Blood pressure is the force with which blood pumps against the walls of the arteries. High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects nearly one-third of all adult Americans, according to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and is defined as an elevated arterial pressure of 140/90 or higher for a sustained period. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It is treatable with medication and lifestyle changes, including regular exercise and healthy eating. The DASH diet is an eating plan low in sodium and fat that emphasizes healthy eating to prevent and control high blood pressure.
Step 1
Change your dietary habits gradually to ensure you stick with the DASH diet plan and to minimize side effects associated with increased fiber intake. Because the DASH diet includes more high-fiber foods than a standard diet contains, changing to the DASH eating plan too quickly can cause bloating and diarrhea.
Step 2
Follow the DASH eating plan guidelines, and eat at least six servings of grains, four servings each of fruits and vegetables, two servings each of low-fat diary and fats, and 6 ounces or less of lean meat or fish per day. Consume four to five servings per week of nuts, seeds and legumes, and limit your intake of sweets to five or fewer servings per week.
Step 3
Eat plenty of carbohydrates in the form of whole-grain pastas, rice and breads, and include a variety of vegetables and beans in your diet. Spread these foods between meals, as their high-fiber content can make you feel full faster and prevent you from eating other nutritious foods at mealtime.
Step 4
Use salt substitutes whenever possible, and avoid using salt when cooking unless necessary. Ask for unsalted foods when eating out, and keep your saltshaker off your dining room table to prevent reaching for it out of habit. Frank W. Jackson, M.D., of Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology, cautions that many salt substitutes still contain some amount of sodium that must be included in your daily sodium intake total.
Step 5
Cook your meals at home and stay away from fast foods and convenience products. According to the Mayo Clinic website, you should avoid processed foods such as frozen dinners, condiments and canned soups, because they typically are very high in sodium.
Step 6
Include high-potassium foods in your diet. Columbia University recommends bananas, acorn squash, potatoes, tomato and grapefruit juice, and avocados.
Step 7
Reduce your intake of saturated fat, transfat and cholesterol by avoiding fatty cuts of meat, using low-sodium margarine instead of butter or lard, and opting for olive, safflower and other healthy oils when cooking.
Step 8
Lose weight if you are overweight or obese by reducing your caloric intake, resisting the urge to snack on sugary foods and getting plenty of exercise. Being overweight increases your risk of developing high blood pressure and makes existing hypertension more difficult to control.
Step 9
Drink water with dinner instead of wine. Alcohol raises blood pressure in some people, and the American Heart Association recommends that people who suffer from hypertension drink no more than the equivalent of one 8-ounce glass of wine each day.
Tips and Warnings
- The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends reducing your sodium intake to no more than 2,300 mg per day; 1,500 mg per day is even better. Supplementing your diet with omega-3 fatty acids, garlic, calcium and alpha-linolenic acid may also help control high blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
- Read food labels carefully, because the sodium content may not be obvious. Ingredients such as sodium benzoate, monosodium glutamate, sodium hydroxide, disodium phoshate and sodium sulfate all indicate the food is high in sodium, especially if one or more of these ingredients is near the top of the list.
References
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: Healthy Eating
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute: DASH Eating Plan
- Jackson Siegelbaum Gastroenterology: High Blood Pressure Diet
- Columbia University, Go Ask Alice!: Managing High Blood Pressure through Diet
- American Heart Association: Alcohol, Wine and Cardiovascular Disease
