High Blood Pressure Diet – Eating For a Better Diastolic Number
Everyone who has ever been told he or she has high blood pressure has been given the following orders; at least approximately:
· Go on a healthy diet
· Do some exercise (The doctor must approve of the program you choose)
· Avoid salt
· Keep away from adrenaline causing situations
· Lose weight (They tell you this if you’re like one-ounce overweight)
· Take your medication exactly as directed (Assuming you’ve been prescribed any)
Doing all these things will probably not only get your blood pressure back to normal, they will undoubtedly make you a died in the wool health freak! And, while I can’t argue with you if this is your goal, my goal is to let you know what they mean when they say “Go on a healthy diet.”
First, there are things that are good to eat when you are on an all out assault on lofty blood pressure readings. Then, there are definite no-no’s we just have to avoid because if we don’t our otherwise mild mannered health practitioner will be tempted to wrap the blood pressure machine’s cuff around our neck after he or she takes our next reading!
Here is a sample of what a healthy hypertension diet includes and shouldn’t include. Though these lists aren’t exhaustive, you’ll get the idea.
Died in the wool health freak maker’s diet includes:
· Fruits
· Vegetables
· Lean fish types (not swimming in butter)
· Potatoes are OK but plain baked, not au gratin or anything like that
· Low fat stuff like substitute butter and low fat cheese not the real stuff
· 100% stone ground whole wheat bread
· Generally speaking, fresh stuff, not too much processed
· For desert Jell-o that’s all
· Yes, you can go off your diet once a week and be a little bad!
· Limit alcohol, maybe 3-4 (not 34) light beers a week
· Eggs, if cholesterol is not a big problem
· Chicken and turkey
· For cold cuts, low sodium turkey (maybe a little ham once in a while)
Now for the no-no’s
· Anything that tastes good (just kidding)
· Drive-up window food
· Donuts or doughnuts (I wasn’t going to let you get me on a technicality)
· Anything fried
· Real Mayonnaise (some low fat is OK)
· Basically speaking, high fat food
· Desert foods
· Lots of cold cuts and cheese
A good diet for controlling blood pressure is a low fat one. Since high blood pressure and cholesterol seem to go hand and hand, the diet above is also a good cholesterol controlling diet. I know, it’s a shocking diet to read at first, but you’ll get used to it. Before long you’ll actually enjoy it. The best part is when you go to the doctor the next time and when you blood pressure reading is done you’ll be saying, “There! Take that you sphygmomanometer, you!