Written By: Debjani Arora | Updated: February 22, 2017, 5:20 PM
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Stress and cholesterol are not the only culprits for your blood pressure to go haywire. There are other things that are to be blamed too, but you aren’t paying attention to them yet. Wondering what are they? Here goes your list:
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Night Lamp: Staying up late is not healthy, especially if you are suffering from high blood pressure. Light exposure during the night, especially between 1 am to 2 am can cause melatonin levels to drop, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland during sleep. This can harm the body in various ways, and one of them is raising the blood pressure levels.
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Plastic tiffin boxes: Even if you carry your lunch to the office and eat it on time your blood pressure can still skyrocket because toxins from low-grade plastic tiffin boxes can disrupt your health. Bisphenol A (BPA) present in low-grade plastic boxes, wraps and canned foods leaks into the food and can increase your blood pressure all of a sudden.
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Soft drinks and packaged fruit juices: Drinking colas and packaged fruit drinks was never considered healthy. The high fructose levels in these juices are what make your blood pressure rise. Fructose breaks down into uric acid that suppresses nitric oxide, which is solely responsible to keep your blood vessels elastic.
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Sleep apnea: Snoring means you can suffer from some cardiovascular problems, but it could also lead to treatment-resistant hypertension
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Contraceptive pills: According to a study published online in 2012 from the American Journal of Medicine, many over-the-counter pills can have an effect on your blood pressure and contraceptive pills are one of them. For women, with pre-existing hypertension who are on pills, it could mean a serious problem.
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Antidepressants: The same goes for antidepressants as some of them have blood-pressure-raising effects that could also lead to problems related to kidney function.
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Obesity: This isn’t a surprise. But if you have put on weight around your waist and feel fatigued often, chances are your blood pressure has been elevated because of belly-fat. Belly-fat, unlike the fat under your skin, is linked to hypertension and chronic heart diseases.
