Top 5 High Blood Pressure Diet Menu Plan

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is an increasingly common condition affecting many adults and even young people today. Smoking, high levels of alcohol consumption, obesity, and diabetes are among the most common causes of hypertension. 

Although there are many causes of high blood pressure, the kind of food you eat will always significantly impact your blood pressure. Having a lot of salty and sugary foods in your diet can increase your blood pressure, as can foods that have high amounts of saturated fats. Therefore, the best way to maintain healthy blood pressure is to avoid such foods in your diet, and this should be a primary focus of people with hypertension. Adding plenty of vegetables and fruits to your diet is one of the best ways to fight high blood pressure. 

There are medications used to lower blood pressure. However, it is essential to follow a nutritious and healthy diet if you want to ensure the medicines are effective. Maintaining a wholesome diet is vital in managing your blood pressure - that is why it is recommended for both the people on blood pressure medication and those who are not.

High blood pressure menu? These are some of the recommended foods for people with hypertension. Most of these foods have nutrients such as magnesium and potassium, which have been shown to lower blood pressure.

Top 5 High Blood Pressure Diet Menu Plan

• Beans

Including beans in your diet is recommended if you are a hypertension patient because they are cheap and delicious. Beans contain nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, and fiber, making them perfect for regulating blood pressure. 

According to various studies, researchers have established that including beans in your diet can help regulate blood pressure levels. Therefore, you need to have beans or other legumes such as lentils in your diet if you have hypertension.

• Berries

Having berries in your daily diet has a lot of nutritional benefits. Alongside that, diets containing berries are known to reduce the chances of heart diseases by lowering blood pressure. 

Berries can reduce blood pressure by increasing the production of molecules that cause blood vessels to relax, thus allowing a less restricted blood flow. Antioxidants such as anthocyanin present in all kinds of berries are responsible for increasing nitric oxide levels in the blood, thus helping lower blood pressure levels.

• Carrots

In most people's diets, carrots are standard because they are crunchy, sweet, and nutritious. So, you probably have carrots in your diet, whether you have hypertension or not. If you do have high blood pressure though, you should consider increasing the amounts of carrots in your diet because the good news is that they can help with the condition.

Having carrots in your diet can help relax blood vessels because they have phenolic compounds such as chlorogenic. These phenolic compounds are known to reduce inflammation, thus help in lowering blood pressure levels.

You can eat carrots raw or cooked along with other food such as leafy greens. However, if you want to enjoy carrots' full nutritional benefits, you need to eat them raw. 

• Tomatoes

Tomato is another fruit that can help you significantly lower your blood pressure. Whether it is tomatoes or tomato products, having them in your diet ensures you benefit from potassium and lycopene nutrients - lycopene can help reduce heart disease risk factors such as hypertension. Many people already eat tomatoes and tomato products along with other foods; therefore, incorporating them into your diet shouldn't be a big problem.

If you want to enjoy tomatoes' full benefits in reducing blood pressure, it is recommended that you eat them raw.

• Spices and Herbs

If you have been eating spicy foods, you may have been unknowingly reducing your blood pressure. Having herbs and spices in your food can help blood vessels relax because they have powerful compounds. 

Today, you have plenty of options in herbs and spices that you can add to your diet, including cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and lemongrass.

Therefore, if you have hypertension and have been eating herbs and spicy food, you only need to increase the amounts.

Conclusion

Fighting high blood pressure should not be difficult provided you follow your doctors' directions and, most importantly, check your diet. Many other foods can help you reduce blood pressure but the list above consists of the top and most affordable choices. 

Including legumes that have high fiber content, such as beans and lentils, in your diet ensures that you are full in between meals, preventing you from making wrong diet decisions. Generally, diets containing magnesium and potassium can help reduce blood pressure because they are important for relaxing blood vessels' walls. The primary sources of potassium and magnesium are vegetables and fruits; hence you need to have them in your diet if you have hypertension.