High blood pressure is bad news for your health. If left unchecked, it can lead to a stroke or heart attack as well as damage to the kidneys and eyes, the good news is that you can do things with your diet to keep your blood pressure low or to bring it down if it is already high.
You should first start by asking yourself, do I have high blood pressure? The big problem with high blood pressure is that most people who have it, don’t even know it, this is usually because they have no symptoms and so are not aware of their condition. Whether your doctor has told you that you have it or not, following these healthy eating tips should help you keep your blood pressure under control.
The first thing you can do to help your blood pressure is to eat less and lose weight. These days many of us simply consume too many calories every day, which leads to an increased waistline and greater pressure on the heart and other organs. However, cut back on calories and do more exercise and you should find that weight and blood pressure will soon drop.
Cut down on salt. If you are at risk of high blood pressure, or even if you are not, it is very important to reduce your sodium intake. Sodium attracts water like a sponge, increasing blood volume and pressure. It has been estimated that reducing sodium by 1/3 can reduce the incidence of strokes by as much as 22% and heart attacks by 15%. Cut down on processed foods and scrutinize food labels.
Another factor to consider is alcohol, it constricts blood vessels, thus increasing blood pressure, and avoiding it leads to a prompt fall in blood pressure.
Finally eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, this way you will increase your potassium levels, and it is high potassium to sodium ratio that is most critical to lowering blood pressure, not just sodium alone.
