You need to follow a heart healthy diet to take care of your blood pressure even if you
are on blood pressure lowering medications. In this video you will learn about five different
food types to LOWER your blood pressure naturally. Coming up!
What is high blood pressure?
Imagine a Garden hose with water flowing through the hose. The analogy would be your blood
flowing through your blood vessels. If someone were to step on the garden hose right about
there. What would happen? Yes, it would take longer for water to flow, but secondly there
would be a higher pressure in your blood vessels. This is what happens when your blood vessels
get calcified and harden because of advanced age, high blood pressure, DM, kidney disease.
Blood pressure is the force your heart uses to pump your blood around your body. Naturally,
if there was narrowing of the garden hose (blood vessels) your blood pressure would
rise and your heart would need increased force to pump blood around your body. If you have
high blood pressure you are at an increased risk for heart disease, heart attack, strokes
and kidney disease.
What do your blood pressure numbers mean?
You go to your doctor’s office and your health care provider says your blood pressure
is 140 over 80. The top number is the pressure inside your arteries when your heart is pumping
blood out. This is also referred to as systolic blood pressure. The bottom number is the pressure
inside your arteries when your heart is resting between heart contractions. (When your heart
is relaxing). This is also known as diastolic blood pressure.
What is a normal blood pressure?
An ideal blood pressure would be 120 over 80. A normal blood pressure would be your
top number being 119 or below and your bottom number being 79 or below. The term elevated
blood pressure means that you do not have high blood pressure, but is a warning used
by your health care provider indicating that you are at risk. High blood pressure would
be if the top number is 130 or above and the bottom number is 80 or above.
5 Foods which can reduce blood pressure naturally!
1) Fish such as salmon, herring, tuna or mackerel have positive cardiovascular and blood pressure
lowering effects. They are a very good source of omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids
are able to lower blood pressure because of their anti-inflammatory properties.
This study showed that the higher your omega 3 index was the lower your systolic and diastolic
blood pressure readings were.
For example Japan has high fish consumption with an omega 3 index between 9- 11%.They
are also are country with one of the highest life expectancy and lowest rates of coronary
artery disease.
2)Potassium rich foods can help reduce your blood pressure. The reason for this is potassium
reduces the effects of sodium. If you ingest too much sodium, sodium holds onto water and
your blood pressure increases. If you ingest more potassium, it helps you pee more sodium
in your urine. Potassium also helps to ease tension in your blood vessel walls, which
helps further lower blood pressure. Potassium also helps relaxes your arteries., thus indirectly
helping with blood flow in your body. The recommended daily intake of potassium
according to the national institute of health for men is 3,400mg/d and for women 2,600mg/d.These
numbers are less than what was previously recommended which was 4700mg per by the NIH.For
example one standard potion cup of cooked spinach would be 839mg of potassium, one medium
potato baked with skin would be around 926mg of potassium.
Some other examples of potassium rich food are: mushrooms, tomatoes, leafy greens, peas,
beans, bananas and avocados. As the list is quite exhaustive I have left a link in the
description below highlighting food sources of potassium.
Please note: too much potassium can also be harmful so consult with your Doctor before
going on a high potassium diet or if you take potassium supplements in particular if you
have kidney disease or are on drugs which can increase your potassium such as ACE-I,
ARBS or Spironolactone.
3)Magnesium rich foods can also lower your blood pressure. If you take in adequate magnesium
your body makes a molecule called nitric oxide which helps relaxes your blood vessels. This
helps with blood flow in your arteries, but more importantly helps reduce your blood pressure.
Moreover, magnesium is involved in multiple chemical reactions in your body.
Examples of good magnesium sources are pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, black beans, nuts such
as almonds and cashews, boiled spinach, or salmon. Recommended daily intake according
to the NIH is for men 400-420mg and for women 310-320mg.For example one cup of cashew nuts
dry and roasted would be around 356mg magnesium , one cup of raw black beans is 332mg of magnesium
If you are interested in blood pressure lowering medications check this video.
4)High fiber foods have been shown to lower blood pressure and inflammation. Here popping
up on your screen 1 & 2 &3 are three studies showing that benefit. Sources of fiber can
be vegetables such as spinach or broccoli, fruits such as pears, apples or bananas, grains
such as cooked brown rice or cooked barley or cereals such as shredded wheat or cooked
oatmeal. Not only is fiber a heart health food, it fills you up, therefore you eat less
and helps you lose weight.So that you get the idea here are examples of fiber: raspberries
which have about 4g of fiber for a standard portion which would be the size of your fist
or lentils cooked which would be 3.9g for a ¼ cup.
5) There is some observational study evidence to show that calcium rich food may help with
lowering blood pressure. Calcium in your body has two roles. It helps tighten your blood
vessels as well as relax blood vessels. Of note high intake of calcium supplements has
been associated with increased cardiovascular risk.Therfore food I would recommend would
be food types which are also rich in the other minerals I mentioned earlier such as cooked
spinach, cooked kale. Would recommend low or non-fat Yogurt or low-fat Greek yogurt
as calcium sources.
Next weeks video I will pick the best individual food types to lower your blood pressure video
and the link will be here.
You might also interested in these video.Click like and subscribe as it really helps this
channel out.Have a good day and Think your health.