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High Blood Pressure, Hypertension
... Could It Be Nutrition?
Lifestyle Tips Foods That Help
Foods to Avoid Supplements
Nutrition Therapy
What is High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)?
When the heart pumps blood through the arteries (large blood vessels), it pushes the blood
against the arterial walls with a force that is measured as "blood pressure".
Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80). This is the ideal
blood pressure for people wishing to have good health. At this level, we have a much lower
risk of heart disease or stroke.
High blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease,
also known as coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, and
other health problems.
Your blood pressure is highest when your heart beats, pumping the blood.
This is called systolic pressure. When your heart is at rest, between beats,
your blood pressure falls. This is the diastolic pressure.
Your blood pressure reading uses these two numbers, the systolic and diastolic pressures.
Usually they are written one above or before the other.
Using this blood pressure chart:
To work out what your blood pressure readings mean, just find your top number (systolic) on the left side of the blood pressure chart and read across, and your bottom number (diastolic) on the bottom of the blood pressure chart. Where the two meet is your blood pressure.
- 120/80 or lower is normal blood pressure
- 140/90 or higher is high blood pressure
- Between 120 and 139 for the top number, or between 80 and 89 for the bottom number is prehypertension
High blood pressure usually has no symptoms, but it can cause serious problems such as stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. You can control high blood pressure through healthy lifestyle habits and taking medicines, if needed.
Causes and Symptoms
Hypertension is often called a "silent killer" because even severe, uncontrolled high
blood pressure usually has no obvious symptoms. Blood pressure tends to rise with age.
Follow a healthy lifestyle helps most people delay or prevent this rise in blood pressure.
People who have high blood pressure can take steps to control it and reduce their risk of related health problems.
Key steps include following a healthy lifestyle: staying active, drinking clean water
and eating organic local whole foods.
Excessive pressure makes the heart work harder, increasing its oxygen demands and contributing to angina, and can eventually lead to an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly), as well as damage to blood vessels in the kidneys and brain. Hypertension, therefore, increases the risk of heart attacks, stroke and kidney disease.
Hypertension is the most common form of cardiovascular disease in America, affecting about 50 million people - that's close to one out of four adults. The good news is that hypertension is easy to detect, and can often be improved or controlled with natural remedies for high blood pressure and changes in diet and lifestyle.
Hypertension Lifestyle Prevention Tips
- Stress Reduction
Stress causes hypertension by activating the sympathetic nervous system,
causing the arteries to maintain a more rigid tone. Relax more. Meditation, yoga, exercise, and
breathing exercises are all relaxation techniques that can help lower blood pressure.
- Stay Active - Move Every Day
Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. Walking is truly the easiest
and most effective natural remedies for high blood pressure.
- Eating Less Sodium
Eat less processed, fast and junk food, which usually contains excessive amounts
of sodium can cause water retention which expands blood volume and ultimately increases blood pressure.
Insulin resistance can increase blood pressure by causing the kidneys to retain sodium.
- Maintain optimal weight
Lose the excess weight. Even small amounts of weight loss can improve blood pressure.
- Do Not Smoke
Smoking contributes to all cardiovascular diseases, including high blood
pressure, as well as other life-threatening conditions as well.
- Drink Less Caffeine
Caffeine acts as a cardiovascular stimulant and raises blood pressure.
Limit your consumption of caffeine in coffee, tea and soda which contribute to high blood pressure.
- Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Regular alcohol intake can increase blood pressure.
- Review medications often
Medications, prescription drugs, including steroids, birth control pills, decongestants,
NSAIDS and diet pills can raise blood pressure. Some over-the-counter medicines, such
as those containing licorice root, ephedra, guarana, kola nut, yerba mate, ginseng and
yohimbe, may also raise blood pressure.
Foods That Help Reduce Blood pressure - contain potassium
The most natural way to lower blood pressure is to eat right.
Adding potassium-rich foods to your diet, and minimizing processed, fast, junk and canned foods,
which contain large amounts of sodium will help lower your blood pressure.
The Top 10 Potassium-rich Fruits
- Papaya (medium size) - 781 milligrams (mg) of potassium
- Guava (1 cup) - 688 mg
- Fresh figs (8 oz) - 526 mg
- Cantaloupe (1 cup) - 494 mg
- Banana (1 medium) - 422 mg
- Prunes (1/4 cup) - 316 mg
- Kiwi (1 fruit) - 252 mg
- Strawberries (1 cup) - 239
- Orange (1 medium) - 237 mg
- Raspberries (1 cup) - 187 mg
Potassium-rich Vegetables
- Swiss chard (1 cup, boiled) - 960 mg of potassium
- Lima beans (1 cup, cooked) - 955
- Yam (1 cup, cooked) - 911
- Winter squash (1 cup, baked) - 895 mg
- Avocado (1 cup, sliced) - 874 mg
- Spinach (1 cup, boiled) - 838 mg
- Pinto beans (1 cup, cooked) - 800 mg
- Lentils (1 cup, cooked) - 730 mg
- Kidney beans (1 cup, cooked) - 713 mg
- Beets (1 cup, boiled) - 518 mg
- Baked potato (with skin) - 510 mg
- Broccoli (1 cup, steamed ) - 505 mg
- Green peas (1 cup, boiled) - 433 mg
- Tomato (1 cup, raw) - 399 mg
- Carrots (1 cup, raw) - 394 mg
- Green beans (1 cup, boiled) - 373 mg
Potassium-rich Protein sources
- Halibut (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 653 mg of potassium
- Snapper (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 592 mg
- Cod (4 oz. baked/broiled) - 586 mg
- Yogurt (1 cup, lowfat) - 572 mg
- Cow's milk (1 cup, 2%) - 376 mg
- Goat's milk (1 cup) - 498 mg
Foods to Avoid
Avoid food that boosts insulin levels, which in turn can raise blood pressure levels.
Sugar-type foods and grains will raise your insulin. These foods include whole, organic
grains which rapidly break down to sugars, as well as packaged cereals, rice, pasta,
potatoes, pastries and breads of all kinds. Stick to eating organic vegetables and grass fed meats.
Potassium Rich Foods - Heart Healthy
Following a healthy, well-balanced, and plentiful diet of foods high in potassium
will help you keep your body's minerals in balance. Potassium is naturally found
in fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Meat, poultry and fish foods are
high in potassium too, but an entirely carnivorous diet will be detrimental to
your health, causing a rise in acid levels and depleting potassium levels.
Keep it all in balance and stay healthy!
Supportive Supplements
Quality Whole Food MultiVitamin
Taking a daily multivitamin simply ensures that you get the energy you need to drive metabolism.
If you're not eating a diet rich in fresh whole foods, and if you don't get plenty of fruits and vegetables,
a multivitamin may help you fill in the gaps.
My favorite MultiVitamin is Catalyn, from Standard Process. Introduced in 1929, Catalyn, Dr. Lee's first product,
contains vital nutrients from whole food sources and supports overall well-being.
Vitamin D
Normalizing your vitamin D levels can have a powerful effect on normalizing your blood pressure.
Lower Vitamin D levels affect your immune system and increase risk for heart disease.
Additionally, recent studies link Vitamin D to the regulation of many other bodily functions
including blood pressure, glucose control, and inflammation, all of which are important risk
factors related to heart disease.
Vitamin D levels can be normalized by simply including 20 minutes of sun exposure, per day.
The normal "functional" range for vitamin D is approximately 40 to 74 nanograms per mL of blood.
This range may vary slightly from one lab to another. If you have less than 40 nanograms of
vitamin D per mL of blood, you probably have a deficiency.
Vitamin D Supplements are available in pill form, as well as simple flavored cod liver oil.
My favorite Vitamin D supplement is: Cataplex D from Standard Process.
Omega 3 fatty acids
According to multiple studies done, omega 3 fats lower blood pressure and improve blood vessel function.
Clinical trials have revealed that fish oil reduced blood pressure readings by 3.0mm Hg for systolic
pressure (top number) and 1.5mm Hg for diastolic pressure (bottom number).
My favorite sources of omega 3 fats are wild-caught salmon, snapper, halibut, cod, shrimp and scallops.
An excellent plant source of omega 3 fatty acids is ground flax seeds.
My favorite omega 3 supplement is: Tuna Omega 3 from Standard Process.
Are you ready to address your high blood pressure with nutrition?
Debbie Allen is a Master Nutrition Therapist and owner of Denver Nutrition.
Debbie works with individuals who have a genuine motivation to become
healthier through diet and lifestyle changes. With Nutrition Therapy, Debbie will
provide you with ongoing, individualized dietary plans and nutritional education
based on your goals and food preferences to make the process easy and fun, while
integrating the use of whole natural foods.
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Good health begins with taking responsibility for our own bodies.
Contact Me Now to Begin Your Transformation.
If you have questions or need more information:
Call: 800-769-7923 * 303-782-4842 (MST)
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