Diet for High Blood Pressure
Diet for High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the most common cardiovascular disease. Blood pressure refers to the force of blood pushing against artery walls as it courses through the body. Each time heart beats, it pumps out blood into the arteries. Blood pressure is highest when the heart beats, pumping the blood. This is called systolic pressure. When the heart is at rest, between beats, the blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure.
Most people with high blood pressure have no signs or symptoms. Although a few people with early-stage high blood pressure may have dull headaches, dizzy spells or a few more nosebleeds than normal, these signs and symptoms typically don't occur until high blood pressure has reached an advanced - even life-threatening - stage.
Normal blood pressure is 120/80, where 120 is the systolic (maximum) blood pressure and 80 is the diastolic (minimum) blood pressure. When systolic blood pressure is above 140mm Hg or when diastolic blood pressure is above 90mm Hg, blood pressure is considered high. Hypertension may be caused by a variety of reasons such as: heredity, your genes, high salt in your diet, not being active, obesity, excessive alcohol intake and/or low potassium in your diet.
Hypertension is an all too common condition in today's hectic society. With many people being overweight, eating a poor diet, and experiencing high stress levels, blood pressure problems will likely remain a reality. Although some people are genetically predisposed to hypertension, there's plenty of evidence that a healthy life style and good nutrition can help during hypertension. Here are a few tips to get you started:
* Vegetarians, in general, have lower blood pressure levels and a lower incidence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. Experts postulate that a typical vegetarian's diet contains more potassium, complex carbohydrates, polyunsaturated fat, fiber, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin A, all of which may have a favorable influence on blood pressure.
* Eat plenty of fresh and frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables. If canned vegetables are used, rinse them under running water for two to three minutes prior to cooking. Rinsing canned vegetables will decrease the sodium content by approximately 40 percent.
* A high-fiber diet has been shown to be effective in preventing and treating many forms of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension.
* Read the "Nutrition Facts" information on the label to find the sodium content of a packaged food. You will find the sodium content in milligrams for a single serving. The "% Daily Value" (sometimes shown as "% DV") for sodium is also given. The amount is based on 2,400 milligrams of sodium for the day.
* Choose low-sodium products. Read the label and look for words such as, "unsalted," "no-salt-added," "reduced sodium," "sodium-free" or "low in sodium."
* When eating out, taste your food before you add salt. Better yet, request that foods be prepared without added salt.
* Weight reduction will help lower blood pressure. To help decrease calories from fat, consume low-fat or fat-free products.
* Take a diet that is rich in high potassium foods (vegetables and fruits) and essential fatty acids. Daily intake of potassium should total 7 grams per day. The diet should be low in saturated fat, sugar and salt. In general, a whole food diet emphasizing vegetables and members of the garlic/onion family should be consumed.
* Consume adequate calcium by including low-fat dairy products in your diet three times per day.
17 Replies
Beneficial Vegetables and Spices for Hypertension
A number of common vegetables and spices have beneficial effects in controlling hypertension. Incorporate these into your cooking:
*
Celery (ajmud): Oriental Medicine practitioners have long used celery for lowering high blood pressure. There are some experimental evidence that shows that celery is useful for this. In one animal study, laboratory animals injected with celery extract showed lowered blood pressure. Eating as few as four celery stalks a day was found to be beneficial in lowering blood pressure in human beings. However, celery does contain sodium and other compounds that can have negative effects when large amounts are ingested.
*
Garlic (lahsun): Garlic is a wonder drug for heart. It has beneficial effects in all cardiovascular system including blood pressure. In a study, when people with high blood pressure were given one clove of garlic a day for 12 weeks, their diastolic blood pressure and cholesterol levels were significantly reduced. Eating quantities as small as one clove of garlic a day was found to have beneficial effects on managing hypertension. Use garlic in your cooking, salad, soup, pickles, etc. It is very versatile.
*
Onion: Onions are useful in hypertension. Two to three tablespoons of onion essential oil a day was found to lower the systolic levels by an average of 25 points and the diastolic levels by 15 points in hypertension subjects. This should not be surprising because onion is a cousin of garlic.
*
Tomato: Tomatoes are high in gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), a compound that can help bring down blood pressure.
*
Broccoli (hari phoolgobhi): Glucoraphanin, also known as sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), a naturally-occurring compound found in broccoli sprouts and broccoli, help reduce the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
*
Carrot: Carrots are high in potassium, which can help prevent and control high blood pressure. They are also high in beta-carotene, which studies show can reduce the risk of heart disease leading to high blood pressure. Carrot juice helps to maintain normal blood pressure by regulating heart and kidney functions. A recommended dose is a 240 ml blend of one part celery juice, one part carrot juice and one part water, taken at least once a day.
*
Saffron (kesar): Saffron contains a chemical called crocetin that lowers the blood pressure. You can use saffron in your cooking. (It is a very popular spice in Arabic cooking.) You can also make a tea with it. Many Indians add a pinch of saffron in the brewed tea to give a heavenly flavor. Unfortunately, it is very expensive.
*
Assorted spices: Spices such as fennel (saunf), oregano (ajwain), black pepper (kali mirch) and basil (tulsi) have active ingredients that are beneficial in hypertension. Use them in your cooking.
The link between hypertension and diet is irrefutable. Generally speaking, making small changes to one's diet is one of the best ways of dealing with something as unspecified in origin as hypertension, and natural treatment of the condition addresses that which contributes to hypertension.
A number of common vegetables and spices have beneficial effects in controlling hypertension. Incorporate these into your cooking:
*
Celery (ajmud): Oriental Medicine practitioners have long used celery for lowering high blood pressure. There are some experimental evidence that shows that celery is useful for this. In one animal study, laboratory animals injected with celery extract showed lowered blood pressure. Eating as few as four celery stalks a day was found to be beneficial in lowering blood pressure in human beings. However, celery does contain sodium and other compounds that can have negative effects when large amounts are ingested.
*
Garlic (lahsun): Garlic is a wonder drug for heart. It has beneficial effects in all cardiovascular system including blood pressure. In a study, when people with high blood pressure were given one clove of garlic a day for 12 weeks, their diastolic blood pressure and cholesterol levels were significantly reduced. Eating quantities as small as one clove of garlic a day was found to have beneficial effects on managing hypertension. Use garlic in your cooking, salad, soup, pickles, etc. It is very versatile.
*
Onion: Onions are useful in hypertension. Two to three tablespoons of onion essential oil a day was found to lower the systolic levels by an average of 25 points and the diastolic levels by 15 points in hypertension subjects. This should not be surprising because onion is a cousin of garlic.
*
Tomato: Tomatoes are high in gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), a compound that can help bring down blood pressure.
*
Broccoli (hari phoolgobhi): Glucoraphanin, also known as sulforaphane glucosinolate (SGS), a naturally-occurring compound found in broccoli sprouts and broccoli, help reduce the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
*
Carrot: Carrots are high in potassium, which can help prevent and control high blood pressure. They are also high in beta-carotene, which studies show can reduce the risk of heart disease leading to high blood pressure. Carrot juice helps to maintain normal blood pressure by regulating heart and kidney functions. A recommended dose is a 240 ml blend of one part celery juice, one part carrot juice and one part water, taken at least once a day.
*
Saffron (kesar): Saffron contains a chemical called crocetin that lowers the blood pressure. You can use saffron in your cooking. (It is a very popular spice in Arabic cooking.) You can also make a tea with it. Many Indians add a pinch of saffron in the brewed tea to give a heavenly flavor. Unfortunately, it is very expensive.
*
Assorted spices: Spices such as fennel (saunf), oregano (ajwain), black pepper (kali mirch) and basil (tulsi) have active ingredients that are beneficial in hypertension. Use them in your cooking.
The link between hypertension and diet is irrefutable. Generally speaking, making small changes to one's diet is one of the best ways of dealing with something as unspecified in origin as hypertension, and natural treatment of the condition addresses that which contributes to hypertension.
odern medical science has gone to great lengths to find ways to lower high blood pressure. By itself, high blood pressure or arterial hypertension is almost never a serious health threat. However, doctors attempt to lower high blood pressure in their patients because it can have serious long-term consequences.
Blood runs through our veins and arteries at a certain pressure. Within natural limits, this pressure is not harmful. However, if this pressure increases, the heart is overworked and the arteries develop abnormal interior tissue growth. This further blocks the passage of blood, leading to increasing blood pressure. Finally, the heart muscle itself thickens, making the heart progressively weaker.
Therefore, not taking measures to lower high blood pressure can finally result in serious heart disease. Strokes, heart attacks and heart failure are often the result. Another serious health complication caused by high blood pressure is kidney failure. High blood pressure is often not detected until it leads to other health issues. Occasionally, there might be symptoms such as nausea, headaches, dizziness, heart palpitation (rapid beating) and arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).
Efforts to lower high blood pressure date back to the beginnings of recorded history. Ancient healing systems such as yoga and herbal medicine sciences such as ayurveda prescribed methods to lower high blood pressure long before modern medicinal intervention. Then and now, there is a great emphasis on changing unhealthy lifestyles to lower high blood pressure. Doctors do not focus only on treating high blood pressure but also on assessing a patient’s overall risk to cardiovascular disease.
Many medicines such as aspirin and other anti-clotting agents have reduced the incidence of heart attacks and strokes in patients with high blood pressure. Patients are now trained to monitor their own blood pressures regularly, recognize warning signs and to seek medical treatment immediately when required.
Many commonly used medicines can cause high blood pressure as side effects. Such medicines include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids and contraceptives. Obesity invariably leads to high blood pressure because of the excessive body weight and the additional pressure it puts on the heart and arterial system. An unhealthy diet rich in salt and fats, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle devoid of exercise, is another culprit. High blood pressure – often to a fatal extent – can also be attributed to excessive use of alcohol and intoxicating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
In some cases, patients inherit their susceptibility to high blood pressure from their parents. Congenital high blood pressure is harder to treat than other forms because the problem is an integral part of the genetic makeup. Thankfully, advanced medical research is developing newer methods to lower high blood pressure of every origin.
Blood runs through our veins and arteries at a certain pressure. Within natural limits, this pressure is not harmful. However, if this pressure increases, the heart is overworked and the arteries develop abnormal interior tissue growth. This further blocks the passage of blood, leading to increasing blood pressure. Finally, the heart muscle itself thickens, making the heart progressively weaker.
Therefore, not taking measures to lower high blood pressure can finally result in serious heart disease. Strokes, heart attacks and heart failure are often the result. Another serious health complication caused by high blood pressure is kidney failure. High blood pressure is often not detected until it leads to other health issues. Occasionally, there might be symptoms such as nausea, headaches, dizziness, heart palpitation (rapid beating) and arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).
Efforts to lower high blood pressure date back to the beginnings of recorded history. Ancient healing systems such as yoga and herbal medicine sciences such as ayurveda prescribed methods to lower high blood pressure long before modern medicinal intervention. Then and now, there is a great emphasis on changing unhealthy lifestyles to lower high blood pressure. Doctors do not focus only on treating high blood pressure but also on assessing a patient’s overall risk to cardiovascular disease.
Many medicines such as aspirin and other anti-clotting agents have reduced the incidence of heart attacks and strokes in patients with high blood pressure. Patients are now trained to monitor their own blood pressures regularly, recognize warning signs and to seek medical treatment immediately when required.
Many commonly used medicines can cause high blood pressure as side effects. Such medicines include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids and contraceptives. Obesity invariably leads to high blood pressure because of the excessive body weight and the additional pressure it puts on the heart and arterial system. An unhealthy diet rich in salt and fats, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle devoid of exercise, is another culprit. High blood pressure – often to a fatal extent – can also be attributed to excessive use of alcohol and intoxicating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.
In some cases, patients inherit their susceptibility to high blood pressure from their parents. Congenital high blood pressure is harder to treat than other forms because the problem is an integral part of the genetic makeup. Thankfully, advanced medical research is developing newer methods to lower high blood pressure of every origin.
Topic Author
N
neetu jain
@neetu020784
Topic Stats
Created
Monday, 27 December 2010 21:09
Last Updated
Tuesday, 30 November -0001 00:00
Replies
0
Views
1.6K
Likes
0