IndexWhat is it like to be part of the Philippine culture?Final thoughtsWorks CitedI grew up in a small town in the mountains of the Philippine Islands, in a culture that emphasized the importance of food, family and alcohol. In my family, family is the number one priority. You work to provide for your family. Go to school to give your family a better future. After family, food is the second priority. For the population having access to food is a luxury, however not that many Filipino families can enjoy this luxury due to poverty. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay What is it like to be part of the Philippine culture? Growing up in Philippine culture, I saw how important alcohol was to the social experience. It brought people together. Filipino culture loves to eat and loves to drink but no one talked about the effects of these actions. This lifestyle of the Filipino population is also what leads to a higher risk of hypertension. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension. According to the American Heart Association, hypertension occurs when blood pressure, or the force of blood pushing on blood vessel walls, is too high. It is known as the silent killer because there are no clear symptoms other than death. According to WebMD, there are many causes of hypertension such as smoking, alcohol, family history, age, salty diet and lack of exercise. Medication and a lifestyle change can treat high blood pressure. People who don't go to the doctor every year and don't get their blood pressure checked don't know that they may have high blood pressure, which would put them at greater risk for heart disease such as strokes and heart attacks. The Filipino culture is known to have one of the highest rates of hypertension compared to other Asian cultures (hypertension among Filipinos). I feel that in my Filipino culture, family is such a priority that people forget to take care of themselves as an individual. There are thousands of people who suffer from high blood pressure but do nothing to lower it because they are more worried about taking care of their family. Families in poverty don't even have access to healthcare and medical care because all the money they have goes to feeding the family and sending their children to school for a better future. It's sad to know that my culture doesn't give enough importance to the dangers of hypertension. A population of Filipino culture does not go to school because they prefer to use tuition money for rent and food; therefore, they do not have the information about the causes of high blood pressure and treatments that they would learn in school. It makes me worry that hypertension is killing so many people because my culture doesn't teach how serious it is and how treating it requires only a lifestyle change to lower blood pressure. My perspective on hypertension is that it is a health condition that my culture experiences because of our love for Filipino cuisine. My culture emphasizes the importance of food. We have so many delicious foods like pancit which is a noodle dish, lechon which is roasted pork and adobo which is braised chicken with soy sauce. However, these delicious dishes are unhealthy and increase the risk of hypertension because they contain a lot of it: pork, beef, chicken and seafood seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar and salt. I know that due to my culture's influence on my diet, it increases my risk of hypertension. Knowing how bad high blood pressure is because it doesn't show any symptoms and seeing how people in my life suffer from it, 364(9438), 937-952.