BEING your healthiest self can be a challenge, especially when there's so much advice to get to grips with.
Is five portions of fruit per day good for me, or is that too much sugar?
Is walking 10,000 steps a day really the ideal amount, or should I be walking more?
Luckily, there is a way to monitor your health by looking at five different sets of numbers that can tell you what’s actually happening in your body.
A new campaign called Know Your Numbers! has been launched by Blood Pressure UK, to encourage people to monitor their blood pressure regularly at home.
There are four other numbers you can monitor too, including your blood sugar levels, cholesterol, BMI and calorie intake.
Read more on blood pressure
Chocolate lowers blood pressure – and 10 more things that can too!
Pills taken by millions of Brits to lower blood pressure ‘could prevent diabetes’
So why are these numbers important? Here's how to check them and what can they tell you about your health:
1. Blood pressure
Aim: between 90/60 and 120/80
High blood pressure – sometimes known ashypertension – rarely has any noticeable symptoms.
Most read in Health
12 steps to losing weight fast, according to the NHS
How a simple thumb test can reveal if you’re at risk of deadly illness
It took 5 months to see a GP about a nasty cough – I'm facing a death sentence
I’m a doctor – here’s the real reason you don’t poo yourself when you fart
But if untreated, the condition can increase your risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
A whopping 6 million people in the UK have high blood pressure and don’t know it.
How to fix it: There are several lifestyle changes can help prevent and lower high blood pressure.
According to the NHS, it's worth reducing the amount of salt you eat, cutting back on alcohol and losing weight.
The NHS also suggests exercising regularly, cutting down on caffeine and stopping smoking, if you are a smoker.
How to find your number: Pharmacies in England offer free blood pressure checks to anyone over the age of 40.
Blood Pressure UK suggests patients under the age of 80 should have an average BP of below 135/85.
However, this number is upped to 140/90 when someone is in a medical setting, as people often get stressed when being seen by a medic.
Low blood pressure is considered to be 90/60 or lower.
2. Blood sugar
Aim: less than 42
High blood sugar, sometimes called hyperglycaemia, is where the level of sugar in your blood is too high.
It mainly affects people with diabetes and if not treated can have serious long term affects such as nerve and eye damage.
How to fix it: People with diabetes can use insulin to lower their blood sugar level effectively.
For those who are not diabetic, exercise can help lower blood sugar and walking is a good way of achieving this.
Drinking more water can also help flush out some of the sugar in the blood.
It's also worth thinking about how much sugar you consume, bearing in mind that refined and processed foods are often high in sugar.
How to find your number: If you have symptoms including excessive thirst, fatigue or blurred vision, or family history of diabetes, book a blood test with your GP.
Home-testing kits are not recommended unless you’re diabetic, and people with established diabetes will have a GP six-monthly check.
3. Cholesterol
Aim: 5 or below
High cholesterol is when you have too much of a fatty substance called cholesterol in your blood.
It clogs up your arteries and causes cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke.
The condition, which affects almost 40 per cent of people in the UK, is mainly caused by eating fatty food.
It can also be caused by not exercising enough, being overweight, smoking and drinking alcohol. It can also run in families.
How to fix it: According to the NHS you can lower your cholesterol by eating a Mediterranean diet — which involves lots of vegetables and lean meats — exercising and keeping your alcohol intake down.
How to find your number: Your GP might suggest having a blood test if they think your cholesterol level could be high.
This may be because of your age, weight or another condition you have (like high blood pressure or diabetes).
4. BMI
The body mass index (BMI) is a formula used by the NHS to work out whether people are of a healthy weight.
It uses your height, weight, gender and how much you exercise to figure out how healthy you are.
Your BMI can reveal whether you are clinically classed as underweight, overweight or even obese.
Many medical professionals believe that having a BMI that’s too high or low can increase your risk of health problems, including heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
World Cancer Research Fund estimates 25,000 cases of cancer could be prevented every year in the UK alone if everyone was a healthy weight.
How to fix it: A balanced, calorie-controlled diet is the ticket to a healthy BMI.
Making simple, healthier food swaps, reducing portion sizes and cutting down on high-calorie food and drink, will help you reach a healthy BMI steadily, the NHS says.
How to find your number: The NHS website has its own BMI calculator which can use to find your body mass index.
This can help you see whether or not your weight is impacting your health – and what you can do about it.
5. Calorie intake
Generally, the recommended daily calorie intake is 2,000 calories a day for women and 2,500 for men.
However, intake of calories also varies depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things.
Calories help measure the amount of energy food and drink gives you.
If you consume too many calories, the body will turn that additional energy into fat and stored it.
How to fix it: A calorie calculator can be used to estimate the number of calories a person needs to consume each day.
It's worth trying to stick to your daily recommended calories as many days of the week as possible.
Read More on The Sun
Two-bed home could be yours for a low £4k – but it’s missing a key feature
I’m a cleaning pro, 4 products you should ditch that are a waste of money
How to find your number: Use a calorie calculator – they can be found online, or download an app.
The calculator will estimate the number of calories needed each day to maintain, lose, or gain weight, after you input details such as your height, weight and exercise habits.
Source: Read Full Article
