According to recent studies, about a third of adults in the U.S. have high blood pressure (HBP). Fortunately, you can control your blood pressure by changing your diet and lifestyle and managing existing conditions like diabetes and high cholesterol.
However, it’s not always easy to know what causes HBP in the first place—and what exactly you need to do to prevent it from happening. That’s why we’re going over five ways that your metabolism and blood pressure are related, including how poor metabolism can increase your risk for developing hypertension in the first place.
High Blood Pressure Is a Sign of Metabolic Syndrome
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of various health conditions affecting your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys. It can lead to diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. The metabolic syndrome causes your body to produce too much insulin, leading to higher insulin levels in your bloodstream. This makes it more difficult to lose weight and gain muscle mass because excess insulin makes it harder for muscles (and fat) to burn fat as fuel.
Treatment options include lifestyle modifications such as eating healthier foods, exercising more often, or taking medications like statins, lowering cholesterol levels in the body by preventing its production in the liver.
There are also natural remedies that may help treat symptoms associated with metabolic syndrome, including acai berry extract. It contains antioxidants like anthocyanins that act as free radical scavengers helping improve cardiovascular health by removing damaging free radicals from our bodies so they cannot harm us further down the line when we reach old age.
Lowering Your Insulin Levels Is Key To Lowering Your Blood Pressure
Insulin is a hormone that helps the body use blood sugar. It’s produced by the pancreas and made in response to eating food. When you eat food, your body releases insulin into your bloodstream to help cells absorb and use the glucose in your blood for energy. Insulin is vital for lowering blood pressure, and it’s key to understanding how different foods affect your blood pressure levels.
Eating foods high in carbohydrates like grains or starchy vegetables such as potatoes and corn breaks down into simple sugars like glucose. When these sugars hit your bloodstream after you eat them, they cause your pancreas to secrete more insulin than normal—which then lowers your blood sugar level and causes a temporary drop in arterial dilation (the expansion of arteries).
Eating High-Sugar Foods Leads to High Blood Pressure
High-sugar foods can cause blood sugar spikes, leading to high blood pressure. New research from Mount Sinai School of Medicine has found that overeating sugar causes a spike in insulin levels, which leads to increased inflammation in the body and higher levels of cortisol (a hormone released by your adrenal glands). Both of these increase your risk of developing high blood pressure.
A Healthy Metabolism Improves Circulation, Which Lowers Blood Pressure
The body’s metabolic processes depend on blood flow, which can affect blood pressure. A healthy metabolism can affect how your body uses nutrients and how quickly it gets rid of waste products that build up during these processes. This is why improving your metabolism can be an effective way to lower high blood pressure.
Improving Your Artery Health Can Make All the Difference for Your Metabolism and Blood Pressure
To understand how your metabolism and blood pressure are related, it’s essential to know that your arteries are responsible for delivering oxygenated blood from your heart throughout the body. When you have high blood pressure or an unhealthy cholesterol profile, this delivery may be hampered by plaque buildup in the artery walls.
This can cause long-term damage to the lining of these arteries and reduce their function. Eating a healthy diet and exercising can help improve your metabolism while lowering your risk of developing metabolic syndrome, including high blood pressure.
Wrapping Up
In Conclusion, it is essential to remember that taking care of your metabolism plays a vital role in determining the rate at which your heart beats and the amount of blood flowing through your body. If you have a slow metabolism, try exercising regularly or eating more fruits and vegetables. If that doesn’t work, you may need to see a doctor because other factors could affect your health, such as stress levels or medications being taken for other illnesses like diabetes.
