Healthy Foods that Reduce High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure or hypertension does not just effect the old. It is increasingly becoming a problem amongst the young. Not taking measures to lower high blood pressure can eventually result in serious heart disease – Strokes, impaired vision, heart attacks and heart failure are often the result. Another serious health complication caused by high blood pressure is kidney failure. High blood pressure is often not detected until it leads to other health issues.

Ideally, we should all have a blood pressure below 120 over 80 (120/80). This is the ideal blood pressure for adults and will reduce the chances of developing heart desease or stroke.

If your blood pressure is above 120/80mmHg, you should try to lower it through exercise and an improved diet.

The higher your blood pressure the higher your chance of developing health problems. Even if do not have what is classified as 'high blood pressure' you should still attempt to lower it. For example, someone with a blood pressure level of 135 over 85 (135/85) is twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as someone with a reading of 115 over 75 (115/75).

The DASH Diet

Whether you suffer from high blood pressure or are worried about developing high blood pressure you are probably aware of some of the foods you should avoid. These include red meat and excessive amounts of alcohol to name just two. However are you aware of the foods you should eat to lower high blood pressure?

In a landmark study called DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) devised an eating plan that focuses on what people should eat rather than what foods they should avoid. The study was conducted on adults with normal to high blood pressure. Researchers found that in just eight weeks, people following the DASH diet saw their blood pressure decrease.¹

Recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Cancer Institute the DASH study recommends foods that contain low levels of sodium, fat and saturated fat but high in potassium, magnesium and calcium.¹

Benefits of Potassium

A number of studies indicate that groups with relatively high dietary potassium intakes have lower blood pressures than comparable groups with relatively low potassium intakes²

Data on more than 17,000 adults who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) indicated that higher dietary potassium intakes were associated with significantly lower blood pressures³

The results of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial provided further support for the beneficial effects of a potassium-rich diet on blood pressure⁴

Foods Rich in Potassium

Milk, yogurt, Apricots, Avocados, Bananas, Cantaloupes, Dates, Honeydew melon, nectarines, prunes and raisins, Chicken, Fish, Turkey, Carrots, Celery, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, molasses are provide healthy rich sources of potassium.

Benefits of Magnesium

Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities - For 6 years, the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study followed approximately 8,000 men and women who were initially free of hypertension. In this study, the risk of developing hypertension decreased as dietary magnesium intake increased in women, but not in men⁵

Epidemiologic evidence - Epidemiologic evidence suggests that magnesium may play an important role in regulating blood pressure.⁶

Foods Rich in Magnesium

Green vegetables such as spinach are good sources of magnesium. Some legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds, and whole, unrefined grains are also good sources of magnesium.

Eating a wide variety of legumes, nuts, whole grains, and vegetables will help you meet your daily dietary need for magnesium. Fish is also a good source with Halibut containing high concentrations of magnesium.

Benefits of Calcium

Several clinical trials have demonstrated a relationship between increased calcium intakes and both lower blood pressure and risk of hypertension⁷⁸⁹

Foods Rich in Calcium

Good sources of calcium include non- fat milk, non-fat yogurt, cheese, fortified soy milk, fortified orange juice, collards, bok choy, cooked soybeans, and spinach

Other foods

Cocoa Products: Cocoa is one of the best anti-oxidants in the world. It is also high in flavanols. According to a study by University of California, San Francisco, cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, increase the number of circulating angiogenic cells in patients with heart disease and improve the health of blood vessels.¹⁰. Dark chocoloate contains less milk than lighter chocolate and usually higher amounts of cocoa solids that are high in flavanols.

Smokers can benefit the most from these foods. The blood vessels in smokers tend to respond poorly to changes in blood flow leading to high blood pressure. According to a study in the Oct. 4 2005 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, flavanols [found in cocoa products] can reverse some smoking- related impairment in blood vessel function and significantly improve cardiovascular health problems in smokers.¹¹

Skimmed Goats Milk: According to the Journal of American Medicine, “Goat’s milk is the most complete food known.” It contains vitamins, minerals, electrolytes, trace elements, enzymes, protein and fatty acids that are utilized by your body with ease.

Potassium and calcium are good sources for maintaining normal blood pressure. Compared to cows milk, goat's milk contains 13 percent more calcium and 134 percent more potassium.

Try and obtain skimmed goats milk if possible. Skimmed milk is very low in fat, which is why you can consume it without the fear of high cholesterol.

Water Soluble Fibers: Grains and Grain products are high in fiber. A high-fiber diet has been shown to be effective in preventing and treating many forms of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension or high blood pressure.

The best dietary fibers for preventing or lowering high blood pressure are the water soluble gel- forming fibers such as oat bran, psyllium seeds, apple pectin and guar gum. These fibers are also good for reducing cholesterol, weight loss and removing heavy metals from the body.

1. Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure With Dash (Originally Printed 1998, Revised April 2006). National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. [↩] [↩]
2. Barri YM, Wingo CS. The effects of potassium depletion and supplementation on blood pressure: a clinical review. Am J Med Sci. 1997;314(1):37-40. [↩]
3. Hajjar IM, Grim CE, George V, Kotchen TA. Impact of diet on blood pressure and age- related changes in blood pressure in the US population: analysis of NHANES III. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(4):589-593. [↩]
4. Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM, Svetkey LP, Sacks FM, Bray GA, Vogt TM, Cutler JA, Windhauser MM, Lin PH, Karanja N. A clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure. DASH Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med. 1997 Apr 17;336(16):1117-24. [↩]
5. Peacock JM, Folsom AR, Arnett DK, Eckfeldt JH, Szklo M. Relationship of serum and dietary magnesium to incident hypertension: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. Annals of Epidemiology 1999;9:159- 65. [↩]
6. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D and Fluoride. National Academy Press. Washington, DC, 1999. [↩]
7. Allender PS, Cutler JA, Follmann D, Cappuccio FP, Pryer J, Elliott P. Dietary calcium and blood pressure. Ann Intern Med 1996;124:825-31. [↩]
8. Bucher HC, Cook RJ, Guyatt GH, Lang JD, Cook DJ, Hatala R, et al. Effects of dietary calcium supplementation on blood pressure. JAMA 1996;275:1016-22. [↩]
9. McCarron D, Reusser M. Finding consensus in the dietary calcium- blood pressure debate. J Am Coll Nutr 1999;18:398S-405S. [↩]
10. Lauren Hammit. Cocoa flavanols improve vascular and blood pressure measures for coronary artery disease patients (July 6, 2010). University of California, San Francisco (415) 502-NEWS (6397) [↩]
11. Christian Heiss, MD, PhD, Petra Kleinbongard, PhD, Andrè Dejam, MD, PhD, Sandra Perré, MS, Hagen Schroeter, PhD, Helmut Sies, MD, PhD and Malte Kelm, MD Acute Consumption of Flavanol-Rich Cocoa and the Reversal of Endothelial Dysfunction in Smokers Journal of the American College of Cardiology (10 sept 2005). J Am Coll Cardiol, 2005; 46:1276-1283, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2005.06.055 [↩]

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