Hypertension Diet

Hypertension can be a result of poor eating habits which is why a healthy hypertension diet is important to maintain healthy blood pressure.  Important dietary factors contributing to hypertension are salt intake, alcohol intake, and saturated fats. There are several foods that lower blood pressure. A wholesome hypertension diet will limit intake of these three items and has been proven effective.

Hypertension Diet

One example of a hypertension diet is called the DASH diet which is endorsed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, is high in fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, legumes but is low in salt and saturated fats.  A brief overview of this diet is as follows:

7-8 daily servings of grains such as whole wheat bread, oatmeal, and popcorn

4-5 servings of vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peas, beans, squash, spinach

4-5 servings of fruits such as bananas, grapes, oranges, grapefruit

2-3 servings of low fat/fat free diary products such as milk, cheese, yoghurt

Less than 2 servings of lean, non-fried meats, poultry, or fish

4-5/week servings of nuts or seeds such as almonds, peanuts, walnuts, lentils

2-3 servings of fats or oils such as margarine, mayonnaise, olive oil

5/week sweets such as sugar, jams, hard candy, sorbet

This example of the DASH hypertension diet is a brief overview of the entire diet.  What this shows is that a hypertension diet only requires minor changes to an existing diet.  Making healthy eating choices is part of maintaining a healthy body weight and keeping blood pressure low.  Adding regular, dynamic exercise to a healthy hypertension diet will result in better body image and lower blood pressure.