"I have high blood pressure": how many of you have said it often? How do you try to remedy? First of all, listen to your doctor and follow his instructions.
And then, even if it seems strange to you, give your passions a wide creative outlet because repressing them could be among the psychosomatic causes of hypertension .
Above all, pay close attention to your diet . Yes, because eating the right foods can make a difference, for hypertension.
Hypertension: what to eat
There are several foods that help in case of hypertension; in general, it is good to eat fresh foods, lightly cooked by us, not to season too much, prefer fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains. We see better, specifically, the allies against hypertension.
The garlic
Garlic contains a substance that relaxes muscles and dilates blood vessels, thereby lowering blood pressure as well. It works better as raw . A breath-saving trick: chop the garlic cloves (3-4) and swallow them as they were tablets. Onions are also very good .
Bananas
Bananas , and other foods rich in potassium, such as potatoes, tomatoes, oranges, soy, almonds. Potassium is a mineral essential for the proper functioning of cells and helps to regularize hypertension, balancing the excess of sodium, the main responsible of hypertension.
The fish
Fish: its fats rich in omega 3 perform an effective anti-inflammatory function and help to regularize the pressure. Prefer blue fish or cold-water fish such as salmon.
The celery
Celery according to oriental medicine experts in massive doses, or 4 stems a day, has proven to be useful in lowering blood pressure
Saffron
Saffron: contains crocetin, a substance with proven anti-hypertension effect. Use it more often to season your dishes, and try it as a drink, adding a pinch to it.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, little seasoned
Fresh fruits and vegetables, little seasoned, contain a lot of water and mineral salts able to counteract the dangerous excess of sodium.
Excellent for this purpose, cauliflower, pumpkin, green beans, grapes, apricots, cherries, prunes
Seeds and spices
Season with seeds and spices: you will avoid salt, giving equally flavor to your dishes.
High blood pressure: what to do?
Hypertension: what not to eat
Easy: don't eat anything that has added salt . But it is not the same as saying: you will discover that salt (understood as sodium chloride, and it is sodium which increases pressure) is always added to packaged products .
What to do then? Only a teaspoon of table salt is allowed per day, very little compared to our habits.
We see the list of foods not recommended in case of hypertension.
- Bread: a single slice can contain up to 230 milligrams of sodium, 15% of the total to be taken during the day. The same prohibition applies to all baked goods : breadsticks, crackers and the like. Get used to eating bread without salt, preferably whole (it's naturally tastier)
- Cured meats, sausages and meat in general: they contain a lot of sodium, which is essential for the preservation of the products and for the respect of the sanitary norms of their production, but harmful for the health!
- Soups and soups, and in general all ready- to- eat dishes : to enhance their flavor and promote their preservation, they are enriched with salt, which is excessive compared to daily needs. Better to prepare everything at home, minimizing seasonings and added salt
- Cheeses: they always contain the salt among their ingredients, and in excessive doses
- Nuts, sauces, soy sauces and seasonings in general: they contain sodium in very excessive amounts. Look for their salt-free alternatives, or use spices to season.
- Pizza : the problem is not only the seasoning (which also greatly affects), but the pasta, which could have a quantity even higher than 700 milligrams of sodium, or about what we should consume in a whole day.
Good habits to take
Among the habits to adopt in one's lifestyle we find:
- Via the table salt shaker : do not add salt to the already seasoned dishes.
- Do not add salt to the pasta cooking water
- Cook your meals personally, as much as possible, paying attention to the seasonings.
- In general, get used to feeling the genuine taste of fresh food . It may take a long time, but literally, it's health!
