CONTINUED- Called to Medicine..... Called to Community An Intimate Chat with Dr. Jelisa Timmons
Ways to help include:
- Lifestyle changes. Exercise helps with mood, sleep and bone health. Diets rich in vitamin D and calcium are good for health. Sleep hygiene is important – having a wind down routine, limiting screen time can help. Focused attention to your mental health and stress reduction.
- Hormone replacement therapy( estrogen or estrogen-progesterone therapies). They come in pills, gels, rings, patches. Can help with symptoms of hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood / sleep.
- Non-hormonal options. Things like antidepressants can help with hot flashes, mood, sleep. Vaginal lubricants / moisturizers can help with dryness or painful intercourse. Amongst our communities, we need to talk about it more and normalize it. It is a normal, natural transition we all will make.
DZ – You have also given great advice about lifestyle changes to enhance overall health. Can you share some ways that women can manage high blood pressure?
JT – For women, the first thing I would say is to prioritize your health! We often take a back seat to everyone else being caregivers, mothers, wives, friends, career women, bread winners … We forget that to provide the best care for others, we first need to provide care to ourselves.
Go see your doctor! Get your blood pressure checked. There is a lot of reluctance around being on a medication, that it is a life sentence. That is just not true. If you make the changes you need to get your blood pressure better, you can come off blood pressure medicines or reduce the number of medications.
Give your body good things. Eat nutritious foods – fruits, vegetables, drink water, eat grains. If you eat terribly, you feel terribly. Quick foods and fast foods are loaded with salt. Salt will drive up your blood pressures. When you cook and make your own foods, you control what goes into it. I understand that this is much easier said than done sometimes due to costs, food availability or time. But you must be aware of what you are feeding your body. Limit eating out, going to drive-throughs, getting preprepared foods. I like to tell people to:“ eat food that looks like food”. Feed your body whole and good foods.
Managing stress can also impact your blood pressure. Make sure you are taking in good things – practice mindfulness, read encouraging words, take time for your devotional. Just 10 minutes of your day can set your mind up for success.
Diet and exercise are the best lifestyle changes. Diets high in salt and processed foods lead to high blood pressure. Limit eating out, going to drive thrus, getting pre-prepared foods. The more you can cook your own food or, as I like to say,“ eat food that looks like food”, the better. Feed your body whole and good foods. Exercise! Move your body. This is good for your mind and body. In just one session of moderate exercise, like a brisk walk, can lower your blood pressure by 5-10 points for several hours. Regular aerobic exercise, exercise that raises your heart rate, can lower your blood pressure by about 5- 10 points. Ideally 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise is recommended – so that would be 30 minutes 5 days per week. But the most important thing is that you start! If you can squeeze in even 10- 15 minutes of exercise, that is a great start!
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