Hypertension is characterized as an abnormally high amount of force placed on the arterial walls as blood flows through blood vessels. More commonly referred to as high blood pressure, it is a serious condition that places you at a greater risk of developing heart disease, heart failure, kidney failure and suffering a heart attack or stroke. When your blood pressure reaches 140 systolic or 90 diastolic, you have hypertension. While a number of medications are available to lower your blood pressure, most doctors recommend lifestyle changes to better control this condition. Modifying your diet is just one of these options.
Sodium
Decreasing the amount of sodium in your diet is one of the most common dietary changes used to improve blood pressure. The current recommended daily allowance for sodium is 2400mg. With hypertension, this amount may be too much for you, in which case you should lower your intake to around 1500mg a day.
Potassium
Sometimes, too little potassium in your diet can lead to high blood pressure. This mineral is known to balance the amount of sodium in your body. Your doctor may suggest increasing your intake of potassium-rich foods in conjunction with decreasing the amount of sodium in your diet. Bananas, raisins, prunes, cantaloupe, avocados, beets, potatoes, spinach and orange juice are all nutritious sources of this nutrient. Increasing your potassium intake, however, doesn't mean taking a dietary supplement of this mineral, as it is not recommended for people with high blood pressure.
Food
Besides decreasing sodium and increasing potassium, some people need to entirely overhaul their diets to help control hypertension. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends an eating plan known as DASH, or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This type of diet focuses on fruits, vegetables and whole grains with moderate amounts of lean meats and low-fat dairy. On DASH, you typically eat no fewer than 4 servings of both fruits and vegetables and 6 servings of whole grains each day. Meat is limited to 6 ounces a day, while low-fat dairy is kept at 2 to 3 servings. Sweets are lowered to no more than 5 servings a week and nuts, seeds and legumes are also reduced to 5 servings per week.
Fats and Cholesterol
Making all of these dietary changes usually reduce your fat and cholesterol intake. That being said, it is still important to monitor your dietary intake when trying to control your blood pressure. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute advises keeping your total fat intake to no more than 27 percent of your calories and saturated fat to no more than 6 percent of your calories. Cholesterol intake should be limited to around 150mg.
