You can lower your blood pressure to normal range and improve your overall health, without taking hypertensive drugs, by modifying your diet in 3 simple ways. The first is to substantially reduce your sodium intake; secondly, eat a diet rich in potassium; and finally, cook with herbs, garlic and onions.
1. Reduce Sodium Intake.
Although most of us are aware that too much salt is not healthy and causes an increase in blood pressure, we often do not realize just how much sodium is in most of the foods we eat on a day to day basis. All prepared, canned and convenience foods contain a large amount of sodium. And, research suggests that the combination of both salt and sugar has an even worse effect on blood pressure than just salt alone. So, it is a good idea to read the nutritional labels on food items and avoid those that are high in both. Stick with fresh produce and you will reduce your sodium intake and save money as a bonus. You can also use honey instead of refined sugar as a sweetener.
Reducing salt in cooking is easier if done gradually. Start by cutting down on the use of salt in recipes, and taste your food before adding salt at the table. If salt is used sparingly, in a few weeks your taste buds will adjust and you will find you need less and less. Buy a cookbook with recipes for a lower sodium diet.
2. Add Potassium Rich Food to your Diet.
Potassium is an important mineral for the healthy functioning of many organs in our body, including the heart. Additionally, it lowers blood pressure. What happens is that sodium and potassium are connected to each other and there is a struggle going on in our bodies between the two. If you have too much sodium, the potassium gets excreted through your urine. On the other hand, if you have more potassium your body will get rid of the sodium.
The best foods to add to your diet are those that with a healthy ratio, high in potassium and very low in sodium. The following foods are some of those that have a very small amount of sodium and a large amount of potassium: unsalted almonds, apples, asparagus, bananas, blueberries, oranges, green peppers, baked potatoes, raw tomatoes and strawberries.
3. Cook with Garlic, Onions and Herbs.
Food tastes good when seasoned with herbs, garlic and onions in place of salt. Garlic has been found to lower cholesterol and to reduce the incidence of blood clots. Perhaps less well known is the fact that yellow onions, both raw and cooked, work in some way to lower blood pressure. These are excellent reasons to use them in cooking.
There are a number of excellent books available that can assist you in cooking healthy, low and salt free meals for yourself and your family. The Super Cookbook website offers a variety of cookbooks to help you achieve a low sodium diet.
Pat Lockhart is the author and publisher of the website: SuperCookbooks.com, a comprehensive cookbook resource. It includes a cookbook directory featuring a selection of the best cookbooks in a wide number of categories. There is also resource information about how to create your own cookbook; a weekly featured recipe; articles and cookbook reviews; and links to free e-cookbook websites. Visit our website for other low sodium cookbooks at: http://www.supercookbooks.com
