Occasionally substitute other high-protein foods, such as eggs and dried beans, for meat.

Two modest changes—reducing the amount of meat you eat and switching from high-fat choices such as regular ground beef to lower-fat choices such as well-trimmed round steak, baked fish, or skinless chicken—can make a significant difference in the total amount of fat you eat. This is a much more effective and realistic strategy than totally giving up red meat or other foods you enjoy.

Meat servings should be about 3 ounces or less per person. A 3-ounce serving of cooked beef, pork, or lamb is about the size of a deck of cards. The meat from one chicken leg and thigh or from half of a whole breast is approximately 3 ounces.

Shift your meal planning from one of making meat the centerpiece to making meat the accompaniment. Prepare more casseroles or mixtures with meat as one of the ingredients, and limit high-fat ingredients such as sour cream or cheese. If you are increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables, and grains that you eat, reducing meat will become easier. The benefit is that you will reduce the amount of fat and cholesterol you eat, which are the most important dietary factors in reducing your blood cholesterol. It is also the most straightforward way to cut calories.

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Think of your heart, arteries and arterioles as a system of garden hoses that end in little nozzles (the arterioles). If you decrease the volume of spray from the nozzle, the hose becomes firm under increased pressure. It is under tension. Less water is flowing through, but it shoots out to a greater distance. Closing down the nozzle regulates the rate and pressure at which the water flows.

Something similar happens in hypertension. The arterioles tighten down; the heart has to work harder to pump blood through the tissues at a nearly normal rate. This maintains the pressure in the arteries and artioles.

Arterial hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a dangerous ailment because of its effect on the walls of the arteries. It accelerates the ailment of atherosclerosis. Many people without high blood pressure have atherosclerosis; but those with high blood pressure have much more severe cases of the illness.

As we have said, the inside of a normal artery is quite smooth and flexible. There is plenty of room for the blood to flow through. However, in the later years of life, there is a tendency for the blood vessels to harden and the muscles to become less flexible.

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