The Best Foods that Lower Blood Pressure
When it comes to having high blood pressure your diet plays a huge role in its actual levels.
There are a number of other factors that go hand and hand like stress levels, activity levels but if you want to drop your B.P. you need to know the foods that lower blood pressure.
Not only do you need to know these foods but you need to actually start changing your diet to include these.
Below I am going to give you a detailed list of the absolute best foods that lower blood pressure. I hope that you use this list to really change your lifestyle.
But remember, you also need to get fit and reduce stress as well. You are #1 and you need to start treating yourself like it, take care of your body and it will take care of you.
List of the Best Foods that Lower Blood Pressure
- Dark Chocolate - I figured I would start with the best one, just don’t confuse this for milk chocolate
- Garlic - This is like Franks Red Hot "I put that $#*T on everything"
- Pumpkin - This is high in potassium which is proven to lower blood pressure
- Sunflower Seeds - Make sure you don’t get the salted kind that will actually raise your B.P.
- Avocados - These are amazing for you, they have good fats that will help you lose weight
- Spinach - One of the best greens you can eat, I really like the baby spinach better than its full grown brother
- Skim Milk - Lactose can actually help a bit, but choose skim to help with your weight as well
- Olive Oil - Another good fat, use this to cook with and for salad dressings
- Apples - Fruits and veggies, need I say more?
- Bananas - Another high in potassium food that will help to really lower your blood pressure
- Celery - Amazing did you know that celery is actually a negative calorie? Eat as much as you want
- Beans (legumes) - These have a lot of magnesium, which like potassium lowers blood pressure
- Fish - A great source of potassium, but also has great fats (high in omega 3’s)
- Onions - I love onions, they really make everything you cook taste better... Well almost everything
- Broccoli - Broccoli is a super food, this stuff will basically help with everything
- Carrots - Another great food for lowering cholesterol as well keeping thing and dropping blood pressure
- Poultry - Chicken, Turkey and other birds are great, just make sure not to over salt them and keep it to a proper portion size
If you notice on this list you will see a lot of fruits and veggies, the next list I am going to keep short.
This is the list that you need to lower the amounts you consume. Keep these out of your diet for the most part.
If you have very high blood pressure you should keep them out completely.
Foods High in Saturated Fats
These are the bad fats that mess up your cholesterol and blood pressure!
- Red meat - a little is alright but try lean cuts
- Sweets - I know, I know. I must sound like a broken record
- Sugared beverages - keep these out of your diet, not only soda pop, but also drinks like many fruit juices
It is important to make sure that your diet contains lower doses of sodium (salt) and saturated fats. These are two of the biggest culprits in your diet, when it comes to raising your blood pressure.
Your diet is not the only thing that is responsible for your blood pressure levels. You need to really take a look at your overall lifestyle and eliminate unhealthy stress which raises cortisol levels. Also, adding a good amount of physical fitness to your weekly routine will do a world of difference.
Summary
Above is a list of the absolute best foods that lower blood pressure levels in the body. If you look at the list you may realize that the majority of these are healthy choices, so make sure you start by making the right choice in your everyday life.