High Blood Pressure Diet - More than Buying Low-Fat Products

When you discover that you have hypertension or pre-hypertension, the first thing

doctors do, they prescribe medication. However, the right diet can dramatically

reduce your blood pressure as well, sometimes so much that you will not need any

drugs. Find out what a high blood pressure diet is and how you can easily incorporate

it into your lifestyle.

An ideal diet for high blood pressure will be:

• Low in sodium (salt)



• Low in saturated fats and cholesterol



• High in antioxidants and vitamins



• High in potassium and magnesium

In other words, a diet generally associated with healthy living and a high

blood pressure diet has a lot in common. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean

at all that all you will have to eat from now on is steamed broccoli. For example,

the best thing for high blood pressure diet is to go for a baked potato rather

than French fries or a chicken sandwich not a hamburger. The most important

thing is to limit foods that lead to increasing blood pressure.

The easiest way to maintain a diet that will help with high blood pressure

control is to prepare meals yourself from fresh products rather than eat prepackaged

food. Almost all precooked meals are high in sodium, saturated fat and cholesterol,

while low in other important nutrients. Home cooking takes more time of course,

but there are plenty of healthy and incredibly tasty recopies that take only

15-20 minutes to cook.

The recommended sodium intake for people with hypertension is less than 3000

mg a day, and an average American consumes 7000 to 9000 mg... A good way to

cut down on salt is to stay away from packaged condiments. Would you believe

that just one serving of ordinary tomato sauce usually contains about 250 mg

of sodium? That will be additional 250 mg, to a meal that already contains salt.

The same can be said about most salad dressings. Using a spoon of olive oil

instead of bottled salad dressing on your salad will make a great difference.

Foods high in potassium and magnesium

Now when you know what foods to avoid, let's talk about what foods are beneficial.

Most fruits and vegetables are good because they are low in fat, cholesterol

and sodium (that is unless you add salt to them, of course). But the most beneficial

veggies and fruits are the ones that are high in magnesium and potassium. Both

minerals have been proved to reduce blood pressure.

Best foods for potassium are:

• Apricots



• Sultanas and Raisins



• All Bran



• Figs



• Dried mixed fruit



• Most Seeds and nuts average (unsalted)



• Potatoes



• Tomatoes



• Avocados



• Bananas

For magnesium look at:

• Black Beans



• Broccoli



• Peanuts



• Oysters



• Scallops



• Soy milk



• Spinach



• Whole grain cereal



• Whole wheat bread

Consult a physician for best high blood pressure diet

Everybody should follow general food recommendations to lower you blood pressure.

However, there might be specific foods that you in particular should avoid or

add to your diet. The reason is that as most people, you may have not only high

blood pressure, but other health problems and your diet should address them

all.

Also if you are overweight, that can greatly affect your blood pressure. The

first thing you doctor will suggest is to choose a diet that will help you lose

weight. While if your weight is normal, your diet will be different.

Diet to prevent high blood pressure

As they say, to prevent is always better than to cure, so even if you don't

have any problems with blood pressure, it is a good idea to follow high blood

pressure diet. Many studies have shown that hypertension is hereditary, so you

should be particularly careful if your parents suffer from high blood pressure.

Tanya Turner is a publisher of High Blood Pressure 101 where you can find information in plain English about high blood pressure diets and other ways to prevent and control hypertension