Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The greater your volume of blood flow and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. High blood pressure, or hypertension, increases your risk for heart disease, heart attack, stroke and even death. A healthy dietary lifestyle is a powerful tool in reducing and managing blood pressure. Seek approval from your doctor prior to making dietary changes for best results.
Plant-Based Diet
A plant-based diet contains primarily foods that come from plants, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. The American Heart Association suggests a diet rich in these foods as a means of managing blood pressure and reducing your risk for cardiovascular disease. To maintain a healthy plant-based diet, incorporate a variety of fresh, colorful fruits and vegetables into your diet on a regular, consistent basis. Replace refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, enriched pasta and sugary desserts and cereals with whole grain equivalents most often. Beans, lentils and tofu are valuable sources of plant-based protein. Heart-healthy, plant-based fat sources include ground flax seeds, walnuts, olive oil and canola oil. Keep in mind that a plant-based diet, though low in animal-based products, does not need to be vegetarian. However, more of your foods should stem from plants than from meats, fish and dairy products.
DASH Diet
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet plan, coupled with reduced sodium (salt) intake, may help you manage your blood pressure healthfully. Each step of the DASH diet plan is designed to help reduce blood pressure and includes helpful dietary hints and recipes, all geared toward 2 different levels of sodium intake--2,300 milligrams or 1,500 milligrams daily. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the lower your salt intake, the lower your blood pressure is likely to be.
The DASH diet plan provides designated portion sizes of the various healthy food groups to its partakers' caloric needs. In general, 6 to 8 servings grains, 4 to 5 servings vegetables, 4 to 5 servings fruit, 2 to 3 low-fat dairy servings, 6 or fewer ounces meat, poultry or fish, 2 to 3 servings fats and a maximum of 5 modest sweets servings, such as 1 tablespoon sugar-rich jelly, are allowed per week. The DASH diet is also well suited to healthy weight management, which may further promote healthy blood pressure.
Mediterranean Diet
A diet based on Mediterranean-style dining and food preparation may improve heart health. According to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in October 2004, adherence to a Mediterranean diet is associated with healthy blood pressure levels. The diet incorporates many healthy foods, including rich amounts of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats (such as olive or canola oil and nuts), natural herbs rather than salt as seasoning, modest amounts of red wine, little red meat, and fish at least twice per week. The Mediterranean diet focuses on food choices, rather than particular amounts, and encourages regular physical activity and dining with loved ones.
To adopt heart-healthy principles of the Mediterranean diet, increase the amount of fruits and vegetables you consume. Choose whole grains over processed grains most often and keep red meat intake to a minimum. Omega-3 fats, such as those found in salmon, tuna, walnuts, ground flax seeds and canola oil, are known to promote arterial health. Incorporate such foods into your diet regularly to reap most benefits. If your doctor has suggested weight loss, incorporate modest amounts of healthy fats, such as oil, because though they are nutritionally sound, they are also dense in calories. Over-consumption of calories is likely to increase your weight and potentially cause damage or blockage in your arteries.
References
- American Heart Association: Managing Blood Pressure Through Diet
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Following the DASH Diet Plan
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition": Olive oil, the Mediterranean diet, and arterial blood pressure: the Greek European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, Oct 2004
