It is a well known fact that heart disease and excess body weight are related. Obesity, excessive alcohol consumption and lack of activity are the main factors that cause high blood pressure. Too much body fat increases the risk of health problems by clogging the blood vessels with cholesterol. That is why successful high blood pressure treatment begins with following a diet specifically aimed at lowering high blood pressure.
If you already have high blood pressure, you can’t permanently reverse it to low. Instead, you can control your high blood pressure by taking a prescription drug and modifying your diet. Research has shown that a high blood pressure diet can effectively prevent blood pressure from rising above normal.
Today, most of our meals still contain more fat than the government recommends, and most vending machines and fast food options do not meet the nutritional standards set by the US government. Fast food snacks available in every corner, it is often difficult to switch to a healthy diet.
Diets for high blood pressure are designed to decrease sodium, increase potassium, and decrease calories. This will keep you at a reasonable weight. This diet consists of delicious, low-fat foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, and lean proteins.
Here are some simple tips to help you follow the high blood pressure diet guidelines:
1. Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Eating in the morning will boost your energy and help you avoid snacking before lunch. A quick breakfast can be as easy as a bowl of cereal, a slice of whole wheat toast, a cereal bar, or fresh fruit.
2. When following your diet for high blood pressure, your daily food intake should include foods from five food groups:
o Protein: Eat low-fat meats, such as low-fat chicken, turkey, tuna, or cold cuts. Make salads with low-fat meat or vegetables and light salad dressing.
o Grains: Always try to eat a whole grain version of your favorite bread, be it a loaf, a bagel, or a muffin.
o Vegetables – Eat as many colorful tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and other colorful vegetables as you like. The brighter the vegetable, the more antioxidant vitamin A it contains.
o Fruits: fruits should be eaten fresh. Fruit has healthy calories and fiber, and you’ll want to eat less throughout the day. The juice has fructose which fills you up with energy. That is why juice should become part of a healthy breakfast along with a cereal.
o Dairy: Try low-fat or fat-free milk, fat-free chocolate milk, and low-fat cheese. Basically any type of cottage cheese or yogurt goes well with fruit.
If you want to avoid the complicated and often life-threatening consequences of high blood pressure, you may want to make sure that you and your family eat healthy meals that don’t put you on weight and raise your cholesterol.
Emphasizing healthy food choices can help you enjoy your meals without excess fat, sugar, and calories. Healthy food choices can be a carryover from the healthy menu and home meal planning while controlling high blood pressure with diet.
Switching to a diet without excess fat and salt and staying in shape will help you lose weight and can help prevent or at least delay heart-related problems. Along with medication management and treatment, a high blood pressure diet can help control your blood pressure and reduce your risk of stroke, heart and kidney failure, and heart attack.
Consult your doctor before making diet or lifestyle changes.