High Blood Pressure? Here’s The Best Diet For High Blood Pressure.
If you have your blood pressure taken and the readings come out at more than140/90, then you’re suffering from hypertension, or high blood pressure.
Whilst it’s very important to get proper treatment and medication to control your high blood pressure, a healthy diet and exercise can equally help in keeping your blood pressure under control.
Following a diet for high blood pressure also
- reduces or prevents clogged arteries,
- reduces cholesterol
- and helps you to lose weight.
The best diet for high blood pressure patients should include low fat or fat free products and should definitely exclude animal fats, red meat, sugary products and sweets and, particularly, salt.
You probably think salt-less food will be flavourless. However, utilising herbs and spices can quickly overcome this problem.
There are proven tips for your diet for high blood pressure that you can follow:
- rinse canned foods in order to rinse off any sodium
- buy frozen vegetables, which don’t contain much salt or sodium
- restrict your intake of cured meat, ham and bacon
- eat fewer ready meals and convenience foods as they generally have high salt content
- avoid ketchup, and Soy sauce, they usually have high levels of salt and/or sugar
- eat more fresh fruit and vegetables – these contain high levels of potassium and low sodium to help to regulate your blood pressure level.
It’s a well known fact that diet affects your blood pressure level (in both a good and a bad way). Therefore, it’s very important that you maintain a proper, healthy, and balanced diet for high blood pressure.
Reduce Your Salt Intake.
The most important thing that you should avoid in your diet for high blood pressure is salt.
Intake of salt for hypertension patients can be harmful as it just accentuates the problem and simply reducing your salt consumption can lower your blood pressure noticeably.
Try The Mediterranean Diet.
The Mediterranean Diet has gained popularity with people trying to control their blood pressure. This involves:
- Cooking with olive oil (extra virgin) rather than other, fatty oils
- Consuming a diet that concentrates on vegetables, fruits and whole grains
- Using honey for sweetening
- Enjoying a dessert and a glass of wine in moderation
- Eating low fat dairy such as Greek yogurt and white cheeses
- Taking time to savor and enjoy your food
But it’s not just the food, it’s the lifestyle, too:
- Getting plenty of sunshine and exercise.
- Enjoying meals with family and friends.
- Slower pace of life with less stress.
It may not be possible to adhere to every part of a Mediterranean lifestyle, but if you begin by
- incorporating healthy foods into your diet plan,
- getting some fresh air and exercise,
- and reducing your salt intake,
you’ll start to see an improvement in your blood pressure – sometimes in as little as 2 weeks!