About a third of adults in the United States have higher blood pressure levels than what they should have. Having higher blood pressure will increase your risk of congestive heart failure, kidney disease, strokes and heart disease as well. Normal blood pressure is noted at a to number or systolic number of 120 mmHg and the bottom number or diastolic number of under 80 mmHg. Those who have a systolic number from 120 through 139 and diastolic numbers of 80 through 89 are at a risk for higher blood pressure levels. They may even be diagnosed with pre-hypertension. If you are in war with high blood pressure, make sure you keep in touch with your doctor. You will also need to go along with a healthy diet that is good for your heart. There is something called the DASH diet that would be great for you. This is the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet. When using this diet, you will be getting between 1,600 calories and 2,600 calories each day.
Foods to Eat on the DASH Diet
One of the best ways to stop the war with high blood pressure is to use the DASH diet. To do this you will need to eat certain foods. You will start by eating between 7 and 12 vegetable and fruit servings a day. These are very important. They not only lower your blood pressure but they fill your body with essential vitamins and nutrients. You should also be getting between 6 and 11 grain servings. These servings will include things such as brown rice, oatmeal, pasta, pitas and whole-wheat bread. You will need to get between 2 and 3 non-fat or low-fat servings of dairy products. This could include yogurt, cheese, milk and other dairy products. Make sure you get between 3 and 5 legume, seed and nut servings a day. These will help in lowering your blood pressure and giving your body more protein as well. You will need to get 6 or under fish, poultry and lean meat servings each day. This should not be too difficult. Not many people get that many servings of meat every day. You will also need to get between 2 and 3 oil and healthy fat servings each day. You should stay away from the trans-fats and lower your intake of saturated fats too. Lastly, you should only be getting 5 or under sweet servings every week. Instead of eating ice cream, choose sorbet. Choose hard candy instead of chocolate. Now that you know what foods to eat on the DASH diet, there is a bit more information you may need.
Intake of Sodium
When you are working to stop the war you are in with high blood pressure, you will need to pay attention to your sodium intake. Make sure you don’t have more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day. Eventually, you should get this number down to 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day. You can slowly lower the amount you get as long as you are working towards that end goal.
Nutrients
When you are trying to end the war with high blood pressure, you need to make sure your body is getting enough nutrients. You should get many different colors of vegetables and fruits to make this happen. Go to the produce area of the store and try some vegetables and fruits you haven’t had before. Do your best to find some that are higher in potassium. These will be good for you in many ways including to reduce your blood pressure.
Meatless Meals
When working to lower your blood pressure, you may want to focus on have a minimum of two meals that are meatless over the course of the week. Instead of meat, substitute beans to get in your protein. Don’t add salt to your meal either, choose spices or herbs instead.
When you need to lower your blood pressure levels, these are all things you need to think about. Also, remember to keep in touch with your doctor so you can manage your blood pressure as well as possible
