Restaurants Can Be Dangerous for Your Health

The list of problems associated with eating meals away from your house is a long one.
Unless you go into the kitchen of the restaurant (which we sometimes do), how can you be sure to know about food preparation or quality?

Most of you who are reading this post already know that organic is the best way to eat. Free-range, grass-fed meats and wild seafood are part of the ancestral diet.Unfortunately, millions of Americans are carelessly eating away from the house, a lifestyle linked to serious health consequences.

A recent study looked at students from the University of Singapore. 49% of males surveyed had pre-hypertension and 38% of all students ate more than 12 meals away from home. They more you ate away from home, the higher the risk of pre-hypertension (1). Pre-hypertension is usually defined as BP between 120-139 systolic and 80-89 diastolic. Most of these people progress to the hypertensive range, according to the Mayo Clinic (2). Hypertension is, of course, linked to stroke, heart attack, kidney disease, and death. That being said, hypertension is only a label. It is a sign that something is a matter in the body.

A cascade of events happens from sodium retention to release of angiotensinogen which eventually gets converted to angiotensin II. This stimulates inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. This culminates in high blood pressure.

Here are some suggestions when dining out:

• Call ahead. Ask the chef to prepare the food the way you like it. They are usually happy to accommodate.
• Plan ahead. Don’t just drive around looking for healthy options. You are not likely to find any.
• Bring digestive enzymes and take at the beginning of the meal.
• Ask the restaurant to leave out any added salt.
• Eat Paleo. Never order animal products unless they were free-range and humanely raised.

The good news is, blood pressure can be fixed naturally, without the use of dangerous pharmaceuticals.

The Drs. Wolfson Game plan for hypertension:

• Eat Paleo. A diet rich in vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grass-fed meats will support healthy blood pressure
• Relax. Meditation, yoga, and even a brisk walk can normalize blood pressure.
• Detox. Get the chemicals, toxins, and pollutants out of your life.
• Go to bed with the sundown and awake with the sunrise. Zzzzzzz.
• Visit your chiropractor regularly.
• Evidence-based supplements include beetroot powder, L-arginine, taurine, and magnesium.

Sources:
www.ajh.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/03/18/ajh.hpv027.abstract
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prehypertension/basics/definition/con-20026271