Maintaining your blood pressure within normal ranges can lower your risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, and a healthy diet can help. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and low-fat dairy products might lower blood pressure, while unhealthy foods, such as some kinds of pork, might contribute to higher levels. Most individuals can include some pork as part of a balanced diet for low blood pressure, and a nutritionist can work with you to design an appropriate plan.
Weight Gain
Fatty cuts of pork might eventually increase your blood pressure because they are high in calories. You are more likely to gain unwanted weight when you eat a lot of high-calorie foods, and obesity increases your risk for high blood pressure. Raw, lean pork might have fewer than 40 calories per ounce, while pork belly has nearly 150 calories per ounce. To control your blood pressure, choose cuts of pork without visible fat, and grill them without adding fat, such as oils.
Sodium
Eating processed or cured pork can increase your blood pressure because of its sodium content. Cured ham has 764 mg of sodium per ounce, and salted pork has 404 mg. A high-sodium diet can cause high blood pressure, and healthy adults should have no more than 2,300 mg per day, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Pork is not naturally high in sodium, and an ounce of fresh pork leg has only 16 mg.
Lack of Nutrition
Your blood pressure might increase if you eat pork instead of other sources of protein that are healthier for your blood pressure. A high-potassium diet helps regulate blood pressure, and beans, soybeans and fish are healthier protein sources than pork. Fatty fish and shellfish are sources of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which might lower your blood pressure, and you should get at least two servings per week, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Pork does not provide these nutrients.
DASH Diet
To maintain a healthy blood pressure, or to lower your blood pressure if it is already high, follow a meal plan such as the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH diet, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The plan emphasizes fruits, vegetables, reduced-fat dairy products, healthy fats and whole grains, but it has room for pork. A 2,000-calorie DASH diet includes up to 6 oz. of lean proteins, such as lean pork, per day.
