Certain nutrients in the diet can affect blood pressure. For
many years, there has been controversy over whether sodium
affects high blood pressure. Past research showed that sodium
affected blood pressure in people who were salt-sensitive but
had little effect on those who were not. However, new research
shows that those who have lower sodium in their diets have lower
blood pressure overall, whether or not they have hypertension.
Also important is what is missing from your diet. Calcium,
potassium, and magnesium may help lower blood
pressure.
A diet high in processed or refined foods, such as canned
and instant soups, packaged mixes, and snack items, is low in
these important nutrients. These foods usually are high in
salt as well. By eating fewer processed foods, more fruits and
vegetables (which contain potassium), and more low-fat dairy
foods (which contain calcium and magnesium), you can increase
your intake of these helpful nutrients and decrease your salt
intake at the same time.
Eating a diet low in both saturated fat and total fat will
help lower your blood pressure. To reduce your blood pressure,
you should follow the recommendations below so that no more
than 10% of your calories are from saturated fat and less than
30% of your total calories are from fats in general.
Rebuilding the Food Pyramid
The dietary guide introduced a decade ago has led people
astray. Some fats are healthy for the heart, and many
carbohydrates clearly are not. By Walter C. Willett and Meir
J. Stampfer in the January Issue of
the Scientific American. Read
here for a better insight.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop
Hypertension (DASH) diet
To significantly lower blood pressure, the DASH diet includes
eating fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods with reduced
saturated and total fat. Follow these daily recommendations for
food servings:
|
Milk and milk products
|
3 servings
|
|
Fruits
|
4 to 5 servings
|
|
Vegetables
|
4 to 5 servings
|
|
Grains
|
7 to 8 servings
|
|
Meat, poultry, fish
|
2 or fewer servings
|
|
Legumes, nuts, seeds
|
4 to 5 servings per week
|
You also may consider trying a vegetarian diet. In general,
vegetarian diets reduce blood pressure, although the specific
nutrients responsible for this effect have not been identified.
The DASH diet could easily be a vegetarian diet if legumes were
substituted for meat. Vegetarian diets tend to be higher in
potassium, magnesium, and calcium, as does the DASH diet.
Vegetarian diets also are higher in fiber and unsaturated fats
than other diets.
To incorporate the DASH diet into
your everyday life, consider the following:
-
Think about changing only your fruit and vegetable intake
to start with. Keep track of your intake and try to increase
it slowly. Remember to check what counts as a serving in the
.
-
Think about including fruits and/or vegetables in every
meal.
-
Take fruit to work or school as a snack.
-
Try milk as a beverage. A glass of skim milk has only 80
calories and no fat and is packed with blood
pressure-lowering nutrients.
-
Have a "skinny" lattè (caffè lattè made with
skim milk) as a way to add milk to your diet. If you don't
drink coffee, try a skinny almond milk.
-
Make a baked potato bar. Serve baked potatoes with a
variety of toppings, including chili, broccoli, ratatouille,
salsa, refried beans, and shredded low-fat cheese. Be
creative. You could end up with 4 or 5 servings of
vegetables at one meal.
-
Use a variety of cut-up vegetables with a low-fat dip as
an appetizer, instead of high-fat chips and dips. Try some
new vegetables.
-
Make a stir-fry containing lots of different vegetables.
-
Try some vegetarian meals featuring legumes (cooked dried
beans and peas). Add garbanzo beans to a salad; use fat-free
refried beans; have some split pea or black bean soup.
-
Buy a vegetarian cookbook and try one recipe per month or
per week.
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