If you need more motivation for staying healthy, consider this financial one: your blood pressure is a leading factor in determining your life insurance rates. A carrier or carrier agent will ask for your documented medical history to determine your price range.
So how can you lower your blood pressure before you purchase a life insurance plan? Consider these tips:
Focus On Your Diet
High sodium/salt content is a major factor for high blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends no more than one teaspoon of salt (about 2,300 mg of sodium) per day, less if you’re working to improve your blood pressure. That may seem easy now, but the next time you want to dig into a processed snack or frozen dinner, check out the sodium content. Even deceivingly healthy foods like cereals come loaded with sodium. The best way to avoid foods that are high in sodium is to cook from scratch.
Stay Active and Watch Your Weight
Obesity is a leading cause of high blood pressure; even a little bit of excess fat can cause a problem. Remember that exercise is important not just for aesthetic reasons, but also for your health. A slim waistline will not only raise your confidence, but also lower your blood pressure and lower your insurance costs.
Limit Alcohol Intake and stop smoking.
More than one drink per day can increase your blood pressure fairly quickly. Each individual cigarette you smoke will increase it as well. If you haven’t found the motivation to quit smoking yet, consider your health costs.
Reduce Stress Factors
This may be the hardest to control. Anything from a stressful work day to an unfortunate phone call home can cause enough stress to raise your blood pressure. Figure out what causes the most stress in your life and try to find ways to eliminate that. If you’re in a work setting where you can’t take too much time off, try to find just a few minutes out of your day to stop what you’re doing and take a few deep breaths.
When in doubt, see a doctor. You can buy a monitoring kit to keep at home, but nothing beats a professional evaluation. If you’re ready to set a doctor’s appointment but you’re not sure about your coverage, speak to a HealthTN agent today at (615) 541-4257.
Anastasia Iliou
Anastasia graduated from Belmont University with a Bachelor's degree in Songwriting. When she's not writing, she's on a mission to visit all 50 states in the U.S (and to date has reached 41). Anastasia loves writing music, hiking, and playing with her pets (hedgehog, cat, and dog). She loves animals (but not so much bugs) and spends her free time volunteering for The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennesee.
