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Are You Eating Foods That Lower Blood Pressure?

By: Paul Johnson If you have high blood pressure, you need to pay attention to your diet. You should avoid certain foods if you want to help lower your blood pressure.

One thing you should look at closely if you have high blood pressure is your alcohol consumption. Modest amounts of alcohol have been shown to be beneficial to blood pressure, but excessive amounts of alcohol have been shown to be damaging to blood vessels and in turn blood pressure. If you drink excessively, this can cause serious problems and make your blood pressure even more difficult to treat.

You can also increase your chances of having more complications with your blood pressure. Some studies have shown that a small amount of alcohol can have a protective effect on your heart. However, you should not take the risk nor should you have this attitude. You should cut alcohol out of your diet entirely.

Excessive salt is another thing that you should cut out of your diet if you have high blood pressure. Of course, too much salt isn't good for anyone (even those with normal blood pressure), but it can increase your already high blood pressure if you already have a problem with it.

If you already have high blood pressure, consuming excess salt is probably forbidden on your diet. Even if your blood pressure is optimal, too much salt can still be detrimental to your health. A good way to begin to adjust your salt intake is to make sure you cook without salt altogether, and then taste your food before you add any. In general, opt add no more than about a half a teaspoon of table salt to your food on a daily basis, and avoid pre-salted foods such as processed junk food like potato chips or pretzels, or even some canned products such as soups and tomato products.

Trans fats, too, can raise blood pressure because they can damage your blood vessels. They raise cholesterol, which is bad for your circulatory system and your cardiovascular system in general. Your diet should be low in trans fats and low in saturated fats in general. Moderate amounts of so-called "good" fats such as monounsaturated fats should be included in your diet for best health. Limit or eliminate foods such as junk food, fast food, processed cakes, cookies, etc. Modest amounts of meats are fine (all meat contains some saturated fat), but you should concentrate on getting most of your fat from monounsaturated sources.

If your circulatory system is already under a lot of stress because you have high blood pressure, high fat foods can plays an additional stress on your body. Dairy products too, should be of the low fat or no fat variety, since full fat dairy products contain lots of saturated fat.

If you have high blood pressure and want to help lower it with your diet, make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as fish. Fruits and vegetables contain optimal amounts of potassium, which can help balance sodium and lower blood pressure. In addition, fish, too, can help lower blood pressure.

If you have high blood pressure, the food you eat is very important. If you eat a lot of high fat or highly salted food, this can cause your blood pressure to go off without your even being aware of it. Eat foods low in salt and saturated fat, and avoid excess alcohol consumption. All of this can be very damaging to your blood vessels, which in turn can raise your blood pressure. By contrast, a good diet can also significantly lower your blood pressure.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

The author, Paul Johnson, often writes on subjects like Foods That Lower Blood Pressure. For more fine articles and videos, take a few seconds to visit Blood Pressure - FYI

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