High Blood Pressure Diet
High blood pressure can be one of the easiest health conditions to avoid, yet millions of people suffer from it. While it can be somewhat hereditary, what you eat, how much you weigh, and your overall health play a significant role in your risk of developing this condition. This is why some health care providers often recommend that you eat a high blood pressure diet to help both prevent the condition from developing and reducing high blood pressure once it gets too dangerous.
This diet also commonly referred to as DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), and it focuses on the following principles:
- Increased intake of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy
- Decreased intake of saturated fat, cholesterol, and total fat
- Increased intake of whole grains
- Decreased intake of red meat and sweets
- Increased intake of magnesium, calcium, and potassium
Many people who choose to follow the DASH diet find that when they combine it with a regular exercise regimen, they lose weight in addition to lowering their blood pressure. Since obesity is a leading high blood pressure causes in adults, eating a balanced high blood pressure diet may be able to help you further avoid the often costly complications that can arise with this condition by getting rid of excess body weight. Before you begin eating a diet that follows these rules, however, it is important to consult with your doctor and an experienced nutritionist to learn about this diet and other modes of naturally treating high blood pressure. They may be able to help you avoid potential complications and create a custom diet that will help to naturally control you blood pressure.
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