Hypertension has always been considered a disease, which the elderly have, but unfortunately this disease has recently been found in the very young people as well. Nowadays, you can meet a 25-year-old man suffering from this insidious disease.
Why insidious, you will ask. The thing is that hypertension tends to develop without obvious symptoms, a person can only feel a headache. Arterial hypertension as a disease is much younger, as our lifestyle has changed significantly. If we recall our ancestors, who spent most of the day in the fresh air, being active and eating properly - these included mainly cereals, sour-milk products and fresh or sour fruit and vegetables.
It has become clear how young people have increased their blood pressure - have a look at how we live and what we eat. Young people spend days sitting in front of computers, eating hamburgers and drinking cola. Most factors provoking hypertension depend on a person's habits and inclinations.
A significant place in the system of prevention and treatment of the problem is occupied by food products, which have a direct effect on chemical reactions and processes in the body and help to maintain the blood vessels. For high blood pressure taking medication is not enough. It is important to know what food you need and what you don't.
You probably know that a special diet for high blood pressure is extremely necessary. So, in order to achieve a maximum positive effect, it is necessary to include products that lower blood pressure and more precisely vitamins and minerals contained in them: vitamins C, E, potassium, magnesium, omega-3 acids, folic acid.
Example:
Vitamin C is found in lemons, oranges, blackcurrants, red peppers, strawberries, kiwis;
Vitamin E – in hazelnuts, olives, spinach, sunflower seeds, almonds, parsley;
Potassium - in celery, mushrooms, green salad, raisins, dried apricots;
Magnesium - in sesame seeds, beans, spinach, sunflower seeds;
Omega-3 acids – in olive oil, salmon, mackerel, walnuts, herring;
Folic acid – in parsley, rose hips, raspberries, mint, green salad, eggs, cottage cheese, fish.
All these vitamins and minerals will help you control hypertension, so include foods containing them in your diet and your blood pressure will gradually decrease.
Eat more vegetables and fruit. From the fruit, you are allowed to eat - apples, apricots, bananas, dates, grapes, oranges, mangoes, lemons, peaches, pineapple, plums, raisins, strawberries, tangerines, blackcurrant, chokeberry. They help to strengthen the walls of blood vessels and improve their elasticity.
Carrots, avocados, pumpkin, sprouted seed salads, beets, eggplant - these are your vegetables that will help you fight high blood pressure. You should also eat white cabbage in fresh and pickled form, fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, potatoes, peas, broccoli, spinach, artichokes. Carrots and beets have long been known to be very beneficial for the proper functioning of the heart. They contain a lot of magnesium and potassium, as well as dietary fiber. They should be eaten raw, in the form of salads. Steamed vegetables are also suitable, it is allowed to add a little olive or sunflower oil to them.
But still, the best fighter among foods against high blood pressure is garlic, which has substances that dilate blood vessels. For hypertension it is good to eat 1-2 cloves of garlic every day. It is also good to drink freshly squeezed juices from vegetables and fruit.
Reduce salt intake (from 3-5 g) as well as limit smoked foods, canned foods, foods containing salt, since salts tend to retain water in the body and that increases blood pressure. To compensate for the salt, you can use some spices like fresh dill, parsley, basil, lemon juice and high-quality (important! ) soy sauce.
Coriander, bay leaf, oregano, celery and ginger will also help with high blood pressure. Do not forget to add fresh dandelion leaves to salads in spring and summer and for winter - dried leaves, which are added as a dry seasoning to soups and stewed vegetables.
Exclude fried foods from your diet, don't eat high-fat foods: lard, pork, butter, margarine, mayonnaise, and other heart-heavy foods. Doctors are sure, that fatty meat is an extremely common cause of high blood pressure. Lean turkey, chicken and beef are the right ones for you.
Fish can be considered a real savior for you, in case of hypertension. Sea fish with a low fat content, such as cod, sea bass, are particularly good for hypertension. In some types of sea fish, like European plaice and tuna, there is a lot of selenium, which is responsible for the elasticity of the heart muscle.
Fatty fish contains other substances, that are also very good for the heart health - fatty acids (mainly omega-3). They help the liver to deal with fatty foods faster. The correct balance of phosphorus and calcium in the body is extremely important for hypertension. Fish and other seafood, including seaweed, are traditionally high in iodine, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium.
Obviously, cereal products turned out to be among the products, which are good for hypertension. Bread from whole grain flour with the addition of bran and lavash and the cereals - oats, millet, buckwheat, barley, saturate the body with energy. Whole grains contain the so-called slow carbohydrates, which are digested for a long time and do not turn into fat deposits.
Some of the healthiest foods, that can lower blood pressure are foods high in calcium. In this regard, there is nothing more healthy than non-fat dairy foods: non-fat milk, buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, hard cheeses.
Limit coffee, black tea and other caffeinated beverages. Replace them with herbal teas that have a calming effect on the nervous system: rosehip tea, green tea and hibiscus tea, which relieves vascular spasms and improves metabolic processes. It is better to drink it in its cold form, since hot hibiscus tea increases the pressure.
No less healthy is tea, which is brewed with apple slices, blackcurrant fruit or linden blossoms, as well as jelly and stewed fruit. Recently, scientists discovered, that the previously forbidden cocoa also helps to reduce blood pressure. It also contains potassium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus. But for cocoa to benefit you, you need to drink it without sugar.
Food is not the only product that lowers blood pressure. Oddly enough, one of the most important elements for lowering blood pressure is water. Hypertensive patients usually know that retention of water in the body causes blood pressure to rise, so they try to drink less. This is a dangerous misconception!
Water is vitally important for a person whose body is made up of 88% of it. Usually, people drink little water, believing that they are replacing it with other liquids - tea, coffee, sugary drinks, etc.
In fact, drinking coffee or black tea will take more water out of the body than it will take in, because of the caffeine. The body begins to fight to retain the vital water, from which it swells up and blood pressure increases.
Drinking enough water daily can help lower blood pressure.
Stop drinking alcohol. After consuming alcohol, the pulse becomes more frequent in healthy people and in hypertensive patients, a strong overload of the cardiovascular system is observed.
