blood pressure is between 90/60 mmHg and 115-120/80 mmHg, high to normal between 120/80 mmHg and 140/90 mmHg, and high blood pressure (above 140/90 mmHg. However, the risk your blood pressure poses depends on your age, weight and lifestyle, and high to normal blood pressure is a warning sign that without changes your health could be at serious risk.
The good news is that lifestyle changes can affect blood pressure and can even mean you avoid the need for medication.
Patrick Reid, 54, is an FX trader and a “hardcore meat-eater”. Despite being a regular gym goer, his breathlessness – and his weight – were becoming a concern. He set himself the task of bringing his blood pressure back to a healthy range through lifestyle changes, which brought some unexpected and positive side effects.
In the course of my work I take a lot of clients out for rich foods: meat, dairy, lots of sweet things, and then a cheese board after dessert. I’m from the City and my clients expect it, so for the past 15 years I’ve become accustomed to big, long lunches. I love a steak from Hawksmoor and saw myself as a hardcore meat-eater.
I’ve always been good in the gym and haven’t eaten a lot of junk food, so I assumed it all balanced out.
But it came to a point where despite being a regular gym-goer I was getting out of breath in a way I hadn’t before. It worried me so I went to the doctor to see if something was going on.
I learned that my blood pressure was 120 over 80, meaning it was getting into the danger zone of hypertension. My doctor said that, because of my age and the fact I was overweight, this was a cause for concern.
He explained that in healthy adults blood pressure can range from a systolic reading (the higher number) of 90 to 115. The younger you are, the easier it is to bring your blood pressure into that healthy range. But if you’re older and it sneaks into the more dangerous zone like 120 over 80 or into the really worrying rates of 130 or 140, it is much harder to get it back into the safe zone.
I realised I would need to change my diet and fast. If not, I might end up on medication. I saw a couple of nutritionists and ended up booking a “power hour” with a vegan guru I saw on TV who I thought was making a lot of sense. She encouraged me to make some small changes at first: not go hardcore vegan but add more fruit and veg and cut out dairy and oils. I tried it and I was amazed – I felt so light, clean almost, and decided to book into a three-month programme.
For the first time I’ve started reading labels on foods, making my own food at home (I bought a blender and made my own hummus), and I’ve cut out a lot of “added” things like honey on my oats. I’ve almost banished oils, which has really helped with my weight, and I’m eating a lot of fresh foods, tofu, pulses, herbs and nuts and seeds. I eat meat and eggs very occasionally but full veganism has kind of crept up on me.
I now eat a vegan-principled diet five days a week and I lost about 4kg in five weeks. I’ve lost the bloat, feel really focused and crucially my blood pressure has come way down.
I went back to the doctor two months later because I had a bit of a knee issue that was showing up at the gym, so I wanted to check on my blood pressure as well. Now it’s 108 over 79. It blew me away, and when I went to see my GP he couldn’t believe the difference either. He told me that I should just carry on doing whatever I’m doing. So I’m going to do that.
I’ve physically changed so friends and colleagues have asked me what I’ve done. Once I’ve explained it, they want to try it for themselves, or at least try what I’m having for lunch. In a funny way it’s been great for work as it’s a real conversation starter.
I don’t know if I’m going to do this forever but for the time being I’ve completely lost the craving for meat. I also know it’s early days and I have further to go in this journey of changing my lifestyle. I’m going to keep doing it just because it means I feel really, really good.