Recipe to Lower High Blood Pressure

Here’s a great dish to help lower blood pressure naturally

Additional Info:

Makes:4 servings

These help lower high blood pressure?

Reading about high blood pressure and the different foods that lower blood pressure can become really repetitive! You’ll hear the same thing over and over again, “lower sodium, eat fruit”, and although we advocate that, we also want to have variety when eating or preparing meals.

We’ve made a list of some foods you didn’t know helped lower hypertension.

Edamame Beans

Edamame beans are considered to be part of the soy category. Soy products in general have numerous positive effects and it’s been shown to lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure. Soy contains isoflavone compounds (wiki isoflavones) and that’s the main reason for all of it’s positive characteristics.

Chocolate

Rejoice! We can have chocolate! Who would have thought? Anyways, the great news is we can eat (in moderation) this wonderful treat, but we can’t just eat any type, it has to be dark chocolate!  How is it good for us? Well it contains a flavonoid which can aid the production of nitric oxide (helps our muscles relax) in our body.  When the muscles are relaxed, blood flow is increased in the body. It also reduces cholesterol levels; so not only is it a tasty snack, it is also metabolism booster and an aid to lowering blood pressure.

Hibiscus Tea

We all know, tea in general can lead to positive effects (given you don’t load it up with sugar and cream). Well hibiscus tea particularly helps lower systolic blood pressure by an average of 7 points! 7 points! That is nothing to shy away from. Studies show that drinking hibiscus tea at least 3 times a day can be catalyst that lowers your blood pressure.

Although it might be hard trying to find food, especially good food to eat, try to stay positive at the things you can eat. Have variety in your diets because if you don’t, there’s a higher risk of you leaving that diet all together.

It’s already hard for someone to go on a diet, especially the DASH Diet, because it usually means a lot of home cooked meals. What happens on those days where you’re eating out though? Fear not, we have gathered the top 5 tips to remember if you ever find yourself in this situation!

Cut Back on Salt!

If you’ve been following this site, you should know by now to CUT BACK ON SALT! How? There are a couple ways to reduce your salt intake:

• When looking through the menu, keep an eye out for meals that contain, or are labeled, pickled, cured smoked. This is a great indication that heavy amounts of salt has been used.
• Restaurants are generally about flavor, and what brings out the flavor? SALT! Ask your server to reduce the amount of salt on your meal. Also, make sure there’s no added MSG.
• After you’ve received your meal, try not to use a salt shaker! Don’t think that since you’re out at a restaurant, your diet is out the window.
• Stay away from condiments like ketchup, mustard, soy sauce – they all contain salt!

Don’t have unhealthy fats!

Another main component the DASH Diet tries to implement is the reduction of unhealthy fats, such as saturated and trans fats. Now it’s easy to do at home, but when eating out, it can get a little tricky. Here’s are some tips to help:

• When ordering, politely ask your server if your meal can be cooked in olive oil instead of butter. A lot of restaurants use butter to cook the meats because of the flavor.
• If you’re getting a salad, ask for a vinaigrette (oil and vinegar) instead of the other dressings. If you really don’t like the taste, and want your particular dressing, ask for it on the side so you can decide how much or how little you want. Restaurant usually douse dressing essential making it unhealthy.
• When having chicken, try to have the breast. Dark meats (thigh, drumstick) tend to have a lot more unhealthy fats.
• Ask whether your meal can be prepared differently (ie. steamed, baked, roasted, grilled), instead of frying it in a pan.

Small Portions!

We know it’s your night out and you want to have a little fun, but don’t get carried away with too much food. Having smaller portions will definitely help in the long run. Here are some ideas:

• Don’t keep eating until you’re full, instead, eat until you’re not hungry. That phrase will help you throughout this entire diet and not just eating out.
• Ask to half the order, that way you can share, or take home for later.
• Have an appetizer instead of a full blown meal. Appetizer’s are a great alternative and cheaper!

Take your time and enjoy!

Men generally eat fairly quick and end up being hungry still. Studies have shown that individuals that take their time eating, are less hungry by the end. The reason being is that the signal from your stomach to your brain is slow to travel. So while you’re eating quickly, that signal doesn’t reach your brain and you realize you’re still hungry. Whereas if you eat slower, that same signal has time to tell your brain you’re not hungry, and you end up not eating anymore.

All Courses!

This isn’t just for entrees! You have to remember these tips throughout your entire night out – during drinks, dessert, appetizers, and having soups and salads can hinder you if you don’t remember these tips.

• Have water, juice, or tea as an alternative drink. If you plan on drinking, don’t have a lot. 2 beers max for guys, 1 for girls.
• Want an appetizer? Have fruits, vegetables or fish on the top of your list than anything else.
• If you plan on having a salad, have the dressing on the side, this way you can determine the amount that goes on it.
• Have fruit salad, sherbet, or plain cake as your dessert!

It might not sound fun to eat, but remembering these tips will help you in the long run! You’ll feel less bloated, more cleaner and more importantly your blood pressure will decrease.

If you’d like to find out about how to eat healthier at home, read our DASH Diet guide.

Good Luck!

High Blood Pressure Symptoms

Chances are people, who have hypertension, don’t even know their blood pressure is elevated until they start recognizing high blood pressure symptoms, or until they get measured. It’s important to routinely check your blood pressure. Known as the “silent killer”, noticing these symptoms (which I’ll mention below), might mean the blood pressure has been maintained in the higher levels.

People marked with elevated blood pressure, might develop these symptoms:

• Constant HeadachesConsidered the most common high blood pressure symptom. Although headaches occur to people with normal blood pressure, constant headaches aren’t normal and need to be looked at by a doctor.
• Blurred Vision / Loss of VisionIn many rare cases, hypertension can cause blurred vision, or even worse, loss of vision. When it becomes this severe, you would need to get to a hospital or call 911. Doing nothing will result in additional stress and could actual worsen the situation, and may leave permanent damages to a person retina or optic nerve.
• Fatigue / DrowsinessAlthough this can attribute to a lack of sleep and unhealthy diet, fatigue and drowsiness can also be a high blood pressure symptom. If a person has a hard time keeping their eyes open or if they feel a need to nap, this might very well be a sign.
• DizzinessIt’s not common for individuals to become dizzy suddenly. It’s usually caused by lack of food, water, and in some cases, high blood pressure. It’s recommended to see a doctor once dizziness or vertigo arises.

I’ve highlighted some of the more common symptoms, here are some additional signs that a person should consider.

• Nausea and vomiting, sometimes caused by dizziness
• Chest pains
• Shortness of breath
• Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
• Insomnia
• Lack of sexual desire
• Vertigo
  • See dizziness

Although, these symptoms can be found within people with normal blood pressure, it is recommended to see a physician if you start noticing these symptoms to be frequent. Also, since we are dealing with a “silent killer”, a person might not even experience some of these symptoms until their blood pressure is severe. So it’s very important to get checked regularly.

Studies show that it’s common for people to seek medical help, only when they start experiencing the high blood pressure symptoms indicated above. It’s safe to say, that these symptoms are caused by chronic (ongoing) high blood pressure which haven’t been resolved.

Chronic High Blood Pressure

Long term high blood pressure symptoms, if not treated, can result in organ damage. Common organ damages include:

• Heart Problems
• Heart failure
• Strokes
• Aneurysms
• Kidney Problems
• Kidney failure
• Eye Damage which results in vision loss

These type of blood pressure needs to be addressed quickly. The doctor, at this point, might just skip the natural ways to lower high blood pressure, and give medication instead.

Severe Cases of High Blood Pressure

What is malignant hypertension? It is the by-product of what happens when people completely ignore their blood pressure readings, and it gets extremely severe. About 1% of people that have hypertension will have malignant hypertension. It comes quick, and requires medical supervision.

Some signs of malignant hypertension include:

• Extremely high blood pressure
• Abnormal heart sounds
• Fluid in the lungs
• Swelling in the feet and legs
• Bleeding in the retina
• Swelling in the optic nerve

If a person is diagnosed with malignant hypertension, they would need to be hospitalized and medications would have to be administered to reduce the pressure.

Conclusion

It’s very important to treat high blood pressure, well before it has a chance to damage a person’s organs. It can lead to many complications, some of which are permanent, and it will only get worse when it’s ignored.

Get checked regularly if you’re someone that’s prone to getting high blood pressure symptoms, and maybe once every couple of months for those with normal blood pressure.

Good Luck!