Dr Chris Steele shares diet tips on reducing blood pressure
Having high blood pressure means your heart has to work harder than usual to pump blood around your body.
This puts extra pressure on the heart, blood vessels and other organs.
If not treated it can have serious consequences, with high blood pressure linked to medical emergencies such as strokes and heart attacks.
Like many other conditions, high blood pressure – also known as hypertension – can be caused by many lifestyle factors, although it can also be genetic and linked to your age.
Therefore, making certain changes to your lifestyle can prevent you from having high blood pressure, or lower your reading to a safer level.
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The NHS explains: “Making healthy lifestyle changes can sometimes help reduce your chances of getting high blood pressure and help lower your blood pressure if it’s already high.
“High blood pressure is also sometimes caused by an underlying health condition or taking a certain medicine.”
The health body recommends making six lifestyle changes to prevent and lower high blood pressure:
- Reduce the amount of salt you eat and have a generally healthy diet
- Cut back on alcohol
- Lose weight if you’re overweight
- Exercise regularly
- Cut down on caffeine
- Stop smoking.
Diet
Salt raises your blood pressure, and the NHS advises the more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure. It adds: “Aim to eat less than six grams of salt a day, which is about a teaspoonful.
“Eating a low-fat diet that includes lots of fibre, such as wholegrain rice, bread and pasta, and plenty of fruit and vegetables also helps lower blood pressure.”
The health body also recommends eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables daily.
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Alcohol
Over time, regularly consuming too much alcohol can increase your blood pressure.
The health body advises sticking to the recommended limits or no more than 14 units a week.
“Spread your drinking over three days or more if you drink as much as 14 units a week,” it says.
“Alcohol is also high in calories, which will make you gain weight and can further increase your blood pressure.”
Weight
Being overweight forces your heart to work harder to pump blood around your body, which can raise your blood pressure.
The NHS says losing a few pounds will make a “big difference” to your blood pressure.
Exercise
Regular exercise is important for your overall health and wellbeing, but it specifically helps lower blood pressure by keeping the heart and blood vessels in good condition
It can also help aid weight loss, something which can lower blood pressure.
The NHS says: “Adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.
“Physical activity can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.”
Caffeine
The health body warned that drinking more than four cups of coffee a day “may” increase your blood pressure.
“If you’re a big fan of coffee, tea or other caffeine-rich drinks, such as cola and some energy drinks, consider cutting down,” the NHS says.
“It’s fine to drink tea and coffee as part of a balanced diet, but it’s important that these drinks are not your main or only source of fluid.”
Smoking
Smoking can cause arteries to narrow, increasing blood pressure and raising the risk of heart attack or stroke.
The NHS adds: “If you smoke and have high blood pressure, your arteries will narrow much more quickly, and your risk of heart or lung disease in the future is dramatically increased.”
If you are concerned about your blood pressure you should speak to your GP.
According to the NHS, around one in four adults in the UK has high blood pressure.
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