What foods should you avoid if you have high blood pressure?

Question

My dad has recently been diagnosed with dangerously high BP and I'm really concerned about his diet. What should I tell him?

Answer 1

A diet low in saturated fat and rich in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables is recommended. Such suggestions are nuts, seeds, carrots, spinach, celery, mushrooms, lima beans, potatoes, avocados, broccoli, and foods that contain modest amounts of protein (preferably fish, poultry, or soy products).

Loss of weight immediately reduces blood pressure and helps reduce heart size. Weight loss may allow patients with mild hypertension to safely reduce or go off medications.

Diets high in salt accelerate hypertension as we age. Salt restriction is particularly important for those who are salt-sensitive and for elderly people. Simply eliminating table and cooking salt can be beneficial.

A sufficient intake of minerals, particularly potassium, magnesium, and calcium, are beneficial for reducing blood pressure. Most people should obtain this mineral from potassium-rich foods that include potatoes, avocados, bananas, nonfat milk products, red beans, oranges, prunes, and cantaloupes.

Calcium regulates the tone of the smooth muscles lining blood vessels. Hypertension itself increases calcium loss from the body. Sufficient calcium is important for strong bones.

Vitamin C has specific benefits for hypertension by preventing dangerous effects on nitric acid, the substance that keeps arteries flexible.

Everyone should quit smoking and if you drink alcohol at all, do so in moderation. In healthy people with normal blood pressure drinking a couple of cups of coffee a day is unlikely to do any harm. People with existing hypertension should avoid caffeine altogether.

Regular exercise helps keep arteries elastic which keeps blood flowing and blood pressure low. Moderately intense exercise is recommended to lower blood pressure more effectively than high-intensity exercise. Sedentary people have a much greater risk of developing hypertension than physically active individuals do. Persons with high blood pressure should consult a physician before starting an exercise program.

I will say a prayer for your dad's health. Give him a hug from me. He can beat this.

Answer 2

3 years ago, I was diagnosed - hypertension with a reading of 160/100. I used to feel dizzy a lot, my legs had awful cramps, and levels were very low in my potassium, causing my fingers and toes to always cramp together. One day I started to feel really faint while I was driving with my daughter in the back seat and I passed out, hitting 3 cars and ending up in a ditch. That moment,I knew I had to do something because my meds weren't working. I heard about this diet from a friend and thought I'd give it a shot. The results have been remarkable. In just 21 days, I honestly can't remember feeling this good, my blood pressure went from 175/110 to 125/70.

Answer 3

He needs to avoid EVERYTHING that has a high sodium (salt) content. Sodium raises BP drastically. Sodium makes the body retain fluid. Extra fluid in the vascular system raises BP. How much sodium a product has in it can be found on food ingredient labels. Foods like pickles, anything packed in vinager, processed meats like lunch meat or hotdogs, sauer kraut, beer, soft drinks. He should shop for foods that specifically say "low sodium" on the label.

Answer 4

Salty foods are really bad for high BP. Avoid the obvious, like chips, pickles, and salty meats. Read food labels to see what amount of salt they have too.

Bananas are high in potassium and they are really good for the blood pressure.

Answer 5

Meats, dairy, salt (anything with animal fat and salt). Limit nuts too, although a moderate amount is still good for him. Try to get him to eat lots of raw grain, fruits, and vegetables. Try to have him use rice milk vs. cow milk. Unfortunately, he'll need to change his eating lifestyle. I'd suggest going to www.mypyramid.gov and selecting the vegetarian diet. He'd probably benefit most from that for now. He'll also want to stay away from alcohol as much as possible. Try to incorporate potassium-rich foods (to start with bananas). Hope this helps!

Answer 6

carrots. broccoli. Avoid fiber. Start eating large servings of salted peanuts and pretzels. Bring him a super sized order of fries everyday along with a 1/4 pounder (do not forget the cheese.
Avoid all vegetables (you also at the same time will save the life of a defenseless plant)

To be serious consult his doctor and don't ask unqualified people like me on the internet.

Answer 7

Consult with a dietician on what foods are good for him to eat. Mostly decrease his salt intake. Stay away from can foods because they contain alot of salt. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. His weight can contribute to his high blood pressure also. Plenty of exercise also. Low sodium foods.

Answer 8

Eat few red meats, bacons,lards,sausages, and eggs
Eat lot more fish,turkey no skin , skinned chicken,egg whites
few use of salt or none, what I do is for example cook my rice with no salt and add a pinch of salt to my tuna salad and it works, I eat less food with mayo or not at all I try avoid fast food as much as possible.Try not to over eat and eat lots of unsalted no butter vegs.Please work on cutting back on salt.Good luck and wish your father well

Answer 9

My mom has high blood pressure too. She avoids most foods that have a lot of salt.

Answer 10

Avoid foods that are high in salt (often called sodium on package labels), including chips, crackers, pickles and olives. Instead, choose fresh vegetables, meats and low-salt snacks to lower your salt intake. When buying prepackaged foods, look for foods that are low-sodium or sodium-free.