Reciepts for high blood presure?

Question

My husband who is 25 has high blood presure heart diease runs in his family & the doctor told him if he doesn't want to go into heart failure before 50 to start eating right, he is currently on medicane to try & lower it. His doctor told us to eliminate as much sodium as possible from his diet & to stay under 2000 mg per day. I thought it would be easy. hahah, anything in a can or jar or condiment or prepared or prepakeaged is basically out of the question. And I aknow there are millions of americans w/ the same problem so I figured someone maybe can help w/ a reciepe or a link. Please I could really use the help, I have made 4 meals this week that a dog would not want to eat. Serious answers only, no stupis remarks. thanks~!

Answer 1

A 2000 mg. Sodium diet can be very hard to follow at first. Esp. if your DH used a lot of salt and consumed high sodium foods prior to his diagnosis.

I hate to talk in "negatives", but it really is easier to give you a list of things to avoid rather than listing all the rest of the things he CAN have. So avoid:

~~Highly processed foods; pretty much anything that comes in a cellophane bag like chips, pretzels, or snack foods
~~Pretty much anything in a can that is not fruit: soup, gravy, ravioli, tamales (as you've discovered)
~~Most frozen prepared foods (like thaw and bake lasagnas, crock pot creations, veggies w/ sauces on them, frozen meatballs or pirogies... frozen fruits and plain veggies w/o sauce are fine!)
~~Most lunch and processed meats are high in sodium too: salami, bologna, olive loaf, ham, bacon, proscuitto, corned beef, kosher meats.... smoked turkey or chicken breast is ok, as is fresh (not salt-cured) pork like a tenderloin, pork chosp, or ribs You can buy a fresh pork butt or rump and smoke it yourself w/o adding salt and salt water to it.
~~Monitor, but dont' avoid, dairy products. Obviously most cheeses are out (cheddar, parmesan, blues) but unsalted cottage cheese anc cream cheese is ok. Dairy (milk, yogurt) contain a fair amount of sodium naturally, so no more than 2 servings a day.
~~Celery is fairly high in sodium. It's the only veggie that I know of that is. So a little goes a long way to flavor a salad or egg/chicken salad.

As you can probably see, the common thread here is "processed." So the simpler he can eat, w/ food being as close to the way it was farmed, the better.

Fresh herbs go a long way to add flavor, and so do the variety of Mrs. Dash seasoning blends. Switch to onion or garlic powder rather than onion or garlic salt. Take the salt shaker off the table, replacing it w/ Mrs. Dash or other salt-free seasoning blend. Don't be tempted by "salt substitues." They are Potassium Chloride, rather than Sodium Chloride. Trouble is the body sees them nearly identically, as they have nearly the same function. Plus, the potassium chloride makes food bitter.

And make the changes gradually over the next month. It's a tough diet to follow right off the bat. Oh, and if your DH is carrying any extra wight, losing it can help his BP tremendously.

HTH!

Answer 2

My husband and I both have high blood pressure, we have it under control for the last 3 years now by doing the following....DON'T fry anything... Frying in oils adds tons to salt and fats. The only thing we fry is chicken bout once a month. Everything else gets BROILED or baked steaks, chops. chicken, etc. this way no oil is involved, only the foods natural juices.
Buy frozen bags of vegtables there is barly no salt. Use more spices for flavor. When you need oil use pure olive oil costs more but goes a long way. And try to keep your stress down!! Use sea Salt, natural and you use less of it freshly ground.

Answer 3

Cutting out salt is a hard "drug" to give up. Try Mrs. Dash as a substitute. Also, Egg Beaters are not bad as a substitute for the cholesterol. Low salt-low fat butter substitutes are good. I've even made pretty good biscuits with the butter substitute.

The American Heart Association has a cookbook that has some good recipes. I have a copy here somewhere. You might even check out their site. Good luck.

Answer 4

my number one sugestion is don't starve yourself. I have it too.
I watch my salt intake but I eat about any thing cooked at home without salt added. this is important, most foods will have salt, it is necessary to all. read content labels and avoid high sodium.
their are plenty of choices. I have found baking not frying gives the best flavors and it has other benefits. experiment and enjoy!
also tell him to walk. the benefit will be great! talk with someone at a nature food store.

Answer 5

http://dmoz.org/Home/Cooking/Special_Diets/Low_Salt/

Try that link. Good luck!