High blood pressure can be a life threatening because it increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Taking steps to avoid certain foods and herbs can help you reduce your blood pressure and avoid making it worse. While taking these steps is important, it is beneficial to talk with your doctor about other changes you can make to combat your high blood pressure.
Salt
The Cleveland Clinic reports that consuming too much salt causes your body to retain extra water, which puts extra pressure on your heart and blood vessels, leading to an increase in your blood pressure. When you have high blood pressure you should consume no more than 1,500 mg of sodium per day, and you may need to reduce your intake even further. Talk with your doctor about how your salt intake is affecting your individual blood pressure levels and how you should adjust your salt intake.
Avoid prepackaged foods, frozen foods and canned foods that contain high amounts of sodium. Stick to fresh foods. Avoid adding salt to your foods or using condiments that contain high amounts of sodium. Use herbs and spices to flavor your foods instead of salt.
Foods High in Saturated Fat
Eating foods high in saturated fat such as red meat will only increase your cholesterol levels and increase the amount of blockage in your arteries. Therefore, these foods will make your high blood pressure worse over time.
Alcohol
Drinking alcohol in moderation may not have a negative effect on your blood pressure, but drinking more than moderate amounts can negatively affect your blood pressure. A moderate amount of alcohol is limited to one drink a day for women and no more than two drinks a day for men. Drinking more than this amount can cause your blood pressure to increase.
Licorice
Licorice is often taken in for a number of conditions, but it can negatively affect your blood pressure. According to MedlinePlus, a part of the National Institutes of Health, taking licorice in high amounts, over 30 g, for more than a four-week period can cause high blood pressure. Even as little as 5 g have been known to cause high blood pressure in some people.
Therefore, if you have high blood pressure or are at risk for high blood pressure you will want to steer clear of licorice herbal supplements. Also, even licorice flavored chewing tobacco has been known to negatively affect blood pressure, notes MedlinePlus.
Ginger
Taking high doses of ginger can cause heart conditions to worsen. MedlinePlus reports that if you have a heart condition you should avoid taking the herbal supplement ginger.
Siberian Ginseng
Siberian ginseng should be avoided. According to MedlinePlus, if you have a blood pressure rating of more than 180/90, taking Siberian ginseng can worsen your high blood pressure. Also, Siberian Ginseng has been linked to making other heart diseases worse, notes MedlinePlus.
