How To Treat High Or Low Blood Pressure

Lower Blood Pressure Diet

The kind of lifestyle many people now live can be described as unhealthy. The fast pace of life now makes people forget about eating or preparing healthy food. Instead of cooking home food people are left with unhealthy options like eating microwave preparations or just eating in fast food chains. If you think eating healthy is time consuming, you are mistaken.

One of the dietary regimes studied focused on restricting sodium intake to no more than 1,500 milligrams daily, which is roughly 2/3 teaspoon of normal table salt. Those who followed this program showed even more dramatic lowering of blood pressure readings.

Doctor might advise you to eat small amount of chocolate, dark chocolate is said to lower both the systolic and diastolic readings. Not all the people will have a problem taking some chocolate now and for their blood pressure.

It will depends in your situation so it is very important to consult the doctor to check if it can benefit you or if it will just increase your risk in your particular medical situation.

High fiber foods are usually foods that lower blood pressure as well. Avocados, raspberries, grapefruit, sweet potatoes, bran cereal (or muffins), black beans, and lima beans are all packed with fiber. You can also sprinkle flax seed into recipes to increase your fiber intake and lower blood pressure.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna [Latin]), also called haw, mayblossom, and mayflower has been used for thousands of years in Asian, European, and Native American cultures to treat heart disease. Hawthorn contains several proanthocyanidins and flavonoids, which increase the heart’s ability to pump blood and oxygen to all parts of the body by dilating coronary blood vessels and strengthening the heart muscle.

In addition to these minerals supplements can also be taken to in conjunction with high blood pressure diets. One of the most popular ones is garlic, because garlic contains a chemical called allicin which has been clinically proven to lower blood pressure.

Of course two highly dangerous factors that seriously increase the blood pressure and the risks of being struck by a heart-attack are alcohol and tobacco. Smoking is prohibited when suffering from high blood pressure and drinking should be kept under two drinks per day. Overweight people should seriously consider losing weight if they want to lower their blood pressure, and they need special diets of course.

Garlic and onions are also another important food to give a try. Although most recent research has focused on the cholesterol-lowering properties of garlic and onions, both have also been shown to lower blood pressure in cases of hypertension. Both garlic and onion should be used liberally in the diet. Commercial garlic supplements may also be of benefit. Onions also help to fight inflammation which benefits the cardiovascular system.

Hot cocoa is also enjoyable and it can help you sleep. But there’s not much point in consuming unusual foods only for their alleged health benefit. Neither is there any need for expensive supplements. None of these things is a dependable high blood pressure remedy, much less a miracle cure.

Diet and Foods for High Blood Pressure, Hypertension

High blood pressure is a silent killer and one should try to maintain blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg to prevent the risk of heart diseases which is caused due to high blood pressure. In America an average diet contains good amount of fat, salt, cholesterol and calories, and the lifestyle of people is very sedentary, that raises the risk of heart diseases.

Around 50% of the people who suffer from high blood pressure are not aware of their condition but certain groups of people are at a higher risk such as

1. People who smoke (active or passive)
2. Suffering from diabetes
3. Family history of high blood pressure.
4. Obesity or overweight
5. Leading a sedentary lifestyle or being physically inactive.
6. Men above the age of 45 years and women above 55 years.
7. People who have a high cholesterol level
8.

Women taking oral contraceptives
9. People who belong to African American group
10. Taking excess quantities of alcohol or other beverages.

What to avoid in the diet to prevent the condition?

Sodium: Reduce intake of high sodium diet. Butter milk, pickles, cured meats, sausages, canned fish such as salmon and tuna should be avoided. Processed meats, packaged food items such as frozen dinners, pizzas and pot pies are high in sodium and it should be avoided. One should not take more than 2,300 mg of sodium in diet.

A simple method of testing high sodium content in food is – if you can taste salt in the food then it contains a good amount of it. Even salt substitutes may not be safe. One should be cautious and avoid any substitute without the approval of a medical practitioner.

Bad cholesterol: Reduce intake of food items containing bad cholesterol. Certain cooking oils can have bad cholesterol. A person requires not more than 150 mg of cholesterol each day.

Reduce intake of fat: Reduce intake of food which is high in fat. Canned soups and packaged soups contain preservatives and chemicals should be avoided. 27% of the calories should come from fat and 18% of the calories in a day should come from proteins. Cheese products are also high in fat.

Drugs and medicines: One should not take drugs such as aspirin which have anti clotting properties. Such drugs raise the risk of heart attacks.

Nicotine: Reduce intake of nicotine. The chemicals in cigarette constrict the blood vessels and it can narrow the veins to increase blood pressure.

What to include in the diet?

1. One should include good amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in diet to reduce fat intake.

2. Take low fat milk and milk products.

3. Include wholegrain products in diet.

4. Fish and poultry can be included.

5. Include fiber in diet, up to 30 mg of fiber should be included each day in diet. One can get fibers from whole wheat, cereals, oatmeal, popcorn etc.

6. Broccoli, spinach, tomatoes, potatoes, peas and beans can be included in the diet as it contains good amount of magnesium and potassium.

7. Apples, mangoes, apricots, bananas and grapefruits are also high in potassium and magnesium.

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