|
Listen to this story
|
Blood pressure has been a serious concern of mine over the last 15 to 20 years when I found out in 2006 that it was high. By chance, a secretary at my job had a blood pressure monitor and I took mine. Everyone assumed my blood pressure would be low because of being vegan since 1989, being very physically active and only 43 years old.
We were all shocked by the news of my elevated levels. Of course, everyone was thinking that eating fruits, veggies and exercising doesn’t mean anything, because you have high blood pressure.
It was at that moment I started to get more serious about what I was doing. I was mostly a junk food vegan, which had to change. Around 2013 I transitioned to more whole food plant-based eating, with the hope of eliminating processed food from my life.
Then, in 2018, I self-published “The 1st Aisle: How to Eat for Maximum Health” and I read as much as I could about the effect of fruits and veggies in their natural states. Also at that time, I started keeping a food journal, documenting everything I eat.
Now, in 2022, I’ve had a revelation, which has dropped my blood pressure levels. Although eating 100% plant-based is the greatest thing in the world, there are still certain foods that may harm or help you. Because of my journal I’ve discovered that eating walnuts and grapes seem to lower my blood pressure.
Combine that with cardio exercises, particularly jogging for me, and my numbers are better than ever. I also found that other nuts may harm me because many of them are fried. If you ever see that nuts are “roasted” that means fried. “Dry roasted” means without using frying oils. But, again, I only recently discovered this by keeping a food and exercise journal.
As my journey through plant-based eating and exercise continues, I’m confident there will be many more discoveries made, further eliminating the need for excessive trips to the doctor for drugs. There’s no need to be dependent on pharmaceuticals for maximum health.
The plant kingdom has what you need.
