Dietary Strategies to Control Hypertension

According to the American Heart Association website, hypertension (commonly known as high blood pressure) affects one in three people over the age of 20. Although hypertension affects a huge number of people, the condition is not only treatable but also preventable. Hypertension is the result of a high cholesterol, high fat diet, especially in persons who also eat high sodium foods and rarely exercise. The best way to control hypertension is through adopting a healthy diet. Although hypertension can also be controlled with medication, eating a healthy diet can improve your overall health in addition to lowering your blood pressure.

The DASH Diet

According to the Mayo Clinic's website, the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) was formulated especially to lower and eventually eliminate high blood pressure. The DASH diet encourages eating high fiber, low fat foods, with a large selection of fruits, vegetables and lean proteins. The DASH diet encourages you to eat colorful meals, as the more color in your meal, the more nutritious and low-fat it will be. You can find a number of DASH diet recipes at www.DASHdiet.org.

Diet Changes

If you want to control hypertension but don't feel comfortable integrating the DASH diet into your lifestyle, there are other dietary changes you can make to control high blood pressure. The first thing you can do is reduce the amount of fats in your diet. Cut down on fast foods, fried foods and high sodium foods. Instead of frying meats, try purchasing very lean meats, baking or broiling them and eating smaller portions. If possible, avoid eating empty calorie foods such as instant noodle and pasta meals, frozen foods and canned vegetables with very little nutritional content. Add more fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet by drinking smoothies and fruit-based shakes with your breakfasts, and by eating snacks of fruits and vegetables.

Beverages and Habits

Surprisingly enough, a lot of beverages can also contribute to high blood pressure. Carbonated sodas have large amounts of sugar, sodium and can contribute to high blood pressure as a high sugar diet can cause weight gain. If you drink coffee, use a sugar substitute (such as Stevia or the Splenda brand) to reduce the amount of sugar in your beverages. Try drinking more water, diet sodas, and fruit juice (be careful you check the nutritional labels as fruit juice can have excessive amounts of sugar). You can also manage hypertension by quitting smoking. Smoking damages the blood vessels and increases blood pressure.