High Blood Pressure Diet
Guidelines
It is a well-known fact that
heart diseases and excess body weight are related. Obesity,
heavy alcohol consumption and lack of activity are the main
factors causing highblood pressure. Too much
body fat leads to an increased risk of health
problems through clogging the blood vessels with
cholesterol. That is why the successful treatment of highbloodpressure starts with following a diet
specifically aimed at reducing highblood
pressure.
If you already have highblood pressure, you
cannot reverse it to low permanently. Instead, you can
control your highbloodpressure by
taking a prescribed medication and amending your diet.
Research has shown that a highblood
pressurediet can effectively prevent bloodpressure from rising above normal.
Today, most of our meals still contain more fat than the
government recommends, and most of the vending machines and
fast-food options do not meet the nutritional standards set
by the U.S. government. With fast-food snacks available at
every corner, it's often hard to switch to a healthy diet.
High bloodpressure diets are designed to
decrease sodium, increase potassium, and lessen calories.
This way you will maintain a reasonable weight. This diet
consists of foods that are delicious and low in fat such as
whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products and
lean proteins.
Here are some simple tips to help you follow your highbloodpressurediet guidelines:
1. Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Eating in the
morning will increase your energy and will help you avoid
snacks before lunch. A quick breakfast can be as easy as a
bowl of cereal, a slice of whole-wheat toast, cereal bar or
fresh fruit.
2. When following your highbloodpressure
diet, your daily food intake must include foods from five
food groups:
• Protein: Eat meats that are lower in fat, such as chicken,
turkey, tuna, or low-fat luncheon meats. Make salads with a
low fat meat or vegetables and light salad dressing.
• Grains: Always try eating a whole wheat version of your
favorite bread, be it a loaf, a bagel or a roll.
• Vegetables: Eat tomatoes, peppers, baby carrots and other
colorful vegetables as many as you like. The brighter the
vegetable, the more antioxidant vitamin A it contains.
• Fruits: Fruits should be eaten fresh. Fruit has fiber and
healthy calories, and you will want to eat less during the
day. Juice has fructose which fills up with energy. That's
why juice should become a part of a healthy breakfast along
with a cereal.
• Dairy: Try low-fat or non-fat milk, non-fat chocolate
milk, and low-fat cheese. Basically, any type of cottage
cheese or yogurt goes well with fruit.
If you want to avoid facing complicated and often
life-threatening consequences of highblood
pressure, you may want to ensure that you and your family
eat healthy meals that don't pack on the pounds and rise
your cholesterol.
Emphasizing healthy food choices can help you enjoy your
meals without excessive fat, sugar, and calories. Healthy
food choices can be a carry-over from healthy menu and meal
planning at home while managing your highbloodpressure with diet.
Switching to a diet without excessive fat and salt
and staying fit will help you loose weight and can help
prevent or at least delay heart-related problems. Along with
monitoring and medication treatment, a highbloodpressurediet can help control your bloodpressure and reduce your risk of stroke, kidney and
heart failure and heart attack.
See your doctor before making any diet or lifestyle
changes.
