The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada advocates a particular type of diet and lifestyle for cardiovascular health. The Foundation encourages eating a large amount of vegetables and fruit and limiting salt, along with exercising and maintaining a healthy weight. One main focus is normalizing blood pressure through diet and lifestyle as much as possible, since high blood pressure is connected with many serious health complications.
Types
The Heart and Stroke Foundation endorses Canada's Food Guide and also promotes the diet that showed best results in the Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension (DASH) study. This clinical study tested the effects of food nutrients on blood pressure. These diets are very similar, according to the Foundation, except the DASH diet recommends a higher intake of fruits and vegetables.
Significance
High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. Although arteries generally become scarred and less elastic as people age, these effects occur sooner in people with high blood pressure. The heart then must put forth even more effort, and it becomes progressively weaker. Damaged arteries also are less able to transport blood to organs, and the organs may become impaired by lack of oxygen and nutrients. High blood pressure can lead to heart attack, stroke and kidney failure.
Research
In the DASH study, individuals participated in one of three eating plans. One mirrored a standard North American diet, one added extra vegetables and fruit to that diet, and the third, called the DASH diet, had a high content of vegetables, fruit and low-fat dairy foods, making it low in saturated fat, total fat and cholesterol. The DASH diet had the best effect on blood pressure, although the standard diet with extra vegetables and fruit had positive effects as well. In the DASH-Sodium study, the lower the salt intake, the greater the reduction in blood pressure. Participants who already had high blood pressure experienced the most significant results.
Recommendations
The DASH diet encourages eating large amounts of vegetables and fruits along with whole grains, poultry, fish, nuts and low-fat dairy foods. It limits red meat, sweet foods and sugared beverages. For best results, have eight to 10 servings of fruit and dark green and orange vegetables per day. Eat seven to eight servings of grain per day, with at least half being whole-grain foods. At least two servings of fish per week are recommended. Other good protein sources include lean meat, poultry and meat alternatives such as beans, lentils and tofu. Have two or three low-fat dairy servings per day and two or three meat or meat-alternative servings.
Tips
If you are overweight, reaching a healthy weight will reduce your blood pressure, advises the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Slow weight loss of 1 or 2 lbs. a week is best. In addition, limit sodium in food preparation and at the table, and choose fresh or frozen food rather than canned foods and fast food.
