Good Foods To Lower Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. High blood pressure typically develops over many years, and it affects nearly everyone eventually. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected. And once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work with your doctor to control it.
Foods that lower blood pressure naturally are easily found in your local grocery store and the reason these foods work so well to lower high blood pressure is because they contain large amounts of potassium. The body requires a healthy dose of potassium daily (4700mgs) and if you don’t eat enough foods that lower blood pressure naturally the result may be hypertension (high blood pressure).
There are certain foods that lower blood pressure to help you reduce how much medication you’re taking, or perhaps allow you to wean yourself off of it entirely. If you’re just trying to prevent your blood pressure from reaching a dangerous high, you can start incorporating more of these foods into your diet starting today. Some of them are pretty common, while others might require seeking them out and adding them to your cart the next time you’re out shopping. These should be consumed as part of a comprehensive approach including increased exercise and other lifestyle changes.
1. Peas – More peas please! They can help you stave off high blood pressure due to the vegetable protein they contain, as well as other vitamins and folic acid for overall cardiovascular support to your system. The best part is they taste amazing, especially if you buy fresh, organic peas. You can also find organic frozen varieties, and these typically only cost a bit more than the conventional kind. The flavor difference is noticeable, as conventional peas tend to absorb plenty of chemicals.
2. Baked Potato – Those on a low-carb diet are probably avoiding potatoes, and they’ve had trouble losing their starchy food image, but more and more evidence is pointing to them actually being good for you, in reasonable amounts. One of the benefits they may provide is through the kukoamine they contain. It’s not clear whether a single serving of it provides enough to lower your blood pressure, but adding these spuds to your plate seems to be worth it. You can also cook them in other ways too and still enjoy the benefits.
3. Celery – Celery helps your heart and your veins function better, which has the trickle down effect of keep your blood pressure levels in check. It is thought that by helping to balance blood sugar levels, it also works to maintain a good blood pressure level. The nice part of about all of this is that celery is a superfood, with many other positive benefits including weight loss. Not surprisingly, losing weight is a way to help get your blood pressure down, and maintaining a healthy weight is a great way to reduce your chances of complications arising from high blood pressure.
4. Green Beans – Green beans have a direct on your blood pressure, creating favorable conditions for healthy levels. They do this by helping your body in at least 3 different aspects, due to the Vitamin C content they contain, their fiber content, and also potassium, which has perhaps the most direct effect. You simply can’t go wrong by adding green beans to your plate, just be sure not to smother them in butter. Consider adding slivered almonds to make them even healthier.
5. Papaya – Although oranges typically get mentioned for their Vitamin C content, the papaya puts it to shame with plenty more per gram than an orange. Add to this the mix of other vitamins and minerals, including amino acids, and potassium and you’ll be taking a big step towards wrangling in higher than normal blood pressure levels. The potassium content also helps the general health of your heart. The added bonus is that papaya tastes great, so if this is one fruit that doesn’t currently make your fruit rotation, consider adding it to the lineup.
Oatmeal – You may be tired of hearing how good oatmeal is for you, especially if you don’t care for the taste. But if you’re concerned about your blood pressure levels, and loathe taking so much medication for the condition, you might be able to reduce your prescription by increasing your oatmeal intake. And it doesn’t require that you eat bowl after bowl of it, just a morning bowl will make a big difference. Try to avoid the flavored types as these add unnecessary sugar, which will only raise your blood glucose levels and negate some of the effect.
6. Guava – If you want to mimic the results of a clinical study performed in India you should aim to eat guava before your lunch or dinner. It might be hard for you to get guava in your part of the world, but it’s worth seeking out. The fruit is said to provide these results because of its high potassium levels. It also contains healthy amounts of fiber, so it helps your digestive system move things along, which has other health benefits to the body besides lowering blood pressure, including assisting in weight loss efforts.
7. Yogurt – Depending on how much stock you give studies that are partially funded by yogurt companies, there may be some benefit to having a daily non-fat yogurt. It’s basically banking on the fact that yogurt contains potassium, as well as magnesium and calcium, so as long as you keep the fat content low you’ll be working to keep your blood pressure low. This is definitely not the silver bullet when it comes to knocking down your blood pressure, but if consumed with other foods on this page it may show results.
8. Tomatoes – With all of the press that tomatoes get you’d think they were some sort of superfood. Actually, they are. Blood pressure is just one of the many things that tomatoes have been shown to help with. Like many of the other conditions its good for, the lycopene is said to be the reason for the improvements. Helping with everything from diabetes prevention to premature aging of the skin, there are plenty of reasons to keep the tomatoes coming. When preparing and consuming them, it’s best to eat them without much processing or cooking, and not with other ingredients like cheese and fatty meats like on a pizza.
9. Kiwis – These fuzzy little green fruits are not just sweet and yummy to eat, they’ve also been shown to help keep blood pressure from becoming a problem. In order to have success with them, you’ll need to have 3 of them each day. This might not be too feasible, since you might tire of them quickly, or they could go bad, or it could get expensive. But adding them to your grocery list and consuming them along with other foods rich in antioxidants and you should be covered as far as battling free radicals goes.
10. Blueberries – Blueberries have plenty of antioxidants in them, as do raspberries, and these have a direct impact on your blood pressure, by knocking out free radicals in your system. You can also avoid eating foods that increase the levels of free radicals in your body. Consider eating a bowl of fresh blueberries mixed with other fruits as a refreshing breakfast. Just do your best to eat them without adding sugar to them, or adding them to things like pancakes or muffins, which dilutes the overall effect it has on the body.