Tag: heart healthy snacks

Managing High Blood Pressure at the Airport

Traveling is one of my favorite adventures! In fact, it’s what originally inspired the name of this website: Heart Happy Adventures! When I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I wondered how to still travel while keeping my high blood pressure well-managed. Lowering blood pressure naturally is really important to me; even while traveling!

How can I travel with high blood pressure? What are some tips for traveling with high blood pressure? I promise this is a topic that this blog will return to frequently!

So, for the first time since January 2020, I am going on a vacation today which will require flying! It’s a little nerve-wracking, but I’m vaccinated, received a negative COVID test, and packed a bunch of masks for the flight. I’m excited to get back out there again and will keep you posted with some pictures from the trip (and also more blood pressure tips of course!)

Let’s start with what are some tips for the day of travel!

3 Tips for Managing High Blood Pressure at the Airport

  1. Go For a Walk Inside the Airport

When it comes to maintaining good blood pressure control through exercise, it’s really important to be consistent. Which means, don’t miss the chance exercise even if you’re on vacation or in-transit! There’s a lot of waiting around at the airport. If you are the type that gets there early, consider taking a 10 or 15 minute continuous walk around the terminal. If you can walk from one terminal to another, even better! Clearly, it’s probably not a great idea to speed walk when so many other people around, so just do the best you can to keep moving. As I mentioned in my post about increasing physical activity, some exercise is better than no exercise! Be sure to wear good walking shoes, so it’s easier for you to move around. Also, even if the airport is small, you can still walk back and forth a few times before getting on the plane! Just be sure to set an alarm on your watch or phone so you don’t miss the boarding time!

2. Pack Your Own Snacks or Buy Low Salt Snacks at the Airport

Have you noticed that snacks on the airplanes are almost always loaded with salt? I usually grab a sandwich bag and throw in a scoop of raisins and a handful of no salt added cashews (By the way, cashews can help lower blood pressure. I’ve written about how awesome they are: here and here!). Other easy snack ideas include: carrot sticks! They are refreshing to chew on too, but watch out for annoying your seat mate on the plane with all the loud vegetable crunching! Hehe. Life gets busy though, maybe you didn’t have time to pack a snack. You can visit an airport store and buy a bag of no salt added almonds or a piece of fresh fruit. Yeah, I know. It’s definitely not as exciting as a bag of hot Cheetos. But if you’re here reading this, I know you’re invested in your heart health and lowering blood pressure so you know there are sacrifices to be made! Kudos to you!

3. Be Mindful of Your Stress Level

If you’ve been following this blog for a while, then you’ve heard me talk about the effects of anxiety on high blood pressure quite a bit! In fact, earlier this week I was excited to share a cool cellphone app called “Insight Timer” that I’ve used for many years because of the vast amount free content available, along with numerous other features. Check out my post for some fun screenshots! The airport is inherently a stressful place. There’s a weird combination of waiting and feeling rushed, crowds of people, delays, and other uncertainties. What I’ll do is plan to be at the airport on the earlier side if possible, find a quieter gate, pop on my headphones and do 5 minutes of meditation. The headphones help give you some “space” from the airport rush. Of course, if you close your eyes to meditate, be sure to put your luggage right by your leg so you can feel it!

I hope that was a helpful start! Speaking of getting some physical exercise, I’m going to put my backpack on and take a little walk around the terminal before having to sit for hours on the plane!

If you have any other helpful tips for staying healthy at the airport or on the day of travel, please free free to share!

Check out these related posts!

Photo by Matthew Turner from Pexels

Enjoying Dates for Lower Blood Pressure

Haha! No, I didn’t mean dates as in dinner and a movie! I meant dates as in the sweet chewy fruit of the date palm tree!

Snacking on a few dates is a perfect healthier antidote to the massive sweet tooth that I have! MASSIVE! I grew up in a household where we bought tubs of ice cream every summer from the local ValuMart and ate a giant bowl each day. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with the occasional bowl of ice cream, but if you feel that hankering for sweets coming on and want a better option that might even lower blood pressure naturally, read on!

There are hundreds of varieties of dates! My personal favorite is the Medjool date which has a soft texture with a sweet and caramel-like flavor. There’s SO much I want to say about dates but since this is my first post about it, let’s start with 1) How dates might lower blood pressure naturally, 2) What to keep in mind, 3) Fun facts!

Dates May Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

Dates are a good source of potassium, calcium, and magnesium. These important minerals play a big part in blood pressure regulation. They help to:

  • Relax blood vessels, which can lower blood pressure
  • Remove excess sodium through urine, which can lower blood pressure
  • Regulate when blood vessels should tighten or relax

Dates have Many Health Benefits Beyond Lowering Blood Pressure

  • Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL), which can lower heart disease risk
  • Fiber helps to regulate blood sugar levels, improve digestion
  • Antioxidants may reduce triglycerides (a fat found in your blood), which can lower heart disease risk

I could go on for days, but I’m sure you have things to do so, I’ll leave some articles in the reference section at the bottom of this page if you are looking for more details!

What to Keep in Mind

As I’ve mentioned many times before: moderation is key. Dates can be a part of a well-balanced heart healthy diet. Eating hundreds of them to try and lower blood pressure (OK I’m exaggerating! Heh) is definitely not a good idea.

  • Dates are high in calories so eat them sparingly and be mindful if weight gain is a concern
  • Foods high in potassium may not be appropriate for certain health conditions such as those with kidney disease. Please check with your doctor!
  • Dried foods often have sulfites added to help preservation. Avoid if you have an allergy or sensitivity to sulfites! You can look for dates without sulfites but then be sure to follow the directions on the box for proper storage. I keep mine in an airtight container in the fridge since I prefer not to eat the sulfites.

Fun Facts about Dates

  • Dates are the oldest cultivated fruit in the world, possibly have been consumed for 50 million years as seen in fossil research! WHOA!
  • Medjool dates specifically must be harvested by hand because of how delicate they are. That’s a lot of work that goes into getting that date to you! Thank you so much date harvesters!
  • One mature date tree can grow up to 10,000 dates in one growing season alone. WOW!

How do you like to enjoy dates? What’s your favorite type of date? Would love to hear your experience!

Photo courtesy of: Photo by Naim Benjelloun from Pexels

References

https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/how-potassium-can-help-control-high-blood-pressure

https://www.webmd.com/diet/medjool-dates-health-benefits#1

https://blog.joolies.com/10-fun-facts-about-dates

https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/key-minerals-to-help-control-blood-pressure