Blood Pressure Diet

High Blood Pressure Diet

As we mentioned on "High blood pressure diet and Chinese Food" page, the blood pressure (BP) diet aims for keeping blood pressure at a healthy level. What you eat or don't eat may help lower your blood pressure or prevent it from getting higher than the healthy range.

It's always helpful to pay attention to the food you eat, and it's one of the proven ways to reach your health goal and reduce the risk of heart disease.

The normal blood pressure should be 120/80 mmHg. Even when it stays only slightly above the normal level, it's unhealthy. The higher the number goes, the greater the health risk is.

There are various ways to lower blood pressure. Scientists in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) found that blood pressures were reduced by a good eating plan.

The Diet Plan

The diet doesn't ask you to be on a total vegetarian diet or to use specialty foods. It contains the following group of food which are rich in nutrients, minerals (like potassium, calcium, and magnesium), protein, and fiber:

Good oil
Food that are low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat
Plenty of fruits and vegetables
Fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
Whole grain products
Fish
Poultry
Nuts
Limits the sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams per day
Limits red meat

Foods That Lower Blood Pressure

Bananas

They are one of the fruits that are plentiful year-round, cheap and full of potassium. (Here is more about fruit nutrition.)

Some research showed that people who added the potassium equivalent of an extra 1 1/2 to 2 bananas a day could drop their blood pressure 2 to 3 points. The stroke risk for people who had the highest potassium intake levels is 38% lower than people who had the least potassium, because potassium helps kidneys to filter more pressure-boosting sodium out of your bloodstream, encourages small blood vessels to relax and makes pressure sensors in artery walls function more efficiently.

Green Tea: Click here to see why

Whole Grain Oatmeal

3/4 cup whole-grain oatmeal at breakfast and an oat-based snack later in the day can make your blood pressure dip. In a study, a diet supplemented with oats was more effective than wheat fiber when it came to lower blood pressure and controlling cholesterol and blood sugar.

Berries

Do you just treat them as treats? It's time to change your mindset if you have concern about your blood pressure. A 8 weeks study showed that people with high blood pressure who ate berries daily had a 7-point dip in their systolic blood pressure.

The reason? Berries are jam-packed with nutrients. They're like green tea, loaded with beneficial polyphenols like flavonols and anthocyanins. Plus, they're rich in vitamin C, potassium, folate, and fiber. 4 ounces of berries per day will boost your health, make your blood pressure go down, and help your good cholesterol (HDL) go up.

Dark Chocolate

Not just any kind of chocolate. 30 calories per day of dark chocolate, which should contains at least 70 percent cocoa, may be enough to help reduce your blood pressure.

The antioxidants in the cocoa bean aid blood flow, help reduce blood clotting and atherosclerosis, improve cholesterol levels, and contribute to an overall reduction in heart attacks.

It also let you have better blood sugar by enhancing the effect of insulin and sugar utilization, help you have fewer wrinkles and fine lines like green tea with its skin-boosting antioxidants flavonols, and it'll have you in a better mood.

Low Fat Yogurt

It's creamy and tangy, with all of the blood-pressure-friendly minerals like magnesium, calcium, and potassium. And it's lighter on calories which is a plus in curbing the risk of high blood pressure.

Veggies that Are High in Protein

Plant protein helps you keep blood pressure under control, though researchers aren't sure why.

The following are items that are rich in protein:

Broccoli
Brown rice
Beans (say 'Yes' to soy )
Whole grains
Nuts
Seeds

Other Foods

Tomatoes. They are rich in lycopene which can tamp down blood pressure.
Flaxseeds. They have abundant alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fat that helps lower blood pressure.
Beet Juice. It helps lower blood pressure in healthy people. A caveat: It's high in nitrates, compounds that may be a health hazard if taken too much.
Whole-wheat Pasta. It contains glutamic acid, a vegetable protein that helps keep better blood pressure.
Hibiscus tea. It has flavonoids and polyphenols, which are abondant in green tea, that help your blood pressure stay in the normal range.