Eating a diet full of vitamin-rich vegetables leads to a host of benefits ranging from a reduced risk of heart disease and digestive disorders to lower blood pressure, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. You should shoot for about nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day, or about 4 ½ cups to receive the full benefits. Shoot for a variety of colors to make sure you get the biggest boost.
Dark Greens
Dark, leafy greens are rich in vitamins and heart-healthy antioxidants. Good sources of greens include spinach, kale and collards. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute recommends eating at least one cup per day of the healthy greens to stave off high blood pressure. Spread out your eating with a half-cup at each meal or include spinach as filler when making meat dishes. At the same time, you need to reduce the amount of fatty salad dressings and cooking oil you use when preparing or serving the greens.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are on most every medical professional's list of healthy vegetables that can help you lose weight and reduce your blood pressure. According to Your Family's Health, tomatoes are loaded with vitamin C, an antioxidant that attacks free radicals and frees up clogged arteries. You have to be careful when eating tomatoes to not load up on salt, which has a deleterious affect on blood pressure. Men may get additional benefits from tomatoes. In addition to typically having higher blood pressure rates than women, men susceptible to prostate cancer can reduce their risks through the lycopenes in tomatoes.
Peppers
Green, red and yellow peppers are high in vitamin C and low in salt content. They make effective fresh seasonings in salads, soups and casseroles. According to Ask the Dietitian, other vegetables commonly used for cooking contain significant amounts of natural sodium and should be limited on a blood pressure-lowering diet. Those vegetables you should avoid include celery, carrots, beets and white turnips. Most canned vegetables also are high in sodium so you should look for those without added salt. Other fresh vegetables low in natural salt include cauliflower and green onions.
Garlic
One of the most effective replacements for salt is garlic, a vegetable that's been used for centuries as a food additive and for medicinal purposes, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Garlic contains significant amounts of antioxidants and may decrease advancing cardiovascular disease if you already have it. It reduces low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and can raise your high density lipoproteins, or HDL, which can significantly lower your blood pressure.
