Blood Pressure Foods That Work

Best Blood Pressure Foods to eat and to avoid

Blood pressure foods are those foods that are thought to essentially help lower elevated blood pressure in chronically ill hypertension patients. They are also foods that individuals with otherwise healthy blood pressure can eat in order to remain healthy and prevent their blood pressure health from becoming hypertensive.

Hypertension can not be cured. What patients with high blood pressure must do is to control high blood pressure and effectively manage it in order to prevent it from causing organ damage to kidneys and the heart, for example. Organ damage is makes hypertension extremely dangerous.

Poor individual dietary choices are at the center of a growing number of people suffering from chronic high blood pressure. According to credible hypertension statistics 80 to 90 percent of individuals in the United States will suffer from hypertension at one point or another in their lifetime.

These dreadful statistics are made possible by the sheer number of people who eat unhealthy. The majority of adults eat up to 130 percent more salt than they really need to on a daily basis.

The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that adults both male and female should not exceed 2300mg of sodium per day. It is, in fact, recommended that under normal circumstances only 1500mg of sodium per day will be necessary. Despite this modest recommendation, most people consume 5400mg of sodium on a daily basis.

Blood Pressure Foods To Avoid

Apparently, salt is part of blood pressure foods to avoid. The association between salt and high blood pressure is well documented. We have also written on it here.

Sodium found in many salts including table salt and processed foods has the effect of retaining water or fluids in the body. This increases blood volume and elevates blood pressure. According to blood pressure definition the amount of blood flowing in blood vessels plays a role in raising blood pressure. Sodium increases that volume by its water retention effect.

Other blood pressure foods to avoid will include high cholesterol foods as is typically the case in many fast foods. In the majority of cases, fast foods contain trans-fats and saturated fats. Cholesterol particularly LDL which is also known as 'bad' cholesterol creates fatty substances along artery walls constricting blood flow and raising blood pressure.

Cholesterol is known to ultimately lead to heart disease which is America's greatest health challenge. The association between cholesterol and high blood pressure is also well documented.

Beverages high in caffeine may also have a negative impact on your blood pressure. Doctors agree to an extent that caffeine or coffee causes temporary blood pressure spikes. This may be harmful for individuals who already have elevated blood pressure. These are typically individuals say with stage 2 hypertension which has severely elevated blood pressure numbers.

As a matter of fact, nearly 60 million people in America are thought to be in the prehypertension stage. This means they have blood pressure readings between 120/80mmHg to 140/90mmHg. Eating the wrong type of foods and beverages  would quickly tip that condition to fully fledged chronic high blood pressure which is incurable.

We are aware that many people just love caffeine as found in beverages such as coffee. What doctors are not sure of and lack total agreement upon, are the long term effects of caffeine consumption.

Some doctors maintain that in the medium to long term habitual caffeine or coffee consumers will develop a resistance to the effects of caffeine on their blood pressure rendering it of non-effect.

Other beverages such as beer and alcoholic drinks are clearly known to elevate blood pressure. Consequently, quitting beer and alcoholic drinks is a critical requirement as a first step towards treating a hypertension condition.

Here is our list of blood pressure foods that should be avoided;

1. Excessive Sodium - as found in tinned foods, processed foods as well stocked in supermarkets and grocery stores
   
2. High LDL cholesterol foods - most fast foods, deep fat fried chicken, doughnuts etc.
3. High caffeine beverages - coffee, some sodas
4. Excessive sugar (causing weight gain)  as found in sodas, cakes etc
5. Alcoholic beverages

foods that lower blood pressure

The best way to maintain a good blood pressure health is to ensure that we eat healthy. In particular following a heart healthy way of eating is extremely beneficial to your health. Go for foods that are loaded with nutrients that are associated with blood pressure lowering properties.

These nutrients include potassium, magnesium, calcium and healthy proteins and fiber. Sodium and potassium are linked in as far as blood pressure is concerned. Doctors have since established that when potassium is low your body will retain sodium which raises blood pressure as explained earlier.

When potassium is raised to adequate levels the body gets rid of sodium lowering blood pressure in the process. It can be noted here that some high blood pressure meds such as diuretics, as a side effect, waste potassium in the process of excreting water. This leads to muscle cramps. While bananas have been the go to fruit for potassium replenishment, avocados, watermelon, beets and sweet potatoes are other recommended sources of potassium.

The following is a list of best blood pressure foods to consider for lowering your readings;

1. Legumes - great sources of potassium.
2. Pumpkin seeds- a good source of magnesium especially when roasted. A study in 2000 suggested that pumpkin seed oil could possibly enhance the blood pressure lowering effect of ACE-inhibitors a group of hypertension medications.
3. Sweet and white potatoes - potatoes contain the mineral potassium. they have a extra benefit that they can be boiled and not absorb salt helping to add to a salt free diet.
4. Rice - rice particularly brown rice has calcium which works by relaxing the nervous system and relieves elevated blood pressure. Rice is also low in fat, low in cholesterol and low salt content.
5. Beet Greens - one-half cup of cooked beet greens has potassium and has only 19 calories per serving.
6. Skim Milk and Yogurt - these are dairy products providing calcium and vitamin D. These two nutrients work together in lowering blood pressure by about 3 to 10 percent.
7. Lemon and grapefruit - Lemon is rich in vitamin P which is in juice and peel of the fruit. The vitamin P in lemon prevents capillary fragility. Grapefruit also also helps in toning up the arteries.

To avoid potential information overload on blood pressure foods, we recommend following a predetermined hypertension diet which would be the popular DASH diet. DASH is a professionally assembled hypertension diet approved by registered dietitians. It comes with a seven day menu to follow and some recipes which are rich in fruits and vegetables and foods low in cholesterol and saturated fats.