Stress Management

I am an African-American woman who was born and raised in the south. My family, like many other southern families, idea of having a good meal is eating smothered pork chops, home made mashed potatoes with gravy, collard greens with ham hock and jiffy cornbread with butter on top. In the south, we love to eat the hog and all of its parts. Southerners are known for eating chitlings, pork ribs, chopped barbecue, ham sandwiches, pork sausage, and bacon.

Everything Good To You Is Not Good For You
My mother cooked and fed her children pork because her parents cooked and fed their family pork. My mother died from too much stress on her heart, as did her mother. They both had high blood pressure and they both died young. I am forty years of age and I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure. Do you see the pattern? Is this a pattern in your family as well?

Eat Healthy
The way that you can manage the stress that is being placed on your heart is by preventing it before it happens. When you eat fried foods and pork products you run the risk of clogging up the walls of your arteries. If your arteries are clogged with build up from grease then you are putting stress on your heart because your heart has to pump extra hard to get the blood to your vital organs. Managing stress starts with your diet by limiting the amount of pork, salt and fried foods that you intake and increasing the amount of fruits,vegetables, whole grains and fiber that you eat. Before you change your diet, you should consult with your doctor. There are also many books out there about healthy eating as it relates to African-American women.

Exercise
You can also reduce the amount of stress you place on your heart by exercising. Your heart is a muscle that is connected to valves which are connected to your arteries. When your heart is pumping blood it moves the valves and when you are inactive there is not enough blood flowing to keep your valves working properly. Walking for about 30 minutes a day is a great exercise for strengthening your heart and keeping your blood flowing properly. You should consult with your doctor before you start a new exercise regime.

Statics show that African American women have a high risk of being diagnosed with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a disease that can be passed on from family to family but you can also have high blood pressure because of controllable variables such as being over weight, inactivity and having poor eating habits. High blood pressure is a silent killer and can lead to strokes and heart attacks. If you have not done so already, get you blood pressure checked and work on controlling the amount of stress that you place on your heart.

Stress Management - High Blood Pressure and the African American Woman

Antionette Tate enjoys helping people to discover their inner peace and joy. She invites you to visit her blog "Inner Peace and Joy: Tips to Help You Maintain Inner Peace and Joy Daily" http://howtohaveasuccessfulday.blogspot.com or email tonietate1@aol.com