When you have high blood pressure, you’re always on the look out for salty foods that can put your health at risk. But are there foods that can actually lower your blood pressure naturally?
Here’s what a dietitian has to say.
Treating high blood pressure depends on lifestyle changes and food choices.
Avoiding things that can push your blood pressure up – smoking, alcohol, and lack of exercise – can combine with food choice to help control your pressure or see it drop lower, says Melissa Keeney, RDN, clinical nutrition manager at St. Vincent’s Medical Center.
“It’s important to steer away from packaged and processed foods like cured meats, canned foods, condiments and frozen foods. They’re high in sodium and are linked to high blood pressure,” says
And certain foods can even help relax your blood vessels.
Food can have a positive effect on blood pressure when the ingredients are right.
“Blood pressure measures the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Some foods contain minerals and antioxidants that relax the blood vessels and cause blood pressure to drop,” she says.
These heart-healthy ingredients include minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium. Other helpful nutrients, she adds, include fiber and unsaturated fats.
“When we focus on adding more nutrient-dense foods – like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains – we may also eat fewer foods that are high in salt,” Keeney says.
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6 foods that can lower your blood pressure.
Keeney recommends eating:
- Bananas. These are rich in potassium, which promotes blood vessel relaxation to lower blood pressure. Potassium also helps process sodium out of the body. Other foods containing it include tomatoes, potatoes and avocados.
- Berries. Strawberries and blueberries contain polyphenols and vitamin C, both of which can decrease hypertension.
- Yogurt. Studies indicate yogurt can decrease blood pressure for several reasons. First, the fermentation process means it contains bacteria that promotes the release of proteins that lower blood pressure. In addition, it contains calcium, magnesium and potassium.
- Whole grains. Choices like oatmeal and barley are high in fiber, especially the fiber beta-glucan, which has been shown to improve blood pressure.
- Beets. The vegetable and its juice can increase levels of nitric oxide in the bloodstream, which helps widen blood vessels to improve blood pressure. Green leafy vegetables can also have the same effect.
- Fish. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish can help lower blood pressure.
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But there’s no magic button for high blood pressure.
Incorporating these foods can help, but lowering blood pressure isn’t a quick fix.
“No one single food will lower your blood pressure,” Keeney stresses. “However, including these foods as part of a nutrient-dense diet – as well as exercise, meditation, getting adequate sleep and taking medications as ordered by your doctor – can decrease your blood pressure.”