Reduce High Blood Pressure with Diet

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Reduce High Blood Pressure with Diet

Posted by Lynda on July 6th, 2012 (Diet, Fact Sheets, Nutrition)

Reduce high blood pressure or hypertension as it is also known, with these simple changes to your diet.

Add plenty of fruit and vegetables to your diet to reduce high blood pressure

The health risks of high blood pressure, also known as ‘hypertension’, can be dramatically reduced with a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy products, fish and wholegrain foods, together with a low or no salt diet.

If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to serious health problems including a heart attack, stroke, heart failure or kidney disease. So take steps to improve your health with simple alterations to your diet and lifestyle.

Steps to Reduce High Blood Pressure

Lose Weight: If you are overweight, take step to reach a healthy body weight. Being overweight increases blood pressure because the heart has to work harder to pump blood around the body

Exercise: Include at least 30 minutes of exercise 5 times per week such as walking, swimming, cycling, yoga and Pilates

Drink Alcohol in Moderation: Stick to 1-2 standard size drinks a day and have at least 3 alcohol free days per week which gives the liver time to recover

7-a-Day: Eat 2 serving of fruit and 5 serving of vegetables a day

Reduce Salt: Eat less than 4g of salt a day (1550mg of sodium a day) which is just under 1 teaspoon of salt. Read labels and opt for low-salt foods, which have no more than 120mg of sodium/salt per 100g. Avoid processed foods, salty snacks and take away food

Use Herbs & Spices: Instead of flavouring food with salt use herbs and spices in cooking instead

Eat Wholegrains: Ditch white bread, pasta and rice for their wholemeal alternatives. They will fill you up for longer and provide a steady flow of energy as your body breaks them down

Oily Fish: Eat 2-3 servings of oily fish a week to increase your omega 3s. Oily fish includes fresh salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, herrings and anchovies

Download, save and print a fact sheet on Diet & High Blood Pressure from Sydney Dietitian, Lynda Hamilton.