Diet and Hypertension

Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing the walls of your arteries, which deliveries blood throughout the rest of your body. Your blood pressure is greatest when the heart contracts to pump out blood. Hypertension is dangerous because it makes your heart work harder and faster, and it damages your arteries.

Did you know that diet and salt contributes greatly to hypertension? A high fat and high salt diet drastically affects your blood pressure. Most people can bring blood pressure down just by taking fat and salt out of their diet. You might have to continue medication but at a lesser dose with fewer side effects. If you have children, now is the time to start them on a good lifetime diet and hopefully avoid the pitfalls of hypertension in their future.

If you look on packaged foods you will see the salt content is outrageously high. Try to avoid prepared foods but if you must, then look at the label. A diet high in vegetables, fruits, and low fat dairy is the optimum diet to avoid hypertension or bring it down if you already have hypertension. Dairy is high in salt but you need dairy for strong bones. Look for low salt and low fat content. Only young children need full fat milk.

1. Buy products that say, salt free, sodium free, very low sodium, light in sodium, reduced sodium, or unsalted. Read the label. Buy fresh or frozen vegetables, canned are Ok if labeled “no salt added.”
2. Use fresh or frozen poultry, fish, and lean meat rather than canned or processed.
3. Use herbs, spices and salt-free seasoning blends in cooking and at the table. Be aware that “No Salt’ is salt so don’t buy that. Read the label and check for sodium in any form.
4. Cook rice, pasta and hot cereals without salt.
5. Select low sodium for canned meats such as salmon and tuna.
6. Remove the salt shaker from the table and replace with dried basil, oregano, parsley and other seasoning mixes.
7. Cut back on packaged “convenience foods” if you can’t go whole hog. Buy less pizza and serve smaller portions with a larger salad.
8. Buy less packaged mixes and read the labels for fat and salt content.
9. Make a big pot of your own soup and freeze several batches. Canned soups are loaded with salt unless you look for the unsalted varieties.
10. Read the labels and any item that reads over 5% daily allowance is too much salt.
11. Buy low or no sodium for all your condiments such as, catsup, mustard, soy sauce, and so on.

When you first reduce the salt in your diet the food will taste very bland but after a couple of weeks your taste buds adjust and you will become accustomed to how foods taste in their natural state.

A normal blood pressure is;
Systolic Pressure; (the first number)

Less than 130

High normal;
130-140

Hypertension;
Stage 1;
140-159

Stage 2;
160-179

Stage3;
180 and up

Diastolic Pressure (the second number)
A normal Diastolic Pressure
Less than 80

High normal
85-90

Hypertension
Stage 1;
90-99

Stage 2;
100-109

Stage 3;
110 and up