Try these foods and recipe ideas from a registered dietitian to help support a healthy blood pressure level.
Known as the silent killer, hypertension (or high blood pressure), affects 1 in 3 adults in the United States. It’s a major contributor to heart disease, stroke and kidney failure. It affects every single part of the body… yes guys, EVERY part of the body.
But there are ways to help keep your blood pressure in check. You might need medication but most health professionals agree that even with medication, eating well and being active can usually help support healthy blood pressure.
So let’s look at some of the strategies…
Ways to promote healthy blood pressure
Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables daily. You’ve heard this one since grade school – it needs no explanation. But know that there’s strong evidence in the power of fruits and vegetables to improve health and reduce your risk for heart disease.
Aim for at least 2 cups of fruit and 2½ cups of vegetables daily.
Eat your greens, beans, nuts and whole grains. These are all good sources of magnesium which helps promote healthy blood pressure. Swap in crunchy nuts for a snack like in this homemade granola.
Add flavor not just salt. It’s no secret that high sodium intake is not recommended. In fact, African-Americans, people 50 and over and those who already have high blood pressure, should limit sodium intake to less than 1500 milligrams a day.
Instead of seasoned salt, onion salt and well… salt, experiment with other ways to season your food. Add amazing flavor to chicken with a marinade of lemon juice, olive oil and rosemary. Finish the dish with a pinch of salt to bring it all together but don’t let it be the star of the dish.
Get adequate potassium. Sodium often steals the show when it comes to blood pressure. But potassium is just as important. In fact, potassium blunts the effects of sodium in the body and therefore help lower blood pressure levels. Go beyond bananas to get plenty of potassium from sweet potatoes, tomatoes, oranges, yogurt or fish.
Do the DASH. The DASH diet combines many of the tips above and has been shown to effectively reduce blood pressure levels.
Be active. Engage in some form of physical activity every week – at least 150 minutes a week of moderate to vigorous exercise is recommended. You can break this down to 30 minutes 5 days a week or even smaller increments of 10 minutes or more. Just get moving.
Lose weight. Although normal weight individuals can have high blood pressure, blood pressure often increases with weight. Losing just 10 pounds could help reduce your blood pressure.
If you drink, do so in moderation. Moderation is considered one drink per day for women and two for men.
Reduce and manage stress.
Don’t smoke.
cialis here
Thanks for nice share. I have high blood pressure that makes me a little bit uncomfortable and painful. I have extra weight and I always try to go on diets. When they are over I gain weight again. I hope you excellent tipsn will help me to fight blood pressure.
Atkins Diet
We are all afraid to acquire hypertension because it becomes worst if we’re not aware of what we do, especially when it comes to eating. Good thing that you post some ideas on the things that needs to be done in order to avoid this kind of health problem. Very informative post!
weight loss diet
With proper exercise and good diet you can prevent hypertension. Lose some pounds and you will see the big difference. You know the drill when it comes to losing weight… take in fewer calories, burn more calories.
health insurance
Garlic helps lower blood pressure, so make sure to include it in your meals as much as you can. It does not only keep your blood pressure normal but its great on your food!
family healthcare
I have been on low BP and High BP earlier. I got experienced what it takes to get to normal levels of blood pressure. Being stress free, walking/jogging, drinking 4-5 litres of water per day, limiting salt intake, eating balanced diet can help maintaining blood glucose levels and also normal blood pressure.
AlzheimerCare
Anybody who has hypertension should be encouraged to work with their
physician to try various things that might help them lower their blood
pressure without the use of pharmacological agents. Alzheimer Care
Health info
Hypertension is a silent killer, we cannot predict when it will attack a particular person, we should be health conscious, exercise and balanced our diet.
Karina
I do the #2 and 3 every day. When I found out about my BP and my doctor suggested me to resort to healthy diet, these helped me a lot. Now, although I love researching world medicine, eating natural healthy food helps a lot.
health care
to Lower your Blood Pressure be responsible eat healthy foods and do some exercise, be honest to your self quit smoking or drinking so that you can achieve it.