Adolf Kaure
Swakopmund-based fitness coach Josef Elia says a good diet is essential to prevent high blood pressure, which is commonly known as hypertension.
Elia is the owner of a boot camp known as Tuhafeni Fitness, which regularly caters for the youth and the older generation.
The fitness coach highlighted how a healthy diet carries many benefits.
“A healthy and balanced diet or intake of your food substances should be maintained so that your health is not affected in any way.
When we eat too much salt, fried food, and processed meat, the heart must pump harder. This can raise high blood pressure,” Elia said.
Fruits and vegetables in the right amounts, and healthy fats are some of the food types that Elia recommended to be part of a diet of someone who wants to remain healthy. These include fruit and vegetables like apples, guava, oranges, berries, omboga, spinach, cabbage, carrots, beetroot, onions, tomatoes as well as small amounts of nuts, avocado and olive oil.
According to him, using too much salt, sugar, white bread, eating vetkoek daily, and drinking sugary drinks and energy drinks should be avoided. The fitness coach further highlighted the importance of hydration for the body’s overall processes.
“Water helps in many ways, and this includes helping the kidneys to remove waste, maintain blood flow, prevent kidney stones, and reduce the risk of infections.
Drink up to six glasses of water per day. Also avoid working very hard in the sun, listen to warning signs your body is telling you and follow your nurse’s advice,” he added. When choosing a fitness coach, Elia maintained that it is vital to do thorough research before recruiting a personal trainer, as this will help in getting the suitable training routine.
“When choosing a good fitness instructor, they should look out for character and safety.
A good instructor asks about your health, injuries, age, and blood pressure. He should tell you to warm up first and cool down to allow rest. He must not make quick promises.
Be careful of someone who sells many pills for weight loss. True health is slow and steady. Ask to try one to two sessions and see if you feel respected.
Prevention is cheaper than treatment. Small daily habits matter more than big once-a-year efforts.
Walk a bit, drink water, sleep seven to eight hours, and go for a check-up at the clinic once a year to check sugar and pressure,” he concluded.
‘Silent killer’
According to World Health Organisation (WHO) reports high blood pressure is one of the world’s leading causes of premature death, killing approximately 10 million people each year globally.
Hypertension is a ‘silent killer’, often displaying no symptoms until it is too late.
In 2023, WHO released the first global report on hypertension, focusing on the individual, community, and public health burden of high blood pressure, and what can be done to address it.
The report highlights that while many countries are implementing policies to prevent and control hypertension, the world is still lagging the target set in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal to reduce premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases by one-third by 2030.
-akaure@nepc.com.na
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