The basic idea of a diet program for the treatment of high blood pressure is to control the intake of all possible food or substances that may cause the raise and fall of blood pressure. Your diet should be rich in fibers, low fat and salt. Bearing these pointers in mind, the intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains should be emphasized.
As studies have shown, the strong relation between salt consumption and high blood pressure is something convincing. A study in Japan shows that the northern island citizen who consumes more salt than anyone else in the world is showing the highest incidence of essential hypertension. On the contrary, people with less salt eating, does not show any evidence of essential hypertension at all.
What to avoid?
When preparing food, use seasonings other than salt and avoid processed food which tends to be high in sodium (Na), the chemical component in salt. Be aware that sodium is also present in MSG (mono sodium glutamate), baking soda, natrium benzoate as fruit preservative, salt-pepper and in soft drinks.
Samples of common sodium containing food are: crackers, biscuits, cakes and cookies baked using baking soda, corned beef, dried meet, salted fish, smoked beef, bacon, ham, sardines, salted eggs, cheese, peanut butter, margarine, butter, pickles, canned vegetables and fruits, table salt, MSG, ketchup, maggi-blocs.
Please attend to what you drink too. As mentioned a while, soft drink contains sodium, thus should be avoided. Coffee, which contains caffeine may elevate blood pressure to some extend and could be temporarily. As moderate use of alcohol may lower blood pressure, but drinking more than two ounces per day may rather aggravate high blood pressure.
Which are the allowed foods?
There are a lot of foodstuffs or food that can still be enjoyed. Fresh food or unsalted processed food originated from plants can still be cooked to prepare tasteful dishes. This may include:
Rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, noodles, flour, corn flour, sugar
Beans like, peanut, green peas, red beans, soy beans or its product like bean cake, tofu etc.
Low saturated fat cooking oil, unsalted margarine, unsalted butter
Fruits and vegetables
Natural spices like onions, shallots, garlic, ginger, candle nuts, turmeric, zedoary, greater galangal, tamarind, chili, lemon grass
Limited intake of animal originated food, which include:
Beef, chicken meat or fish, 100 grams the maximum
Egg, maximum 1 piece per day
Fresh milk, maximum 2 glasses per day
When buying packed food in your supermarket or food store, attend carefully to the nutrition facts labels on each package. You should watch and look for the Na or sodium content of that product. Avoid such sodium containing packed food.
What is the best way to do cooking?
Tasteless food can be solved by using natural spices as mentioned above. Frying, saut?ing or roasting can enhance food taste as well. If margarine is preferred, you can take out the salt in the following way:
Mixed the margarine with the same portion of water. Let it boil until the margarine becomes melted, and the salt will be diluted in the water.
Cool the mixture by adding some ice cubes or let it cool in the refrigerator.
After a while the margarine will harden again.
Separate and throw away the salted water and use the unsalted portion of margarine
The DASH Die
The DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) has been proven in several research studies, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to lower blood pressure and cholesterol without medication. It is the diet recommended by the NIH for lowering blood pressure.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend this eating plan for everyone. And the DASH diet forms the basis for the USDA MyPyramid. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, low fat or nonfat dairy, is low in sodium, and includes lean meats, fish and poultry, grains, nuts and beans. It will help lower cholesterol and will support healthy weight loss. It is flexible enough to meet the lifestyle and food preferences of most people.
Live healthy through good eating habits. It all starts with the knowledge on preparation of healthy food. Here is a simple, step-by-step system for shopping, cooking & eating the worlds healthiest foods (all natural, organic produce & grass fed meats) and gluten & soy free as well. All compiled in healthyeatingfacts.info HEALTHY URBAN KITCHEN COOKBOOK or for further information you can visit healthyeatingfacts.info HealthyEatingFacts.info
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